**2.3 Power relations and their impact on CFM**

Forest Reserves were largely established during the colonial times with most of them being gazetted between the years 1920–1960 (Turyahabwe & Banana, 2008). This drew out forests from the public sector into the protective hands of the state. This also disbanded communal property ownership, access and management. This meant that forest reserves belong to government and that communities have lesser power over these resources. A power analysis of the status quo is provided examining the specific relationships relevant to proposed CFM advocacy work. Table 1 provides the management arrangements, characteristics and how they affect collaborative approaches. Based on the analysis in this Table 1, there is a strong indication for proponents of participatory forest management approaches to influence a shift in power relationship. The unequal relationships are based on the fact that forests can only be managed by a corporate entity and there are policy and legal frameworks on which to build PFM work.
