Confusion vs. clarity: Property rights and forest use in Uganda

•Knowledge of rights to harvest forest products is highly variable.•Awareness of rights and harvesting behavior are not highly correlated.•Property rights reforms must include awareness campaigns to solve information asymmetries.

Projects and policies targeted at reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD +) frequently emphasize the articulation of property rights that are new, formalized or revised. A major question for successful REDD + implementation, and forest sector reform more broadly, is how changes in formal rights are understood and internalized by resource users. This paper explores the determinants of knowledge of formal rights, and whether accurate knowledge of rights influences forest clearing and forest product harvesting behavior in Uganda. We find limited awareness of rules surrounding clearing forest, and mixed levels of awareness regarding rights to harvest specific forest products. Harvesting behavior is variably correlated with awareness of rights depending on the product and capacity of district forest officials.