Tag: forest resources
The State of community forest enterprises (CFEs) as successful social enterprises: Empirical evidence from Cameroon
Converting natural forest to rubber plantations affects soil CO2 and CH4 fluxes
Agroforestry for sustainable agriculture
Agroforestry seeks to balance protection of forest resources, the exploitation of the ecosystem services that trees can contribute to agriculture and the role of agroforestry in diversifying the range of agricultural products and markets. This volume reviews the latest research on the role and implementation of main types of agroforestry, understanding and assessing the ecosystem services that agroforestry can deliver and techniques for optimising agroforestry practice. The book’s main focus is on temperate agroforestry, but also reviews particular issues facing agroforestry in the tropics. The collection will be a standard reference for forestry and agricultural scientists in universities, government and other research centres in agroforestry
Agro-forests: incorporating a forest vision in agroforestry
Though extensively practiced throughout the tropics by indigenous fanners,agroforestry as a science-based technology was first introduced through forestry, not agriculture.It developed in the mid-19th century, when professional foresters stroveto improve the economie efficiency plantation establishment through the technology that later became known asthe”taungya system” (King1987). This first development of modem agroforestry was not concerned with farmers,nor wast considered a system that could improve global land utilization patterns·in forest areas. In the early1970s,when globalconcerns for the degradation offorested lands increased, agroforestry was reassessed as a system of land management applicable to,and with great potential for,both farmlands and forests.This new brandof agroforestry was primarily targeted atimproving the conditions of the rural poor.lt did not fundamentally change perceptions about farmersand farming in forestry sciences, but it did contribute to a broader vision of agricultural science sin general.Suddenly, trees in agricultural landscapes,that had.remained quite invisible to agronomists,became valued as important elementsof the agricultural system itself. But how far did this reassessment of trees in agriculture translate into a better integration of forestry and agriculture
Use of Forest Resources by Residents of Jigme Singye Wangchuck National Park, Bhutan
This paper examines the use of forest resources by local residents in Jigme Singye Wangchuck National Park, Bhutan. It also inquires into local residents’ knowledge and perceptions of park management interventions. The data were collected through a questionnaire survey, group discussions, and observations. The results show that local people depend on forest resources for their livelihoods, and that their knowledge and perceptions of the park and of park management are influenced mainly by constraints on their access to forest resources, and by benefits and incentives obtained from the park administration through socioeconomic development.
Agroforests examples from Indonesia: creating profitable and sustainable multi-purpose forests in the agricultural lands of the humid tropics
Information on agroforestry systems (ASs) in Indonesia is provided in this leaflet. It is argued that because of their qualities, ASs could serve as a model for community-level reforestation strategies that would not only provide multiple social, economic and environmental functions, but also support rural development and rebuild species-rich patches in agricultural landscapes. It is emphasized that technical, economic, social, institutional and legislative issues need to be addressed to foster this development. Most of the millions of ha of ASs in Indonesia have been created by swiddeners and most of these rubber, fruit and dipterocarp ASs are still managed by them. A survey showed that ASs are very similar to natural forest formations with biodiversity levels reaching 30% for trees, 50% for treelets and epiphytes, up to 95% for lianas, 100% for undergrowth plants, 60% for birds and close to 100% for soil mesofauna. Among under-utilized agroforestry products, timber may be the most promising agroforestry commodity for the future. Acknowledging the legitimacy of traditional tenure rights and empowering local communities to manage the resources on which they depend is essential to the protection and further development of ASs
Bridging communities and technocrats: Guinea’s experiences on forest resource governance
This paper presents a range of efforts in terms of horizontal dialogue and harmonization of interests between communities and technocrats in Guineawhile also sharin experinces in ICRAF and CIFOR to move beyond conflicting perceptions and control through the approach called farmers initiative an vision(FIVA) combined with others such as Co-management, collective action and Group-Dynamics.From a participatory action reseach perspective, a pluristic process based on those approaches was engaged since 2005, taking in accoount the interest, ,powers and ligitimacy of different stakeholders analysis, visioning/future scenarios, village group discussions and informal interviews during various multi-stakehholders interactions. Details of key achievements, lessons learnt and challenges are herin presented. Reading through this shared experiences, we belive the provided information could serve to mitigate forest resources based conflicts among stakeholders in West Africa and forest cover may be harnessed as there will be posibilities to quick off the move from customary and formal rights with reguards to forest resources in various forested landscapes.
The rights of local and indigenous peoples in the light of forest and conservation policies
The subject of the rights of local and indigenous peoples is at the heart of the international forest resource management agenda, now more than ever (Sikor and Stahl 2011). These groups claim a set of inherent rights to enjoy land and forest tenure, to practice their cultures and to speak on the management of the natural resources around their biotopes. In response to these demands and pressure from both the grassroots and the non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that claim to represent them, the international community and many governments have put in place a range of legal mechanisms that recognize and promote the rights and duties of these vulnerable social groups in relation to biodiversity. The natural resource conservation approach – focused on promoting and respecting the rights of these groups – is, of course, one response to local stakeholders’ demands for environmental justice (Campese et al. 2009).
The contributions of wild tree resources to food and nutrition security in sub-Saharan African drylands: a review of the pathways and beneficiaries
Wild tree resources are known to play an important role in local stakeholders’ livelihoods particularly in the food and nutrition security of people living in semi-arid sub-Saharan Africa. Based on a comprehensive review of the literature, this article examines the relative importance of the contributions of tree resources to food and nutrition security for rural households, while considering alternative causal pathways. The main conclusions of the review are that most studies provide useful evidence on specific contributions of tree products to food and nutritional security, and for whom. However, detailed data on the actual contribution of tree products are still lacking. In addition, we argue that the concept of access as a pillar of food security is not sophisticated enough to understand the landscape dynamics and the socio-economic relations at the nexus of food security and rights of access. Links are needed to better understand the underlying processes in the definition of each stakeholder’s rights of access to tree resources in a context of rapidly changing landscapes, and how income generated by tree resources contributes to food and nutrition security. An approach to food security based on rights of access would advance our understanding of their use and tackle the root causes of food deficiency based on different social groups. In light of current patterns of access to tree food for different stakeholders, including women and children, an intersectional approach that accounts for age, gender, ethnicity and wealth would benefit food security research by a more targeted and discerning approach to existing rights of access and to the roles of different community members.