Forestry decentralization and poverty alleviation: A review

- The connection between forestry decentralization and poverty alleviation addressed.
- Forestry decentralization provides few direct mechanisms for lifting people out of poverty.
- Proximate causal mechanisms within the context of forestry decentralization should not be overlooked.

Forestry decentralization is widely promoted throughout the world tropics as a policy that leads to poverty alleviation. However, there is a dearth of empirical evidence to support this assertion. Depending on the literature, this paper addresses the connection between forestry decentralization and poverty alleviation through applying the arguments of efficiency, accountability, equity and sustainability to forestry sector. The paper concluded that forestry decentralization provides few direct mechanisms for lifting people out of poverty. Proximate causal mechanisms that will lead to direct increase in forest-based income within the context of forest decentralization should not be overlooked.