Policies

Toward a post‐conflict Colombia: restoring to the future

Background

After emerging from over 60 years of armed conflict, Colombia is positioned to pursue ecological restoration. Through this pursuit, the country will restore ecosystem services that were severly impaired, thus restoring both natural and social capital that can actively contribute to the peace-building process. Moreover, the Colombian government has also undertaken national and international engagements that commit to reforesting and restoring the country's ecosystem. This article provides suggested goals and guidelines to aid in these ambitious restoration efforts. 

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La gestion des aires proteges dans les paysages du PFBC: un etat des lieux

The authors discuss history and threats to protected area systems in the Congo Basin. They outline a new approach to protected area management in the Congo Basin region.

 

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Rwanda Environmental Threats and Opportunities Assessment (ETOA)

BACKGROUND

This report provides a background on the state of the environment in Rwanda.  The authorrs write this report to fulfil a legal requirement of the US, Foreign Assistance Act (FAA), which requires that a Tropical Forests and Biodiversity Analysis be conducted in conjunction with the development of new foreign assistance strategies and programs.  The report is also intended to identify opportunities to better integrate USAID's portfolio across development sectors by suggesting linkages with economic growth, agriculture, democracy and governance, health, and education activities.

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National Forest Policy of Malawi

Background

In Malawi, there has been extensive forest degradation, estimated at an annual loss of 2.8%. The degradation is caused by a variety of factors, including agriculture expansion, human settlement, fire use, timber and non-timber over extraction. The 2016 Forest Policy of Malawi outlines a policy-approach to stop and revert these trends. 

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Malawi State of Environment and Outlook Report: Environment for Sustainable Economic Growth

Background

Although Malawi’s rich natural resources – forests, fertile soils, water resources, and fisheries – offer opportunity for sustainable development, mismanagement of these resources and poverty-related resource exploitation pose a risk for resource degradation. This periodic (2010) State of the Environment and Outlook report discusses trends, threats and opportunities in the environmental, health, demographic, industrial and agricultural sectors.

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A Guide to the Restoration Opportunities Assessment Methodology (ROAM)

Background

This guide presents an introduction to Restoration Opportunities Assessment Methodology (ROAM), a tool for countries to evaluate areas for restauration of forest landscapes and identify priority areas. It provides steps for forest land restoration (FLR) preparation and planning, data collection, analysis of results, policy recommendations and implementation.

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La pratique de la gestion durable des terres: Directives et bonnes pratiques en Afrique subsaharienne (The practice of sustainable land management: Guidance and best practices in sub-Saharan Africa)

The authors present the state of land management in sub-Saharan Africa, focusing on unsustainable exploitation of soils, vegetation, and water resources. The authors end by discussing the urgent need for a new system of governance and sustainable land management in sub-Saharan Africa.

 

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Carbon sequestration in Africa: The land tenure problem

Background

Inconsistent land tenure practices across Africa are an obstacle to expanding tropical afforestation project with the goal of carbon sequestration. Few discussions of tropical afforestation in Africa address this obstacle.

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Understanding the Interaction of Rural People with Ecosystems: A Case Study in a Tropical Dry Forest of Mexico

Background

This paper reports on the effort to understand the relationship between the rural communities and the often-studied tropical dry forest. While many papers from scientists have focused on the biology and ecology of the Chamela-Cuixmala region, relatively few have considered human element to their work.

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Régénération naturelle assistée: Gestion des arbres champêtres au Sahel (Assisted natural regeneration: management of wild trees in the Sahel)

The authors outline threats to forest regeneration in the Sahel, particularly with regard to agroforestry systems. Better agroforestry practices that incorporate assisted natural regeneration would allow for more sustainable availability of firewood and productivity of agroforestry systems. The authors strongly advocate for major changes in behavior and politics, including decentralization of authority over forest resources.

 

Open access copy available
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