Community Forest Associations as Pathways to Forest Landscape Restoration: A Mediational Analysis of Defining Factors in the Kakamega Forest Landscape, Kenya

Forest landscape restoration needs to involve local people and other stakeholders to be successful. The adoption of forest landscape restoration could thus be augmented through community-based institutions such as community forest associations. The role of community forest associations in the adoption of forest landscape restoration is, however, influenced by various mediating factors. Understanding these mediating factors is thus key to enhancing the adoption of forest landscape restoration. However, no studies have done a mediational analysis of the factors that mediate the relationship between membership in community forest associations and the adoption of forest landscape restoration. This study, therefore, aims to analyse the factors that mediate the relationship between membership in community forest associations and the adoption of forest landscape restoration. The study used a descriptive study design and a multistage sampling design. Data collection was done using Key Informant Interviews, Focus Group Discussions, and a household questionnaire survey. Mediational analysis was done using Sobel’s Test. The study found that various factors had a positive mediating effect on the relationship between membership in community forest associations and the adoption of forest landscape restoration, including involvement in off-farm income-generating activities, household size, forest dependency, and the suitability of forest management laws and bylaws. Other factors had a negative mediating effect on the relationship between membership in community forest associations and the adoption of forest landscape restoration, including perception of climate change and occurrence of conflicts over forest resources. The results of the study will help in the development of policies, strategies, and actions meant to promote forest landscape restoration practices by improving the effectiveness of community forest associations as pathways for their adoption and scale-up