Social Aspects
From Target to Implementation: Perspectives for the International Governance of Forest Landscape RestorationBackgroundThis article describes the international landscape of governance structures and institutions focused on promoting restoration. It aims to understand how the activities of these institutions with overlapping objectives can align and complement each other in order to create a more effective governance approach. Open access copy available |
Abreha Weatsbeha Community Ethiopia: Equator Initiative Case Studies. Sustainable Development Solutions for people, nature and resilient communitiesBackgroundThis report from UNDP is intended to "the the full story ofhow (innovative sustainable developments solutions) evolve,the breadth of their impacts (and) how they change over time" through the case study of Abreha we Atsbeha in Ethiopia. Out of 800 contestants, the community in Abreha we Atsbeha was awarded the Equator Prize in along with US$20,000 in 2012 in recognition of their tremendous work on the restoration of degraded land and subsequent increases in food security, nutrition, and local livelihoods. Open access copy available |
Shade-grown coffee in Puerto Rico: Opportunities to preserve biodiversity while reinvigorating a struggling agricultural commodityBackgroundCoffee has been a traditional crop in Puerto Rico since the mid-1700s. As the global market became more competitive in the 20th century, the Puerto Rican government provided subsidies and policies to protect the sector as well as promoted the transition to shade grown coffee for higher yields in the 1980s. The researchers surveyed 100 farms and 5 agronomists to determine attitudes about this transition. Open access copy available |
Patterns of local wood use and cutting of Philippine mangrove forestsBackgroundHarvesting for wood in mangroves is a common practice yet there has been limited studies. This paper takes a unique approach through integrating ecological and ethnographic methods in order to study local wood use and cutting of mangrove forests in two areas of the Philippines. Goals & MethodsThe author conducted a series of 202 household interviews to determine how villagers used mangrove resources in North and South Bais Bay and Bindoy, Negros Oriental, and on Banacon Island, Bohol. Available with subscription or purchase |
The Contribution of Traditional Agroforestry to Climate Change Adaptation in the Ecuadorian Amazon: The Chakra SystemBackgroundThis article explores the amazonian-indigenous "chakra" agroforestry system, and its utility as a forest management practice that sequesters carbon, increases food security, grows valuable timber, and acts as a habitat connectivity. The size of these cultivated areas range from 0.4 - 4ha, and include species such as anioc (Manihot esculenta Crantz), banana (Musa paradisiaca L.), peach palm (Bactris gasipaes Kunth), fine-flavored cacao (Theobroma cacaoL.) and robusta coffee (Coffea canephora Pierre ex A. Froehner), and a variety of medicinals. Open access copy available |
Riparian restortion for protecting water quality in tropic agricultural watershedsBackgroundIn the Sarapui River watershed in southeastern Brazil, the water quality system was measured for six subwatersheds in the region. In addition to measuring the subwatersheds, the entire watershed system was also measured and compared to a simulation model that included riparian zones throughout the river watershed. Available with subscription or purchase |
Mangrove rehabilitation: a review focusing on ecological and institutional issuesBackgroundThis article addresses the pressures and threats and the impetus for rehabilitation in mangroves around the world. It also examines rehabilitation techniques from the institutional and biophysical planning systems, including an overview of the rehabilitation process. Finally, it includes a discussion on what the authors consider a major issue for rehabilitation: failure and success in different projects and integrated approaches Open access copy available |
Case Study: Community Based Ecological Mangrove Rehabilitation (CBEMR) in IndonesiaBackgroundMangrove plantings in Indonesia have typically failed for a number of reasons including inappropriate site selection, inappropriate species selection, and/or conflict over land tenure. The authors discussed ecological mangrove rehabilitation (EMR) and its use in Indonesia, which required a more socio-cultural-political apprach as compared with EMR in the United States. Open access copy available |
When is a forest a forest? Forest concepts and definitions in the era of forest and landscape restorationBackgroundThis article highlights the importance of creating forest definitions--what is meant by forest, what is meant by forest loss, what is meant by forest restoration--in order to create a conceptual, institutional, legal and operational basis for forest policies and interventions. Open access copy available |
Gender Inequality in Malidino Biodiversity Community-based Reserve, Senegal: Political Parties and the 'Village Approach'BackgroundThis research examines some of the less visible, and ongoing social dynamics in a World Bank-funded conservation site in central Senegal. The goal of the World Bank project was to create a decentralized and community-based participatory forest management program that would re-structure the political economy of the charcoal industry, give more rights and autonomy to the local community, emphasize improved gender equity, and provide technical assistance to NGOs and community-based organizations. Open access copy available |
