Policies

Farm Forestry: An Alternative to Government-Driven Reforestation in the Philippines

Background

This study reviews literature and various case studies about growing trees at the farm level by rural farmers. In the Philippines, millions of dollars have gone to employ people to plant trees as part of reforestation programs while only about 10% of those planted areas are successful. The authors assert that paying people to plant trees is unsustainable and often hindered by the lack of prompt release of funding.

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Rehabilitation of Degraded Forest Ecosystems in Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand and Vietnam: An Overview

background

This document describes reforestation policies and actions in the four countries of the lower Mekong river: Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Open access copy available

Paying for Environmental Services: An Analysis of Participation in Costa Rica's PSA Program

background

This study evaluates demographic and other factors that played a role in the participation of households in Costa Rica's Payment for Environmental Services program.

Research Goals & Methods

The authors rely on economic analysis of technology adoption and farm and forestry program participation to assign variables and draw conclusions.

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Reforestation: Conclusions and Implications

Background

As the final chapter of the Reforesting Landscapes: Linking Pattern and Process (2010), this paper evaluates and reflects on the major research findings of the volume. It utilizes the case studies in preceeding chapters to evaluate commonalities in reforestation and to develop an interdisciplinary framework for future studies on reforestation. 

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Implications of Country-Level Decisions on the Specification of Crown Cover in the Definition of Forests for Land Area Eligible for Afforestation and Reforestation Activities in the CDM

background

According to the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) with the Kyoto Protocol, reforestation may only occur on land that was not forested in 1990. This article evaluates how afforestation and reforestation (A/R) through the ENCOFOR project in four countries have approached the issue of "what is forest?" The authors highlight the uncertainty in the qualifications to be forest by presenting many different national or organizational definitions of forestland. Differences in the minimum crown cover needed to be classified as forest can affect the area available for reforestation under CDM.

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The Evolution of Reforestation in Brazil

background

This article describes the history of incentives for reforestation in Brazil from the 1970s through 2001.

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On the Restoration of High Diversity Forests: 30 years of Experience in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest

background

This review evaluates the restoration of Brazil's Atlantic forest by drawing from published and unpublished sources. Reforestation in Atlantic Brazil took place in phases: government-sponsored plantations predominated until 1982; a focus on native species plantations from 1982-1985; higher diversity of species used from 1985 to 2000; a focus on restoring process rather than copying the structure of natural forests from 2000-2003; and finally a conscious effort to improve intraspecific genetic diversity and seed acquisition from 2003 to today.

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The Fate of the Tropical Forest: Carbon or Cattle?

background

The Clean Development Mechanism, established by the Kyoto Protocol, includes small-scale afforestation and reforestation projects as a means for participating developed countries to receive credit for emission redcutions.

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Forest Transition in Vietnam and Bhutan: Causes and Environmental Impacts

background

The authors evaluate the history of forest transition Vietnam and Bhutan.

Goals & Methods

In order to determine the change in forest cover in Vietnam, the authors collected all available land cover maps, which were then compared to official government records. Using statistical analysis, they then determined the causes of reforestation in the 1990s. For Bhutan, there was no official data analysis. The authords do provide preliminary findings using available data and literature. 

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Afforestation and Forestry Land Allocation in Northern Vietnam: Analysing the Gap Between Policy Intentions and Outcomes

background

This study looks at the policy factors surrounding the government's allocation of farmland for afforestation in northern Vietnam. This study takes place in the context of other large-scale afforestation projects conducted by governments in tropical countries, where land rights and livelihoods of local farmers can be at risk.

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