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Institutional Change and Institutional Performance Under Decentralized Forest Management in Babati District, Tanzania

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Abstract

In the last three decades, self-governed robust institutions and design principles were emphasized for effective management of the commons including forests. However, little attention was given to institutional change and institutional performance. This paper addresses the relationship between institutional change and institutional performance under decentralized forest management (DFM) in Babati District, Tanzania. It is demonstrated that both constitutional and operational changes occurred under DFM in Babati. Institutional changes were found to be associated with improved condition of forest resources, good governance and sustainable livelihoods. However, cash income accrued from forests under DFM did not improve. Theoretically, a framework of multiple institutional logics of action was found more capable of explaining institutional change and institutional performance than Ostrom’s rational choice institutionalism and design principles.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Prof. Dismas Mwaseba, Dr. Flavianus Magayane and Dr. Christopher Mahonge from Sokoine University of Agriculture, Tanzania for commenting on the draft of this paper and thankful to local communities in Babati District for providing valuable information for the study. We are grateful to REPOA and Ford Foundation for their financial support for conducting this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Continuing Education, Sokoine University of Agriculture, P.O Box 3044, Morogoro, Tanzania

    Innocent H. Babili

  2. College of Science, Informatics and Built Environment, University of Bagamoyo, P.O Box 31285, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

    Elifuraha Mtalo

  3. Department of Forest Mensuration and Management, Faculty of Forestry and Nature Conservation, Sokoine University of Agriculture, P.O Box 3013, Morogoro, Tanzania

    George C. Kajembe

  4. El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, Unidad Villahermosa, Carretera Villahermosa-Reforma km 15.5, Ranchería El Guineo, Sección II, Villahermosa, 86280, Tabasco, Mexico

    Hans van der Wal

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  1. Innocent H. Babili
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  2. Elifuraha Mtalo
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  3. George C. Kajembe
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  4. Hans van der Wal
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Correspondence to Innocent H. Babili.

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Babili, I.H., Mtalo, E., Kajembe, G.C. et al. Institutional Change and Institutional Performance Under Decentralized Forest Management in Babati District, Tanzania. Small-scale Forestry 14, 381–400 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11842-015-9294-x

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