Local Livelihoods

Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration: The Niger Experience

BACKGROUND

This paper reviews the farmer managed natural regeneration (FMNR) program introduced in the Maradi region of Niger around 1983 to restore degraded parts of the lands. FMNR was started in response to past failures of restoration projects that were modeled for temperate climates and in societies and cultures different from those in West Africa. This prompted the use of more conventional traditional methods of regeneration from re-sprouts of felled trees without running expensive nurseries.

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The Socio-Economic Effects of Ghana's Government Afforestation Project on Beneficiary Farmers in the Dormaa District of the Brong Ahafo region of Ghana

Background

Forests play a central role in Ghana's global economy and local livelihoods, yet degradation and overharvesting continue to be an issue. In response, the Ghana government implemented an afforstation program in 2001 to restock forests and help alleviate poverty. 

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Involving Local Farmers in Rehabilitation of Degraded Tropical Forests: Some Lessons from Ghana

background

This study is an analysis of  a community-based tree planting project in Ghana using the taungya systems with indigenous trees. The project was sponsored by the Forestry Research Institute of Ghana (FORIG), the government of Ghana, and the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO). The goal of the tree planting in the project was to improve forest rehabilitation as well as local livelihoods.

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Modelos espaciales aplicados al manejo de los recursos naturales: una propuesta en la sub-cuenca del Río Pilón, Nuevo León, México (Spacial modeling applied to natural resources management)

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Vinculación entre el sustento de los agricultores, los árboles y el proceso de agua y suelos en las buenas prácticas de gestión de áreas de captación (Linking farmers livelihoods, trees and soils in water catchments management practices)

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Are Mangroves Worth Replanting? The Direct Economic Benefits of a Community-Based Reforestation Project

background

This study examines the socioeconomic impacts of a community-led reforestation project in the Philippines through a survey of the local fishers over 10 years after replanting. The wider objective of the study was to obtain greater data on the local economic value of mangroves and present it as a comparison to other land uses such as development and aquaculture.

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Reforestation Strategies Amid Social Instability: Lessons from Afghanistan

Background

This study evaluates recent reforestation programs in Afghanistan in anticipation of larger scale programs needed to address watershed-scale degradation.

Research Goals & Methods

It surveys reforestation programs in rural upper watershed areas in Afghanistan in order to provide insight for similar problems in insecure regions elsewhere, especially where reforestation may help reverse degradation and assist with social stabilization efforts.

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Social and Ecological Synergy: Local Rulemaking, Forest Livelihoods, and Biodiversity Conservation

Background

Decentralized forest management with local community involvement is often viewed as a way to incentivize sustainable forest use through enhanced local knowledge, shared accountability, and perceived legitimacy. However, the effectiveness of decentralized management towards these goals is unclear both theoretically and in practice. There are few systematic multicountry empirical analyses that identify important factors and their complex relationships with social and ecological outcomes.

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Explaining Success on the Commons: Community Forest Governance in the Indian Himalaya

background

This study describes how a range of causal influences shape forest conditions in diverse ecological and institutional settings in the Indian Himalaya.

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

background

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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