Community Forestry
Aménagement forestier et participation: quelles leçons tirer des forêts communales du Cameroun? (Forest management and participation: what lessons can we pull from communal forests in Cameroon?)The authors compare forest management of large concessions to that of smaller communal forests. They describe a shift in forest management from the state to a more local and participatory framework at the level of the commune. Finally, the authors speculate whether this decentralization of power over the forests will result in more sustainable management practices for Central Africa tropical forests.
Open access copy available |
Reverdir le Sahel: Le succès de la régénération (Regreening the Sahel: Regeneration success)Open access copy available |
Lacandon Maya Ecosystem Management: Sustainable Design for Subsistence and Environmental RestorationbackgroundThis study examines swidden agroforestry used by the Lacandon Maya, an indigenous group living in Chiapas, Mexico, linking soil ecology to previous studies on plant communities. Open access copy available |
Participatory Monitoring in Tropical Forest Management: A Review of Tools, Concepts and Lessons LearnedbackgroundThis report reviews the impacts, challenges, and shortcomings of well-documented cases of successful as well as unsuccessful participatory monitoring programs in tropical forests across the globe. Open access copy available |
Participatory Forest Monitoring: An Assessment of the Accuracy of Simple Cost–Effective MethodsbackgroundThis article examines the feasibility of implementing participatory forest monitoring to conserve biodiversity and improving livelihoods for local communities. Long-term monitoring of forest conservation sites by professional scientists, is often cost prohibitive and uses techniques irrelevent to local community members, while simpler methods could be learned and implemented by local communities and more affordable. Open access copy available |
Local Knowledge Helps Select Species for Forest Restoration in a Tropical Dry Forest of Central Veracruz, MexicobackgroundThis paper presents a participative approach to species selection in forest restoration in the tropical dry forest in Mexico. Recent shifts in government programming now favor the planting of native speices over exotic timber species that have historically been used in reforestation projects. Open access copy available |
Enjeux fonciers, exploitation des ressources naturelles et Forêts des Communautés Locales en périphérie de Kinshasa, RDC (Land Issues, Exploitation of Natural Resources, and Local Community Forests on the Outskirts of Kinshasa, DRC)backgroundThe authors discuss factors affecting peri-urban forests that surround Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo and identify mismanagement of forest resources by local authorities as well as the willingness of local communities to take part in forest management. Open access copy available |
Agro-Successional Restoration as a Strategy to Facilitate Tropical Forest RecoverybackgroundTropical forest restoration to address resource degradation and climate change is a growing trend in tropical regions. However, a lack of funding and provision for human livelihoods often hinders forest restoration projects. Traditional agroforestry systems are often seen as a way to connect farmers to forest restoration, and the article outlines existing agroforestry models. Open access copy available |
Mapping Priority Areas for Forest Landscape Restoration and Improvement of Rural Community Livelihoods in Guatemala's San Marcos HighlandsbackgroundThis study maps priority areas for forest landscape restoration in three watershades of south-western Guatemala. This rural region has received attention from local government and international socio-economic development projects. Research Goals & MethodsThis study used GIS and Multi-criteria decision analysis to generate maps. These tools enabled the integration of a wide variety of complex information to evaluate different contexts and dynamics of the landscape. 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 |
