Case Studies

Research Directions in Tropical Forest Restoration

Background

The paper addresses the challenges and strategies involved in tropical forest restoration. It highlights the importance of global and national initiatives aimed at restoring millions of hectares of tropical forests to achieve goals such as carbon sequestration, biodiversity conservation, and improving human livelihoods. Researchers and practitioners are increasingly aware of the site's natural resilience and the project’s ecological and human goals when planning restoration strategies due to the various site-specific barriers to forest recovery.

Available with subscription or purchase

Violent enclosures, violated livelihoods: environmental and military territoriality in a Philippine frontier

Background

Historically, agrarian change in the Philippines involved shifts in land enclosure, from colonial and church usurpation to capitalist intensification and protected areas, sparking peasant resistance and the rise of insurgent groups like the New People's Army (NPAs). Currently, in Palawan, military operations against the NPA often conflate peasants and insurgents. These military actions converge with conservation in national park buffer zones, creating restrictive and politically charged spaces for indigenous groups like the Tagbanua. Authorities frequently stigmatize their traditional land use as criminal, such as swidden farming.

Available with subscription or purchase

How to Achieve Effective Participation of Communities in the Monitoring of REDD+ Projects: A Case Study in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)

BACKGROUND:

The Miombo woodlands of southern Africa represent one of the region's most extensive dry forest ecosystems, spanning several countries and supporting the livelihoods of over 100 million people. These woodlands have undergone significant environmental degradation over recent decades, primarily driven by shifting cultivation, charcoal production, and unsustainable land-use practices. Given their ecological importance and critical role in rural livelihoods, particularly among low-income people, understanding and promoting sustainable management of Miombo woodlands is essential for both environmental conservation and socioeconomic development.

Open access copy available

Automating violence? The anti-politics of ‘smart technology’ in biodiversity conservation

Background

Biodiversity conservation initiatives, such as the UN's post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (30x30), increasingly use smart technologies. Despite recognizing Indigenous and local rights for successful conservation, these initiatives often neglect customary rights and uses. Smart technologies, like AI, camera traps, and drones, enable new surveillance methods. State, private, and corporate actors, including big tech and BINGOs, actively adopt these tools to enhance data access and form smart governance networks.

Open access copy available

Willingness to Pay for Mangroves’ Coastal Protection: A Case Study in Santo Angel, Calauag, Quezon, Philippines

Background

People recognize mangroves for providing crucial coastal protection against strong wave actions, including tsunamis and storm surges, with examples from Bangladesh, Florida, and the Philippines demonstrating their effectiveness. However, despite their importance, global mangrove extent has been decreasing, primarily due to human activities, particularly in Southeast Asia. In the Philippines, land-use conversion, exploitation, and natural hazards have significantly reduced mangrove areas since the early 1900s.

Open access copy available