East Asia and Pacific

Creative Ecology: Restoration of Native Forests by Native Trees

background

This article describes how the "native forests by native trees" restoration method used in Japan was applied to reforestation in Malaysia, and later in Brazil, Chile, and parts of China.

Open access copy available

Restoration of degraded forest land in Thailand: the case of Khao Kho

Background

This chapter discusses the deforestation of Khao Kho district, situated in Thailand’s central highlands, in the 1970s and restoration efforts in the 1990s. Over 75% of the district was forested until 1968, when as a counterinsurgency strategy the Royal Thai Army began to build roads, deforest the district and encourage agricultural settlement in this heretofore intact forest. Deforestation and maize cultivation on these steep hillsides, often with already-poor soil quality degraded in situ, led to rapid degradation with farming untenable by 1990. A UNDP-funded reforestation project – managed by the Army – was initiated in 1990.

Open access copy available

Reforestation of Mangroves after Severe Impacts of Herbicides during the the Viet Nam War: The Case of Can Gio

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This article describes the detrimental impacts of chemicals used in the Viet Nam war on mangroves with a focus on the reforestation efforts of the mangroves of the Can Gio district. In the 1980s, poor management, combined with stress from fuelwood collection and conversion to shrimp ponds, limited the success of mangrove restoration. Between 1978 and 1989,29,583 ha of Rhizophora apiriculata were planted; however, due to a lack of technical experience and a very high planting density, by 1990 only 18,125 ha remained. 35,000 ha of mangrove were replanted by 1996 and, in 2001, about 20,000 ha still survived.

Open access copy available

Institutional Issues and Political Challenges in Scaling Up Agroforestry: The Case of Landcare in the Philippines

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This paper presents the results of case studies of four municipalities in the Philippines participating in the Landcare agroforestry program which benefited from differing levels of institutional, technical, and government support. The paper assesses how effectively the Landcare program was able to scale up based on differing levels of support.

Open access copy available

The Sabah Biodiversity Experiment: A Long-Term Test of the Role of Tree Diversity in Restoring Tropical Forest Structure and Functioning

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This article details the initial stages of an experiment in Borneo which aims to study the relationship between tree diversity and lowland dipterocarp rainforest functioning during restoration after selective logging.

Open access copy available

Growing agroforestry trees: Farmers’ experiences with individual and group nurseries in Claveria, Philippines

Background

In the 1990s, a Landcare movement formed in Claveria, South Philippines, establishing community nurseries for fruit and timber trees based on a growing interest in promoting agroforestry and soil conservation. Ten years after the formation of these nurseries, the authors interviewed growers about the successes and limitations of that effort.

Open access copy available

Landscape Rehabilitation of Degraded Tropical Forest Ecosystems: Case Study of the CIFOR/Japan Project in Indonesia and Peru

background

The CIFOR/Japan project on tropical forest restoration involves three principal components: 1) evaluation of logging impacts on forest systems, 2) development of methods for the restoration of logged and degraded forests, and 3) development of silvicultural practices for degraded forests.

Open access copy available

Rehabilitation of Tropical Rainforests Based on Indigenous Species for Degraded Areas in Sarawak, Malaysia

background

This study describes the success of native species planted in areas of abandoned shifting cultivation in Sarawak, Malaysia.

Research Goals & Methods

Site contitions in which species were planted included:  open conditions, including severely eroded and compacted areas and man-made mounds, and shady conditions. Growth and survival was recorded for 60-72 months, depending on the site

Open access copy available

Rehabilitation of Degraded Forest with Shorea leprosula and S. selanica Cuttings

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This article describes limits to dipterocarp-based reforestation due to irregular flowering pattern, short seed storage period, and uncertain planting techniques in Southeast Asia. In West Java, Indonesia, the authors test the effectiveness of vegetative propagation for two species of fast-growing dipterocarps: Shorea leprosula and Shorea selanica.

Open access copy available

Growth Increments of Indigenous Species Planted in Secondary Forest Area

Background

Appropriate species selection for reforestation of degraded lands in the tropics makes a great difference in survival rates and success in establishing secondary forest. Indigenous species used in reforestation are not always able to survive in their native landscapes based on the degree of site degradation. This paper reports on growth increments of five tree species indigenous to Malaysia five years after planting.

Open access copy available
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