East Asia and Pacific
Consequences of broadscale timber plantations for biodiversity in cleared forest landscapes of tropical and subtropical AustraliaBackgroundIn Australia, as in many countries, there has been a shift in timber production from native forests to plantations. While plantations are primarily considered an efficient means of producing timber, there is increasing interest in their potential contribution to biodiversity conservation. This paper conducts a literature review of the impacts of plantations on biodiversity and assesses plantation scenarios proposed for cleared rainforest landscapes in tropical and subtropical Australia. Open access copy available |
Quelques réussites dans la réduction de la déforestation: Des pays tropicaux où les politiques de protection de la forêt et de reboisement ont fonctionnéThis report highlights successes of developing countries and their strategies for reducing deforestation and as a result, their emissions of greenhouse gases. The authors note that decreases in deforestation are primarily a result of REDD+ programs, including payments for ecosystem services, better law enforcement, governance reforms, moratoria on deforestation practices, and incorporating the environment in development efforts. Other successes come from policy changes and programs that have had intended and unintended positive impacts on forests.
Full resource not available online |
Collaborative Efforts On Mangrove Restoration In Sedari Village, Karawang District, West Java ProvincebackgroundMany communities are undertaking mangrove restoration projects to try to return some of the ecosystem services provided by mangrove forests, with mixed success. Open access copy available |
Restoration of native forests from Japan to MalaysiaBackgroundThis paper describes the "Miyawaki method" to afforestation and its application in an urban setting in Malaysia. This method, which relies on a densley planted mix of seedling species from seeds collected in neighboring forests, has been utilized throughout Japan and is gaining momentum in new tropical locations as well. Available with subscription or purchase |
Restoration Ecology of Lowland Tropical Peatlands in Southeast Asia: Current Knowledge and Future Research DirectionsBackgroundWhile there has been extensive research on northern peatlands, there has been limited studies that have studied tropical peatlands. Southeast Asia in particular has experienced significant deforestation and degradation of peatlands, thus resulting in a rise of landscape-scale restoration projects. Open access copy available |
Does Tree Planting Change Minds? Assessing the Use of Community Participation in Reforestation to Address Illegal Logging in West KalimantanbackgroundGunung Palung National Park in West Kalimantan, Indonesia has experienced illegal logging and fires that led to degradation and conversion of forests to grasslands in a state of arrested succession. A local NGO named Alam Sehat Lestari (ASRI) began a restoration effort to restore degraded forest areas and provide jobs to local community members that might otherwise participate in illegal logging. Open access copy available |
Understanding Forest Transition in the Philippines: Main Farm-Level Factors Influencing Smallholder’s Capacity and Intention to Plant Native Timber TreesBackgroundSmall-scale farmers' decisions on when, where, and how to plant trees in their use of natural, human, and capital resources is critical to understand as part of any forest transition trajectory. This paper studies these questions in the Philippines. Available with subscription or purchase |
"Where's our development?" Landowner aspirations and envrionmentalist agendas in Western Solomon IslandsBackgroundThis article is an evaluation of a five-year conservation and development project, "The Solomon Islands Community Resource and Development Project" initiated by the World Wide Fund for Nature (formerly the WWF). The project was intended to educate local landowners on the importance of biodiversity, the rainforest, and on protecting these resources from logging. The focus of the project was primarily educational but also provided assistance and incetives to pursue more sustianable "ecotourism" projects. Available with subscription or purchase |
Mangrove restoration without plantingBackgroundMangrove planting is the most common method of restoring mangrove forests. However, this approach is not often successful, especially when the causes of mangrove degradation were not removed prior to planting new seedlings or propagules. A successful mangrove restoration project may not necessarily include a planting phase. When the stressors are removed and suitable environmental conditions are present, natural regeneration processes could recover mangroves from degradation. Open access copy available |
Canal blocking strategies for hydrological restoration of degraded tropical peatlands in Central Kalimantan, IndonesiaBackgroundIn the 1990s, the Government of Indonesia sponsored the construction of thousands of km of canals in 1 million Ha of peatlands of Central Kalimantan to drain the peatlands for conversion to agriculture. The project over-drained the peatlands, leaving it unusable agriculturally and subject to fires and subsidence. Existing efforts to dam the canals to return the water table to previous levels have failed. Open access copy available |
