Paper short abstract:

We explore the social interface between the international forest governance initiative of REDD+ and realities of Tanzanian villagers' lived experiences of REDD+ pilot projects. Focusing on knowledge processes and interface negotiations, it contributes insights into the social process of piloting.

Paper long abstract:

The early stages of new international forest governance initiatives often involve implementing pilot projects with forest-adjacent communities in developing countries. In Tanzania, REDD+ pilot projects were implemented with the objectives of getting communities 'REDD+ ready' and testing different aspects of the mechanism. Instrumental research on the pilot projects, focusing on their performance against project objectives abounds. However, little consideration has been given to the lived experiences and social realities of the pilot projects from the perspective of the actors involved. Drawing on the concept of social interface and based on ethnographic data collected in two REDD+ pilot projects, this paper examines the intersection between the international governance initiative of REDD+ and the realities of Tanzanian villagers' lived experiences in their situated contexts. By analysing detailed actor accounts of the pilot projects, this paper addresses two main elements central to this social interface: knowledge processes and the interface as a place of actor negotiation. It looks at how international concepts introduced by the practitioners of pilot projects are mediated and re-framed by village actors, and how knowledge and meanings are negotiated and contested. It then explores the experiences of different village actors, including ways in which they were able to negotiate, manoeuvre, create opportunities through, and resist the pilot projects. This paper reconceptualises piloting as complex social process by contributing new empirical and theoretical insights into the realities of the social interface between global forest governance ideas and initiatives such as REDD+, and the local contexts into which they are introduced.