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An institutional analysis of deforestation processes in protected areas: The case of the transboundary Mt. Elgon, Uganda and Kenya

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  • Petursson, Jon Geir
  • Vedeld, Paul
  • Sassen, Marieke

Abstract

Protected areas (PAs) are a country's key strategy to conserve and manage forest resources. In sub-Saharan Africa, the effectiveness and efficiency of PA institutions in delivering sustainable outcomes is debated, however, and deforestation has not been avoided within such formal regimes. This paper analyzes the processes that led to deforestation within the PAs on the transboundary Mt. Elgon, Uganda–Kenya, employing institutional theory. Landsat satellite imagery helped identify and quantify forest loss over time. The study showed how, since 1973, about a third of all forests within the PAs on Elgon have been cleared in successive processes. Within formal protected area regimes, complex political and institutional factors drive forest loss. We argue, therefore, that policies to counter deforestation using a PA model have to be considered and understood against the broader background of these factors, originating both inside and outside the PA regimes.

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  • Petursson, Jon Geir & Vedeld, Paul & Sassen, Marieke, 2013. "An institutional analysis of deforestation processes in protected areas: The case of the transboundary Mt. Elgon, Uganda and Kenya," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 26(C), pages 22-33.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:forpol:v:26:y:2013:i:c:p:22-33
    DOI: 10.1016/j.forpol.2012.09.012
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    3. Mbanze, Aires Afonso & Vieira da Silva, Carina & Ribeiro, Natasha Sofia & Santos, José Lima, 2021. "Participation in illegal harvesting of natural resources and the perceived costs and benefits of living within a protected area," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 179(C).
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    5. Petursson, Jon Geir & Vedeld, Paul, 2017. "Rhetoric and reality in protected area governance: Institutional change under different conservation discourses in Mount Elgon National Park, Uganda," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 166-177.
    6. Nakakaawa, Charlotte & Moll, Ricarda & Vedeld, Paul & Sjaastad, Espen & Cavanagh, Joseph, 2015. "Collaborative resource management and rural livelihoods around protected areas: A case study of Mount Elgon National Park, Uganda," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 1-11.

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