THE IMPLICATION OF PARTICIPATORY FOREST MANAGEMENTONTHESTATUS OF FOREST COVER AND LOCAL COMMUNITY LIVELIHOODSINSAYI FOREST, SOUTHWEST ETHIOPIA

Forest is one of the most essential kinds of resources that human beings and other animals depend on. It regulates environmental and ecological balances. A well-managedforest resource through participatory approach led to sustainable management of theforest resource of a given area. The study attempted to investigate the implicationof participatory forest management on the status of forest cover and local communitylivelihoods in Sayi forest, southwest Ethiopia. The study employed cross sectional andlongitudinal survey research deign as well as mixed research approach. Satelliteimageries of the year 2003, 2013 and 2023 were used to detect the changes in the status of forest cover. Through simple random sampling technique, a total of 288 respondents were selected for the purpose of this study. Data were collected from both primary andsecondary sources. Primary data were gathered through questionnaires; interview, focus group discussion and field observation; whereas secondary data were collected frompublished and unpublished documents. The collected data were analyzed quantitativelyand qualitatively. Furthermore, the study utilized binary logistic regression model toinvestigate factors of af ecting the’ decision to adopt PFM or not. The results indicatedthat PFM is introduced as one of the solutions to solve the problem of open access toforest resources and uphold sustainable forest management through communityparticipation. The Results indicated that forest cover status has increase from2013- 2023 in 1182ha.The Results of NDVI also showed that vegetation greenness has increased. This implies that PFM has significant contribution in improving forest cover status and vegetation greenness of the study area. It was found that PFMhas significantly improved livelihood condition, improved non-forest based incomediversification, improved food security status, creates employment opportunities for youth, improved various access to incentives of the local community as perceived by thesample respondents. The results of binary logistic regression model indicated that Sex of the household, age of the household, educational status, distance of the forest fromhomestead as well as access to training are major determinant factors that significantly(P<0.05) af ects households’ decision to adopt PFM or not in the study area. Furthermore, awareness problem about PFM, budget constraint or lack of financial capacity, lack of cooperation and collaboration among dif erent sectors, gaps in policyand legal frameworks are major challenges of PFM, whereas good culture of communityin environmental resource conservation experiences like Gada Systemand KobboPractices, Presences of various conservation organizations (existence of Various NGOs), government attention to support sustainable forest management as well as the presenceof Higher institution like Mattu University are major identified opportunities/prospects for PFM of the area. Conclusively, the study suggests that raising community awareness, adopting an equitable and inclusive approach, improving stakeholder coordination, andstrengthening local community ownership are found to be essential.