Forest management institutions and actor-centered conflicts in sub-Saharan Africa: Contemporary realities and future avenues for research and policy

The rapid transformation of forest landscapes in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has been a key trigger to social conflicts among forest management actors. This development has a governance undertone with institutions playing a central role in shaping the dynamics. This Special Issue synthesizes nine published articles which address questions on the perceptions, attitudes and transaction costs linked to forest management institutions, institutional bricolage and the interaction between state-facilitated (formal) and community-facilitated (informal) institutions. The Special Issue also provides empirical evidence on gendered perspectives in institutional change processes, partnership reforms in forestland systems, institutional coordination and the (un)intended outcomes of decentralized forest management. The contributions to this Special Issue provide a glimpse on the separate treatise of actors and institutions, and on manifest social conflicts in forestry settings in SSA. The synthesis led to the definition of the following future lines for research and policy: Firstly, future studies should reemphasize the links between forestry and social conflicts in sub-Saharan Africa. Secondly, fostering the “marriage” between actors and institutions will ensure a holistic appreciation of forest use and management processes. Thirdly, the literature on the links between pandemics and forest-linked institutional change in sub-Saharan Africa is still scanty. Fourthly, studies to uncover the governance of forced migrants and their role in shaping forest use and management institutions are required. Finally, there is a need for multi-country studies, employing mixed-methods approaches to analyze actor-institutions dynamics in forest use and management in sub-Saharan Africa.