General
China’s Conversion of Cropland to Forest Program for Household Delivery of Ecosystem Services: How Important is a Local Implementation Regime to Survival Rate Outcomes?BackgroundIn response to catastrophic droughts in the lat 1990s, China launched one of the largest afforestation-based Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) progrms. Much research around this program has focused on the impact on rural welfare. This study, on the other hand, examines the tree survival rates during the “Grain for Green” Program based on socio-economic data of the single households. Open access copy available |
Monitoring and Evaluating Forest Restoration SuccessBackgroundThis chapter reviews the importance of monitoring and evaluation for restoration projects, in order to confirm the hypotheses that shape such projects, to fine-tune management actions, adapt restoration approach on a long-scale trajectory, and to prove results to stakeholders. The chapter presents three case studies of ecological restoration and monitoring throughout the world, including the Southwestern Alps, Vietnam, and the Mediterranean region, as three examples where monitoring and evaluation practices have been in place and are evolving over time. Open access copy available |
A Comparison of Governance Challenges in Forest Restoration in Paraguay’s Privately-Owned Forests and Madagascar’s Co-managed State ForestsBackgroundOpen access copy available |
Watershed Management for Ecosystem Services in Human Dominated Landscapes of the NeotropicsBackgroundOpen access copy available |
A Strategy for Scaling-Up Intensive Silvopastoral Systems in ColombiaBackgroundIn Latin America cattle ranching is extensive and is often cultural, yet the dominant practice usually involves low denisty ranching in bare environments. These systems have emerged largely due to policies that politically and economicaly encourage the practice. Conducted in Colombia, this study explores the role of an alternative practice, intensive silvopastoral systems (ISPS) in landscape-scale restoration and addresses the barriers that would prevent a practice shift and the scaling-up of ISPS in Colombia. Available with subscription or purchase |
The logic of livestock and deforestation in AmazoniaBackgroundIn the late 1970s through the early 1990s, a majority of Latin America's would be tranformed to pasture lands, causing a multitude of social, economic, and ecological issues from the local to international scale. This article aims to examine why this transformation has occurred. It specifically analyzes the logic and economics of pursuing livestock in Amazonia and the financial gains that can be made through the land and natural resources. The author reviews common explanations and then provides an integrated approach to slow and even halt this trend. Open access copy available |
Livestock and Deforestation Central America in the 1980s and 1990s: A Policy PerspectiveBackgroundOpen access copy available |
Consequences of the Armed Conflict, Forced Human Displacement, and Land Abandonment on Forest Cover Change in Colombia: A Multi-scaled AnalysisBackgroundOpen access copy available |
Geographic overlaps between priority areas for forest carbon-storage efforts and those for delivering peacebuilding programs: implications for policy designBackgroundForest-based emmission reductions, such as REDD+, have increasingly been promoted yet the conversation around these initiatives rarely consider opportunities outside the environmental sector. This paper examines one of these opportunities: the interaction between carbon-storage and peacebuilding. Using Colombia as a case-study, the authors investigate the ways in which forest carbon-storage and peacebuilding influence conservation and conflict. Open access copy available |
Silvopastoral Systems and their Contribution to Improved Resource Use and Sustainable Development Goals: Evidence from Latin AmericaBackgroundOf the 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) adopted by the United Nations in 2015, livestock can contribute to the majority of them. Specifically, silvopastoral systems, which integrate cattle intensification and natural processes, is often promoted to achieve the joint economic, social, and environmental focus of the SDGs. Using three established silvopastoral systems in Latin American (Argentina, Mexico, and Colombia) as case-studies, this paper applies an analytical framework in order to determine the systems productivity and the socio-economic benefits. Open access copy available |
