Case Studies
Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration: The Niger ExperienceBACKGROUNDThis paper reviews the farmer managed natural regeneration (FMNR) program introduced in the Maradi region of Niger around 1983 to restore degraded parts of the lands. FMNR was started in response to past failures of restoration projects that were modeled for temperate climates and in societies and cultures different from those in West Africa. This prompted the use of more conventional traditional methods of regeneration from re-sprouts of felled trees without running expensive nurseries. Open access copy available |
More than Just Trees: Assessing Reforestation Success in Tropical Developing CountriesbackgroundOpen access copy available |
Contextual Analysis of Agroforestry Adoption in the Buffer Zone of Podocarpus National Park, EcuadorBackgroundPromoting sustainable agriculture and community development has been an important strategy both to alleviate resource pressures on Ecuador’s Podocarpus National Park (PNP) and surrounding forested areas in its buffer zone, and to aid local communities. However, many contextual factors drive neighboring rural and agricultural communities to put pressure on PNP and the surrounding landscape. Available with subscription or purchase |
Tropical Forest Restoration within Galapagos National Park: Application of a State-transition ModelBackgroundFew restoration models address ecological and management issues across the vegetation mosaic of a landscape. Because of a lack of scientific knowledge and funds, restoration practitioners focus instead on site-specific prescriptions and reactive rather than proactive approaches to restoration; this approach often dooms restoration projects to failure. This synthesis article tests a state-transition model as a decision-making tool to identify and achieve short- and long-term restoration goals. Open access copy available |
Restoration of degraded forest land in Thailand: the case of Khao KhoBackgroundThis 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 |
Farm Forestry: An Alternative to Government-Driven Reforestation in the PhilippinesBackgroundThis study reviews literature and various case studies about growing trees at the farm level by rural farmers. In the Philippines, millions of dollars have gone to employ people to plant trees as part of reforestation programs while only about 10% of those planted areas are successful. The authors assert that paying people to plant trees is unsustainable and often hindered by the lack of prompt release of funding. Available with subscription or purchase |
Tree Plantations in the Philippines and Thailand: Economic, Social, and Environmental EvaluationBackgroundTropical land area under plantations have dramatically increased in recent decades, largely as a result of natural forest depletion. Forest plantations cannot qualitatively substitute the timber or the habitat of natural forests, yet are growing in global importance both commercially and ecologically. However, the negative and positive social and environmental impacts must also be included in analysis of tropical forest plantations. Open access copy available |
What Does it Take? The Role of Incentives in Forest Plantation Development in Asia and the PacificbackgroundThis document is a compilation of case studies from different countries on the incentives and their impact on plantation development in South and Southeast Asia. The countries addressed are Australia, China, India, Indonesia, New Zealand, The Philippines, Sabah (Malaysia), Thailand, and the United States. Open access copy available |
Ulu Masen REDD+ initiative, Aceh, IndonesiaBackgroundThe area of the Ulu Masen Conservation Area has been degraded due to an illegal logging boom after the tsunami as well as increasing agricultural expansion. The Ulu Masen REDD+ initiative was developed by the Government of Aceh (GoA) to address these issues. Open access copy available |
Community Based Ecological Mangrove Rehabilitation (CBEMR) in IndonesiaBackgroundWhile large-scale wetland/mangrove restoration projects have been successful worldwide efforts in Indonesia have largely failed. This is due to technical issues but also tenure issues. Considering pass projects and attempts, Ecological Mangrove Rehabilitation (EMR) has been identified as a potential best practice for Indonesia. Open access copy available |
