trade Archives - Resilient Landscapes (RL)

Employment in industrial timber plantations: An Ethiopian case supported by a global review

Highlights

Global experience of employment generation in timber plantations shows contrasting outcomes including in terms of rural development, but there are also commonalities such as poor working conditions, seasonality of employment and relatively low labor intensity over large areas compared to other land uses.
Ethiopia conforms to this pattern, based on a case study of an industrial timber plantation, with low wages and reliance on casual jobs without formal contracts in a rural context of a weak labor market with few employment opportunities.
Gender wise, the opportunities are uneven with a large majority of positions filled by men resulting in a marginal involvement of women, and a great potential for improvements in this field.
Employees with agricultural land (a minority) appreciate the provision of additional sources of incomes, and the flexibility in work arrangement that allows them to simultaneously engage in agricultural activities. However, we also notice that daily labor as the main model of employment has serious implications with respect to social security and various benefits that would be associated to labor contracts.
As the Government of Ethiopia is committed to promote afforestation and reforestation on 7 million hectares (ha) in view of making the country self-sufficient in wood, enhancing carbon sequestration and supporting green growth, these lessons would be usefully applied in the future. There are indeed great expectations that timber plantations and processing units will create significant rural and urban employment opportunities.

Roles of information technologies for small-scale furniture businesses

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is increasingly believed to be a powerful tool for facilitating business in a free trade era, creating a digital revolution. However, such a revolution can potentially hamper the desire to make globalisation work for all by expanding the digital divide; since many rural people do not have sufficient financial, physical and knowledge capital to access ICT. This paper presents our preliminary findings, in which we evaluate the application of ICT in facilitating small-scale furniture enterprises in Jepara District in Central Java, Indonesia, based on three main indicators: effectiveness, efficiency, and equity. We found that effective use of ICT for marketing was more determined by media placement than by media choice. Thus, a bombarding strategy which pervasively advertises products through all available online media is the most effective strategy. On the contrary, efficient use of ICT for marketing is more determined by media choice than by media placement. Thus, with limited capital, media choice is a more efficient strategy than media placement. In general, access to ICT is currently unequal. Without relevant policy interventions and initiatives, this inequity could increase due to the positive feedback loop that exists between ICT accessibility and wealth.

Pangolin hunting in southeast Nigeria is motivated more by local meat consumption than international demand for scales

Pangolins are the world’s most trafficked wild mammals, yet the drivers of their exploitation vary across regions. This study surveyed 809 hunters and meat vendors in Nigeria—Africa’s largest pangolin trafficking hub—and found that 98% of pangolins are hunted for meat, not scales. Most are captured opportunistically during general hunting, with 71% consumed by hunters and 27% sold locally. Despite global attention on the illegal scale trade, 70% of scales are discarded, and meat fetches three to four times the price of scales. These findings challenge dominant narratives and highlight the need for conservation policies that address local consumption drivers alongside international trafficking.

Socio-economic differentiation and shea globalization in western Burkina Faso: integrating gender politics and agrarian change

In this paper, we examine the way a local manifestation of the globalization process, the boom in the shea trade in western Burkina Faso, has fueled socio-economic differentiation in shea activity as part of a wider differentiation process. We refer to the gender politics and agrarian change literatures to inform both within- and across-household mechanisms of differentiation. We analyze both the mechanisms of change and the resulting inequalities. Our results reveal the interplay between multiple drivers of change, and nuance the analysis of the winners and losers of globalization of shea activity.

Impediments, opportunities and strategies to enhance trade of wild and semi-wild food plants in Bunyoro-Kitara Kingdom, Uganda

Beyond imperfect maps: Evidence for EUDR-compliant agroforestry

Not all good intentions lead to effective and fair policy designs, as their implementation creates new problems. The European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) may be an example. In targeting ‘deforestation-free’ trade, it forces a complex social–ecological reality into an oversimplified forest–non-forest representation. The forest definition used refers to tree cover but excludes farmer-managed agroforestry (AF).
Not all tree cover indicates forest, as forest-like forms of agriculture (AF) exist, for example producing much of the worlds’ cacao, coffee and rubber. The EUDR design trusts maps and relies on detailed spatial data to verify the deforestation-free claims needed for access to EU markets. Tree cover is observable in remote sensing; the intended exclusion of AF is not.
No map is perfect but for global forest maps prepared for EUDR use there is 18% chance a forest pixel is considered non-forest in other data, all supposedly based on the same forest definition and cut-off date. Map errors imply two types of risk: non-compliant imports to the EU (that ‘fraud prevention’ tries to avoid) or unjustified exclusion (collateral damage).
Globally, the EUDR maps claim 12% more forest in 2020 than national data compiled by FAO suggests; in specific countries, the gap is wider. The probability that an AF garden producing coffee cocoa or rubber is (erroneously) mapped as forest is two-thirds for a study in Indonesia. Elsewhere similar problems have been noted.
Data sources beyond direct earth observation will be needed to legally establish pre-2021 agroforestry as a source of EUDR-compliant commodity trade. We present a typology for such evidence. Evidence can be based on direct observations on the ground or remotely, based on what people say and on accounts of what they did.

Testing a multi-scale scenario approach for smallholder tree plantations in Indonesia and Vietnam

Smallholder tree plantations are seen as promising routes to alleviating poverty and increasing forest area among the countries in Southeast Asia. However, implementation has been disappointing, which led scientists at the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) to consider a scenario exercise as a way to mitigate the risk of unwanted outcomes. The study had a characteristic that it shares with many other studies: close interaction of larger-scale processes and trends (global markets, national policy) with smaller-scale systems (regional and local policy, farmer livelihoods). The authors therefore felt than an explicitly multi-scale approach was called for. To keep close to the well-known practice, we made a modest extension to a conventional scenario logic approach, and introduced a nested, and multi-scale scenario logic. While modest, we believe that the modification is useful, and the method could be used in other studies, in particular climate adaptation studies. We applied the method during two scenario workshops held to explore the use of smallholder tree plantations in efforts to improve rural livelihoods; each workshop considered two different localities. While the scenario frameworks resulting from the workshops were similar between the localities, we believe that the nested scenario framework served to structure the process and revealed meaningful contextual differences. From these experiences, we discuss and critique the method

Balancing conservation and traditional use of yellow-spotted river turtle (Podocnemis unifilis) in Southern Rupununi, Guyana

The yellow-spotted river turtle (Podocnemis unifilis) is found across the Amazon, Orinoco, and Essequibo River basins, serving as an important resource for local communities through food, income, and cultural traditions. While studies from the Amazon and Orinoco regions highlight conservation challenges, less is known about its population dynamics in the Essequibo River basin. This study assesses turtle and egg consumption, population trends, and sustainable management strategies in South Rupununi River, Guyana, focusing on how conservation can align with community needs. Interviews with 125 Wapichan households in Sand Creek reveal that 12.0% of households collect an average of 41.87 eggs annually, while 22.4% of households harvest an average of 3.32 turtles per year. Larger households tend to consume more turtle eggs and meat, and those engaged in turtle harvesting report higher consumption levels. Most turtle captures occur for food consumption, particularly during cultural events, though turtles are also used for local trade, pets, and shells.

Is certification associated with better forest management and socioeconomic benefits?: a comparative analysis of three certification schemes applied to Brazil nuts in Western Amazonia

Nontimber forest product (NTFP) certification has potential to promote sustainable harvest and to bolster rural livelihoods. This research compares environmental and socioeconomic benefits of Brazil nut certification for 231 producers in 17 communities in the trinational border region of Bolivia, Brazil, and Peru during the 2006-2007 harvest. Specific objectives were: (1) to analyze differences in “best management practices” between certified and noncertified producers; (2) to identify socioeconomic benefits associated with certified nuts; and (3) to explore producer perceptions of nut certification. Organic and Fairtrade certification were associated with better postharvest practices and higher prices, while Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification was related to preharvest planning. Certification was viewed most positively in Bolivia, where producers gleaned financial and social benefits, moderately in Peru, and least positively in Brazil, where benefits were lower or nonexistent. Partnerships with cooperatives, donors, government, and nongovernmental organizations were essential to maximize conservation and development objectives.

Functional diversity and composition of Caatinga woody flora are negatively impacted by chronic anthropogenic disturbance

Tropical plant assemblages can be taxonomically and phylogenetically impoverished by chronic anthropogenic disturbance (CAD), such as firewood collection and extensive grazing. However, to what extent the functional dimension responds to CAD is still unclear. Such knowledge is urgently required for predicting, preventing or even reversing the impacts of CAD. Chronic anthropogenic disturbance may operate as an ecological filter by selecting functional trait values (e.g. low wood density), thereby altering the functional composition and diversity of plant assemblages. We tested this hypothesis using 29 woody plant assemblages across three ontogenetic stages (seedlings, saplings and adults) in a 220‐km2 landscape of the Caatinga, northeast Brazil. We adopted a CAD index consisting of four indicators (proximity to urban centre and houses and the density of both people and livestock) and tested how well it explained the functional diversity and effect sizes (richness, evenness and dispersion) and composition (community‐weighted mean). Chronic anthropogenic disturbance affected several functional metrics across the three ontogenetic stages. However, CAD effects were stronger in adult communities by negatively affecting functional richness, dispersion and their effect sizes. CAD also altered the functional composition of leaf mass per area, woody density and leaf area of adult assemblages. Sapling communities were affected in terms of functional composition (leaf area, leaf dry matter and wood density), with positive and negative effects, while seedling assemblages responded positively to CAD only in terms of functional evenness and its effect size. Some changes in functional metrics were influenced by dominant Euphorbiaceae species across ontogenetic stages, especially in terms of leaf area and woody density. Synthesis. Chronic anthropogenic disturbance is an important driver of plant‐community functional organization across ontogenetic stages in the Caatinga. Adult assemblages are particularly sensitive and tend to lose functional niche space and support more acquisitive rather than conservative strategies as chronic anthropogenic disturbance increases. The proliferation of Euphorbiaceae disturbance‐adapted species can explain part of the community responses to chronic anthropogenic disturbance. Our findings highlight the ecological effects of chronic anthropogenic disturbance and show that it is a key influence on tropical biotas. Changes in plant functional traits associated with plant resource use are likely to affect ecosystem functioning and services provided by Caatinga.

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