Land Use Practices

Drug Policy as Conservation Policy: Narco-Deforestation

Background

Central America exploded into prominence as a drug trafficking corridor in the last decade. The authors documented that an unprecedented flow of cocaine into Central America “coincided with a period of extensive forest loss”. The authors discuss the evidence that supports the idea that "trafficking of drugs (principally cocaine) has become a crucial—and overlooked—accelerant of forest loss” in Central America.

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On the hope for biodiversity-friendly tropical landscapes

Background

As pristine tropical forests get harder to preserve, much expectation has been allocated to the conservation of ecosystem services and biodiversity into Human-modified landscales (HMLs). However, it has not been fully assessed to what degree HMLs are able to sustain ecosystem services and what management practices can enhance biodiversity conservatoin in them.

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Ecosystem Services Approach to Landscape Restoration and Sustainable Livelihoods

Background

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Leaders in Action: Success Stories from the Tropics

Background

The Environmental Leadership and Training Initiative (ELTI) seeks to seeks to train and support people to restore and conserve tropical forest landscapes. Since 2006, the organizations has engaged with thousands of people both through their in-person and online training platforms and through follow-up support and mentorship. This paper highlights select inspirational stories from ELTI alum. These stories come from the Neotropics, including Panama, Colombia, and Brazil, and Asia, including Indonesia, Singapore, and the Phillipines.  

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Strategies and innovations for capacity building on ecological restoration

Background

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Rainforestation Case Study: The Cienda-San Vicente Farmers Association Experience

Background

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Leaders in Action: Achieving Forest Landscape Restoration Through Online Learning

Background

Between May 2016 and March 2017, the Environmental Leadership and Training Initiative and IUCN conducted six online courses titled “Forest Landscape Restoration in the Tropics.” These courses were in response to the emerging trend of countries committed to restoring millions of hectares of land via the forest landscape restoration approach, which aims to achieve ecological, economic, and social benefits simultaneously. This paper highlights numerous success stories of individuals who participated in these courses.

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Ecological Restoration and Sustainable Agricultural Landscapes

Background

This paper summarizes the talks of 2013 symposium held in Bogota, Colombia titled Ecological Restoration and Sustainable Agricultural Landscapes. The talks center around the pressing issue of balancing agricultural demands and the need to conserve biodiversity. They discuss current initiatives throughout Latin America that seek to both conserve and restore productive landscapes. Five talks in total are summarized touching on subjects ranging from agroforestry to silvopastoral systems to capacity building.

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The Contribution of Traditional Agroforestry to Climate Change Adaptation in the Ecuadorian Amazon: The Chakra System

Background

This article explores the amazonian-indigenous "chakra" agroforestry system, and its utility as a forest management practice that sequesters carbon, increases food security, grows valuable timber, and acts as a habitat connectivity. The size of these cultivated areas range from 0.4 - 4ha, and include species such as anioc (Manihot esculenta Crantz), banana (Musa paradisiaca L.), peach palm (Bactris gasipaes Kunth), fine-flavored cacao (Theobroma cacaoL.) and robusta coffee (Coffea canephora Pierre ex A. Froehner), and a variety of medicinals.

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Trade-offs in nature tourism: contrasting parcel-level decisions with landscape conservation planning

Background

This article discusses the trade-offs linked to nature tourism in Monteverde, Costa Rica. Nature tourism has been used for promoting conservation in Costa Rica since the 1970s when it was adopted into developmental policy. Tourism is now the largest industry in Costa Rica; but is nature tourism an effective way to preserve ecosystem services and promote economic benefits? The study area includes Monteverde (an ecotourism town near the Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve), San Luis (a coffee and dairy farming community), and Guacimal (economy based on cattle ranching and dairy).

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