Policies
On the Need of Legal Frameworks for Assessing Restoration Projects Success: New Perspectives from Sao Paulo State (Brazil)BackgroundThis article describes a legal framework that Sao Paulo state of Brazil enacted to promote ecosystem restoration projects on private lands through it's “New Forest Code” in 2012. Available with subscription or purchase |
Trade-offs in nature tourism: contrasting parcel-level decisions withlandscape conservation planningBackgroundA landscape approach to conservation has increasingly taken prominence as scientists and policymakers consider the role of landscape patches and connectivities. However, understanding trade-offs in policy decisions and land management strategies in a landscape dominated by privately held patches presents a challenge. This study discusses trade-offs with the nature tourism industry in Monteverde, Costa Rica, considering effects across parcel-level decisions. Open access copy available |
The Political, Social, and Ecological Transformation of a LandscapeBackgroundIn 1951 the Chinese Government issued the Decision on Cultivating Rubber Trees, which resulted in the establishment of large-scale rubber plantations in the tropical regions of China, including Xishuangbanna in southern Yunnan. These rubber plantations, worked by relocated Han Chinese, were a manifestation of state power on the landscape. Open access copy available |
In Equal Measure: A User Guide to Gender Analysis in AgroforestrybackgroundThis guide provides tools for practioners working with rural communities in tropical countries. It describes how gender roles and responsibiities play a significant role in adoption and development of agroforestry systems. Open access copy available |
Mapping Priority Areas for Forest Landscape Restoration and Improvement of Rural Community Livelihoods in Guatemala's San Marcos HighlandsbackgroundThis study maps priority areas for forest landscape restoration in three watershades of south-western Guatemala. This rural region has received attention from local government and international socio-economic development projects. Research Goals & MethodsThis study used GIS and Multi-criteria decision analysis to generate maps. These tools enabled the integration of a wide variety of complex information to evaluate different contexts and dynamics of the landscape. Open access copy available |
Drug Policy as Conservation Policy: Narco-DeforestationBackgroundCentral America exploded into prominence as a drug trafficking corridor in the last decade. The authors document that an unprecedented flow of cocaine into Central America “coincided with a period of extensive forest loss”. The authors discuss the evidence that supports the idea that "trafficking of drugs (principally cocaine) has become a crucial—and overlooked—accelerant of forest loss” in Central America. Open access copy available |
What Drives the Success of Reforestation Projects in Tropical Developing Countries? The Case of the PhilippinesBackgroundThis study evaluates the drivers and indicators related to reforestation success in the Philippines. The study included surveying 43 reforestation projects on Leyte. Research Goals & MethodsThe authors capture success drivers in three general categories: socio-economic, institutional / policy / management and reforestation characteristics. Available with subscription or purchase |
Intensive Silvopastoral Systems: Improving Sustainability and Efficiency in Cattle Ranching LandscapesBackgroundThe article summarizes productivity benefits from implementation of intensive silvo-pastoral systems (ISPS) in Colombia, Mexico and Brazil, including benefits for the well-being of cattle, heightened biodiversity, and decreased area needed for production (allowing for greater quantities of forest area). The authors also summarize challenges inhibting greater adoption of intensive silvo-pastoral systems, and potential policy solutions for overcoming these challenges. Open access copy available |
Lowering Emissions in Asia's Forests (LEAF)BackgroundThe Lowering Emmissions in Asia's Forests (LEAF) program was USAID regiona initiative that ran for five years, from 2011 to 2016. This final report summarizes the challenges the LEAF program faced and the results it achieved. Open access copy available |
Nature Conservation Foundation, GEF: Southern Western Ghats, IndiaBackgroundThis project, funded by the GEF small grants program, utilized restoration and conservation efforts in order to improve the degraded rainforests of western Ghats, India. The project occurred over a four-year span from 2004 to 2008. Open access copy available |
