Publication: Forest plantations' investments in social services and local infrastructure: an analysis of private, FSC certified and state-owned, non-certified plantations in rural Tanzania
Forest plantations' investments in social services and local infrastructure: an analysis of private, FSC certified and state-owned, non-certified plantations in rural Tanzania
| dc.contributor.author | Degnet, M.B. | |
| dc.contributor.author | Werf, E. van der | |
| dc.contributor.author | Ingram, V. | |
| dc.contributor.author | Wesseler, J.H.H. | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2022-01-23T18:55:24Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2022-01-23T18:55:24Z | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://open.fsc.org/handle/resource/570 | |
| dc.title | Forest plantations' investments in social services and local infrastructure: an analysis of private, FSC certified and state-owned, non-certified plantations in rural Tanzania | en |
| dcterms.accessRights | Public | |
| dcterms.accessRights | Limited access | |
| dcterms.bibliographicCitation | Degnet, M. B. et al. 2018. Forest plantations' investments in social services and local infrastructure: an analysis of private, FSC certified and state-owned, non-certified plantations in rural Tanzania. Land Use Policy. | en |
| dcterms.issued | 2018 | |
| dcterms.language | en | |
| dcterms.type | Journal Article | |
| dspace.entity.type | Publication | |
| fsc.evidenceCategory | FSC impact-related | |
| fsc.focus.forestType | Plantation | |
| fsc.focus.forestZone | Tropical | |
| fsc.focus.sustainDimension | Social | |
| fsc.issue.social | Local communities | |
| fsc.issue.social | Indigenous peoples | |
| fsc.issue.social | Workers | |
| fsc.subject | Local communities | |
| fsc.subject | Indigenous peoples | |
| fsc.subject | Workers | |
| fsc.subject | Livelihoods | |
| fsc.subject | Health and safety | |
| fsc.subject | Working conditions | |
| fsc.subject | Living conditions | |
| fsc.subject | Training | |
| fsc.subject | Education | |
| fsc.topic.social | Livelihoods | |
| fsc.topic.social | Health and safety | |
| fsc.topic.social | Working conditions | |
| fsc.topic.social | Living conditions | |
| fsc.topic.social | Training | |
| fsc.topic.social | Education | |
| fsc.topic.social | Local communities | |
| fsc.topic.social | Indigenous peoples | |
| is.availability.fullText | Full text available | |
| is.contributor.member | Forest Stewardship Council | |
| is.coverage.country | United Republic of Tanzania | |
| is.coverage.countryAlpha2 | TZ | |
| is.coverage.region | Africa | |
| is.evaluation.collection | Mixed methods | |
| is.evaluation.counterfacts | Yes | |
| is.evaluation.findings | There was a positive relation between the presence of FSC-certified plantations and the perceived increases in the number and quality of health centers in adjacent villages. Households in villages adjacent to the FSC-certified plantations were 25.2% more likely to perceive that the plantations have improved the number and quality of health centers, than households in villages adjacent to the non-certified plantation.The authors note that this positive perception might be due to the investments of the company in improving health centers in the villages. | |
| is.evaluation.findings | There was a positive relation between the presence of FSC-certified plantations and the perceived increases in the number of children going to school in adjacent villages. Households in villages adjacent to the FSC-certified plantations were on average 15% more likely than households in villages adjacent to non-certified plantation to perceive that the plantations have (greatly) increased the number of children going to school. | |
| is.evaluation.findings | There was a positive relation between the presence of FSC-certified plantations and the perceived increases in the length and quality of roads and bridges in adjacent villages. Households in villages adjacent to the FSC-certified plantations were on average 22.9% more likely than households in villages adjacent to non-certified plantation to perceive that the plantations have (greatly) improved the length and quality of roads and bridges. The certified company cofinanced the construction and improvement of roads and bridges in neighboring villages. Similar positive relations were found for increases in the quality of education and the length and quality of roads and bridges. The authors summarize and conclude: 'Villagers neighboring the private, FSC certified forest plantations (Idete and Mapanda) reported that the plantation company (co-)financed the construction and improvement of school buildings, teachers' houses, roads and bridges, dispensaries and related facilities. In contrast, villagers neighboring the state-owned, non-certified plantation (Kihanga and Nzivi) reported fewer community development projects by the plantation. We found that villagers adjacent to the private, FSC certified plantations perceive the changes more favorably as compared to those adjacent to the state-owned, non-certified plantation.' And: 'Visual inspections indicated that the infrastructure in villages adjacent to the private, certified plantations are generally of better quality and equipped with better facilities.' The authors also found that the perceptions of forest plantations infrastructure investments were not uniform across households: 'We further found that richer and female-headed households are more likely to associate plantations with positive changes in social services and infrastructure' | |
| is.evaluation.notes | The study has a number of limitations: the plantations in the study differ in terms of ownership and certification status, so attribution of effects to FSC certification remains impossible. Secondly, both private forest plantations were owned by one company and operated in the same district, so results reflect investment strategies of those specific companies and cannot be generalized. | |
| is.evaluation.outcome | yes | |
| is.evaluation.quotes | The below quote nicely illustrates the difficulty to attribute observed changes in behavior of certified operations to certification: "The motivations for private companies to invest in public goods such as social services and infrastructure differ. These motives include to maximize profit, to ease business operations, adhering to corporate social responsibility and pro-social investments, as part of a (certification) strategy that requires contributions to community development, and due to shareholder and donor requirements for sustainable investments (Tumlinson and Morgan, 2013; Zivin and Small, 2005)." | |
| is.evaluation.scope | This research investigates the perceptions of local community members on the investments of local forest plantations in social services (health care and education) and local infrastructure (roads and bridges) in Tanzania. The study takes a a) comparative and b) a mixed method approach. It compares the perceptions of local community members on plantation companies' investments in social services and local infrastructure for 2 villages close to 2 private, FSC certified plantations (from the same company) with those of local community members of 2 villages close to 2 state-owned non-certified plantations (also from the same company). It uses a set of different data collection methods for triangulation including Focus Group Discussions, observations as well as household-level interviews (n=289). The authors apply econometric analysis to analyze the relation between the forest plantations and perceived changes in social service and infrastructure provision. | |
| is.evaluation.significance | Statistically significant | |
| is.evidenceSubType | Empirical study - with matched control, data collected post-intervention | |
| is.evidenceType | Empirical study | |
| is.extent.pages | 63-83 | |
| is.extent.volume | 79 | |
| is.focus.sectors | Forestry | |
| is.focus.sustainDimension | Social | |
| is.focus.systemElement | MandE outcomes and impacts | |
| is.focus.systemElement | MandE performance monitoring | |
| is.identifier.code | Impacts | |
| is.identifier.doi | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2018.07.041 | |
| is.identifier.fscdoi | http://dx.doi.org/10.34800/fsc-international613 | |
| is.identifier.schemeName | Forest Stewardship Council | |
| is.identifier.schemeType | Voluntary Sustainability Standards | |
| is.item.reviewStatus | Peer reviewed | |
| is.journalName | Land Use Policy |