Management of the Community Forests of Rogho and Boala in Central-West Burkina Faso: Balancing Access to Information and Peasant Participation

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Résumé

In a dual context characterized, on the one hand, by the proliferation of forest areas made possible
by initiatives such as "one department, one forest", and on the other hand, by the devolution of the
management of these forest areas to local populations through decentralization, it is necessary
and opportune to investigate the management of these forest resources. Thus, the objective of this
study was to analyze the management of two community forests by examining the access of local
residents to information related to these forests and their participation in their management. To
this end, quantitative data were collected from 201 households living near these forests. The Likert
scale, consisting of four possible options, was used to assess the level of access of local residents
to information related to the forests and the extent of their participation in forest management. The
results of this analysis revealed respective overall mean scores of 3.59 for information access and 2.89
for participation in management, indicating a high level of information access and a moderate degree
of peasant participation in forest management. These farmers should be encouraged to maximize their
participation in the management of the forests to which they are adjacent.

Mots-clés

Burkina Faso, forest resources, information access, peasant participation