End of project review : Bururi forestry project no. 695-0105

Final evaluation, conducted 6 months prior to the project"s 6/87 termination, is based on site visits, interviews with project personnel and beneficiaries, and a review of the mid-term (1984) evaluation. Despite diligent efforts to implement the recommendations of the 1984 evaluation, the project has been only partially successful. Protection of the Bururi Forest has been furthered by establishment of a block plantations of several exotic wood species on more than 750 ha of cleared land inside the forest boundaries. In addition, subsequent plantings have reforested former areas of encroachment; a clear forest boundary delineation has been created; and forest guard system and firebreak systems have been installed. In order to protect the remaining natural forest, the project has extended the inner buffer zone of black wattle trees, originally restricted to the forest"s eastern side, to the northern and western sides as well. Agroforestry activities in the buffer zone outside the forest, aimed at using fast growing species to provide alternative wood and agricultural supplies, did not begin until late 1985. The major focus has been on tree plantings by small farmers, although extension agents have also helped to establish community woodlots and demonstration plots. Despite considerable progress in these efforts, however, wood harvesting still exists in the galleries, the forest, and the black wattle belts, all three protected by law from such gathering and harvesting activities. Until farmer-managed and communal woodlots are actively producing the agricultural and construction materials needed on a daily basis, the natural forest cannot be protected nor can the project be deemed a complete success. INCN staff are currently working toward this objective. A key recommendation is that the project be extended for 6 months at no cost to enable current activities, i.e., nursery operations, the forest guard system, maintenance of firebreaks, and most agroforestry extension to continue uninterrupted until INCN can fund their activities through normal budget processes in 1/88 and to allow a participant to complete his B.Sc. program in agroforestry.