Is collaborative forest management a right management option for boundary demarcation in Atunga Local Forest Reserve in Abim District, Uganda?

Forest management is a challenging issue all over the world. Different countries have used different approaches in forest management, where some have worked to some extent, while others have completely failed. Forests play a key role in biodiversity conservation. Due to overdependence on forest products for various uses many forests have been encroached upon for various reasons, such as inadequate involvement of stakeholders for fuel wood, for farming, and bush fires by hunters. The main goal of the study was to come up with recommendations for a plan for managing local forest reserves. Different articles, case studies, journals, books and research on collaborative forest management from different parts of the world were reviewed. Collaborative forest management has a number of pros and cons. Local users can participate actively in decision making, leading to job opportunities and poverty reduction. But local users can also have limited access to the forest and the institutional structures can be too large for the forest managers to run them effectively. Many governments are also still reluctant to give full power to the communities to manage their forests. Recommendations for collaborative forest management in Uganda include a review of policies on collaborative forest management, incorporating local knowledge with modern science, gender mainstreaming in all activities, and active participation and use of different approaches in collaborative forest management.