Rives Fanny, peltier Regis, Montagne Pierre Taking stock of smallholder and community forestry: Where do we go from here? 24 - 26 March 2010 Montpellier, France

1. Fifteen years of forest community management in Niger:
from a technician’s dream to social reality
(Rives Fanny, Peltier Régis, Montagne Pierre)
Taking stock of smallholder and community forestry: Where do we go
from here?
Conference in Montpellier, March, 2010

2. Context Case studies Methods Results & Discussion
The history of Community forest management in Niger
1980s’ The origins: fear of desertification and of firewood shortage
+
Ineffectiveness of forest policies
1981 Forest cooperatives
IDA project
1992 Firewood Rural Markets (Edict number 92-037)
Energy II Project – PEII (1989-1998)

3. Context Case studies Methods Results & Discussion
What is a “Rural Market of firewood” (RM)?
A Local Management
Structure (SLG)
A place of wood sale in
rural area
A delimited area that
supply the Rural Market
A tax on firewood trade

4. Context Case studies Methods Results & Discussion
Location of case studies in Tillaberi region
Rural Market of Tientiergou
Rural Market of Ñinpelima

5. Context Case studies Methods Results & Discussion
Technical rules in the RMs of Ñinpelima & Tientiergou
Rural Market Type of RM Forest Harvesting Division into Trees to be
delimitation quota plots harvested
Ñinpelima Oriented YES YES NO Dead trees
Tientiergou Controlled YES YES 6 plots Live trees*
*Live trees of 4 species:
- Combretum micranthum and Guiera senegalensis which diameter is > than 6 cm
- Combretum glutinosum and Combretum nigricans which diameter is > than 8 cm

6. Context Case studies Methods Results & Discussion
Methods
Technical rules
• Semi-directive interviews
• Observations
Woodcutters practices
• Semi-directive Interviews
• Observations
• Inventories
Sustainability?

7. Context Case studies Methods Results & Discussion
Similar practices in Ñinpelima and Tientiergou
Technical rules Practices
• Forest limits • Harvesting beyond forest limits in
(both RM) Ñinpelima (and maybe in Tientiergou)
• Forest division into plots • Harvesting in the whole of the forest
(Tientiergou RM only) in Ñinpelima and Tientiergou
• Type of wood to harvest • Harvesting of live trees of several species
(Dead trees in Ñinpelima RM) in Ñinpelima and Tientiergou
• Quota of wood to harvest • Annual harvesting > quota
(both RM) in Ñinpelima

8. Context Case studies Methods Results & Discussion
Practices: harvesting beyond forest limits in Ñinpelima
Road from Niamey
to Ouagadougou
Limits of Ñinpelima RM
Woodcutters trip

9. Context Case studies Methods Results & Discussion
Why forest limits are not respected in Ñinpelima?
Road from Niamey
to Ouagadougou
Limits of Ñinpelima RM
Limits of Ñinpelima “terroir”

10. Context Case studies Methods Results & Discussion
And yet, rules on forest delimitation have evolved
Faïra forest Ñinpelima/ Tientiergou forest
Forest cooperative Rural Market
1988 1993
IDA Project Energy II Project

11. Context Case studies Methods Results & Discussion
In Tientiergou, turnover on plots is not respected…
… And yet, rules on forest delimitation have evolved
15 plots 6 plots 1 plot
15-years turnover 6-years turnover 9-years turnover
Faïra Forest Tientiergou forest (Ichaou, 2009)
Forest cooperatives Rural Market Rural Market
1981 1992 2009
IDA Project Energy II Project Gesforcom Project

12. Context Case studies Methods Results & Discussion
Sustainability: ecological changes in Tientiergou
Comparison between inventories made in 2007 and inventories made in 1990
1990 2007
920 stems/ ha 705 stems/ ha
with diameter > than 4 cm with diameter > than 3 cm

13. Context Case studies Methods Results & Discussion
Sustainability: ecological changes in Ñinpelima
Comparison between inventories in harvested plots and inventories in non
harvested plots
Diameter class distribution of stems according to plot treatment
(Combretum)
90
80
70
% of Stems number
60
50
40 Without harvesting
30 With harvesting
20
10
0
[0-2[ [2-4[ [4-6[ [6-8[ >8
Diameter class of stems (cm)

14. Context Case studies Methods Results & Discussion
Sustainability: ecological structure is changing but
regeneration is ensured in Ñinpelima and Tientiergou
• Interviews with woodcutters confirmed that forest structure is modified
(decrease of stems diameter, decrease of species with bad capacity of regeneration,
end of dead trees)
• However, forest dynamic is provided
• resilience of “tiger bush” (Peltier &al, 1994; Tongway &al, 2001)
• Vegetative propagation of Soudano-sahelian sp (Bellefontaine, 1997)

15. Context Case studies Methods Results & Discussion
Sustainability: socio-economical changes
• Changes in stakeholders
• Changes in individual incomes Improvement of living conditions
• Changes in collective incomes
BUT…
• Woodcutters are worried about the decrease of the quality of wood
• Wood traders can buy wood in other areas
Are these practices economically sustainable at RM scale?

16. Context Case studies Methods Results & Discussion
Conclusions
On the gap between Practices and Technical rules
• A feedback of practices on technical rules…
• … However, most technical rules did not apply
• What are the necessary technical rules?
On the sustainability
• Local practices did not threaten regeneration of sahelian ecosystems
• Local practices threatened production of stems with large diameter
• Scale of sustainability?