Tag: conservation
Understanding mangrove governance: Research methods and guidelines
Mangrove governance requires cross-sectoral and multistakeholder collaboration. Effective mangrove management also requires institutional setup, rules of the game, and a clear tenure regime and distribution of rights and responsibilities between stakeholders. The outcomes of mangrove protection and conservation will be different under different mangrove management regimes (state-owned, community-led initiatives, private sector-led initiatives, co-management between the state and local communities, or public-private partnerships). Understanding the complexities of mangrove governance is challenging and requires appropriate research methods.
Asia Pacific roadmap for innovative technologies in the forest sector
Key messages
- As highlighted by FAO’s Third Asia-Pacific Forest Sector Outlook Study (APFSOS III), the use of innovative technologies – from digital technologies, biological technologies, processing technologies and new wood-based products, to social innovations and innovative finance mechanisms – have the potential to revolutionize forest management and to make critical contributions to sustainable development along forest value chains.
- Innovation will be key in the coming decades, to meet an increasing demand for wood, other forest products and ecosystem services while halting and reversing deforestation, in line with the commitment taken at COP26 in Glasgow by the international community.
- However, innovative technologies uptake has been slow and uneven in the Asia-Pacific region. Investments are needed, in education, capacity building and infrastructure development to make innovations happen on the ground.
- Two main barriers to innovative technologies uptake and scaling up have been identified, namely: (i) the lack of capacity (in terms of infrastructures and equipment, human capital and financial resources); and (ii) rigid legal frameworks (policies and regulations) often lagging far behind rapidly evolving technologies.
- This brief, building upon state-of-the-art knowledge and extensive consultation of 425 key regional stakeholders, suggests a set of ten overarching recommendations for policy- and decision-makers that are further detailed in 59 specific options to facilitate the dissemination and adoption of innovative technologies in Asia and the Pacific and overcome the main barriers identified above.
Engaging with the future: framings of adaptation to climate change in conservation
The term ‘adaptation’ is commonplace in conservation research and practice, but often without a reflection on the assumptions, expectations, or frames of reference used to define goals and actions. Communities of practice (e.g. conservation researchers, protected areas managers) have different interpretations of climate change impacts on biodiversity and different ways of defining, operationalizing and implementing adaptation. Their cognitive and motivational expectations for the future are associated with different paths to reach such desired futures. To understand how adaptation is framed in conservation, we undertook a systematic review with a thematic synthesis of the definitions of the term as used in the academic conservation literature. From a sample of 150 articles, only 36 provided a definition of adaptation. We critically appraised the explicit definitions to identify emergent themes that represent particular adaptation approaches. Themes were then grouped, and each group was assigned to a scholarly tradition, onto-epistemological approach and theoretical perspective. Based on theoretical perspectives on social change, we propose a framework (including individual cognitive basis, social interactions, and openness to alternatives) to analyse how change is framed in the definitions and how the framings influence adaptation options. The grouped themes represent passive, active, or indirect adaptation approaches. We used these themes to generate a conceptual model to guide conservation researchers and practitioners engaged in climate adaptation research, policy and management to aid reflection and understanding of the options available to design adaptation agendas and allow negotiation of diverse interests, views and expectations about the future.
Overview of the Exemplar Landscapes
The aim is to have exemplar landscapes serve as living laboratories, where the evidence is generated by farmers and other stakeholders within the landscape in order to co-develop solutions. This report provides a biophysical and socio-economic overview of the three exemplar landscapes across Andhra Pradesh, India.
Women’s Solutions for Amazon Conservation and Sustainable Development
The Women’s Solutions for Amazon Conservation and Sustainable Development study is an initiative by the Amazon Sustainable Landscapes Program (ASL) which seeks to develop a strategy to:
- address gender gaps;
- promote more equitable participation by women and men within the program and its national projects;
- improve gender-sensitive conservation and sustainable development interventions in the region.
What Makes Agroforestry a Potential Restoration Measure in a Degraded Conservation Forest?
Agroforestry is a win–win solution in terms of restoring forest function while benefiting the local community. This research aimed to (1) understand the regulations concerning conservation forest management and the restoration strategies adopted based on the history of forest degradation in the area, (2) investigate the factors driving local people to adopt agroforestry systems in the area, and (3) investigate the characteristics of the agroforestry system developed and its impacts based on farmers’ perceptions. This research was performed in Wan Abdul Rachman Grand Forest Park, Lampung Province, Indonesia, and involved 59 respondents who managed 63 agroforestry plots in the area. Several schemes had been implemented to restore the degraded forest without involving the community, and the results were unsatisfactory. Changing the regulations concerning managing conservation forests to involve the community and providing legal permits and support from the management improved forest function due to community willingness to implement the agroforestry system. About 81% of observed plots consisted of 5–12 plant species, and 16% of plots consisted of 13–16 species per plot. Theobroma cacao was the most common species in the agroforestry plots, followed by Durio zibethinus, Parkia speciosa, and Aleurites moluccana. The size of the agroforestry plot affected the number of species in the plot. The community perception demonstrated that agroforestry has positive impacts on livelihood, the environment, and biodiversity at the landscape level.
The Effectiveness of Financial Incentives for Addressing Mangrove Loss in Northern Vietnam
This paper analyzes the effectiveness of existing financial incentives for mangrove conservation in Vietnam. Current conservation programs and projects have created financial incentives for mangrove protection, but the effectiveness of these incentives in addressing mangrove loss in northern Vietnam has been mixed. While financial incentives have contributed to a larger area of planted mangroves, their effectiveness is hampered by contradictory national policies, which encourage mangrove conservation on the one hand, and aquaculture expansion in mangrove areas on the other, thus making it difficult to address mangrove deforestation and degradation effectively. Mangrove conservation in Vietnam is challenged further by inequitable distribution of power and benefits, difficulties accessing information, weak law enforcement, lack of compliance, low payments for protecting mangroves, lack of full recognition of local rights, discontinued funding after policies and projects end, and lack of participation by local people in policy and project design and implementation. Conservation policies and projects should aim to protect existing mangrove forests, restore degraded mangroves and plant new ones to enhance mangrove area, quality and biodiversity. Sustainable mangrove conservation not only requires effective and sustainable financial incentives, but other enabling conditions such as addressing the conflict between mangrove conservation and aquaculture expansion, and grounding mangrove conservation projects by building on local knowledge and leadership. As these drivers are often motivated by national development goals and other sectoral development needs with ministries competing for budgets and influence, holistic land-use planning needs to be coupled with effective coordination and clarification of responsibilities between government agencies, and coordinated and consistent policies concerning these natural resources. Addressing these underlying governance issues is far more important for mangrove conservation and restoration than merely offering financial incentives as various national and international projects have attempted.
Indigenous Sacred Forests as a Tool for Climate Change Mitigation: Lessons from Gedeo Community, Southern Ethiopia
Sacred forests are patches of remnant natural forests, protected through social laws by the local communities near their villages and are always dedicated to cultural purposes. They are playing a significant role in combating climate change and informal enhancing biodiversity conservation. The aim of this study was to estimate carbon stocks of sacred forests by quantifying the aboveground biomass (AGB), and belowground (BGB) carbon of trees. The estimation of carbon stocks was conducted across the three sacred forests of Bolocho sacred forest (BSF), Ejjerissa sacred forest (ESF), and Amba sacred forest (ASF). A total of 30 plots: 10 BSF, 10 ESF, and 10 ASF were sampled and trees with DBH ≥5 cm and a height of ≥3 m was considered for biomass-carbon determination. We compared tree biomass, carbon stocks, stem densities, basal area, and importance value index of trees. Nondestructive methods of woody species biomass measurement was used by using allometric equations developed for application in tropical forests and/ or agroforestry system. A total of 4216 individuals representing 87 different species and 44 families were recorded. Statistical the highest stem density was recorded. Total biomass considered as AGB+BGB, which is highest for ASF followed by ESF and BSF (one way ANOVA, F = 98.66, df, 2, p < .001). The estimated amount of AGB across the three sacred forests were (505 Mg ha−1), (267 Mg ha−1) and (202 Mg ha−1) in ASF, ESF, and BSF, respectively. Total biomass stored, both aboveground and belowground (AGB+BGB) significantly higher for ASF (637 Mg ha−1) followed by ESF (338 Mg ha−1) and BSF (255 Mg ha−1). Total biomass carbon (C) was 318.5 Mg C ha−1 for ASF, 169 Mg C ha−1 for ESF, and 127.5 Mg C ha−1 for BSF. From the present study, it can be concluded that, sacred forests and indigenous way of forest protection has playing an enormous roles in carbon sequestration. Perhaps it could be accepted as best practices in climate change (CC) mitigation and reducing deforestation. Hence, it needs urge calls for an immediate attention for conservation, protections and documentation of indigenous knowledge.
FTA Highlight No.2 – Tree Seed and Seedling Systems for Resilience and Productivity
The work of the CGIAR Research Program on Forests, Trees and Agroforestry (FTA) on tree seed systems — the authors’ shorthand for the means through which growers obtain access to tree-planting materials, either seeds or seedlings — has sought to address significant constraints in the diversity and genetic quality of the tree seeds and seedlings that are being supplied. These concerns are exacerbated by an increase in demand for germplasm to meet huge global forest landscape restoration commitments
and other tree-planting targets. Over the last decade, FTA has worked on twin concerns in this regard: first, how to make available quality tree-planting material; and second, how to ensure that tree seeds and seedlings are planted in the right places for the right purposes. It has addressed availability through building stakeholder partnerships and model tree seed systems; delivering improved “orphan” (under-researched) tree crops through supporting breeding and its impact; mainstreaming food trees through nurseries; conserving and making available diverse tree germplasm to support delivery and use; and developing policies to support the effective supply of tree seeds and seedlings. It has supported better decision making through building information platforms to support tree-planting choices and tree seed system operations; designing maps to guide tree seed and seedling distribution that is suited to current and predicted future climatic conditions; and releasing statistical packages to guide appropriate tree planting and assess the impacts of this planting in terms of benefits such as additional carbon sequestered and extra soil protected. This work is the foundation of local and global economic and environmental benefits of huge significance. It supports climate change mitigation and adaptation, restores landscapes and conserves biodiversity, and provides healthy foods and other products for local and global communities. This publication focuses on FTA’s work in these areas. Future directions for work identified include a closer analysis of the relative importance of supply side versus demand-side measures for mainstreaming improved tree genetic materials by growers; working with investors to improve tree seed quality at the project design stage of tree-planting programmes; and scaling up existing tree seed systems experience to burgeoning forest landscape restoration and broader tree planting initiatives. This scaling up will involve further engagement with major global initiatives such as the Bonn Challenge, the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021–2030, and the Global Plan of Action on Forest Genetic Resources.