Project Evaluations
Reforesting Bare Hills in Vietnam: Social and Environmental Consequences of the 5 Million Hectare Reforestation ProgramBackgroundAvailable with subscription or purchase |
The tree planting and protecting culture of cattle ranchers and small-scale agriculturalists in rural Panama: Opportunities for reforestation and land restorationBackgroundAvailable with subscription or purchase |
Peasants, agroforesters, and anthropologists: A 20-year venture in income-generating trees and hedgerows in HaitiBackgroundAvailable with subscription or purchase |
Carbon sequestration in Africa: The land tenure problemBackgroundResearch on afforestation and reforestation projects highlights how tropical forests can store carbon on a large scale. Africa offers vast areas of suitable land for carbon sequestration through these initiatives. However, the author argues that land tenure issues in Africa create an obstacle to achieving this potential. Open access copy available |
The global status and trends of Payments for Ecosystem ServicesBackgroundPayments for Ecosystem Services (PES) have expanded significantly in recent decades. These schemes aim to internalize the positive externalities that natural systems generate. PES creates incentives for landholders to adopt behaviors that sustain ecosystem service provision and, in some cases, generates additional revenue streams for conservation. However, it captures only a small fraction of the total value that natural systems provide. Researchers face challenges in collecting comprehensive and reliable data on PES due to its relatively recent emergence and the diversity of practices across different geographic scales. Available with subscription or purchase |
The Effectiveness of Payments for Environmental ServicesBackgroundThe academic debate on how effectively Payments for Environmental Services (PES) achieve environmental and socioeconomic goals continues to grow. Researchers initially focused on defining the concept and documenting early field experiences. Over time, they shifted their attention to designing effective incentives, analyzing behavioral responses, conducting systematic reviews, and applying counterfactual-based impact evaluations to assess outcomes more rigorously. Available with subscription or purchase |
Leveraging the blue economy to transform marine forest restorationBackgroundOpen access copy available |
Monitoring of large-scale forest restoration: Evidence of vegetation recovery and reversing chronic ecosystem degradation in the mountain region of PakistanBACKGROUND:Global forest area has decreased by 4.2% over the past three decades, highlighting the urgent need for effective restoration efforts. In response, Pakistan launched the Billion Tree Tsunami Afforestation Program (BTAP) in 2014 to restore depleted forest ecosystems in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province through extensive afforestation and community involvement. This study evaluates the success of BTAP in reversing forest degradation by analyzing satellite imagery and vegetation growth trends from 2014 to 2021. Available with subscription or purchase |
Beyond tenure: Rights-based approaches to peoples and forests, some lessons from the Forest Peoples ProgrammeBackgroundLand 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 |
Can short-term payments for ecosystem services deliver long-term tree cover change?BackgroundWhile payment for ecosystem services (PES) has been lauded has been an effective strategy, particularly to increase tree cover in agricultural areas. Yet, there has been limited evaluation of long-term success, such as that after the payment period. Goals & MethodsTo determine the the long-term effectiveness of PES, the author compares tree cover before and after 13 years of a PES project that promoted silvopastoral systems in Colombia, which was quantified via satellite images. Available with subscription or purchase |
