Local Livelihoods
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 |
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 |
Human Persecution is An Important Threat to the Conservation of the Endangered Black-and-Chestnut Eagle in Northern AndesBackgroundHuman-wildlife conflicts are widespread and put threatened species at an even higher risk of extinction. Human persecution of threatened wild animals with the aim to protect domesticated animals contributes to the decline of threatened wild animals. The black-and-chestnut eagle is under threat in the northern Andes of Ecuador and Colombia due to efforts to protect domestic poultry. Open access copy available |
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 |
Compensatory Afforestation in Odisha, India: A political ecology of forest restorationBackgroundOpen access copy available |
Anything but a story foretold: multiple politics of resistance to the agrarian extractivist project in GuatemalaBackgroundOpen access copy available |
Conservation, green/blue grabbing, and accumulation by dispossession in TanzaniaBackgroundA number of scholars point out that current processes surrounding the control of land and other resources lead to the loss of land for some alongside the accumulation of wealth by others. According to them, recent forms of neoliberal conservation enable capital accumulation by powerful groups through shifts in ownership and access over common land away from communities. The authors of this paper sought to compare wildlife and coastal conservation projects in Tanzania to understand the similarities and differences in the types of dispossessions and accumulation that occur in these two types of ecosystems through conservation programs. Available with subscription or purchase |
Limited effects of tree planting on forest canopy cover and rural livelihoods in rural IndiaBackgroundOpen access copy available |
Forty years of community-based forestry: A review of its extent and effectivenessBackgroundThis report assesses the effectiveness of community-based forestry (CBF) over the past 40 years. Governments have been implementing programs such as participatory conservation, joint forest management, community forestry with partial or full devolution, and private ownership over several decades, and the authors assess the biophysical and social impacts of these programs, and outline the key lessons learnt during this time. Open access copy available |
Green economy, oil palm development, and the exclusion of Indigenous swidden cultivators in the PhilippinesBackgroundGreen economy programs involve agro-industrial development in land frontiers for activities that are considered low-carbon or as seen as supporting greenhouse gas reduction. In the Philippines, as in many parts of South-East Asia, oil palm plantations are promoted as a form of green growth, contributing to food security and biofuels while meeting reforestation goals on lands that are often classified as idle, or waste, but may not be in practice. The paper explores the implications of oil palm development on land tenure security of smallholder swidden cultivators from indigenous communities. Open access copy available |
