Many countries have adopted policies supported community forestry. Trends towards community empowerment, livelihood improvement and decentralized decision-making are being done by providing more rights to forest dependent people. However, empirical data to support clear understanding on the correlation between resource rights and wellbeing or poverty are missing. The paper provides an analytical approach to figuring out forest resource rights and their connections to wellbeing. Twenty seven cases of community forestry in Asia, Africa and Latin America were selected, clustered and analyzed using non-linear principle component analysis. We found there was correlation between rights of forest resources and wellbeing although was not very strong. There was also connection between income and equity as well as between equity and sustainability of forest. This implies that giving more rights to local people is not enough for improving wellbeing without facilitating for better institution and governance.
Tag: comparisons
Global patterns and trends in the use and management of commercial NTFPs: implications for livelihoods and conservation
Understanding of the role and potential of nontimber forest products (NTFPs) for livelihood improvement and conservation has been hindered by a lack of a clear theoretical framework and a functional typology of cases. To help fill this gap, we did a comparative analysis of 61 cases of commercial NTFP production in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Cases were documented using a standardized set of descriptors organized into categories describing various aspects of the production-to-consumption system. Exploratory analysis yielded useful case groupings by (a) household economic strategy and (b) NTFP production strategy. These groups and their key characteristics are used as a basis for discussing the development and conservation implications of NTFPs.
Biomass of teak plantations in Tamil Nadu, India and Costa Rica compared
In the present study, prediction equations for biomass were generated from easily measurable parameters such as diameter at breast height (dbh) and total height. Cross validation was carried out between two localities to test whether equations developed for one locality could be used for other localities. Two localities were compared within India and a further comparison was made with teak growing in Costa Rica, Central America. The result showed that best-fit models developed for one zone cannot be used for other zones. The authors agree with Wang et al. (1995) that errors in biomass estimation can be reduced to a minimum only by employing site-specific equations. Hence, there is an imperative need to develop predictive equations on a regional basis in order to improve their accuracy.
National REDD+ policy networks
Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) is a financial mechanism aimed at providing incentives to reduce carbon emissions from forests and enhance carbon stocks. In most forest-rich developing countries, policy actors, i.e., state and nonstate as well as international and national, are designing national REDD+ policies. Actors’ interests and beliefs shape patterns of interactions, ranging from cooperation to conflict, and these interactions influence a country’s direction and progress in REDD+ policy formulation and implementation. We used a comparative policy network approach to analyze the power structures in national REDD+ policy domains in seven countries. We drew on the typology of power structures defined by two dimensions, namely the distribution of power in the policy arena and the dominant type of interaction, cooperative or conflictual, among actors, and we mapped the progress of national REDD+ decision-making processes against these power structures. We tested three hypotheses and found that (1) national ownership over the policy process is a prerequisite for progress. In addition, (2) the level of concentration of power in an actor group can facilitate progress in REDD+; however, particularly when concentration of power is high, progress will be possible only if the interests of the most powerful are aligned with the objectives of REDD+ and address the drivers of deforestation and forest degradation. Furthermore, (3) although cooperation is perceived as ideal in any collective decision-making setting, a certain level of conflict is necessary for progress in REDD+ decision making. This applies particularly in more advanced national REDD+ domains, where, following a honeymoon phase during which most policy actors embrace the broad idea of REDD+, policy decisions must deal with difficult realities associated with negotiating established business-as-usual interests, which entails high political costs.