Enhancing Sustainable Management of Public Natural Forests Through Public Private Partnerships in Kenya

Abstract

Many countries are fast implementing forest conservation Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) as an innovative conservation approach. However, with the growing human needs, forest management challenges, especially limited funding for forest conservation are increasing the need for lessons on Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) in many developing countries. This study addressed this challenge from the perspective of sustainable forest management using literature review and document content analysis. Results from Kenya substantiate that despite the complex development challenges, public natural forests provide many benefits that can be delivered to citizens through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs). Toward actualizing these partnership possibilities, the government has developed policies and established institutions to coordinate and enhance their implementation. These results imply the presence fairly stable conditions required for building trust and confidence amongst private partners involved in the governance of public natural forests. However, there are some significant challenges that should be addressed if PPPs are to be applied in forest management as truly a transformative conservation approach