Forest Governance Effectiveness in Gamo Zone, South Ethiopia Regional State, Ethiopia

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to investigate the extent of forest governance effectiveness in Gamo Zone, South Ethiopia Regional State, Ethiopia. Methodology: The study employed a descriptive survey research design with quantitative and qualitative methods. Primary data was collected through a questionnaire, semi-structured interview, and document analysis. The sample for quantitative data consisted of 402 rural households in six kebeles and two Woredas in the Gamo zone. Data was collected using nine forest governance effectiveness indicators with their respective components. To examine the extent of forest governance effectiveness and to determine the statistically significant relationship between the variables, asymptotic significance in the chi-square test was used. Finally, to arrive at valid conclusions, the study findings from the quantitative survey were triangulated with in-depth qualitative data, other secondary sources, and empirical studies. Findings: According to the findings, the implementation of and attachment to these nine key indicators of forest governance effectiveness were found to be insufficient and poor, and this study arrived at the conclusion that forest governance was ineffective in terms of the majority of the components of the key indicators. Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: The study findings have unique contributions in identifying the relevance of theories applied in this study and bridging the wider knowledge and research gaps in the study area with respect to forest policy narrations and its governance practices at local community level in Ethiopia, particularly in the Gamo Zone of South Ethiopia Regional state. Therefore, the researcher recommends the importance of ensuring independent forest institutions from top to bottom that are legally and politically empowered to coordinate the concerned sectors in the protection, governance, and sustainable utilization of the resources by realizing strong practice of the rule of law, a clear accountability line for all stakeholders, ensuring transparency, responsible public participation that enhances equity, fairness, effectiveness, and efficiency, and creating opportunities to make use of local knowledge and experiences of managing conflicts that are arising among the forest-dependent communities and the government bodies.