Tropical Dry Forest
Gender Inequality in Malidino Biodiversity Community-based Reserve, Senegal: Political Parties and the 'Village Approach'BackgroundThis research examines some of the less visible, and ongoing social dynamics in a World Bank-funded conservation site in central Senegal. The goal of the World Bank project was to create a decentralized and community-based participatory forest management program that would re-structure the political economy of the charcoal industry, give more rights and autonomy to the local community, emphasize improved gender equity, and provide technical assistance to NGOs and community-based organizations. Open access copy available |
Local ecological knowledge of trees on farms, constraints and opportunities for further integratino in Tigray Region, northern Ethiopia: A Case Study of smallholder farmers in Abreha Wa Atsbeha and Adi GudomBackgroundThe paper compared two Ethiopian sites with differing levels of on-farm tree adoption: Abreha we Atsbeha (high adoption) and Adi Gudom (low adoption). The author used a knowledge-based systems approach involving participatory rural appraisal, focus group discussions, and semi-structured interviews. In both sites, farmers planted trees on their holdings for income generation, user rights, and direct benefits, and they planted trees on communal lands to comply with government policies, improve soil fertility and water harvesting, improve land for redistribution, and improve aesthetics. Open access copy available |
Bridging the great divide: State, civil society, and ‘participatory’ conservation mapping in a resource extraction zoneBackgroundThe author evaluates the outcomes of a participatory and inclusive mapping technique in a mineral extraction zone—the Cordillera Huayhuash—in the Andes of Central Peru. Knowing that land titling is often a source of mistrust and conflict between communities and the government, this technique offers a way to build counter-narratives to the unused territory story often told by state resource management agencies in charge of granting concessions to outside interests. Available with subscription or purchase |
300,000 Hectares Restored in Shinyanga, Tanzania — but what did it really take to achieve this restoration?BackgroundOpen access copy available |
The Communal Management of Forests in the Semi‐arid and Sub‐humid Regions of Africa: Past Practice and Prospects for the FutureBackgroundThis article is based on an extensive literature search to analyze indigenous forestry practices in the dryland regions of anglophone and francophone regions of Africa. The authors drew on biology, forestry, and ethnographic material and was written with the aim of encouraging practitioners to involve peoples living near forests into the land management strategies. Available with subscription or purchase |
A Multicountry Assessment of Tropical Resource Monitoring by Local CommunitiesBackgroundThe study compared data collected on status and trends collected independently by local community members and trained scientists for 63 taxa and five types of resource use in 34 tropical forest sites over 2.5 years so examine the assumption that local people are less objective than external scientists when monitoring natural resources. Open access copy available |
Carbon sequestration and biodiversity of re-growing miombo woodlands in MozambiqueBackgroundThis study aims to determine how slash-and-burn agriculture impacts soil and vegetation carbon (C) stocks and biodiversity on an area of miombo woodland in Mozambique. The study hypothesized that C stocks in vegetation and soils of abandoned agricultural plots (machambas) would be lower than in woodland plots and that C stocks would accumulate more rapidly after abandonment in vegetation than in soils. Available with subscription or purchase |
The Transformation of a Frontier: State and Regional Relationships in Panama, 1972- 1990BackgroundFollowing the trend of anthropologists that examine the settlement of frontier regions, this study describes the consequences of building the Bayano Hydroelectric Complex in eastern Panama. The authors stress that governments must not looked at as monolithic entities but instead should be examine as a set of social and political relationships among various stakeholders at local, national, and international scales. Along with documenting the social, political, and ecological effects that emerged from the dam, the study also describes the internal conflicts between agencies in the Panamanian government. Available with subscription or purchase |
Artisan Non-Timber Forest Products in Darien Province in Panama: The Importance of ContextBackgroundNon-timber forest products (NTFP) have been used for centuries to obtain useful materials. There has been a recent shift in the study of NTFP use, expanding from focusing on a single species or a single community to consider more variables, such as spatial, temporal and socio-political variables of NTFP harvest, use and management. This study aims to continue this trend by examining the use of NTFP by artisans of Wounaan and Emberâ households in Panama. Open access copy available |
The tree planting and protecting culture of cattle ranchers and small-scale agriculturalists in rural Panama: Opportunities for reforestation and land restorationBackgroundDeforestation rates are high in mesoamerican, particularly within dry forests, thus threatening the regions biodiversity and livelihoods of local peoples. To address these trends, there has been a push to support and promote farming strategies that are compatible with conservation goals, particularly those that pursue a range of activities. This study focuses in Panama where these strategies are expanding and examines the tree planting and land protecting activities of cattle ranchers and small-scale agriculturalists. Available with subscription or purchase |
