Social Aspects
Implications of Country-Level Decisions on the Specification of Crown Cover in the Definition of Forests for Land Area Eligible for Afforestation and Reforestation Activities in the CDMbackgroundAccording to the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) with the Kyoto Protocol, reforestation may only occur on land that was not forested in 1990. This article evaluates how afforestation and reforestation (A/R) through the ENCOFOR project in four countries have approached the issue of "what is forest?" The authors highlight the uncertainty in the qualifications to be forest by presenting many different national or organizational definitions of forestland. Differences in the minimum crown cover needed to be classified as forest can affect the area available for reforestation under CDM. Open access copy available |
Integration of Hyperion Satellite Data and A Household Social Survey to Characterize the Causes and Consequences of Reforestation Patterns in the Northern Ecuadorian AmazonbackgroundThis paper describes reforestation in the Northern Ecuadorian Amazon (NEA) using 2002 remotely sensed Hyperion images and 2001 Ikonos images. Open access copy available |
The Evolution of Reforestation in BrazilbackgroundThis article describes the history of incentives for reforestation in Brazil from the 1970s through 2001. Open access copy available |
The Fate of the Tropical Forest: Carbon or Cattle?backgroundThe Clean Development Mechanism, established by the Kyoto Protocol, includes small-scale afforestation and reforestation projects as a means for participating developed countries to receive credit for emission redcutions. Available with subscription or purchase |
Community Reforestation in the Philippines: An Evaluation of Community ContractsbackgroundSince the 1950s, the Phillipines has lost over 15 million hectares of tropical forest. While there has been continued efforts to halt these trends and reforest the loss areas, there has been many barriers; thus the country recently turned to private and community-based efforts. This study is a review of two reforestation projects in the Philippines that were contracted through private entities rather than government agencies. Available with subscription or purchase |
Beyond Basic Needs: Participation and Village Reforestation in ThailandBackgroundAt present, many federally-sponsored community reforestation projects engage communities by hiring local labor to establish plantations with fast-growing tree species. This method ignores the importance of local knowledge and local-level accountability that improves the chances of a project's survival. Available with subscription or purchase |
The Reforestation Value Chain for the PhilippinesbackgroundThis paper describes the reasons for the failure of reforestation projects in the Philippines and the potential actions to improve success. When reforestation is focused narrowly on tree plantings, they can last for a few years (mostly 3) but then are easily cut by farmers who want to resume farming, by people in need of wood, or by people feeling that the reforestation was unjust. Most reforestation projects do not have plans beyond tree establishment. Open access copy available |
On the Restoration of High Diversity Forests: 30 years of Experience in the Brazilian Atlantic ForestbackgroundThis review evaluates the restoration of Brazil's Atlantic forest by drawing from published and unpublished sources. Reforestation in Atlantic Brazil took place in phases: government-sponsored plantations predominated until 1982; a focus on native species plantations from 1982-1985; higher diversity of species used from 1985 to 2000; a focus on restoring process rather than copying the structure of natural forests from 2000-2003; and finally a conscious effort to improve intraspecific genetic diversity and seed acquisition from 2003 to today. Open access copy available |
Tree planting by small producers in the tropics: A comparative study of Brazil and PanamaBackgroundForest regrowth is a widespread phenomenon across the tropical forest latitudes. Such reforestation takes place in the wake of land abandonment, occurs cyclically in a rotational agricultural system, and may result from the deliberate planting of trees by farmers. Although less extensive than successional forest regeneration, tree planting by small farmers can have potentially important environmental impacts at both the site and global scale. Open access copy available |
Human Ecological Questions for Tropical Restoration: Experiences from Planting Native Upland Trees and Mangroves in the PhilippinesBackgroundThis article evaluates the human ecology of reforestation in the Philippines under the Bais Bay Development Action Program. Reforestation is considered in upland riparian as well as coastal mangrove areas. Open access copy available |
