Understanding how landowners perceive the relationship between trees and water is crucial for shaping land-use decisions and water resource management. This study surveyed 363 landowners across three regions in New Zealand, revealing that 70% had trees on their farms and valued them for biodiversity, erosion control, livestock shade, and water quality. While tree–water interactions are often viewed through a biophysical lens, this research highlights the importance of socio-cultural values and perceptions. Older landowners and those less concerned about water quality or flood risk were less likely to plant trees. The study underscores the need for integrated socio-hydrological approaches to inform sustainable land and water governance.
Tag: biodiversity
Editorial: Socioeconomic implications of forests and forestry in a changing climate and governance
Forests provide critical ecosystem services—provisioning, regulating, and cultural—that support biodiversity, human well-being, and climate resilience. While wood remains the most documented forest product, non-wood forest products and services such as wild foods and recreation are increasingly recognized for their cultural and economic value. This special topic highlights the importance of viewing forests as multifunctional landscapes and underscores the role of governance in shaping forest use. Studies from Ethiopia and Malaysia illustrate how household fuelwood use and indigenous land rights intersect with carbon emissions and climate policy. Strengthening inclusive governance frameworks is essential to ensure forests contribute equitably to climate mitigation, biodiversity conservation, and sustainable development.
Biodiversity-Climate-Society Nexus assessment through Participatory System Dynamics Model. The case study of Amazon forest-based value chain
The Biodiversity-Climate-Society (BCS) Nexus highlights the need to integrate ecological, social, and climate dimensions to address complex global challenges. This study introduces a methodological framework using the Participatory System Dynamics Model (PSDM) to map and analyze the BCS Nexus in Rondônia’s forest-based value chains. By incorporating local knowledge, ecosystem services, and value chain impacts, the model reveals how forest degradation threatens Indigenous livelihoods and ecosystem stability. The participatory approach fostered dialogue among stakeholders, identified leverage points for transformative change, and emphasized the importance of inclusive, multi-scale governance to reconcile conservation and development goals.
How do we achieve REDD co-benefits and avoid doing harm?
Designing low-cost, rigorous and sustainable REDD+ Safeguard Information Systems: Using publicly available social and spatial data and impact evaluation methods to assess REDD+ social safeguards in Kalimantan, Indonesia
Developing low-cost, rigorous and sustainable systems for the measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) of national or subnational social safeguards presents a major challenge to governments, policy makers, REDD+ implementers and other key stakeholders.
A high-resolution bioclimate map of the world: a unifying framework for global biodiversity research and monitoring
Ecosystem goods and services – the key for sustainable plantations
Recognising biodiversity in rubber plantations: toward a biodiverse rubber state: quick biodiversity survey of bridgestone Sumatra rubber estate, North Sumatra
Biological diversity (biodiversity) is a description of the number, variety and variability of living organisms, which can be described in term of genes, species and ecosystems. As an ecosystem, tropical rainforest is characterised by high diversity and species richness. In Indonesia, owing to high deforestation, many forest areas, particularly in Sumatra, are declining rapidly. Large forest areas were lost due to interactions between the granting of logging concessions, overcapacity in the pulp and paper industry, increased accessibility to formerly remote areas, spontaneous and state-sponsored migration and profitable opportunities for tree-crop plantations, such as rubber and oil palm. In North Sumatra alon e, rubber and oil palm were introduc ed during the colonial era in the early 1990s. Rubber plantation estates in Dolok Merangir have a long history with the first one being established in 1916 as the site of Goodyear’s first rubber plantation. In 2005, the Dolok Merangir and Aek Tarum rubber plantations were sold to Bridgestone, a tire company based in Japan. Deforestation and transformation of forest cover to other land uses results in a decline in biodiversity. Our study focused on a biodiversity survey on land-cover change in the Dolok Merangir and Aek Tarum rubber plantation areas over the period 1970 to 2010, and the diversity and species composition of vegetation in the rubber plantations compared with rubber smallholder and forest areas surrounding the plantations. Animal diversity studies of birds and bats that play important roles in the ecosystem as pollinators, seed dispersal agents and biological controllers were also undertaken in those three habitats at two sites. Furthermore, humans as an integral component in the ecosystems play the most important role with a direct influence over land-cover change. The perceptions of local people and their understanding of local activities and their effects on bi odiversity were also studied in the research. The overall objective of the research was to assess biodiversity data from the study sites and to make recommendations on how to improve biodiversity in the plantations on the Bridgestone Sumatra Rubber Estate (PT BSRE)
Assessing diversification in cashew orchards in northern Côte d’Ivoire to recommend options for sustainable cashew cropping
Cashew cultivation is a vital economic driver for smallholder farmers in northern Côte d’Ivoire, contributing to improved livelihoods. However, the widespread adoption of monoculture cropping has raised environmental concerns, particularly regarding ecosystem degradation, soil depletion, and the long-term sustainability of cashew production. To mitigate climate risks and ensure the resilience of cashew orchards, crop diversification presents a viable alternative to monoculture cultivation. This study aimed to develop evidence-based diversification strategies for cashew farming in northern Côte d’Ivoire. Findings indicate that cashew plantation ownership is predominantly male, with men representing 90.3% of the sector. Plantation ages range from 6.2 to 21.7 years. Some farmers incorporate annual crops—such as maize (Zea mays), groundnuts (Arachis hypogaea), and yams (Dioscorea alata)—within their cashew plantations. Additionally, tree species like Vitellaria paradoxa (Shea, 51.9%), Parkia biglobosa (Néré, 45.7%), and Mangifera indica (Mango, 34.1%) are retained in orchards for their socio-ecological benefits, including income generation, food security, and medicinal uses. Through farmer interviews and field studies, the research identified 40 plant species integrated into cashew orchards, with nine species preferred by farmers, particularly V. paradoxa and P. biglobosa. The study outlines key strategies for diversifying cashew cropping systems: (i) developing mixed cashew/food crop systems (e.g., maize and yam) using good agricultural practices, (ii) promoting parkland-based cashew agroforestry systems featuring V. paradoxa, P. biglobosa, and M. indica as intercrops, and (iii) creating a conducive environment to facilitate the agroecological transition within the cashew sector. These approaches aim to enhance sustainability while ensuring continued productivity and resilience in cashew farming.
Key knowledge gaps to achieve global sustainability goals
Regional and global assessments periodically update what we know, and highlight what remains to be known, about the linkages between people and nature that both define and depend upon the state of the environment. To guide research that better informs policy and practice, we systematically synthesize knowledge gaps from recent assessments of four regions of the globe and three key themes by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. We assess their relevance to global sustainability goals and trace their evolution relative to those identified in the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. We found that global sustainability goals cannot be achieved without improved knowledge on feedbacks between social and ecological systems, effectiveness of governance systems and the influence of institutions on the social distribution of ecosystem services. These top research priorities have persisted for the 14 years since the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. Our analysis also reveals limited understanding of the role of indigenous and local knowledge in sustaining nature’s benefits to people. Our findings contribute to a policy-relevant and solution-oriented agenda for global, long-term social-ecological research.
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