Natural Resource Management and Collective Action : the Case of Tiogo Forest in Burkina Faso
Gestion d'une ressource naturelle et action collective : le cas de la forêt de Tiogo au Burkina Faso
Résumé
Burkina Faso is a Sahelian country where aridity is a constant characteristic of the natural environment. The fragile nature of ecological system means that particular care must be paid to the rational use of renewable natural resources in general and forest management in particular. The forest offers a variety goods and services. It is a source of income and food; it conditions the rainy season (a positive externality). However, the multiple and competing uses of the forest are also a source of negative externalities (bush fires, anarchical clearings, etc.) leading to deforestation. Moreover the State, owner of classified forests, is unable to manage them efficiently. The thesis analyses credible and durable solutions to the coordination problems involved In the use of the forest. Using a survey carried out in villages bordering on the Tiogo forest (February-March 2001), I highlight the failure of the State to adequately manage forest resource, the importance of free riding phenomena and the harmful consequences of agriculture and breeding. The results show that a delegating property rights to local communities is a credible alternative to Stat management. Moreover, local institutions in the bordering villages are able to reduces harmful actions by households, while minimizing the ensuing transaction costs. A contingent valuation assessment of the value of the Tiogo forest shows that it would be possible to ask rural households to take part financially in its maintenance.
Le contrôle de la déforestation, par la mise en place par les autorités étatiques d'interdits et de restriction sur l'usage des ressources forestières, se heurte à des difficultés de succès dans beaucoup de pays en développement. L'approche actuelle consiste souvent à rendre aux communautés locales le contrôle de leurs ressources, lorsque l'Etat et les marchés n'arrivent pas à résoudre les problèmes comme la gestion des externalités négatives dans le cas d'une exploitation de ressources en propriété commune et de la provision de biens publics. Cet article analyse les solutions crédibles et durables aux problèmes de coordination dans l'usage de la forêt classée de Tiogo au Burkina Faso.