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Context in land matters: The effects of history on land formalizations

Background

Land 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.

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Carbon colonialism and the new land grab: Plantation forestry in Uganda and its livelihood impact

Background

There has been a global increase in private sector investments towards activities plantations for clean fuel or climate change mitigation that are justified on the basis of their environmentally beneficial outcomes. This paper examines the discourses and mechanisms that enable the greater privatization of land and other resources using green development as a justification.

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Inverting the moral economy: the case of land acquisitions for forest plantations in Tanzania

Background

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Conservation, green/blue grabbing, and accumulation by dispossession in Tanzania

Background

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Potential for low-cost carbon removal through tropical reforestation

background

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Tropical surface gold mining: A review of ecological impacts and restoration strategies

BACKGROUND

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Old timber plantations and secondary forests attain levels of plant diversity and structure similar to primary forests in the West African humid tropics

Background

There is a high rate of biodiversity loss and deforestation in tropical ecosystems. In order to maintain global biodiversity, it is necessary to conserve plant diversity in alternative forest landscapes such as secondary forests and plantations. Comparing conservation values and tradeoffs of different forest landscapes is important for sustainable forest management and conservation practices.

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Suppression of seed production as a long-term strategy in weed biological control: The combined impact of two biocontrol agents on Acacia mearnsii in South Africa

Background

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The association between rainforest disturbance and recovery, tree community composition, and community traits in the Yangambi area in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Background

Forests in the Congo Basin are becoming increasingly threatened by human disturbances. These forests play a crucial role in global biodiversity, though understanding the full impact of forest degradation has been difficult due to the intact canopy cover. It is important to assess the extent that human activities have impacted these forests to make decisions on the forests’ conservation and management practices.

Open access copy available

The eco-evolutionary history of Madagascar presents unique challenges to tropical forest restoration

Background

Madagascar forests contain high biodiversity and species endemism, while also being heavily threatened by deforestation. Restoration of these forests may be unique to many other restoration projects due to the unique evolutionary history of the island.

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Carbon sequestration in Africa: The land tenure problem

Background

Research on afforestation and reforestation projects highlights how tropical forests can store carbon on a large scale. Africa offers vast areas of suitable land for carbon sequestration through these initiatives. However, the author argues that land tenure issues in Africa create an obstacle to achieving this potential.

Open access copy available

The Realities of Community Based Natural Resource Management and Biodiversity Conservation in Sub-Saharan Africa

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