Browsing by Author "Shepherd, Gill"

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After Ujamaa: Farmer Needs, Nurseries and Project Sustainability in Mwanza, Tanzania
(1989) Guggenberger, C.; Ndulu, P.; Shepherd, Gill
"The Sukuma of Mwanza live near the south-east corner of Lake Victoria, occupying an area of low hills surmounted by granite outcrops, and separated by wide grassy valleys. In times gone by the rocky hilltops were covered in trees, homesteads and fields were to be found scattered down the hill slope, the seasonally wet valleys were used to grow rice and sweet potatoes, and cattle were grazed on valley edges in the dry season and on hill fallows and hill tops in the rains. The ideal holding was a wedge of land running from hilltop to valley centre. Because there was ample land, the most valued store of wealth for the Sukuma was cattle, which were and for some still are the substance and the currency of many social and economic transactions."
Belgium
(Overseas Development Institute, 1998) Veron, Philippe; Federspiel, Michèle; Shepherd, Gill; Brown, D.; Richards, Michael; Schreckenberg, K.
"Two thousand years ago, most of Belgium was covered by natural forest. The main formations were the oak and birch woods which covered la Campine, the Atlantic oak forests of Central Belgium, and the hornbeam, oak and beech forests of Upper Belgium. First the Gauls cleared patches of forest to practise cultivation and animal husbandry, then the Romans built roads through the forests and made it more accessible."
Common Elements of EC Tropical Forestry Aid
(Overseas Development Institute, 1998) Brown, David; Richards, Michael; Shepherd, Gill; Brown, David; Richards, Michael; Schreckenberg, K.
"European Community (EC) aid to tropical forestry, like all forms of EC development assistance, is strongly influenced by the structure of the European Union and by its political and financial procedures. Before discussing the manner in which tropical forestry aid is managed within the various Directorates-General, we need to review the structure and procedures of the Union and consider the ways in which these features affect the definition and administration of aid policy. The centre of power in the EU is the Council of the European Union. This consists of representatives of the European Member States and the Commission, the actual attendance varying according to the issue under debate. The highest-level body is the Council of the Heads of Government which meets twice yearly and formally approves the policies of the Union. The Council also meets periodically at Ministerial level. For example, the General Affairs Council deals with external affairs and is attended by the Foreign Ministers of the Member States, while Eco®n is attended by the Ministers of Finance."
Criteria and Indicators for Sustainable Forest Management: New Findings from CIFOR's Forest Management Unit Level Research
(1998) Prabhu, Ravi; Colfer, Carol J. Pierce; Shepherd, Gill
"This paper traces the growing interest in the development of Criteria and Indicators for sustainable forest management since the declaration of the Forest Principles at the Rio Conference in 1992. Several processes are underway in different regions of the world to define sets of criteria and indicators that can be used to assess the social, economic and ecological sustainability of forest management. Some have focused more at national level, while others have emphasised information needs at the forest management unit level. In an attempt to produce a generic 'master set,' the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) has carried out several tests to compare the different sets of criteria and indicators currently in existence. At the forest level, ecological criteria have been found much easier to apply than social ones as the latter often require an in-depth understanding of areas beyond the immediate boundaries of the forest management unit. In addition to social issues, other areas that still need further work include biodiversity, the development of criteria and indicators for plantations, and a means of linking information from the local to the national level. In an attempt to help people in different areas adapt the generic hierarchy of criteria and indicators to their own conditions, CIFOR is developing a computer programme, CIMAT, which allows for the addition of local knowledge and an iterative development of locally-specific criteria and indicators. In spite of the work still needed, the importance of defining a comprehensive but practical set of criteria and indicators lies in the fact that such a measurable and comparable methodology would build public confidence on the issue of forest sustainability."
Denmark
(Overseas Development Institute, 1998) Kerkhof, Paul; Shepherd, Gill; Brown, D.; Richards, Michael; Schreckenberg, K.
"Denmark was covered by forests and the human population density was low until early medieval times. From the tenth century onwards the population grew and an increasing proportion of the land was cleared of forest, a process temporarily interrupted during the Black Death. The population density of 20 people per square kilometre in the thirteenth century had doubled by the middle of the nineteenth. Norway and Southern Sweden were part of Denmark for much of this time, and although population densities there were much lower, the trends were similar."
DG V, DG VI and DG XVI [Directorates General V, VI, and XVI]
(Overseas Development Institute, 1998) Brown, David; Shepherd, Gill; Brown, David; Richards, Michael; Schreckenberg, K.
"Structural Funds are available as non-reimbursable grants, on the basis of co-financing ('part-financing') with the relevant Member States. The level of co-financing depends on the objective of the programme, and is up to a maximum of between 50 and 85%. There are five sets of priority objectives: Objective 1: Structural adjustment of regions whose development is lagging behind Objective 2: Economic conversion of areas seriously affected by industrial decline Objective 3: Combatting long-term unemployment and facilitating integration into working life of young people and those threatened with exclusion from the labour market Objective 4: Preventive measures to combat unemployment associated with industrial change Objective 5a: Structural adaptation of agriculture and fisheries Objective 5b: Economic diversification of vulnerable rural areas The relevance of the Structural Funds in the present context relates to the few overseas territories of the Member States located in the tropics. The main ones are the four overseas Departements of France, Martinique, Guadeloupe, ReÂunion and Guyane, all of which have the same legal status as any other French departements."
DG VIII [Directorate General VIII]
(Overseas Development Institute, 1998) Stoneman, Catherine; Brown, David; Shepherd, Gill; Brown, David; Richards, Michael; Schreckenberg, K.
"As the Directorate-General responsible for Development Co-operation with the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries, DG VIII occupies an unusual position with regard to development aid. Not only does it control `budgetary allocations' voted by the European Parliament to the respective development-related budget lines, but it also has access to the so-called `nonbudgetary funds' in the form of the periodic pledges which are made directly by the Member States to the European Development Fund. Unlike the budget lines, the EDF does not form part of the EC Budget and is thus outside direct Parliamentary control. Unusually, therefore, DG VIII action is conditioned not only by Commission-wide influences such as the Maastricht Treaty, but also by the bilateral and extra-budgetary financing arrangements associated with the multi-annual Lome Conventions. DG VIII's geographical mandate reflects the history of the European Union and the colonial history of several of its Member States."
Europe: An Overview
(Overseas Development Institute, 1998) Shepherd, Gill; Brown, D.; Richards, Michael; Schreckenberg, K.
"This book provides an overview of the ways in which Europe offers support to tropical forests through aid and research. Each of the Member States' current programmes is examined, along with those of the various Directorates-General (DGs) in the European Commission which support tropical forestry. It is called a Sourcebook because it will probably be used more as a work of reference than as a book to read from start to finish. Its intended audience is threefold. Above all, its authors hope that it will be of value to the developing countries with which the European Union (EU) works. The book should make it simpler to understand the way in which aid to forestry is organised from country to country and within the Commission; it will indicate each donor's target countries for the funding of tropical forestry, and will suggest the particular interests of each."
Forestry as an Entry Point for Governance Reform
(2002) Brown, David; Schreckenberg, K.; Shepherd, Gill; Wells, Adrian
"Tropical forestry provides a useful entry point for governance programmes. The very factors which make it a challenging sector for development assistance commend it also as a crucible for governance reform: its inclusive focus, linking the global to the national and local; the high levels of income and other benefits which it generates; its local fiscal base; the centrality of issues of tenure and collective rights; and its importance in rural livelihoods, all reinforce the linkages between good governance, public accountability and poverty alleviation. Ensuring that the forest sector fulfils this brief is a major challenge not just to host country governments but also to the donor community."
France
(Overseas Development Institute, 1998) Bedel, Jean; Brown, David; Shepherd, Gill; Brown, David; Richards, Michael; Schreckenberg, K.
"The pattern of forest ownership, like agricultural land ownership in general, has been significantly influenced by the egalitarian ideology of the French Revolution. The principle of equal inheritance of all heirs was enshrined in the Code NapoleÂon of 1804 which still forms the basis of French civil law. One result of this has been a tendency to fragmentation of land holdings. Today, more than 70% of the total forest area is under private ownership, and 25% of this is in small ownerships(less than 4 ha).2 Only 12% of forests are under state ownership, while 18% are owned by collectivite publiques (local government authorities3). The forests of France are notably diverse in species type; 89 tree species are found, 61% of them broadleaf, especially oak (Quercus spp.) and beech (Fagus spp.), with the remaining 39% conifers, particularly pine (Pinus spp.), or (Abies spp.) and spruce (Picea spp.). Coppice woodlands still cover almost one half of the forest area. The fragmented nature of many of the forest holdings poses some difficulties for the operation of the processing industries, which tend to be concentrated near the ports, far from many small producers, and the economics of small-scale management in France are a subject of debate among forestry professionals. France is the leading producer of hardwoods in Europe, while in production of conifers it is surpassed only by the Scandinavian countries and Germany. In addition to timber, France's forests provide a range of other products and services, including a number of important and distinctive non-timber products (various fruits and nuts; cork from the cork oak [Quercus suber]; mushrooms and truf¯es; etc). The French are renowned for their love of hunting; revenue from the issue of hunting permits for government forests alone brought in more than FF 170 m. in 1992."
Fuelwood Revisited: What Has Changed in the Last Decade?
(2003) Arnold, J.E. Michael; Köhlin, Gunnar; Persson, Reidar; Shepherd, Gill
"The impact of woodfuel collection on forests has been controversial and its role in rural livelihoods and deforestation is the subject of considerable debate. This study reviews the main dimensions of this discourse and the resulting responses form the forestry sector. It assesses new information that has come to light over the past decade, looking at national and global trends on woodfuel production and use and the evolution of patterns of urban and rural demand and supply. It examines livelihood and environmental dimensions of relevance to forestry and outlines some of the main issues that warrant additional attention. It is thus intended more as a foundation for further discussion, rather than being a set of prescriptions for action by forestry, though where these are evident they are identified. "The available evidence does not substantiate earlier concerns that woodfuel demand has been outpacing sustainable supply on a scale that makes it a major cause of deforestation. It appears the balance between the two seldom an issue requiring forestry intervention on a national scale. However, the rapid rise in charcoal production and its concentration, to supply large urban markets, certainly warrants further investigation. Overall, the woodfuels situation is an important consideration for particular areas within a country and for particular groups of users and suppliers. Globally, fuelwood consumption appears to have peaked (although charcoal consumption is continuing to rise) and in some developing countries, it now appears to be in decline. However, the total quantities of woodfuels being used, and the number of people using them, are still huge. In poor households almost everywhere, woodfuels are among the main forest related inputs, although the level of attention they receive does not currently reflect this, despite the growing focus on giving forestry a stronger livelihood orientation. Forestry initiatives need to be compatible with the energy sector’s objective of helping poor users move up the energy ladder to greater fuel efficiency and alternative fuels. The main task though, is likely to be facilitating access to supplies for those who continue to depend on biomass fuels, for their own use or as an important source of income. Forestry measures will need to integrate meeting this demand into wider forestry objectives, rather than, as in the past, developing responses focusing on the fuelwood issue alone."
Good Governance: What Can We Learn from the Forest Sector?
(2003) Brown, David; Schreckenberg, K.; Shepherd, Gill; Wells, Adrian
"Achieving good governance dominates today's development agenda. But what does this mean in practice? This paper examines some of the key elements of good governance, including transparent and equitable relationships between stakeholders, public accountability and participatory decision-making. It takes as an example the forest sector, which has made surprising gains in its application of good governance ideas. Forestry's inclusive focus, linking the global to the national and local; the centrality of issues of tenure and collective rights; and its importance in rural livelihoods, all reinforce the linkages between good governance, public accountability and poverty alleviation. The impact of improving governance is evident at several levels: decentralization has changed the balance of power and decisionmaking between central government and the periphery; relationships between government and civil society have benefited as donor-promoted participation has created significant space for civil society voices to be heard; and new models are being developed for relationships within civil society and particularly within communities. Forestry's experience shows that both `bottom up' and `top down' pressures may be needed to build public accountability. The transfer of rights over resources is important for turning `participation' into citizenship. Forestry offers experience with a wide variety of pro-poor growth strategies, and the legal, institutional and policy reforms necessary to secure these. Pro-poor regulatory reform is a challenging but essential aspect of better governance in the forest sector, for instance. Similarly, the national resolution of conflicts related to international policies is essential including, for example, debates about whether forest conservation can best be achieved through the protection or sustainable use routes."
Indonesia and the 1997-98 El Nino: Fire Problems and Long-Term Solutions
(1998) Byron, Neil; Shepherd, Gill
"The 1997-98 El Nino is among the strongest recorded and low rainfall in Indonesia set the conditions for widespread fires. At the same time, it is clearer during this particular El Nino than it has been in the past that many fires are being deliberately set. They must be understood in the context of competing land-claims from government and private companies on the one hand, and local people with customary rights to land on the other. The 1997 El Nino is the first in which the resources of Land Satellite imagery and the Internet have been harnessed to demonstrate quite clearly where the fires are taking place, and why."
Ireland
(Overseas Development Institute, 1998) Tuite, Philomena; Brown, David; Shepherd, Gill; Brown, David; Richards, Michael; Schreckenberg, K.
"The history of Ireland is reflected in the history of its forests. The rural idyll which characterises external perceptions of Ireland belies a land which is one of the most deforested in Europe, and whose deforestation has been, to a significant extent, a manifestly political phenomenon. Ireland, never itself a colonial power, was long a colony of another European nation (Britain). This dependent status, and the injustices and hardships which accompanied it (most notably the Great Famine of 1845-9), have had their influence on Irish attitudes to humanitarian aid. They have contributed to the solidarity which many Irish people feel with the developing world, a solidarity underwritten by Ireland's long history of missionary work and its prominent role in international peacekeeping and humanitarian affairs."
Italy
(Overseas Development Institute, 1998) Navone, Paolo; Shepherd, Gill; Shepherd, Gill; Brown, D.; Richards, Michael; Schreckenberg, K.
"Italy has the biggest range of types of forest of any country in Europe, from the Alpine forests of the north through the mainly deciduous forested hills and plains of Central Italy to the sub-tropical Mediterranean conditions of the south. One fifth of the country is mountainous, 60% hilly and only 20% consists of lowland plains."
Luxembourg
(Overseas Development Institute, 1998) Glaesener, Vincent; Schreckenberg, K.; Shepherd, Gill; Brown, D.; Richards, Michael; Schreckenberg, K.
"While many countries are reducing their aid budgets, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg has made considerable efforts in the ®eld of development co-operation and, in terms of its GNP, is on the way to becoming one of the prime donors in the world. With an aim of devoting 0.7% of GNP to development aid by the year 2000, Luxembourg will, in 15 years, have moved from being a country with a minor aid programme to being proportionately one of the world's major donors."
Netherlands
(Overseas Development Institute, 1998) Lette, Henk; Linden, Bert van der; Brown, David; Shepherd, Gill; Richards, Michael; Schreckenberg, K.
"In the country which is now known as the Netherlands, the human influence on the landscape has long been intense. It was not always so. The two most westerly provinces of the Netherlands derive their name from their once heavily wooded character (wood is 'holt' in old Dutch, hence `holt-land' - Holland). However, records show that even by the time of Charlemagne (742-814) most of the natural forest had been lost. By the thirteenth century, shortage of forest resources was severe, particularly in the north."
The Reality of the Commons: Answering Hardin from Somalia
(1988) Shepherd, Gill
"Twenty years ago this year, the biologist Garrett Hardin wrote a now famous paper which has strongly influenced atteqts to understand human use of the environrent. He popularized the sonent phrase ‘the trageay of the cmmns’ in arguing that though society is composed of rational individuals attempting to maximize their own best gcod, this rationality is individual and fundamentally at the expense Of other individuals. Nowadays, it is often forgotten that Hardin was prompted to write not by the misuse of cormmn lands, but by population growth rates. In 1968, the year in which Hardin’s article appeared, hrlich had just published his apocalyptic book, The Population Borrb, and the rapid natural increase of populations in Latin America and Asia was terrifying the world."
UK [United Kingdom]
(Overseas Development Institute, 1998) Hussey, Susie; Gordon, James; Shepherd, Gill; Shepherd, Gill; Brown, David; Richards, Michael; Schreckenberg, K.
"The future of UK forestry development assistance appears to be fairly secure. The position within the natural resources sector is a convenient one for collaboration with other sectors, particularly agriculture, and does not affect the level of funding available to forestry. This depends on priorities set within Country Strategy Papers, where forestry is well represented. Although public concern for tropical rainforests may no longer appear as great as it was, 80% of all letters received by the Department are still from schoolchildren asking questions about this issue."
Workshop Synthesis: Discussion and Outcome
(1987) Shepherd, Gill
"In the workshop, not only the papers given but the subsequent sub-group discussions proved particularly useful for participants. For that reason an attempt to provide a sense of the direction discussions took is presented here. Most people had come to the workshop with a set of issues of particular concern to them in their work, but with little certainty that others shared these. The workshop organisers did not plan topics for sub-group discussion in advance because they too wondered how widely shared their personal interests were. To allow the organisers to draw up a set of topics of wide relevance to the group, participants were asked to write down the topics about which they would most like discussion to take place, ranking them by distributing ten points between the topics they selected. We grouped these into five broader topics, which are those addressed in this network paper: Better solutions for the poor, Rights, rules and hassles, NGOs and large-scale replicability, Marketing, Training and education for Forest Department staff."