Social Aspects
Traditional medicinal knowledge of tropical trees and its value for restoration of tropical forestsBackgroundTropical regions host the planet's greatest biodiversity, much of which is maintained by Indigenous and local communities through traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) and traditional medicinal knowledge (TMK). In Mexico’s Tabasco region, deforestation and habitat fragmentation have severely degraded tropical forests, threatening both biodiversity and cultural practices. TMK, which supplies up to 80% of primary health care globally, is increasingly recognized for its potential to inform conservation and restoration. Despite this, TMK is being lost due to modernization, migration, and the replacement of traditional remedies with commercial pharmaceuticals. Open access copy available |
Indigenous exploitation and management of tropical forest resources: an evolutionary continuum in forest-people interactionsBackgroundAvailable with subscription or purchase |
REDD’ing Forest Conservation: The Philippine PredicamentBackgroundAvailable with subscription or purchase |
Forests, food, and fuel in the tropics: the uneven social and ecological consequences of the emerging political economy of biofuelsBackgroundOpen access copy available |
Against political ecologyBackgroundAvailable with subscription or purchase |
Violent enclosures, violated livelihoods: environmental and military territoriality in a Philippine frontierBackgroundHistorically, agrarian change in the Philippines involved shifts in land enclosure, from colonial and church usurpation to capitalist intensification and protected areas, sparking peasant resistance and the rise of insurgent groups like the New People's Army (NPAs). Currently, in Palawan, military operations against the NPA often conflate peasants and insurgents. These military actions converge with conservation in national park buffer zones, creating restrictive and politically charged spaces for indigenous groups like the Tagbanua. Authorities frequently stigmatize their traditional land use as criminal, such as swidden farming. Available with subscription or purchase |
The Social Life of Forest Carbon: Property and Politics in the Production of a New CommodityBackgroundAvailable with subscription or purchase |
How to Achieve Effective Participation of Communities in the Monitoring of REDD+ Projects: A Case Study in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)BACKGROUND:The Miombo woodlands of southern Africa represent one of the region's most extensive dry forest ecosystems, spanning several countries and supporting the livelihoods of over 100 million people. These woodlands have undergone significant environmental degradation over recent decades, primarily driven by shifting cultivation, charcoal production, and unsustainable land-use practices. Given their ecological importance and critical role in rural livelihoods, particularly among low-income people, understanding and promoting sustainable management of Miombo woodlands is essential for both environmental conservation and socioeconomic development. Open access copy available |
Hope for Threatened Tropical Biodiversity: Lessons from the PhilippinesBackgroundOpen access copy available |
The Prospects for Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) in Vietnam: A Look at Three Payment SchemesBackgroundAvailable with subscription or purchase |
