Tag: forest management
Upper Nile River flow reconstructed to A.D. 1784 from tree-rings for a long-term perspective on hydrologic-extremes and effective water resource management
Swidden-fallow agroforestry for sustainable land use (in Lao)
Land uses, ecosystem services, and governance mechanisms for integrated landscape management in Na Nhan Commune, Dien Bien Province, Northwest Viet Nam
Harnessing the Potential of Trees on Farms to Contribute to a Green Economy in the Philippines
Developing Sustainable Community Forest Enterprises: Lessons from the Dryad Project in Cameroon
ASEAN Guideines for Agroforestry Development in the Food, Agriculture and Forestry Sector
Shifting discourse, shifting power: how is climate change mitigation and justice negotiated in Indonesia?
Agroforestry and environmental governance
Environmental governance is in a state of change throughout the developing world. Power and author – ity are shifting from national offices to global and regional fora and to local user groups. Regulatory approaches to environmental management are gradually being augmented by incentive- and market- based approaches. Private organizations and firms are becoming more involved in the provision of such environmental goods as water, energy and timber, and environmental services like conservation and watershed protection. Forest conservation is no longer seen as the only appropriate means to achieve environmental conservationm, nor is afforestation seen as the only way to reverse environmental dam – age. Integrated approaches to ecosystem and landscape management, which include local residents as important partners, are being given more emphasis. These trends are creating new opportunities and constraints for agroforestry. While there are very few pieces of legislation or rural institutions that focus solely on agroforestry, there are many laws and rural institutions that shape farmers’ incentives to plant and manage trees in their agricultural landscapes. This chapter reviews the five policy issues that have greatest impact on agroforestry: land and tree tenure, forest classification, biodiversity and forest con – servation, environmental service reward mechanisms, and global environmental governance. Targeted applied research and engagement in local policy processes increases the beneficial impacts of agro – forestry development within local policy terrains and contributes to policy reform at the national and global levels.
Rethinking the effectiveness of public protected areas in Southwestern China
It is internationally recognized that conservation policies should respect indigenous cultures and consider the livelihoods of people affected by conservation restrictions. Countering this are concerns that human occupation and use of natural reserves is incompatible with conservation aims. But in China today the continued use and management of natural areas by local communities is likely to deliver better conservation outcomes than the current drive to establish public protected areas. The effectiveness of many protected areas in China is compromised by institutional conflicts, lack of ongoing financial and technical support, confusion between the objectives of generating revenue and conservation, dubious scientific definitions, lack of community trust in policies, and obscure user rights and land tenures. Southwestern China-one of the most biologically and ethnologically diverse areas on Earth-is a good illustration of a place where culture and biological diversity are closely linked. The indigenous people in this area have shown that local livelihood practices can be advantageous for the long-term maintenance of conservation goals. Rather than creating new protected areas, we argue that China is better advised to support ongoing sustainable use of natural areas by the people who have lived and nurtured these environments for generations.