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Journal Article Decentralization and REDD+ in Brazil(2011) Toni, Fabiano"Recent discussions on REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation, plus conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks) have raised optimism about reducing carbon emissions and deforestation in tropical countries. If approved under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), REDD+ mechanisms may generate a substantial influx of financial resources to developing countries. Some authors argue that this money could reverse the ongoing process of decentralization of forest policies that has spread through a large number of developing countries in the past two decades. Central states will be accountable for REDD+ money, and may be compelled to control and keep a significant share of REDD+ funds. Supporters of decentralization argue that centralized implementation of REDD+ will be ineffective and inefficient. In this paper, I examine the relation between subnational governments and REDD+ in Brazil. Data show that some state governments in the Brazilian Amazon have played a key role in creating protected areas (PAs) after 2003, which helped decrease deforestation rates. Governors have different stimuli for creating PAs. Some respond to the needs of their political constituency; others have expectations to boost the forest sector so as to increase fiscal revenues. Governors also have led the discussion on REDD+ in Brazil since 2008. Considering their interests and political power, REDD+ is unlikely to curb decentralization in Brazil."Journal Article Plantations in the Sahel(1981) Keita, J. D."The Sahel is threatened with a medium-term ecological crisis that stems mainly from bad agricultural and pastoral practices. Faced with this crisis - which includes serious shortages of fuelwood for household needs - foresters have reacted by establishing plantations of exotic species of trees for fuelwood needs. These plantations are designed to be set up and maintained with machinery for clearing land and working the soil. Machinery will have to be imported and the machines in turn will require imported fuel, all to be paid for with scarce foreign exchange. The question is, will not Sahelian forestry consume too much energy for the sake of creating energy? It is not a simple question to answer. Its answer, which this article attempts to give, may also be useful beyond the Sahel, anywhere in the world where similar ecological, economic and human factors exist in combination."Journal Article Perspectives of Effective and Sustainable Community-based Natural Resource Management: An Application of Q Methodology to Forest Projects(2011) Gruber, James S."Community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) has been recognised as an effective governance approach for sustainably managing commons or common-pool resources. Yet there is limited empirical research on answering the critical question: What are the principles and key characteristics that are needed to ensure long-term effective and sustainable CBNRM programmes? The research described here helps answer this question. For the first phase of this research, multiple perspectives from research teams were collected and organised into a matrix of 12 organisational principles and 60 key characteristics. These were then vetted using a large published collection of World Bank CBNRM case studies. The second phase of this research included site visits and the use of Q-sort methodology to understand the perspectives of a range of constituency groups associated with three successful forestry CBNRM sites. These sites are located in the Apuseni Mountains, Romania, Randolph, New Hampshire, and Ixtl?n de Ju?rez, Oaxaca, Mexico. The findings, based on conducting principle component multi-variable analysis of the sociological and organisational data, point to four unique perspectives of what is essential for effective governance of their common-pool resources. There were also a number of areas of consensus across all four sites. Some of these findings transcend cultural differences, while others are directly associated with specific local conditions and cultural characteristics."Journal Article Non-Timber Forest Products(2008) Hiremath, Ankila J."Non timber forest products, the fruits, roots, bark, flowers, resins, and fibres that people collect from forests, make an important contribution to both subsistence and market economies, worldwide. In India alone, more that 50 million people are estimated to depend on forests for non-timber products (hereafter, NTFP). Locally, NTFP can account for 30-40% of cash incomes for forest-dependent communities, and at a global scale the value of trade in NTFP runs into billions of dollars."Journal Article Silviculture's Role in Managing Boreal Forests(1998) Graham, Russell T.; Jain, Theresa B."Boreal forests, which are often undeveloped, are a major source of raw materials for many countries. They are circumpolar in extent and occupy a belt to a width of 1000 km in certain regions. Various conifer and hardwood species ranging from true firs to poplars grow in boreal forests. These species exhibit a wide range of shade tolerance and growth characteristics, and occupy different successional positions. The climate is subarctic, with short growing seasons, and the soils are shallow. Both wildfires and timber harvesting play an important role in shaping the structure and composition of boreal forests. Both uneven-aged and even-aged silvicultural systems can be used to produce commercial harvests, but systems can also be designed to meet a variety of other forest management objectives. Wildlife habitat maintenance, water production or conservation, and fire hazard reduction are only some of the objectives for which silvicultural systems can be designed. Coarse wood debris, snags, shrubs, canopy layers, and species composition are examples of forest attributes that can be managed using silvicultural systems. Systems can be designed to sustain predator habitat, yet provide a continual production of wood products. Uneven-aged systems tend to favor the regeneration and development of shade-tolerant species, whereas even-aged systems tend to favor shade-intolerant species. These systems and all of their permutations can create and maintain a suite of different stand compositions and structures that can be used to meet a wide variety of management objectives."Journal Article Integration of Local Ecological Knowledge and Conventional Science: A Study of Seven Community-Based Forestry Organizations in the USA(2008) Ballard, Heidi; Fernandez-Gimenez, Maria E.; Sturtevant, Victoria E."Natural resource management decisions can be based on incomplete knowledge when they lack scientific research, monitoring, and assessment and/or simultaneously fail to draw on local ecological knowledge. Many community-based forestry organizations in the United States attempt to address these knowledge gaps with an integrated ecological stewardship approach that balances ecological, social, and economic goals. This paper examines the use and integration of local knowledge and conventional science in ecological stewardship and monitoring by seven community-based forestry demonstration projects. Through document reviews and interviews with both participants and partners of all of these community-based organizations, we found that all the community-based forestry groups incorporated local ecological knowledge into many aspects of their management or monitoring activities, such as collaboratively designing monitoring programs with local ranchers, forest workers, and residents; involving local people in collecting data and interpreting results; and documenting the local ecological knowledge of private forest landowners, long-time residents, and harvesters of nontimber forest products. We found that all the groups also used conventional science to design or conduct ecological assessments, monitoring, or research. We also found evidence, in the form of changes in attitudes on the part of local people and conventional scientists and jointly produced reports, that the two types of knowledge were integrated by all groups. These findings imply that community-based forestry groups are redistributing the power of conventional science through the use of diverse knowledge sources. Still, several obstacles prevented some local, traditionally under-represented groups from being significantly involved in monitoring and management decisions, and their knowledge has not yet been consistently incorporated."Journal Article REDD+ Policy Making in Nepal: Toward State-Centric, Polycentric, or Market-Oriented Governance?(2014) Bushley, Brian R."Over the past 40 years, Nepal has become renowned for its community-based forestry policies, initiatives, and institutions, characterized by local autonomy in decisions about forest management and use and a gradual shift toward more inclusive national policy processes. In recent years, the government, international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), donors, and some civil society organizations have instigated policy and piloting initiatives for an international climate change mitigation scheme known as 'reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation and enhancement of forest carbon stocks in developing countries' (REDD+). Although many people see REDD+ as a means of bolstering forest conservation efforts and enhancing rural livelihoods, its broader implications for decentralized forest governance in Nepal and elsewhere remain uncertain and contested. Using policy network analysis and theories of polycentric and network governance, I examined influence, inclusiveness, and deliberation among actors involved in REDD+ policy making in Nepal. Data were collected between June and December 2011 through a survey of 34 organizations from government, civil society, educational and research institutions, international NGOs and donors, and the private sector. I investigated whether policy processes and the configurations of actors involved reflect state-centric, market-oriented, or polycentric governance, and I discuss the implications for decentralized forest governance in general and for the implementation of REDD+ in particular. Results indicate that REDD+ policy making is dominated by a 'development triangle', a tripartite coalition of key government actors, external organizations (international NGOs and donors), and select civil society organizations. As a result, the views and interests of other important stakeholders have been marginalized, threatening recentralized forest governance and hampering the effective implementation of REDD+ in Nepal."Journal Article Improving the Conservation Status of the Udzungwa Mountains, Tanzania? The Effect of Joint Forest Management on Bushmeat Hunting in the Kilombero Nature Reserve(2011) Nielsen, Martin Reinhardt"This study examines the effect of Joint Forest Management (JFM) in a component of the Kilombero Nature Reserve recently gazetted to improve the conservation status of high biodiversity forests in the Udzungwa Mountains of the Eastern Afromontane biodiversity hotspot. The evaluation is based on a temporal comparison spanning seven years of JFM and establishment of a Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA) ranger station, using bushmeat hunting as an indicator. Results reveal that the number of active hunters had declined, primarily due to TANAPA's patrolling. But hunting effort had been displaced from hunting with firearms in the grassland to hunting with traps and dogs in the forests, thus increasing the threat to endemic species. Hunters perceived few benefits from JFM, and the new opportunities were largely unused, inaccessible and communal in nature. Suspicions of embezzlement of JFM funds, and high village development contributions were important drivers of continuing hunting. Dissatisfied with JFM, most inactive hunters actually preferred that TANAPA manage the forest instead. Considerable attention to correcting these problems is required before this model of JFM should be scaled up and implemented in the remaining villages surrounding the Kilombero Nature Reserve."Journal Article Joint Forest Management in Rajasthan: Case Studies of TwoVillages in Udaipur District(2007) Pandey, Deep"Rural development through participatory forestry is a dynamic process for promoting the economic, social and environmental growth, increased agricultural and silvicultural productivity, and enhancing the prospects of basic needs and services in rural areas. Forestry promises a vast potential to achieve the indigenous rural development through the integrated management of natural resources. The achievement of the aims of rural development to a large extent depends upon the availability and use patterns of natural resources including land, forests, soils, water and trees etc. Planners in India have now realised the importance of forestry and integrated rural development planning to enhance the availability of goods and services to the rural people."Journal Article Tropical Forest Management Options, Social Diversity and Extension in Eastern Amazonia(1996) May, Peter H.; Pastuk, Marilia"This article describes two recent experiences in forestry extension that have accommodated diverse local perceptions and interests in Paragominas, a municipality in Brazil's eastern Amazonia."