Social Aspects
WeForest: Luanshya, ZambiaBackgroundWeForest works with local farmers in the Luanshya distric of the Zambian Copperbelt to provide training and tools that will help with the diversification of income while they plant and protect local forests. Goals & ApproachThe goals of the project is to restore native Miombo woodlots on smallhold farms, promote sustainable use of Miombo woodland and sustainable forest management, promote economic development, and build livelihood resilience. This is achieve through working closely with hundreds of farmers and promoting assisted natural regeneration (ANR) as a restoration approach. Open access copy available |
Fallow to Forest: Applying Indigenous and Scientific Knowledge of Swidden Cultivation to Tropical Forest RestorationBackgroundThis study analyzed vegetation at two sites of shifting cultivation by Lawa and Karen indigenous people in the Mae Chaem watershed in 1-year, 3-year and 6-year fallow fields, with an area of natural forest as a control comparison. Available with subscription or purchase |
Priority Setting for Scaling-Up Tropical Forest Restoration Projects: Early Lessons from the Atlantic Forest Restoration PactBackgroundThe Atlantic Forest Restoration Pact (AFRP) serves as a network of different stakeholders at all scales, from local farmers and landowners with a few hectares on local scales to environmental action groups and policy makers on an ecosystem scale. There are currently over 200 stakeholder partners involved in the network, though it is not an NGO yet as of the publication of this article. The AFRP seeks to restore 15M ha of deforested land by 2050, the majority of which is land that, compliant with the Brazilian Forest Code, should be forest land. Available with subscription or purchase |
Biodiversity–Productivity Relationships in Small-Scale Mixed-Species Plantations Using Native Species in Leyte Province, PhilippinesbackgroundThe growth of tropical reforestation in recent decades has given rise to a debate between the relative productivity, biodiversity, and general merits of mixed-species vs. single-species plantations. To further investigate the relationship between tree species diversity, productivity, and abiotic factors such as climate and soil, this study investigated the growth of mixed-species plantations in Leyte province in the Philippines. These smallholder plantations were planted in 1992 to meet social, economic, and environmental needs through the Rainforestation Farming system. Open access copy available |
Carbon Footprint: Great Rift Valley, KenyaBACKGROUNDThis project takes place in the Kikuyu Escarpment, Western Kenya. The Kikuyu escarpment forest has a high biodiversity and the services the ecosystem provides, particular water, is a key source for neighboring communities' livelihoods. Environmental degradation through charcoal burning, logging for timber and fuel wood, ring-debarking for medicinal trees and overgrazing are negatively affecting these services and depleting the area of important vegetation cover. Open access copy available |
Ecological Implications of Harvesting Non-Timber Forest ProductsBackgroundThis article examines 70 case studies on the ecological effects of harvesting plant-species NTFPs in an attempt to draw broader conclusions for both forest resource management and future research. Open access copy available |
Burning Biodiversity: Fuelwood Harvesting Causes Forest Degradation in Human-Dominated Tropical LandscapesbackgroundOpen access copy available |
The Use of Ants and Other Soil and Litter Arthropods as Bio-Indicators of the Impacts of Rainforest Clearing and Subsequent Land UseBackgroundThis study evaluates the impacts of rainforest clearing on soil and litter arthropods with a particular focus on ant species. Open access copy available |
Between Cash and Usufruct Rights: In Search of an Appropriate Policy Instrument for Sustained Local People's ParticipationBackgroundThis study examines a reforestation program that was launched in the Philippines funded by the Asian Development Bank in 1988. Contract restoration and incentive mechanisms were introduced to include the participation of civic and local community groups in reforestation. Open access copy available |
Gmelina Boom, Farmers Doom: Tree growers risks, coping strategies and optionsBackgroundThe widespread smallholder tree plantations of Gmelina arborea established in the South Philippines in the 1980s led to price boom and bust cycles rather than the expected economic returns for growers. This study evaluates grower responses to the timber price bubbles of the 1990s and recommends policy responses. Open access copy available |
