Are Vietnamese farmers able to combat global climate change? A case study on perceptions and attitudes towards sustainable forest management and REDD+ in Central Vietnam

ABSTRACT

Global efforts to combat climate change has led to the establishment of the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation program (REDD+). This study concerns the implementation of REDD+ among local landscapes and communities in Vietnam. How do affected forest-dependent households perceive their roles in sustainable forest management and REDD+ and how do these perceptions and attitudes influence the (potential) socio-ecological performance of REDD+? Two communes consisting of forest-dependent and indigenous communities in Central Vietnam were selected for this study–the former involved in the UN-REDD program and the latter involved in a REDD+ program of Fauna and Flora International (FFI). Here, we differentiated between a ‘do no harm’ and pro-carbon (UN-REDD), and pro-poor (FFI-REDD+) approach to REDD+. Employing an applied socio-ecological systems framework, we conducted household surveys (n = 102) and we adopted qualitative research methods. This study identified the importance of traditional ecological knowledge systems in sustainable forest management. While pro-poor REDD+ was more inclusive, both REDD+ programs in our study were implemented in a top down manner. Lastly, households’ attitudes and perceptions towards rulemaking, sanctioning, monitoring, cultural capital (beliefs and worldviews) and forest protection technology were identified as (potential) local drivers for successful REDD+ implementation in both communes.     

Five years of REDD+ governance: The use of market mechanisms as a response to anthropogenic climate change

Forest ecosystems worldwide are increasingly subjected to human intervention, leading commentators to argue that forests should be viewed as anthropogenic ecosystems. REDD+ is an emerging inter-governmental policy instrument aimed at both reducing deforestation and forest degradation and combatting climate change, whereby developed countries pay developing countries to reduce their forest-based emissions. The paper details a five-year research project to evaluate REDD+ quality of governance and develop governance standards for the mechanism. Quality of governance was evaluated in five key international institutional elements: the REDD + related negotiations in the global climate talks; the support and funding agencies UN-REDD, Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF), Forest Investment Programme (FIP) and the REDD + Partnership. This research was complemented by national level governance assessments and related standards setting initiatives in Nepal and Papua New Guinea. The researchers conclude that REDD+ confronts a number of challenges, notably around resources for capacity building, and benefit sharing. In addition, the lack of provisions for changing behaviour and solving the problem of forest-based emissions in the current safeguards render them inadequate to the task of delivering quality of governance. In the absence of consistent governance standards, REDD + will only partially be successful in combatting climate change in the Anthropocene.     

A reality check on the landscape approach to REDD+: Lessons from Latin America

Developing and institutionalizing cross-sectoral approaches to sustainable land use remains a crucial, yet politically contested, objective in global sustainability governance. There is a widely acknowledged need for more integrated approaches to sustainable land use that reconcile multiple landscape functions, sectors and stakeholders. However, this faces a number of challenges in practice, including the lack of policy coherence and institutional conflicts across agricultural and forest sectors. In this context, the global climate change mitigation mechanism of “reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation” (REDD+) has been flagged as a unique opportunity to stimulate the development and institutionalization of more integrated, “landscape” approaches to sustainable land use. In this article, we provide a reality check for the prospects of REDD+ to deliver on this promise, through analyzing three pioneer cases of REDD+ development and implementation in Brazil, Ecuador, and Mexico. We analyze how REDD+ has operated in each of these three contexts, based on field work, key-informant interviews, and analysis of primary and secondary documents. Our findings suggest that REDD+ has stimulated development of “niche” sustainable land-use investments in each case, which aim to integrate forest conservation and agricultural development goals, but has done so while competing with business-as-usual incentives. We conclude that national and international political commitment to more integrated and sustainable land-use approaches is a precondition for, rather than a result of, transformative REDD+ interventions.     

REDD+机制各缔约方观点总结分析及我国对策建议

减少发展中国家毁林及森林退化引起的温室气体排放, 森林保护、可持续森林管理和增加森林碳储量(REDD+)在减缓气候变化行动中的作用越来越明显, 已经成为《联合国气候变化框架公约》谈判的重要议题。近年来各缔约方针对方法学、融资机制和REDD+与清洁发展机制(CDM)关系的谈判争论越来越激烈。在《联合国气候变化框架公约》第18次缔约方会议(COP18)期间, 对REDD+议题提出了新的要求, 除了有关于逐步建立国家水平森林参考排放水平或参考水平等有关方法学的技术与科学问题外, 基金在融资机制中的作用和非碳效益支付议题也有待进行深入的磋商。文中基于对各缔约方提案的分析结果和REDD+示范项目开展情况, 结合我国森林资源现状, 分析了REDD+机制对我国可能产生的影响并提出后续谈判期的对策建议。     

Community Dependency on Forest Resources in West Java,Indonesia

Abstract

Policies aimed at the exclusion of local communities from forest management are inappropriate, especially in a densely populated area with a low level of land ownership. Here we demonstrate that termination of the Tumpang Sari program, which allowed local communities access to areas for controlled cultivation in several parts of the state forest area in West Java, Indonesia, did not cease illegal cultivation of the forestland. Moreover, illegal cultivation continues to be conducted by many people. This has created not only a land degradation problem but also has affected other forest resource users, the fuelwood collectors and the dairy cattle farmers. Therefore, the re-involvement of local communities in better forest management is required to avoid further environmental degradation as well as enhance poverty alleviation programs.     

从REDD+到可持续森林管理的国际法律立场及策略——以《巴黎气候协议》为背景

鉴于REDD+国际法律机制面临的理论和实践困境,有关林业碳汇的国际法律机制有从REDD+向可持续森林管理过渡的趋势。文中提出,必须用国际规则和协议的方式从碳交易、融资方式、利益攸关方参与、生物多样性保护4个方面对可持续森林管理加以规制,我国应尽快完善与国际林业谈判相适应的林业碳汇法律机制。     

Indonesia's Forest Management Units: Effective intermediaries in REDD + implementation?

Previous literature encouraged a hybrid institutional approach for REDD + implementation, where clear government policies help reconcile the rules, regulations and interests of external institutions with those of the communities involved. However, it is unclear how such an approach can be designed in the scale necessary to match local, national and international interests in protecting forests. For this reason, the functions of intermediaries deserve explicit recognition by key actors in shaping REDD + policy nationally and internationally. Indonesia is promoting the more localized Forest Management Unit (Kesatuan Pengelolaan Hutan or KPH) as a key element of forest governance reform for embracing REDD + and related initiatives. Using a case study from eastern Indonesia, we analyzed local factors driving deforestation and forest degradation. We then reviewed the work of the local KPH to examine the necessary roles of a potential REDD + intermediary. We argue that progress made by the local KPH in improving forest governance, including partnerships with local communities, is made possible by the KPH fulfilling the role of policy intermediary while taking on transformative roles reshaping internal and external relations. However, for the KPHs to fulfill their mandate as effective REDD + intermediaries, more concerted efforts from the central and provincial governments, as well as from international donors, are still needed. These include greater consistency in government policies and regulations, improved policy communications, and the commitment to strengthening the capacity of individual KPHs.     

Implementing nature conservation through integrated forest management: A street-level bureaucracy perspective on the German public forest sector

Integrated forest management–pursuing multiple management objectives on the same area–is one important approach to reconciling conflicting demands towards forests. While a few studies have examined its implementation at a local level, the literature is thus far lacking detailed analyses of how forestry professionals perceive and implement the integration of multiple demands towards public forests, as well as what factors are influencing local level decision-making. This study attempts to fill this gap. Focusing on nature conservation aspects and their integration into public forest management, where a primary objective is timber production, we examine the implementation of integrated forest management in five German Länder (German federal states) as perceived by state forest enterprise rangers (Revierleiter). Our findings indicate a great willingness and commitment among forest rangers to implement integrative nature conservation approaches through integrated forest management. However, there are also a number of factors that hinder their implementation. In particular there is a mismatch between the demands placed on rangers and the support provided to them regarding time, more flexible timber targets, and financial as well as personnel resources. We argue that the practical implementation of integrative nature conservation requires more favorable conditions which can actually facilitate the balancing of multiple demands through integrated forest management.     

International Finance for REDD+ Within the Context of Conservation Financing Instruments

Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+) is a conservation finance instrument based on the payments for ecosystem services model, wherein governments, private landowners, concession holders, and/or communities are compensated for undertaking activities which mitigate greenhouse gas emissions from forest use and land use change. This article reviews the numerous sources for REDD+ finance within the context of total global conservation finance. In 2013, there were approximately 47 REDD+ projects conserving nearly 20 million ha with a total transacted value in carbon offset credits estimated to be US$98.8 million. Scaling up conservation financing instruments, particularly REDD+, is critical to halting tropical deforestation and reversing the trend of global climate change. Although the bulk of REDD+ financing, especially for capacity building efforts, comes from public sector channels, this article discusses five opportunities for private sector firms to support REDD+: a firm can develop their own project; a firm can donate unrestricted funds to a nonprofit organization; a firm can invest in a for-profit firm; a firm can choose to support a particular REDD+ project; or a firm can invest into a dedicated fund.     

林业减排增汇机制对中国多功能森林经营的影响与启示

随着社会经济的发展, 人们对林业提出了更高层次的、更为多元化的要求, 多功能森林经营应运而生。在全球气候变化背景下, 国际社会对林业减排增汇潜力越来越关注和重视, 由此产生的林业减排增汇机制对我国多功能森林经营的开展将产生巨大影响。文中对林业减排增汇机制和多功能森林经营的关系及其可能产生的潜在影响进行了分析, 提出了林业减排增汇计划的实施对我国开展多功能森林经营的一些有益启示。     

Effectiveness of Protected Area Governance in the Conservation of Mt. Marsabit Forest Ecosystem,Kenya

ABSTRACT

Protected area systems (PAs) have the potential to conserve natural resources and provide social and economic benefits to local communities. Establishing and maintaining good governance and associated mechanisms is necessary for adaptive management of PAs. To test this hypothesis, we analyzed the relationships between various stakeholders and the effectiveness of PA governance of Mt. Marsabit forest ecosystem in Kenya. We used social network analysis (SNA) to assess the interactions between actors, and factor analysis to analyze the effectiveness of governance criteria. Governance of Mt. Marsabit forest ecosystem was complex with a multiplicity of stakeholders from diverse interests. Governance was moderately effective (61%) with positive indicators including the regulatory framework, delineation of areas under conservation, and reduction in poaching. The low level of interactions and associations among stakeholders suggest a weakness in the networks that may negatively affect the flow of information and other resources. This weakness was attributed to a lack of institutionalization of the links leading to poor coordination of processes. Local communities were inadequately represented in the governance of this PA despite being important actors. Our study finds that local ownership and strong linkages between actors are important ingredients for effective governance of PAs.     

REDD+ initiatives for safeguarding biodiversity and ecosystem services: harmonizing sets of standards for national application

In the context of growing concerns about environmental aspects of reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries (acronym REDD+), we conducted a comparative analysis of three sets of globally-applicable standards and one instrument of REDD+ initiatives for safeguarding biodiversity and ecosystem services: (1) social and environmental principles and criteria, (2) REDD+ social and environmental standards, (3) climate, community, and biodiversity project design standards, and (4) strategic environmental and social assessment. We found that their projected proximal outcomes for biodiversity and ecosystem service treatments, and approaches to achieve them, are not uniform (e.g., differences in spatial coverage for expecting positive impacts, prioritized REDD+ activities, and expected level of rigor in biodiversity and ecosystem service monitoring). We also found that all four include identification of the priority areas for biodiversity and ecosystem services, plus monitoring and mitigation of the negative impacts of REDD+ activities. These all require substantial time and resources to fully address what the three standards and the instrument actually stipulate. We thus propose options for harmonizing their use to facilitate scaling-up of efforts to strengthen safeguards, from the project level to the national level, while respecting individual national contexts and taking advantage of each standard’s characteristics.     

A Systems Analysis of Factors Affecting Leakage in Reduced Emissions From Deforestation and Degradation Projects in Tropical Forests in Developing Nations

This paper uses systems analysis to examine the factors that influence leakage in Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) projects in tropical forest areas in developing countries. A causal loop diagram is used to identify some key intervention points for stakeholders to reduce the negative impacts of leakage. One of the most important intervention points identified is to provide livelihood alternatives to supplement the resources and the income that neighbouring small-scale landholders and communities must forego for the REDD initiative to be successful. The question remains, however, of how best to organise and distribute these resource allocations and payments to support the REDD project objectives. It is concluded that in many cases, developing countries with tropical forest coverage are unlikely to benefit from REDD in the foreseeable future, because of constraints related to economies of scale, but also because of political instability and lack of institutional capacity in many of these nations. Moreover, the risk remains that many of these developing countries will suffer from cross-border market leakage due to REDD projects conducted elsewhere, and that this will lead to negative local forest conservation and livelihood outcomes.     

Adaptation to Change and Re-designing of Governance Systems: Cases from Small-Scale Rural Forestry

Changes in small-scale forest governance as a reaction to global changes are viewed from the system dynamics perspective, focused on two levels of dynamic systems: the policy system with sets of interactions at the national level and the management system at the local level. These interactions are considered through permanent adaptation and re-shaping of stakeholders’ networks and positions provoking further changes in the systems. Empirical evidence has been obtained from two case studies related to small-scale rural forestry in distinct contexts—France (the Territorial Forestry Charters) and Kyrgyzstan (collaborative forest management and leasing of forest plots)—and viewed through a theoretical framework of social-political systems dynamics. The changes caused by the systems’ capacity for adaptability and resilience are expressed through a double spiral of decision-making, characterising the interactions between national policies and local management practices. The analysis leads to a conclusion that changes are basically determined by the formal and informal stakeholders’ strategies developed in a specific context and their mutual adaptation aimed at system resilience.

全球REDD+筹资状况与对策研究

减少毁林和森林退化降低碳排放及通过森林保护与可持续管理增加碳储量（REDD+）是应对气候变化的有效机制。完善的资金机制是顺利实施REDD+机制的关键环节,其中筹集资金又是资金机制最重要的组成部分。文中阐述当前REDD+资金机制一般模式,分析REDD+筹资情况,并且对巴西、印度尼西亚、坦桑尼亚和越南4国REDD+非市场筹资进行重点分析,在此基础上剖析了REDD+项目存在融资数量少、承诺资金难以落实、REDD+资金监管成本高等问题,提出解决REDD+资金筹措问题的相关建议,以期对完善REDD+资金来源机制起到促进作用,推动REDD+项目顺利实施。     

长期粗放经营毛竹林土壤微生物群落演变特征

[目的]通过分析土壤微生物生物量及群落结构的演变趋势,筛选影响土壤微生物群落的关键环境因子,揭示土壤微生物群落对毛竹林长期粗放经营的响应机理。[方法]选取不同粗放经营年限(5 a、9 a、15 a、18 a)毛竹林,以天然马尾松林(Masson pine,MP)作为对照,采用磷脂脂肪酸(Phospholipid fatty acids,PLFA)分析方法表征土壤微生物量及群落结构。[结果]结果表明,毛竹林土壤微生物总PLFA含量以及细菌、真菌、放线菌等PLFA含量均显著低于马尾松林(P0.05),但不同经营年限毛竹林之间没有显著差异。土壤碱解氮及有效磷含量对土壤微生物总PLFA含量以及细菌、真菌、原生动物等PLFA含量影响显著(P0.05),而土壤碱解氮、p H值以及有机质含量对放线菌PLFA含量影响显著(P0.05)。长期粗放经营过程中毛竹林土壤微生物丰富度及多样性均呈逐渐下降趋势。非度量多维尺度转换排序(Non-metric multidimensional scaling,NMDS)分析结果表明,毛竹林土壤微生物群落结构与马尾松林有明显区分(R=0.388 1,P=0.009)。土壤含水量、碱解氮、有效磷以及p H值合计解释了90.28%的微生物群落结构变异量,其中土壤含水量、碱解氮、有效磷贡献显著(P0.05)。[结论]长期粗放经营降低了毛竹林土壤微生物量,改变了群落结构,其生态风险还有待于进一步评估。     

International influence on forest governance in Tanzania: Analysing the role of aid experts in the REDD+ process

Forest governance in many African countries is characterised by a blatant gap between policy and implementation. Contrary to studies that explain this discrepancy mainly with deficient budgets and capacity shortfalls, this paper highlights aid as a cause of implementation failure: Analysing the REDD+ process in Tanzania, it reveals how donor experts employ their material and discursive power to convey ‘conservation fads’ to the country's policy domain, and to shape the latter in terms of substance and organisation. At the same time, it shows how local actors from government, civil society and academia utilise their international ‘partners’ for pursuing their own interests.The empirical findings presented in this paper are based on expert interviews and document analysis. Drawing on democracy theory and development studies, the paper points out the implications of aid and related expert advice for young democracies. In the Tanzanian forest sector, a far-reaching effect can be observed: Decision-makers routinely adjust their agenda to donor priorities without necessarily intending to put new policies into practice. While the uptake of ‘conservation fads’ promoted by the aid industry provides them direct and indirect access to resources, it prevents the emergence of responsive politics able to transform forest management on the ground.     

Forest management and conservation before and after the introduction of village participatory land use plans in the Kilosa district REDD+ initiative,Tanzania

The use of Village Participatory Land Use Plan (VPLUP) model as a natural resource management and conservation tool has been growing recently. This study examined the premise under which VPLUPs implementation can enhance the management and conservation of Village Land Forest Reserves (VLFRs) in the context of Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation plus (REDD+) initiative in the Kilosa district of Tanzania. A mixed method research design, which integrates participatory community mapping (PCM), focus group discussions (FGDs), key informants interviews (KIIs), direct observations, and household interviews were used in data collection. The results showed that there were significant (p < 0.05) improvements in forest management and conservation indicators after VPLUPs implementation, and increase in the management and conservation activities carried out by the community after the implementation of VPLUPs. There was also a significant decrease (p < 0.05) in almost all uses of the forest after the implementation of VPLUPs. The findings provide evidence that the VPLUP model has potential for enhancing the management and conservation of forests in the context of REDD+ strategy. Thus, it is argued that VPLUP can be used as a forest management and conservation tool to facilitate the implementation of the REDD+ initiatives.     

Governance Concepts and their Application in Forest Policy Initiatives from Global to Local Levels

In recent decades the concept of ‘governance’ as interdependent coordination of actors as well as the normative concept of ‘good governance’ have increasingly influenced international forest policy, to varying degrees. Using the three dimensions of multi-actor, multi-sector and multi-level governance to analyse key aspects of governance in the follow-up of global policy after the UNCED conference in 1992, this paper shows that ‘multi-actor governance’ has received considerable attention in international forest policy, mainly through promoting national forest programs. Global forest policy initiatives were less able to develop concepts to address and improve ‘multi-sector governance’ and ‘multi-level governance’, although these two dimensions of governance are particularly relevant for local levels. A number of major international forest policy initiatives, both public and private, have also focused on improving various dimensions of ‘good governance’. A review of the degree to which these international governmental initiatives have been transposed and applied at the local or regional level reveals a major gap between concepts and forest policy initiatives developed and promoted at international and national levels and their application at the regional and local levels. This calls for better concepts addressing in particular the ‘multi-level’ dimension of governance in order to improve connectivity between these levels. A range of governance change approaches can be applied, including adjusting modes of interaction, instruments and institutions.

近自然森林经营在德国的应用成效分析

[目的]分析德国推行近自然森林经营20年来的经营效果,总结德国推行近自然森林经营的经验。[方法]在明晰近自然森林经营原则的基础上,基于两期(间隔期10年)资源清查数据对比,对德国大面积推行近自然森林经营20年的经营效果进行分析。[结果]两期资源清查数据表明,德国采用近自然经营20年后,针叶林如挪威云杉和欧洲赤松的面积显著减少,阔叶林和针阔混交林面积持续增加;阔叶树种蓄积平均增长量约为15 m~3·hm~(-2),针叶树种蓄积平均增长4 m~3·hm~(-2),挪威云杉是唯一蓄积下降的树种,下降了5 m~3·hm~(-2);近自然度等级变化表明,人工林面积在减少,而近自然森林的面积在增加,甚至符合原始林等级的森林面积也在增加。[结论]实现近自然森林经营的目标是一个长期的过程,联邦政府促进和保护森林的政策以及林场主所采用的先进的森林经营技术也是德国森林每公顷蓄积达到336 m~3的重要原因;在近自然森林经营的原则下,德国森林中针阔混交林比例显著增加;将近自然程度不高的人工林经营转化为近自然的森林生态系统是德国森林经营所面临的主要问题。