Property rights and the conservation of forests in communal areas in Zimbabwe

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.