Browsing by Author "PHIRI, Constance Nyawa"

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    Stakeholder Engagements and its Impact on Community Projects Outcome: A Case Study of the Luangwa Community Forest REDD+ Project
    (University of Lusaka, 2025) PHIRI, Constance Nyawa
    Community projects are powerful instruments for addressing many social problems and attaining development that is sustainable at the local level. This kind of initiative's success usually relies on the quality of stakeholder engagement in a broad, multi-disciplinary approach that gathers and mobilizes perspectives and skills throughout the project life cycle. However, this paper explored the impact of stakeholder engagement on community project outcomes through a case study focused on the Luangwa Community Forest REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) Project in Zambia. The REDD+ Project with its geographical area of more than one million hectares, cutting across three provinces and affecting more than 225 000 people is the largest REDD+ project in the African continent aiming at conservating the forest while promoting forest conservation and carbon offsetting-related activities alongside socioeconomic development. The study employed a mixed methods approach combing the collection of both quantitative and qualitative data to better understand stakeholder engagement and its role in the implementation of community projects. Quantitative data was obtained from a questionnaire survey of 385 community household heads and qualitative data was obtained from an in-depth interview with 33 core stakeholders, comprising of local leaders, government professionals, and environmental groups. Data analysis of Quantitative data from in-depth interviews was statistically explored using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) and Excel to find patterns, correlations, and trends regarding stakeholder engagement and project results. Qualitative data from interviews was analyzed using thematic analysis to identify recurring themes, perceptions, and recommendations associated with stakeholder engagement. The results of the study highlighted key practices of engagement such as Free Prior and Informed Consent, needs surveys, capacity-building workshops, and community meetings contribute to a component of project success. The results underline how such an important role as stakeholder collaboration plays in increasing ownership of the projects, while at the same time it enables efficient use of resources, reduces risks, and achieves successful project results, which in turn facilitate sustainable development. Furthermore, the findings indicate that efficient stakeholder engagement brings about a sense of shared interest, ensures transparency, and makes allowance for consideration of the specific needs of the local context. For example, it was found that 77.8% of respondents stressed the positive role of stakeholder engagement with respect to establishing trust, community involvement, and long-term commitment to the outcome of the project. The results also elucidate that participatory approaches must be adopted to strike a cognitive balance between environmental conservation and community development. On the contrary, 13.9% of the respondents expressed negative effects of stakeholder engagements due to the priority and resource title conflicts and constraints of the participants, contrary to the progress. Furthermore, there is a need to find proper strategies to ensure a balance so that the negative impacts of stakeholder engagements are minimized. Therefore, the study puts forward recommendations for policy makers and project implementers to consider. One such recommendation is to conduct training and awareness programs for local communities and authorities on the importance of equitable resource distribution and decision-making and establish Inclusive Governance Structures and engage local traditional leaders, women’s groups, and youth representatives in forming and running these committees to encourage participatory decision making. Lastly for future research, the study should consider examining the ways in which gender dynamics affect participation, decision making, and benefit-sharing for the REDD+ projects.