Determinants of farm households’ participation in collective forest management: The case of Chilimo Gaji Forest, central highlands of Ethiopia

• Key Determinants: Factors such as education level, membership duration in forest user groups, access to training, and economic incentives significantly influence participation in Collective Forest Management (CFM). • Participation Disparities: Higher education and resource access correlate with increased CFM engagement, while more livestock and off-farm income reduce participation. • Methodology: A mixed-methods approach, including surveys of 365 householdswas employed, with data analyzed using a Double-Hurdle model. • Policy Implications: Tailored interventions are essential to enhance CFM participation, advocating for equitable access to forest resources. • Sustainability Issues: Inconsistent participation raises sustainability concerns, necessitating improved farm households participation in forest governance. Collective Forest Management (CFM) is essential for enhancing forest management effectiveness and ensuring equitable sharing of the benefits and services derived from forest resources among the farm households. Acknowledging this importance of forests for rural livelihoods and the national economy, the study indicates that participation is often inconsistent and suboptimal, raising concerns about sustainability and management effectiveness. This research examines the determinant factors that affect the farm households participation in CFM in the chilimo gaji forest, analyzing cross-sectional data from 365 randomly selected households. A double-hurdle model was employed for data analysis. The result demonstrate how demographic, socio-economic, institutional and biophysical factors impact both the decision to participate and the level of participation among farm households. Overall, the findings reveal that education, membership duration, access to training, access to forest resource, access to extension services, and perceptions of economic incentives are positively and significantly affect the participation decision and level of participation in CFM. The study shows disparities among farm households in participation levels, which can lead to unequal access to forest resource. Therefore, the study recommends that policymakers enhance households’ participation in CFM by improving training and capacity-building programs to overcome barriers to engagement, as well as implementing economic incentives and support mechanisms is crucial to motivate households to participate in CFM.