Monitoring

Assessing Forest Degradation: Towards the Development of Globally Applicable Guidelines

background

This FAO report defines forest degradation and provides guidelines for assessing levels of degradation with the purpose of influencing policies and forest management plans towards restoration. The report provides directions on how to measure four markers: 1) growing stock and biomass, 2) biodiversity, 3) production of forest goods, and 4) soil erosion. 

Open access copy available

Prioritization of Target Areas for Forest Restoration

BAckground

This is a report on target areas for forest restoration written by World Conservation Monitoring Centre and submitted to WWF International. The purpose of the report was to provide recommendations for prioritization to WWF International and WWF field programs.

Open access copy available

Modelling Deforestation in Dzalanyama Forest Reserve, Lilongwe, Malawi: Using Multi-agent Simulation Approach

Background

The Dzalanyama Forest Reserve is a 90,000 + hectare area in Lilongwe, Malwi. There has been an increase in charcoal production in the area leading to land cover transitions in the reserve, particularly that forest cover decreased by 22,000 ha over a twenty year span between 1990 and 2010. 

Open access copy available

Dipterocarp Forest Ecosystems: Towards Sustainable Management

Background

This book describes the difficult problem of sustainably managing the valuable resources of Dipterocarp forests in Southeast Asia. It highlights the social, economic, and forest management challenges associated with Dipterocarp governance and attempts to reconcile the often disparate roles of forest scientists and local community managers. 

Available with subscription or purchase

Land Degradation, Less Favored Lands and the Rural Poor: A Spatial and Economic Analysis.

Background

Previous studies have examined the differing economic consequences of land degradation for various groups of people, finding that the rural poor of less developed countries rely on some of the most marginal, degraded land. Yet, these studes seignificantly differ in their use of key spatial land and population indicators and the spatially referenced data generated are inadequate for cross-country economic analysis of the impact of land degradation on global poverty. This study aims to rectify these shortcomings. 

Open access copy available

Vulnerability and Impacts of Climate Change on the Forestry Sector

Background

This report focuses on the vulnerability patterns of the forestry sector in Silago, Southern Leyte, Philippines. Leyte Island has diverse ecosystems that are increasingly threatened due to the clearing of forests for commercial and marginal upland agriculture, and non-timber plantation establishment. Still the forest throughout the island provide critical resources for commercial and subsistence use. 

Open access copy available

Globalization and Forest Resurgence: Changes in Forest Cover in El Salvador

Background

The authors study certain globalization impacts in land-use change in El Salvador. The legacy of war, remittances and international migration are among other factors that have allowed tree resurgence even in highly urban populated areas.  This study tracks the different trajectories of forest recovery by analysing remote-sensing satellite images from 1970's to the early 2000's.

Open access copy available

A Cost-Benefit Framework for Analyzing Forest Landscape Restoration Decisions

Background

This report provides a cost-benefit analysis of forest land restoration (FLR) decisions with a focus on African countries. It seeks to help decision makers "set prices for payment for ecosystem services, identify sources of restoration finance, identify low-cost/high-benefit pathways towards carbon sequestration, and identify priority landscapes for restoration based on return-on-investment analysis."

Open access copy available

Drivers of Reforestation in Human-Dominated Forests

background

The country of Nepal is examined as a case study for forest cover change, as it has experienced a shift towards an increase in forest cover in recent years. This study examines forests across Nepal in order to provide a framework of social factors useful for understanding this trend.

research goals & Methods

A dataset of 55 forests from the middle hills and Terai plains of Nepal was examined for factors influencing forest cover change. 

Open access copy available

Strategies for Landscape-Scale Restoration in the Tropics

About

This publication summarizes the proceedings from the 2012 Conference of the International Society of Tropical Foresters, Yale Student Chapter, which took place on January 26-28,2012 at Yale University in New Haven, CT.

Open access copy available
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