Local Livelihoods

Green economy, oil palm development, and the exclusion of Indigenous swidden cultivators in the Philippines

Background

Green 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.

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Beyond tenure: Rights-based approaches to peoples and forests, some lessons from the Forest Peoples Programme

Background

Land tenure reforms have been implemented in several forested landscapes to support livelihood security among forest-depended communities. However, while these reforms have led to some improvements in tenure and livelihood security, they have also increased social exclusion and marginalization in some contexts. This paper argues that tenure reforms should be implemented within a rights-based framework, but one that integrates a range of human rights and is not solely focused on property rights.  

Open access copy available

Context in land matters: The effects of history on land formalizations

Background

Land formalization is the process by which governments grant legal rights to land, along with responsibilities and conditions of access through land titles and other official documents. This process typically establishes or re-establishes the authority of the state over the governance of land. This paper draws on examples from Africa and Asia to illustrate how land formalization has differing impacts on a diverse set of claimants, and largely increases inequity.

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Vulnerability of smallholder farmers to climate change in Central America and Mexico: current knowledge and research gaps

Background

This article recognizes that smallholder farmers are both critical to the global agricultural sector yet are one of the most vulnerable populations to climate change. Specifically, farmers in Central America and Mexico are experiences particularly high threats, thus the authors focus on this subgroup.

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Forests as safety nets for mitigating the impacts of HIV/AIDS in southern Africa

BACKGROUND

70% of the people infected with HIV/AIDS are in Southern Africa, and the disease is perpetrating the already existing poverty in the continent. The impacts of the disease have led to livelihood change, as more funds in households are channeled to health care. To cater for these pressures and shocks households can resort to the use of forest products and in trading them to generate income. Some families have begun to rely on traditional remedies due to their low cost.

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Livelihoods diversification and gender in Malawi

BACKGROUND

More than 50% of the population of Malawi lives in rural areas, in extreme poverty. Women and men have significantly different roles in the making of livelihoods. The country’s economy is based on agriculture which is vulnerable to many shocks, forcing the people to diversify to other economic activities. Male headed and female headed homes respond differently to these shocks. Malawi’s gender policy is aiming at reducing the current gender of disparities.

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Módulo 1: Planificación para la implementación de prácticas de restauración a escala local

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Antecedentes

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La participación de los grupos étnicos en REDD+: Algunas consideraciones, retos y oportunidades para el caso de Colombia

 

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Antecedentes

Open access copy available

Safety Nets, Gap Filling and Forests: A Global-Comparative Perspective

BACKGROUND

This paper seeks to prove how forests and wildlands are utilized in developing countries as safety nets to shocks, and how they provide resources for seasonal gap filling. The study was carried out in various developing countries in different continents. Areas where there is no forest at all were excluded and those completely forest covered such as those dominated by hunter- gatherers were not considered.

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Fuelwood collection and its impacts on a protected tropical mountain forest in Uganda.

Background

This study examined the patterns, effects and potential management of fuelwood extraction on the forest of Mt Elgon, located in the Eastern part of Uganda, Sub- Saharan Africa. Fuelwood is the main source of energy, mainly collected from the forest. 98% of the households use fuelwood and charcoal for cooking and heating. This is a protected area with a history of conflict between surrounding populations and conservation actors. No other forest remains in its direct vicinity.

Research goals and Methods

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