Abstract Institutional arrangements for managing forests at the constitutional level of the state define the property rights bundles through which rural households access benefits and manage forests in communal lands. Forest degradation in communal areas of Zimbabwe show that there is need to understand the influence of forest-related constitutional level rules on actual or perceived benefits to conserve, preserve and improve management of forests in communal areas. We examined through a systematic search and review of Acts of Parliament, the overarching principles that underlie property rights bundles for harvesting of forest produce in communal lands in Zimbabwe. Results show that the rights to regulate access, withdrawal, management, exclusion and alienation of land and forest resources lie with the minister and the state President. The legislation criminalizes unauthorized access and commercial use even for inhabitants. Local communities and individuals can initiate and implement management systems only with the approval of the appropriate authority. The constitutional level rules restrict inhabitants of communal lands to authorized entrants for protected forest areas or authorized users for communal forests thus shifting the responsibility for proactive management of forest resources away from the direct users. The current legislation inherited the legislative provisions of the colonial era where centralization of forest management shaped land and forest resources conservation policies. Therefore, there is need for legislation that stimulates local management of land and forest resources through revision of property rights for rural households. Coupling alienation rights with exclusion rights could stimulate rural households to invest in forest resources and undertake more intensive management of woodlands in communal lands.

中文翻译：

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津巴布韦公共区域的产权和森林保护

摘要 国家宪法层面的森林管理制度安排定义了产权束，农户通过这些产权束获得利益并管理公共土地上的森林。津巴布韦公共区域的森林退化表明，需要了解与森林相关的宪法层面的规则对保护、保护和改善公共区域森林管理的实际或感知利益的影响。我们通过对议会法案的系统搜索和审查，研究了构成津巴布韦公共土地上森林产品采伐的产权捆绑的总体原则。结果表明，管理土地和森林资源的获取、撤回、管理、排斥和转让的权利属于部长和国家总统。该立法将未经授权的访问和商业使用甚至对居民定为刑事犯罪。当地社区和个人只有在获得有关当局批准的情况下才能启动和实施管理系统。宪法层面的规则将公共土地的居民限制为受保护林区的授权进入者或公共森林的授权用户，从而将主动管理森林资源的责任从直接用户转移到其他用户。当前的立法继承了殖民时代的立法规定，森林管理的集中化塑造了土地和森林资源保护政策。因此，有必要制定立法，通过修订农村家庭的产权来刺激土地和森林资源的地方管理。