Case Study

Between a rock and a hard place: The burdens of uncontrolled fire for smallholders across the tropics

Background

The growing prevalence of uncontrolled tropical landscape fires significantly threatens tropical forests and causes substantial social and economic burdens. These burdens continue to be largely overlooked in favor of aggregate-scale losses like climate change and biodiversity, despite the severe local impacts on smallholder farming communities across the forested tropics. Furthermore, people often unfairly portray smallholders as the primary culprits of fire contagion due to their customary fire-based agricultural practices. This narrative is rooted in colonial-era condemnations.

The use of non-wood forest products by migrants in a new settlement: Experiences of a Visayan community in Palawan, Philippines

Background

In the early 20th century, Palawan, historically a sparsely populated island of the Philippines, became a “frontier,” attracting migrants from other Philippine islands who sought land ownership. Previous studies of migration to Palawan focused on the difficulties of converting forests to farmland and the subsequent hunger these migrants experienced. Despite coming from agricultural backgrounds, the predominantly Visayan migrants in Dumanguena, a village located south of the Palawan capital, Puerto Princesa, had to learn new skills related to the collection and use of non-wood forest products (NWFPs) in their new environment.

A Comparison of Governance Challenges in Forest Restoration in Paraguay’s Privately-Owned Forests and Madagascar’s Co-managed State Forests

Background

Why environmental impact assessments often fail

Background

Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) aim to mitigate the environmental costs of development, particularly in biodiversity-rich developing nations. While governments and corporations claim EIAs as safeguards against environmental harm from roads, dams, mines, and housing, many are ineffective or even worthless. Weak assessments fail to prevent projects that destroy habitats and endanger species. Key shortcomings include insufficient funding, narrow focus on immediate project areas, conflicts of interest among consultants, and poor governance that grants developers undue influence over policy decisions.