Local Livelihoods

Towards more effective integration of tropical forest restoration and conservation

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The Restoration of Degraded Lands by Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples

Background

Land degradation is a global ecological crisis that threatens biodiversity, ecosystem integrity, and human well-being. Over 75% of land worldwide is affected, impacting the livelihoods of 3.2 billion people. Causes include deforestation, desertification, unsustainable agriculture, and climate change. In response, the United Nations launched the “Decade on Ecosystem Restoration” (2021–2030) to promote land restoration and achieve Land Degradation Neutrality. Indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs) manage a significant portion of intact ecosystems and possess deep ecological knowledge, making them vital actors in restoration efforts.

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Traditional medicinal knowledge of tropical trees and its value for restoration of tropical forests

Background

Tropical regions host the planet's greatest biodiversity, much of which is maintained by Indigenous and local communities through traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) and traditional medicinal knowledge (TMK). In Mexico’s Tabasco region, deforestation and habitat fragmentation have severely degraded tropical forests, threatening both biodiversity and cultural practices. TMK, which supplies up to 80% of primary health care globally, is increasingly recognized for its potential to inform conservation and restoration. Despite this, TMK is being lost due to modernization, migration, and the replacement of traditional remedies with commercial pharmaceuticals.

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REDD’ing Forest Conservation: The Philippine Predicament

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Forests, food, and fuel in the tropics: the uneven social and ecological consequences of the emerging political economy of biofuels

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Against political ecology

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Violent enclosures, violated livelihoods: environmental and military territoriality in a Philippine frontier

Background

Historically, agrarian change in the Philippines involved shifts in land enclosure, from colonial and church usurpation to capitalist intensification and protected areas, sparking peasant resistance and the rise of insurgent groups like the New People's Army (NPAs). Currently, in Palawan, military operations against the NPA often conflate peasants and insurgents. These military actions converge with conservation in national park buffer zones, creating restrictive and politically charged spaces for indigenous groups like the Tagbanua. Authorities frequently stigmatize their traditional land use as criminal, such as swidden farming.

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Hope for Threatened Tropical Biodiversity: Lessons from the Philippines

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The Prospects for Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) in Vietnam: A Look at Three Payment Schemes

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Automating violence? The anti-politics of ‘smart technology’ in biodiversity conservation

Background

Biodiversity conservation initiatives, such as the UN's post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (30x30), increasingly use smart technologies. Despite recognizing Indigenous and local rights for successful conservation, these initiatives often neglect customary rights and uses. Smart technologies, like AI, camera traps, and drones, enable new surveillance methods. State, private, and corporate actors, including big tech and BINGOs, actively adopt these tools to enhance data access and form smart governance networks.

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