When community access to the tree resources in the Kaboré Tambi National Park in southern Burkina Faso was restricted in 1997, people in the community of Koakin in the Department of Nobéré feared that they would be left with “nothing”. In an attempt to allay those fears, the government allocated a parcel of forest outside the park to the community where they could cut wood to sell. They were told that the forest patch should last them for 20 years if they respected the rules about tree-cutting and planting. Unfortunately, the rules were not respected and the trees are now gone. Today the community finds itself without any forest left, without access to vital tree resources, and trying to get by tilling infertile soils.

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