Tag: forest policies
Farmer tree planting barriers to sustainable forest management
Agroforestry provides productive and protective forest functions valued by societies as sustainable forest management. Yet, trees planted in agroforestry systems are excluded in formal definitions and statistics and overlooked in legal and institutional frameworks for sustainable forest management. Likewise, smallholder farmers frequently face barriers when planting or re-planting trees on farms. We examine six issues that hinder a regreening revolution based on farmer tree planting, as discussed in various other Chapter. First, issues of terminology for forests, plantations, and reforestation are linked to land tenure and land-use restrictions. Second, access to high-quality planting material remains a challenge, especially at the farmer level. Third, management skill and information often constrain production for lucrative markets. Fourth, overregulation often restricts market access for farmer grown tree products, partly due to rules intended to curb illegal logging from natural forests or government plantations. Fifth, there is a lack of reward mechanisms for environmental services provided by agroforestry. Sixth, there is a lack of supportive legal and institutional frameworks for smallholder tree growing and agroforestry in general. Current relationships between agroforestry and plantation forestry are perceived as complementary, neutral or competitive, depending on the ability of (inter)national policy frameworks to provide a level playing field for the provision to society at large of productive and protective forest functions. In conditions where plantations operate with substantial government subsidies, in contrast to non-existent or minimal subsidies for agroforestry, farmers’ potential to produce wood and provide other forest benefits and ecological services is placed at a disadvantage, to the detriment of society at large.
Future challenge: a paradigm shift in the forestry sector
This chapter re-visits the facts and figures of previous chapters, augmenting the discussion with other relevant literature. It reviews trends in regional deforestation, human population growth, and demands for forest (tree) products; and provides an overview of common tree-based landuse and management systems and their potential contribution to expand the regional forest base and generate forest products and services. Emphasis is placed on the contribution of smallholder treebased (agroforestry) systems, given their additional function of supporting rural livelihoods of the potential of smallholder agroforestry systems to contribute to sustainable forest management and rural livelihoods are identified and discussed. Enabling conditions, institutional and policy support, and market oriented strategies are all discussed as means to strengthen the development and productivity of smallholder agroforestry systems. Discussions on those topics are well supported with citations and lessons learned emphasizing the experience from the Philippines. The main message of the chapter is twofold: (1) a paradigm shift in the forest sector is required to recognize the contribution and importance of smallholder systems to achieve sustainable forest management objectives; and (2) there is a need to adopt more holistic and sustainable strategies to support and strengthen institutions and smallholder system development, including linkages with the market.
Managing Kenya’s forests: the role of stake holders in the forest policy and EMCA
This report is in nine parts and they cover the following areas: Kenya’s forest policy; implications and roles of stakeholders in forest maintenance; implications and roles of stakeholders in forest management; administration; protection and the conservation of the environment; environmental impact assessment; environmental audits and monitoring; environmental restoration orders, environmental conservation orders and environmental easements; inspection, analysis and records; and international treaties, conventions and agreements. There is also a section that gives the conclusions and recommendations made.
Capacity development for sustainable forest management
This paper presents examples of typical capacity development activities in the forest sector, illustrating the variety of initiatives and approaches to capacity development from around the world. The examples are grouped according to five broad areas of application: (a) capacities to manage forests on a sustainable basis; (b) capacities to formulate, implement, and evaluate policies; (c) capacities in forest research and development; (d) capacities in forest education; and (e) capacities for networking, communication, and information exchange. An evaluation of these capacity development initiatives shows that a fundamental paradigm change has taken place over the past 10 to 20 years, particularly with regard to the definition of capacity development, subjects considered important for sustainable forest management, and the concept of partnership in implementing capacity development activities. Based on this analysis, recommendations are made with regard to strategies, partnership, and necessary resources.