White Papers
Conservation Finance: A FrameworkBackgroundThe authors define conservation finance as “mechanisms and strategies that generate, manage, and deploy financial resources and align incentives to achieve nature conservation outcomes.” Governments are the largest contributors to conservation finance resources, and common mechanisms include grants, subsidies, and fiscal transfers, among others. Open access copy available |
Financing Nature: Closing the Global Biodiversity Financing GapBackgroundThe authors of this report point out that current economic systems promote unsustainable levels of land conversion for infrastructural and agricultural growth and natural resource extraction. They outline some economic and social reasons for protecting nature, and argue that economic systems need to be transformed to incentivize financing biodiversity conservation instead of enabling unsustainable land conversion and natural resource extraction. Open access copy available |
Forty years of community-based forestry: A review of its extent and effectivenessBackgroundThis report assesses the effectiveness of community-based forestry (CBF) over the past 40 years. Governments have been implementing programs such as participatory conservation, joint forest management, community forestry with partial or full devolution, and private ownership over several decades, and the authors assess the biophysical and social impacts of these programs, and outline the key lessons learnt during this time. Open access copy available |
Beyond tenure: Rights-based approaches to peoples and forests, some lessons from the Forest Peoples ProgrammeBackgroundLand tenure reforms have been implemented in several forested landscapes to support livelihood security among forest-depended communities. However, while these reforms have led to some improvements in tenure and livelihood security, they have also increased social exclusion and marginalization in some contexts. This paper argues that tenure reforms should be implemented within a rights-based framework, but one that integrates a range of human rights and is not solely focused on property rights. Open access copy available |
Context in land matters: The effects of history on land formalizationsBackgroundLand formalization is the process by which governments grant legal rights to land, along with responsibilities and conditions of access through land titles and other official documents. This process typically establishes or re-establishes the authority of the state over the governance of land. This paper draws on examples from Africa and Asia to illustrate how land formalization has differing impacts on a diverse set of claimants, and largely increases inequity. Open access copy available |
Participatory research for restoration and agro-ecological productionBackgroundThis chapter describes the process and outcomes of a 25-year participatory research project that was carried out in partnership between CIPAV and farmers of a local community in El Dovio, Valle del Cauca, Colombia. The project was guided by integrated land management and the need to combine biodiversity conservation, ecological restoration, and sustainable use of natural resources. Open access copy available |
Leaders in Action: Success Stories from the TropicsBackgroundThe Environmental Leadership and Training Initiative (ELTI) seeks to seeks to train and support people to restore and conserve tropical forest landscapes. Since 2006, the organizations has engaged with thousands of people both through their in-person and online training platforms and through follow-up support and mentorship. This paper highlights select inspirational stories from ELTI alum. These stories come from the Neotropics, including Panama, Colombia, and Brazil, and Asia, including Indonesia, Singapore, and the Phillipines. Open access copy available |
Reforesting for the climate of tomorrow: Recommendations for strengthening orangutan conservation and climate change resilience in Kutai National Park, IndonesiaBackgroundKutai National Park in East Kalimantan, Indonesia has experienced extensive issues with human population expansion and encrouchment, which threatens both the parks immense biodiversity and the critically endangered Bornean Orangutan. Moreover, due to climate change, the region is also undergoing severe drought conditions. This paper seeks to explore the vulnerability of the park's biodiversity to climate change and present potential strategies to minimize or even prevent the negative impacts. Open access copy available |
Rainforestation Case Study: The Cienda-San Vicente Farmers Association ExperienceBackgroundOpen access copy available |
Leaders in Action: Achieving Forest Landscape Restoration Through Online LearningBackgroundBetween May 2016 and March 2017, the Environmental Leadership and Training Initiative and IUCN conducted six online courses titled “Forest Landscape Restoration in the Tropics.” These courses were in response to the emerging trend of countries committed to restoring millions of hectares of land via the forest landscape restoration approach, which aims to achieve ecological, economic, and social benefits simultaneously. This paper highlights numerous success stories of individuals who participated in these courses. Open access copy available |
