Lessons Learned

More than Just Trees: Assessing Reforestation Success in Tropical Developing Countries

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The Political Economy of Reforestation and Forest Restoration in Asia-Pacific: Critical Issues for REDD+

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This study examines the political and economic factors that have commonly shaped reforestation and forest restoration initiatives in the greater Asia-Pacific region.

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Addressing Forest Degradation and Timber Deficits in Ghana

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This report combines the efforts of several studies to present suggestions for best practices in Ghanaian tree plantation systems in the context of the country’s 1996 Forest Development Master Plan, which aimed to reforest 10,000 hectares per year for 20 years. Both public and private plantation systems are discussed, including the country’s Modified Taungya System (MTS)which encourages small-scale plantations. The report presents information on planting schemes, policies, stakeholders, and worker income. 

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Landscape Rehabilitation of Degraded Tropical Forest Ecosystems: Case Study of the CIFOR/Japan Project in Indonesia and Peru

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The CIFOR/Japan project on tropical forest restoration involves three principal components: 1) evaluation of logging impacts on forest systems, 2) development of methods for the restoration of logged and degraded forests, and 3) development of silvicultural practices for degraded forests.

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Farm Forestry: An Alternative to Government-Driven Reforestation in the Philippines

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This 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.

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What Does it Take? The Role of Incentives in Forest Plantation Development in Asia and the Pacific

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This 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.

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Conceptual Framework for Mangrove Restoration in the Yucatán Peninsula

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In the Yucatán Peninsula, mangroves were lost at a rate of around 1.84% per year between 1976 and 2000. In 2000, the North American Wetlands Conservation Council gave the state government of Yucatán $800,000 towards mangrove restoration projects. Some research shows that the projects funded by this grant did not fully meet restoration goals.

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Participatory Forestry as a Strategy for Reforestation in Bangladesh

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This article describes Bangladesh's history of reforestation programs, notes the rarity of their success, and provides suggestions for future programs.

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Tropical forest recovery: Legacies of human impact and natural disturbances

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Land-use history interacts with natural forces to influence the severity of disturbance events and the rate and nature of recovery processes in tropical forests. This perspective article highlights several trends in tropical forest recovery processes emerging from recent literature.

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Sustainable Harvest International Reforestation: Annual Report FY2008

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The mission of Sustainable Harvest International's reforestation work is to empower local farmers by giving them the knowledge and equipment to improve degraded lands, rebuild diversity in the forest ecosystems, and benefit from the planting of trees.

Open access copy available
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