ABSTRACT

Co-management of forest protected areas (PA) is considered as a viable option to improve the local-level forest governance. This study examined the state of local-level forest governance in Chunati wildlife sanctuary (CWS), a co-managed PA in south-eastern Bangladesh. Data on eight key principles of governance and forest conservation outcomes were collected by interviewing randomly selected non-state actors (n = 39) and state actors (n = 10) and four focus group discussions with the forest-dependent communities. We conducted a t-test to compare respondents’ perceptions regarding key governance principles and conservation outcomes. Results revealed that co-management governance in CWS assisted to improve the quality of forests in terms of tree and wildlife diversity, while illicit felling and land encroachment had reduced. Respondents’ overall perception on key governance principles showed a moderate-to-high score (mean 3.33 out of 5.00). Regarding forest conservation outcomes, the score was also moderate to high (mean 3.72 out of 5.00). Non-state actors showed fairly higher perception on overall key governance principles and conservation outcomes, while state actors (non-forestry officials) reported lower scores. Findings of this study would be useful to reshape the co-management policies that ensure good governance at local-level management of PA in Bangladesh and elsewhere.

摘要

森林保护区（PA）的共同管理被认为是改善地方森林治理的可行选择。本研究调查了孟加拉东南部共同管理的保护区 Chunati 野生动物保护区 (CWS) 的地方森林治理状况。通过采访随机选择的非国家行为者（n = 39）和国家行为者（n = 10）以及与依赖森林的社区进行的四个焦点小组讨论，收集了关于治理和森林保护结果的八项关键原则的数据。我们进行了 t 检验来比较受访者对关键治理原则和保护结果的看法。结果表明，CWS 的共同管理治理有助于提高森林质量，包括树木和野生动物的多样性，同时减少了非法砍伐和土地侵占。受访者对关键治理原则的总体看法为中到高分（平均 3.33 分，满分 5.00）。关于森林保护成果，得分也是中等到高（平均 3.72 分，满分 5.00）。非国家行为者对整体关键治理原则和保护结果的认知度较高，而国家行为者（非林业官员）的得分较低。这项研究的结果将有助于重塑共同管理政策，以确保在孟加拉国和其他地方对 PA 的地方一级管理进行良好治理。非国家行为者对整体关键治理原则和保护结果的认知度较高，而国家行为者（非林业官员）的得分较低。这项研究的结果将有助于重塑共同管理政策，以确保在孟加拉国和其他地方对 PA 的地方一级管理进行良好治理。非国家行为者对整体关键治理原则和保护结果的认知度较高，而国家行为者（非林业官员）的得分较低。这项研究的结果将有助于重塑共同管理政策，以确保在孟加拉国和其他地方对 PA 的地方一级管理进行良好治理。