| dc.description.abstract | Many countries in the world are endowed with rich natural resource base which supports
livelihoods of local communities as well as business. However, these natural resources are
increasingly threatened by unsustainable exploitation and inadequate benefits and incentives for
their protection. The purpose of this research study was to investigate the influence of
community participation in forest protection, Gathiuru forest, Nyeri County. The objectives of
this study were; To assess how community silvicultural practices influence protection of
Gathiuru forest in Nyeri County; To examine how community user groups activity influence
protection of Gathiuru forest in Nyeri County and; To establish how community patrols
influence protection of Gathiuru forest in Nyeri County. This study was pursued in the context of
community and government perceptions to allow forest adjacent communities participate in
forest protection as opposed to command and control approach that has been inexistence based
on theory of Planned Behaviour and the Theory of Reasoned Action. The sample size for the
study was 86 members selected from North and South Community Based Organizations (CBOs)
of Gathiuru forest. The limitations of the study included selection of a sample of the population
for the study as opposed to census hence was not generalizable. The researcher assumed that the
respondents would be available to answer the questions in the questionnaires and that their
responses would be truthful and honest. To carry out this study, a descriptive survey research
design was used to achieve the study’s objectives by which both structured closed and open
ended questionnaires and document review were used to collect data from the respondents based
on the objectives of the study. A content analysis and descriptive analysis were employed to
analyze the collected data. The content analysis was used to analyze the respondents’ views.
Tables were used to present the collected data for ease of understanding. The study found out
that there is a positive correlation between the community participation and forest protection. This
infers that community silvicultural practice has the highest influence on forest protection, followed
by community user group activities and community patrols in that order. Based on the findings, the
study recommends enactment of a National Forest Policy to spell out community scouts training;
harmonization of policies of line ministries and diversification on non-consumptive forest
products. The findings of this study will help all stakeholders, Kenya Forest Service and
Government in decision making and developing appropriate Participatory Forest Management
Programs as well as act as an invaluable source of information to scholars | en_US |
