Governance
Ten principles for restoring campo rupestre, a threatened tropical, megadiverse, nutrient-impoverished montane grasslandBackgroundIn the U.N. Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, one of the most overlooked ecosystem types is tropical grasslands. Studies on these ecosystems are lacking, as are the foundations for restoration. These foundational points of policy, practice, and governance in addition to science need to be addressed. The authors provide 10 principles to restore the campo rupestre, a tropical grassland that is threatened by human activities including mining. Available with subscription or purchase |
Tropical Forest Landscape Restoration in Indonesia: A ReviewBackgroundIndonesia has an exceptionally high amount of biodiversity and endemic species. As the timber industry has grown, deforestation and degradation drive biodiversity loss, air pollution, deteriorating water quality, and greater emissions. Restoration projects and policies are in place to balance ecological health and human livelihood across landscapes like the ones in Indonesia. Restoration projects are particularly complex in Indonesia due to land tenure clarity issues, disorganized institution, and other social aspects. The authors review forested landscape restoration progress in Indonesia and examines inhibiting factors in institution and policy as well as indicators of restoration benefits. Open access copy available |
A standard framework for assessing the costs and benefits of restoration: introducing The Economics of Ecosystem RestorationBackgroundPolicy behind restoration projects and efforts is stronger than ever before, however the funding and financial structure to keep these efforts going is drastically underdeveloped. Ecological restoration finance is not usually in the expertise of restoration practitioners and communities, thus requiring those people to bring in someone with that expertise for aid. The authors emphasize that restoration projects are long-term investments and therefore a better financial understanding is needed to properly plan and execute those projects. Better understanding the costs and benefits of restoration will help gain easier access to financial support. Available with subscription or purchase |
Ecosystem restoration job creation potential in BrazilBackgroundEcosystem restoration is recognized globally for its environmental benefits. Other benefits from ecosystem restoration such as job creation may be of high interest to key stakeholders. The leverage of job creation may motivate additional investments and long-term commitment from stakeholders into restoration projects. Goals and MethodsThe authors aim to assess ecosystem restoration jobs in Brazil based on an online survey. Job structure, distribution, and abundance are measured. In total, the authors analyze results from 356 organizations’ responses covering almost the entirety of Brazilian estates. Open access copy available |
Safeguarding sloths and anteaters in the future: Priority areas for conservation under climate changeBackgroundSloths and anteaters come from the order Pilosa which has very little species richness and a high rate of species loss in recent years, making this order highly vulnerable to extinction. This order is distributed endemically in the Neotropics. Conservation concerns are high due to the high levels of habitat fragmentation and loss in Neotropical landscapes and conservation areas need to be prioritized to ensure Pilosa species survival. Available with subscription or purchase |
Spatial density patterns of herbivore response to seasonal dynamics in the tropical deciduous forest of central IndiaBackgroundStrong seasonality of dry tropical forests causes variations in vegetation and therefore food resources for animals. This study investigates the seasonal distribution patterns between summer and winter of four ungulate species (Rusa unicolor, Axis axis, Bocephalus tragocamelus, and Sus scrofa) in the Panna Tiger Reserve in India. Ungulates tend to gravitate towards areas that are cooler with more vegetation, and at higher elevations. Available with subscription or purchase |
A cautionary note for forest landscape restoration in drylands: cattle production systems in northwest Madagascar’s dry forestsBACKGROUNDIt is evident that land tenure security is crucial for successful restoration. Unfortunately, in Madagascar, dry forests are considered unoccupied and unowned even when communities have long-established claims under customary tenure systems. The authors stated that collective tenure recognition efforts were underway in Madagascar, but limited knowledge of agropastoralist cattle production strategies impeded the efforts to develop tenure reforms. The authors examined how cattle raisers in the Boney Region in northwest Madagascar organize pastoral spaces and cattle production strategies in the area’s dry forest. Open access copy available |
The political ecology playbook for ecosystem restoration: Principles for effective, equitable, and transformative landscapesBackgroundGlobally, land degradation and forest loss continue despite an increasing number of projects working towards ecological restoration. The authors of this paper argue that one of the reasons that restoration projects have been unable to achieve their goals and ensure ecological resilience is that they ignore the underlying issues of political inequity and injustice that drive ecological degradation. Open access copy available |
Grey areas in green grabbing: subtle and indirect interconnections between climate change politics and land grabs and their implications for researchBackgroundAvailable with subscription or purchase |
Green Grabbing: a new appropriation of nature?BackgroundThe authors introduce a set of papers which collectively discuss discourses and processes surrounding the transfer of ownership, user rights, or control over land and resources to meet environmental goals such as the production of biofuels or carbon sequestration, dispossessing some of their land while contributing to increasing the accumulation of property for others. The papers were originally presented at the International Conference on Global Land Grabbing and contribute to existing debates around land grabbing by building on the concept of ‘green grabbing’, wherein the appropriation of land is justified on environmental grounds. Open access copy available |
