East Asia and Pacific

Infuence of tree cover on diversity, carbon sequestration and productivity of cocoa systems in the Ecuadorian Amazon

Background

In this study, Jadan et al. objective was to evaluate the relationship between richness and floristic diversity, carbon storage, ecosystem services, agricultural productivity, and forest use potential under three land use systems in the Ecuadorian Amazon: cocoa-based agroforestry, cocoa monoculture and primary forest. In this region, one of the most important cultivation systems is the “Chakra”, a traditional organic farming production system, mainly practiced by indigenous peoples, that consists in the cultivation of staple crops in combination with commercial valuable species such as cocoa, obtaining multiple benefits.

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Patterns of local wood use and cutting of Philippine mangrove forests

Background

Harvesting for wood in mangroves is a common practice yet there has been limited studies. This paper takes a unique approach through integrating ecological and ethnographic methods in order to study local wood use and cutting of mangrove forests in two areas of the Philippines. 

Goals & Methods

The author conducted a series of 202 household interviews to determine how villagers used mangrove resources in North and South Bais Bay and Bindoy,  Negros Oriental, and on Banacon Island, Bohol.

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Growing biodiverse carbon-rich forests

Background

Carbon storage and biodiversity has long been viewed as completely separate restoration objectives, resulting in parceling tracts of restoration land for one objective or the other. This study shows that the relationship between plant functional diversity and carbon sequestration rate depends on climate and habitat factors. Knowing this relationship, a restoration site can be managed for both objectives.

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Case Study: Community Based Ecological Mangrove Rehabilitation (CBEMR) in Indonesia

Background

Mangrove plantings in Indonesia have typically failed for a number of reasons including inappropriate site selection, inappropriate species selection, and/or conflict over land tenure. The authors discussed ecological mangrove rehabilitation (EMR) and its use in Indonesia, which required a more socio-cultural-political apprach as compared with EMR in the United States.

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Legitimacy in REDD+ governance in Indonesia

Background

This study looks at the perception of non-state actors of Indonesia's REDD+ program, coming from domestic and international NGOs, private sector, and academics. These actors assess the legitimacy of REDD+ programs based on input legitimacy, coming from a balanced representation of stakeholders in project discourse, and output legitimacy, proxied by positive project outcomes.

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Direct seeding to restore rainforest species: Microsite effects on the early establishment and growth of rainforest tree seedlings on degraded land in the wet tropics of Australia

Background

In Queensland, Australia, three degraded sites (a high elevation site, mid elevation site and low elevation site) that were dominated by non-native grass were studied. The study looked at how six different methods of sowing affected the establishment and growth of small and large seeds, as well as how it affected weeds growth and re-establishment. Before the sowing treatments were conducted, the weeds, since it often outcompetes seeds/seedlings, were removed using herbicides. The sowing treatments created microsites that either consisted of the seeds being buried beneath the soil or placed above the soil.

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Violence, Decentralization, and Resource Access in Indonesia

Background

This paper examines the social and political factors that dictate who has access and control over natural resources, arguing that non-deliberate decentralization of resource management can create situations that encourage conflict.

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Does tree planting change minds? Assessing the use of community participation in reforestation to address illegal logging in West Kalimantan

Background

In this study, Pohnan et al. evaluated the social impacts of the local NGO Alam Sehat Lestari (ASRI) restoration program that took place in Gunung Palung National Park in West Kalimantan, Indonesia, an area that host numerous endangered species and that has been degraded by illegal logging for the past several decades.

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Social Capital in Biodiversity Conservation and Management

Background

The article begins with a description of the opposing views of the roles of smallholders in conservation strategies.  On the one hand they directly use resources that external agencies attempt to protect, on the other hand these people have intimate knowledge of these systems.  Thus leading to the question, “Could local people play a greater role in biodiversity conservation and management?” (Pretty, 2004).

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The political economy of reforestation and forest restoration in Asia–Pacific: Critical issues for REDD+

Background

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