The Unforeseen Consequences of Project Evaluations: A Case Of Mbololo Forest Conservation Projects In Taita-Taveta County, Kenya.

Project evaluations seek to determine the performance of a projects and inform decision making. This studyanalysed performance of forest conservation and community empowerment projects implemented over a ten year period.This study aimed at establishing the extent to which community capacity enhancement through training influencedsustainability of forest conservation projects in Mbololo area. Community capacity building projects targeted manyaspects relevant to conservation and livelihoods enhancement such as knowledge conflict resolution skills, incomegeneration skills and book-keeping. The sample size was 365 respondents obtained from 4138 household heads. Datawas analysed descriptively and inferentially. Qualitative data was analysed thematically. The evaluation found out thatcommunity capacity enhancement does not enhance sustainability of forest conservation projects F (4, 348) = 0.875; P >0.05. However, the evaluation discovered that free primary school education provided by the government had not beenfully utilised because there were 8.5% of community members who had not attended school at all. The evaluationrecommended a policy to compel all school age children to take advantage of the free primary school education offeredby the Government of Kenya.