General
Designing optimal human-modified landscapes for forest biodiversity conservationIntroductionCurrent land-use patterns have resulted in the rapid conversion of forests to human modified forest landscapes (HMFLs). This degradation of forest landscapes can threaten species diversity and disrupt the ecological functions and services they provide. As such, designing and implementing effective landscape conservation strategies that benefit biodiversity as well as promote human well-being is essential. Open access copy available |
The Effectiveness of Payments for Environmental ServicesBackgroundOpen access copy available |
Understanding the value and limitations of nature-based solutions to climate change and other global challengesbackgroundNature-based Solutions (NbS) are initiatives that work with nature to adapt to environmental and climate challenges. NbS have grown in popularity in recent years, and are generally seen as a promising way to address the effects of climate change. Nature-based Solutions are also seen as a way to help countries achieve their Nationally-Determined Contributions (NDCs). Outlined by the UN Paris Agreement in 2016, NDCs are nations’ individual pledges to reduce CO2 emissions and adapt to climate change. Open access copy available |
A systematic review of the socio-economic impacts of large-scale tree plantations, worldwideBackgroundLarge-scale tree plantations can provide raw material for industries and support climate change mitigation through carbon sequestration. However, they can have positive and negative ecological and socioeconomic impacts. This paper presents the findings on a systematic review of literature on the socioeconomic impacts of large-scale tree plantations. Open access copy available |
Why do foresters plant trees? Testing theories of bureaucratic decision-making in central IndiaBackgroundThere is a long history of tree planting in India, and it continues to be favored by policy makers and bureaucrats at the state level. However, the author points out that the popularity of tree plantations is puzzling in the Indian case because firstly, it does not seem aligned with the goals of India’s forest policies which tend to emphasize ecosystem services rather than timber production and secondly, many degraded areas can regenerate naturally and do not require plantings to regenerate. This paper examines why tree plantations continue to be popular among state-level forest departments in India and how they are implemented in the field. Available with subscription or purchase |
Anything but a story foretold: multiple politics of resistance to the agrarian extractivist project in GuatemalaBackgroundOpen access copy available |
Afforestation and reforestation programs in South and South East Asia under the Clean Development Mechanism: Trends and development opportunitiesBackgroundAvailable with subscription or purchase |
Resistance, acquiescence or incorporation? An introduction to land grabbing and political reactions ‘from below'BackgroundWhile several research studies have examined the processes surrounding rural land transformation(s), and, in particular, the accumulation of public land by private entities, there are few studies that examine the responses of locally impacted people to these processes. This paper introduces a set of articles which discuss the varied reactions that local people have to the acquisition of public land and the ways in which they are formed and expressed. Open access copy available |
Grey areas in green grabbing: subtle and indirect interconnections between climate change politics and land grabs and their implications for researchBackgroundAvailable with subscription or purchase |
Green Grabbing: a new appropriation of nature?BackgroundThe authors introduce a set of papers which collectively discuss discourses and processes surrounding the transfer of ownership, user rights, or control over land and resources to meet environmental goals such as the production of biofuels or carbon sequestration, dispossessing some of their land while contributing to increasing the accumulation of property for others. The papers were originally presented at the International Conference on Global Land Grabbing and contribute to existing debates around land grabbing by building on the concept of ‘green grabbing’, wherein the appropriation of land is justified on environmental grounds. Open access copy available |
