Legal frameworks for and the practice of participatory natural resources management in South Africa

This study evaluated the role of rural communities in the conservation of natural resources in South Africa. South Africa has sufficient legal instruments that promote interactive participation of rural people in the management of natural resources. These national laws operate within the policy frameworks provided by the multilateral environmental conventions and protocols to which South Africa is signatory. However, these legal commitments to participatory management of natural resources are not matched by the practice on the ground by South African conservationists. Grassroots conservation officials who are responsible for administering participatory processes primarily focus their attention on the establishment of participatory natural resources management forums. However, these forums typically die out, as they fail to meet local people's expectations. Lack of capacity, experience and innovation underlie the absence of institutional culture for effective integration of rural people's needs into the management of protected natural resources. Strategic recommendations are provided to overcome these inadequacies identified in the implementation of participatory management of natural resources in South Africa.     

An approach to public participation in strategic forest management planning

An application of the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is presented for taking public preferences into account in choosing the management strategy for a forest area. An illustrative example of the use of the approach is given, and some experiences in practical planning at Ruunaa conservation area in Eastern Finland are discussed. The approach can be applied to representative, as well as to participatory democracy approaches. The use of the approach is mainly discussed with regard to representative democracy. In the representative approach, a level of players consisting of interest groups is added into the decision hierarchy, just above the level of decision objectives. In the participatory approach, the level of players consists of citizens. By applying the approach, valuable information can be obtained about public values and their effects on the choice of management strategy as well as about possibilities to attain a compromise between conflicting interests.     

Governance and Institutions

Abstract

The institutional and governance issues that facilitate or impede community-based ecosystem management are discussed. Community-based ecosystem management has a variety of institutional models that differ in purpose, history, scope of interest, and capabilities. Several governance issues face these institutions, including: the adequacy of existing laws and policies; the role of government and policy tools such as money, messages, and mandates; mechanisms for cross-jurisdictional management; the effects of organizational culture and resources in organizations such as agencies and science; and power-distribution concerns that have made community-based ecosystem management politically contentious. For each of these issues a vision is presented for enhancing the precepts of community-based ecosystem management to ensure that it serves traditionally underrepresented populations and embodies democratic principles of open public deliberation, inclusiveness, and social justice. A significant number of success stories and innovations in dealing with these issues are documented as are barriers and challenges. Recommendations for addressing these challenges are made. While community-based ecosystem management reflects the Jeffersonian spirit of direct democracy, it also depends on individual civility and cannot be separated from the political pull and tug and the checks and balances of a complex federal system of representative democracy. The ultimate opportunity and challenge for community-based ecosystem management is to explicitly recognize its political dimensions and to continually experiment and innovate in ways to improve American democracy as well as long-term ecological sustainability.     

The “German model” of integrative multifunctional forest management—Analysing the emergence and political evolution of a forest management concept

Forest policy and management are subject to various and often conflicting demands, which internationally have led to distinct policy responses and related management paradigms. These range from a strong focus on commodity production complemented by economic rationalities – e.g. focusing on plantations – to community-based or social forestry approaches highlighting local participation and stakeholder engagement, to a focus on ecosystem services and conservation. A major challenge involves the potential orientation of the overall forest policy and management paradigm either towards integrating manifold demands more or less evenly across an area, or towards dividing the land base into forest areas with different management priorities. The specific reconciliation and integration of both sides of the spectrum have been at the centre of scientific and political discussion on forest policy and management for several decades.In this context, the “German model” of integrative and multifunctional forest management has received international attention. It is regarded as an example for integrating diverse (societal and ecological) demands into a timber-production-oriented management approach. At the same time, the model's primary focus on timber production has been criticised by some.In this paper, we analyse the political dimension of the German model by tracing the birth and evolution of the so-called LÖWE programme, a much noticed governmental forest management programme in the German state of Lower Saxony. LÖWE has frequently been presented as a particularly successful example of multifunctional forestry. We first assess the specific societal and political circumstances that led to the establishment of the programme 20 years ago. Subsequently, we assess its political function in forest policy debates about various demands on Lower Saxony's public forests. We show that the evolution of the programme can be interpreted in two distinct but non-exclusive ways. On the one hand, LÖWE was a strategic success story for the Forest Service because it aligned (and also appeased) conflicting demands in line with the changing political priorities. On the other hand, it also embodied a learning process towards environmental policy integration. By underlining LÖWE as an example of the German model of integrative multifunctional forest management, we reiterate the strategic importance of this model in the German context and also highlight future challenges and related research needs.     

How Can Participatory Forest Management Cooperatives be Successful in Forest Resources Conservation? An Evidence From Ethiopia

ABSTRACT

In many parts of the world, community-based approaches to forest management have been evolving after recognizing that the top-down approach impedes conserving forests effectively. In Ethiopia also, local communities have been involved in participatory forest management (PFM) arrangements for better conservation of forest resources. However, the achievements in improving forest conservation outcomes have been mixed, while some PFMs are successful, others are not. Using data collected from 42 PFM cooperatives from Metema and Quara districts in Amhara dry forest region of Ethiopia, this study seeks to examine the variables that explain the variations in the performances of PFM cooperatives in forest conservation. The study has found that the performance of the PFM cooperatives depends on the key attributes of users, physical resources, and institutions and these attributes explain best for the success of PFMs. Therefore, the study suggests that these attributes along with the external factors like government policy must be given due importance while designing PFM arrangement. Moreover, just to highlight the impact of the external factors, the government policy like the resettlement program must be reconsidered; while the expansion of trade and infrastructure must be encouraged in order to strengthen the performance of PFMs and achieve forest conservation.     

Sustainable Forest Management in Tropical Rain Forests

Abstract

In planning of sustainable forest management, economic, environmental and social demands often conflict. Forest management in Southeast Asian tropical dipterocarp forests has been particularly biased towards maximizing immediate economic return from extensive logging. Overexploitation and other forms of uncontrolled land use within these forests have led to the situation where the remaining natural forests, most of them in Indonesia, will be liquidated within the next 10-15 years at the current rate of deforestation. In this paper we present an approach for sustainable forest management planning in which economic, environmental and social sustainability are considered simultaneously in order to define an optimal management strategy from a set of available alternatives.

We carried out a case study within a rain forest logging concession in Indonesian Borneo by using a participatory planning approach involving interviews of the local people, environmental assessment and economic analyses. We used the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method for resource allocation and priority setting in order to identify an optimal strategy which yields a sustained economic output from timber production, while at the same time being environmentally and socioculturally sustainable. Despite their relatively high costs, strategies involving selective harvesting combined to complete restoration of original dipterocarp stock in logged-over areas were superior in terms of economic, environmental and social sustainability. Priorities set by local communities for the strategies to meet their socioeconomic and cultural needs coincide well with those ensuring the restoration and biodiversity.     

Real versus perceived conflicts between restoration of ponderosa pine forests and conservation of the Mexican spotted owl

Progress in implementing ecosystem approaches to conservation and restoration is slowed by legitimate concerns about the effects of such approaches on individual imperiled species. The perceived conflict between the restoration of fire-excluded forests and concomitant reduction of dense fuels and high-severity wildfire, versus the recovery of endangered species, has led to a policy ambiguity that has slowed on-the-ground action at a time when active management is urgently needed, both for ecosystem restoration and species conservation. The Mexican spotted owl (Strix occidentalis lucida) in the southwestern U.S.A. is emblematic of this perceived conflict, with numerous appeals and lawsuits focused on the species and vast acres of forest managed with habitat quality for this species in mind. We use spatial analysis across large landscapes in Arizona to examine potential conflicts between the desire to reduce the likelihood of uncharacteristically severe wildfire and restore native fire regimes, and the concurrent desire and legal mandate to manage forests for the recovery of the owl. Our spatially explicit analysis indicates that real conflicts between these management objectives exist, but that locations where conflicts might inhibit active forest management represent less than 1/3 of the 811,000 ha study region. Furthermore, within the areas where conflicts might be expected, the majority of the forest could be managed in ways that would reduce fire hazard without eliminating owl habitat. Finally, management treatments that emphasize ecosystem restoration might improve the suitability of large areas of forest habitat in the southwest that is currently unsuitable for owls. These results demonstrate that even where policy conflicts exist, their magnitude has been overstated. Active restoration of dry forests from which fire has been excluded is compatible in many areas with conservation and recovery of the owl. Identifying and prioritizing areas to meet the dual goals of ecosystem restoration and imperiled species conservation require a broad spatial approach that is analytically feasible but currently underutilized. Working together, conservation biologists, restoration ecologists, and forest managers can employ landscape-level spatial analysis to identify appropriate areas for management attention, identify suitable management practices, and explore the predicted consequences of alternative management scenarios on forests, fire ecology, and the fate of sensitive species of conservation concern.     

Perspectives on Community-Based Forest Management in Oaxaca,Mexico

Abstract

This compilation of papers explores various aspects related to community-based natural resource management in a comparative analysis of two communities located in different regions of Oaxaca, Mexico: the Chimalapas and the Sierra Norte. The contrasting histories, cultures, and forest ecosystems in the two communities have led to diverse approaches to managing their natural resources. Our analysis highlights the existence of underlying principles driving participatory management approaches, as well as the importance of adapting these approaches to site-specific local conditions. One theme addressed in these papers is the development of appropriate silvicultural techniques that incorporate both the local peoples' needs and experiences with the ecological characteristics of the forest ecosystem. Other land use activities are then discussed that affect management decisions in the regions such as cattle ranching and the collection of medicinal plants within the context of managing for sustainable forest and human ecosystems in the two regions. Finally, the role of community organization and the formation of partnerships with external institutions in strengthening local management and conservation initiatives are also considered. Together, these papers provide a commentary on the potentials and constraints of emerging participatory approaches to managing high priority conservation areas, and which are providing new alternatives where previous models have often failed.     

Biodiversity and Watershed Management in the Condor Bioreserve,Ecuador

Abstract

The Condor Bioreserve Watershed Protection Area is a project of The Nature Conservancy of Ecuador that seeks sustainable management of the Area for both biodiversity conservation and watershed production. The management problem is how to ensure that both these objectives are met while simultaneously meeting the diverse needs of the large and growing populations within and adjacent to the Area. For example, metropolitan Quito, a city of three million, depends on the Area's water. Conflict exists over the use of the watershed and the biodiversity within it. The chief threat is overusing biodiversity-destroying it by turning the watershed into a water factory for urban and agricultural uses. Incompatible interests, present competition and conflict must be ameliorated and foreseeable problems avoided in order to conserve biodiversity while meeting the needs of the human population. In this chapter the (1) Area's biodiversity and watershed issues are introduced, (2) the human context (social and decision processes that make up its management) are described, and (3) three common management options are explored to address problems. The first option is agreement on explicit goals, the second is obtaining and utilizing better science, and the third is using a practice-based approach. These options are evaluated for their potential to reduce conflict and realize goals. A practice-based approach is recommended because it makes the most of the limited human capacity to understand and address very complex problems. This approach can simultaneously address the biodiversity and watershed management challenge, inform and improve decision-making, and help find principles of successful ecosystem management. Unlike the two other management strategies, a practice-based approach incorporates moral, scientific, and practical considerations in management and policy decisions. A practice-based approach facilitates achievement of the dual goals of protecting biodiversity and watershed function and production.     

Socioeconomic and Environmental Basis for the Development of Small Scale Forestry in a Highly Degraded Watershed in the Venezuelan Andes

In the last 20?years, the Mocotíes watershed in the Venezuelan Andes has experienced an intense process of land-use change, with natural forests being replaced by ??sun grown coffee?? (Coffea arabica) monocultures in sites of high slope, increasing risk conditions and the vulnerability of people living in lower parts of the watershed. Using a local-scale approach, 37 productive units (10% of total) in the San Isidro micro-watershed (51.85?km²) were assessed in order to evaluate local socioeconomic conditions and perceptions of ecosystem services, and how both are affected by human activity. Almost 65% of residents work in small farms of less than 5?ha, while family ownership remains the most important form of management. A significant lack of financial support was detected, support which is required to improve coffee productivity and improve conservation practices. Severe soil loss was detected in 45% of the area, associated with cultivation on steep slopes and the use of chemical fertilizers. Agroforestry and tree planting are well-regarded, as locals tend to recognize soil protection and climate change mitigation as two of the most important ecosystem services. Using a small-scale forestry approach, it is believed that current land management could be greatly improved to: (1) progressively introduce tree cover into coffee monocultures; (2) restore degraded areas where forest cover is lost and (3) reduce deforestation. Recommended policies and actions include institutional strengthening, decentralization and the development of community-based forest enterprises. The general principles presented in this work could provide a preliminary basis for basin-wide land restoration.     

Farmer costs and benefits from agroforestry and farm forestry projects in Central America and the Caribbean: implications for policy

This paper presents results of an evaluation of the benefits provided by agroforestry and farm forestry projects in Central America and the Caribbean, and the policy implications. Tree planting provided financial benefits to farmers, as well as social, economic and environmental benefits. These justify policy interventions to explicitly recognize the potential of on-farm tree-planting efforts and provide a policy environment favorable to such efforts. New or revised policies are needed, particularly in a period of declining public budgets, to limit external incentives to in-kind inputs, rather than financial subsidies; promote market development for tree products; adopt low-cost, community-based extension strategies; focus research support; and reduce regulatory disincentives.     

河岸带边界界定中的关键问题

针对河岸带研究、保护、恢复和管理中的河岸带边界的界定问题,从定义、尺度、方法和标准等方面进行了系统的总结。介绍了植被分析法、土壤分析法、景观分析法3种常用的界定方法。以地形特征为依据,详细论述了利用景观生态学分析法界定河岸带边界的步骤。这样有助于在流域或生态区尺度上准确把握河岸带边界问题。     

Contrasting the financial efficiency of agroforestry practices in buffer zone management of Madhupur National Park, Bangladesh

This research contrasts the financial profitability of different agroforestry practices in community-based buffer zone management of Madhupur National Park (MNP), Bangladesh. This park is the second largest in Bangladesh and subjected to enormous anthropogenic pressure and land rights-related conflicts. This paper reports the different agroforestry practices of villagers in different modules of the buffer zone of MNP, identified by a participatory research approach. It then assesses the profitability of each module on the basis of cost–benefit analysis, net present value, internal rate of return, and annualized income. Results indicate three agroforestry systems were being practised in the buffer zone by the participants: agro-silviculture, agro-silvo-horticulture, and combined woodlot and agroforestry. Among these modules, agro-silvo-horticulture was the most profitable, followed by agro-silviculture then combined woodlot and agroforestry. We recognize that not all of the participants can practise intensive agroforestry; our results suggest that the community-based buffer zone management strategy for MNP would benefit from prioritizing agroforestry practices where possible. This will lead to more successful buffer zone management for the conservation of natural forests while supporting the development of local resource-dependent communities.     

Local perceptions of the conversion of cropland to forestland program in Jiangxi,Shaanxi, and Sichuan,China

Numerous land-use policies have been implemented in China in recent decades for ecological restoration and conservation to reduce environmental disasters and promote environmental sustainability.Many of these policies follow a top-down approach to implementation and as such,emphasize the hierarchical control within government structures.An understanding of local perceptions of land-use policies is important if the disconnect between policy makers and the target population is to be reduced and if program support is to improve.This study aimed to help improve local implementation,attitude toward,and engagement by examining the influence of socio-economic characteristics on the target population’s(local farmers)perception of the conversion of cropland to forestland program(CFPP)land use policy in Jiangxi,Sichuan,and Shaanxi provinces.It uses logistical regression models,with robust aspects of perception including confidence,support,transparency,prospects,fairness,and willingness to participate.Results indicate that social aspects as well as economic aspects are most important in influencing farmers’perceptions towards the CFPP.The farmers who have received technical support,rural male habitants,educated,and non-middle-aged farmers exhibit more positive perceptions of the program and are much more likely to support it,whereas farmers without any technical support or formal education,and female and middle-aged farmers are less likely to support the program.Importantly,this study also reveals the differences in responses,experiences and perceptions of the farmers living across different provinces.These empirical results provide insight into the influence of socio-economic characteristics on the perception of farmers towards land-use policies,which has important implications for designing targeted policy instruments and increasing farmer support for these policies.This knowledge can be harnessed and further evaluated in future research to improve citizen engagement,support,and understanding in order to help ecological restoration and conservation objectives be more effectively achieved.     

Conservation and restoration of degraded ecosystems in arid and semi-arid areas of northwest China

In “West Development” of China, one of the most important activities is the Natural Forest Protection Program, designed to swiftly convert the focus of management and utilization of the natural forests from a timber orientation towards forest conservation, sustainable management and environmental protection. The project covered almost all the arid and semi-arid regions in Northwest region. Accompanying this great campaign this paper studied the conservation and restoration model of degraded ecosystems in arid and semi-arid lands in Northwest China. The past practices have resulted in considerably natural forest degradation and loss through land conversion (primarily for agriculture), over-harvesting, inadequate reforestation and lack of protection. The consequences have been the loss of soil and water resources, diminished timber production capacity on a sustainable basis, and environmental losses. This paper applied Aronson’s restoration model and proposed the conservation, restoration, re-allocation and preservation program for the implementation of environmental improvement and natural forest conservation.     

Framing environmental policy by the local press: Case study from the Dadia Forest Reserve,Greece

This paper critically examines the way environmental policy is framed by the press. Focusing on the Dadia Forest Reserve (Greece), we investigated the article content of a local newspaper across three subsequent periods of ecotourism development and three item topics, namely ‘ecotourism’, ‘forest management’ and ‘environmental awareness’. Content analysis of newspaper articles was based on a pre-defined coding scheme. Overall, time trends as reflected in the local press implied a change in environmental policy stirring from an expert-led towards a more participatory approach. Gradually, balanced schemes dominated environmental policy, where both environmental and economic considerations were taken into account under a diverse spatiotemporal range. Social consensus seems to have been established during the second period of ecotourism development. Ecotourism as an item topic was less connected to environmentalist motives compared to economic ones; the opposite was revealed for the forest management topic. However, our reconstruction of environmental policy in the local press, showed that environmental and economic motives did hardly intercross. Additionally, the ability of the local press to produce and limit meaning was manifested by the sealing of any production process including the one that apparently produces the ecotourism product. Implications for environmental policy and forest management are discussed.     

Cost-effective compensation payments: A model based on Buying Green Cover to sustain ecological restoration

Compensation payment schemes play an important role in conservation efforts around the world, particularly for implementing agri-environmental policy. Unfortunately, huge investments such as those conducted in China under the Grain for Green Program (GGP) and elsewhere around the world have historically provided few long-term benefits. To design a cost-effective compensation policy for ecological restoration, the approach must integrate economic and ecological components. Here, we describe such a policy model (“Buying Green Cover”) and compare it with an existing approach, the GGP, using data from China's Northern Shaanxi Province. The modified compensation program pays farmers to build terraced farmland or perform other “green” activities that will also sustain their livelihoods once the program ends. The resulting program costs 30% less than the GGP, and will take only 3 to 7 years to achieve the GGP's 16-year goal of converting sloping farmland into forests and grassland. In contrast with the failures of the GGP and related programs, the new approach improves the management and restoration of rapidly degrading landscapes and should be applicable both in China and around the world.     

Agroforestry policy issues and research directions in the US and less developed countries: insights and challenges from recent experience

Efforts to improve the performance of agroforestry systems, and to expand the land area and number of people able to benefit from this integrative approach to agriculture and natural resource management, are constrained throughout the world by non-supportive land use policies. A growing sense of urgency that policy change is needed to enable agroforestry to flourish has contributed during the past two years to an unprecedented level of agroforestry policy assessment and planning activity.In the US, agroforestry has emerged from academia, where it has incubated since the mid-1980s, into the professional resource management arena. A multi-organizational agroforestry evaluation process has driven national policy and program formation to the forefront of the agenda of the agroforestry community, as it seeks to influence the 1995 Farm Bill. Internationally, the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research and collaborators fostered a sequence of policy issue identification activities as a basis for setting strategic research priorities for forestry and agroforestry.Following a brief review of forces driving agroforestry development in industrialized and less developed countries, the paper highlights recent policy assessment initiatives in each sphere. Observations on the issues driving and the priorities emerging from these processes are offered, to lend perspective to the critical challenges facing the agroforestry policy research community. An explanation for pervasive constraints and inconsistencies in policy effectiveness is then explored, from which a promising approach to research intervention is forwarded.It is argued that social scientists might influence agroforestry policy most favorably at this critical juncture, as perceptions of inter-dependence increase among different stakeholders in the policy system, by employing interventionist, actor-oriented perspectives and participatory methods to facilitate policy innovation and evaluation. The approach is consistent with participatory technology design processes that earlier helped to establish agroforestry as a prototype for sustainable development.     

Participatory technology development for incorporating non-timber forest products into forest restoration in Yunnan,Southwest China

Indigenous knowledge has become a topic of considerable interest within the research and development environment. Incorporating indigenous knowledge into state-led ‘top-down’ conservation and development programmes, however, is still a great challenge. This paper presents a case from Yunnan, Southwest China, in which indigenous knowledge has been integrated into the development of an agroforestry model with non-timber forest products for the Sloping Land Conservation Programme (SLCP) by using a participatory technology development (PTD) approach. This approach was adopted to increase the likelihood that technologies developed would be suitable for resource-poor households. It is expected that integrating indigenous and scientific knowledge, will lead to positive ecological and economic outcomes. Finally, the paper argues that the integration of indigenous knowledge in both forestry policy formulation and implementation is important in the context of sustainable forest management in mountain areas.     

Improving Markets for Ecosystem Services

Abstract

Panama contains some of the most productive and diverse ecosystems in the world, and receives many benefits from the natural services provided by those ecosystems. Yet formal markets for ecosystem services in Panama are poorly developed. We assume that functioning markets for ecosystem services would partially counter development pressures on Panama's natural forests and ecosystems, and propose a suite of policy alternatives that could help develop such markets with the expectation that revenues would fund conservation and restoration efforts. These recommendations fall into five broad categories: (1) increase conservation of existing forests; (2) promote reforestation; (3) strengthen institutional capacity; (4) lower transaction costs; and (5) build the Panama brand for environmental services. A variety of fiscal, legal, organizational, and information-based approaches are recommended. In addition, we recommend convening a national Ecosystem Services Task-Force to organize diverse stakeholders and implement policy alternatives deemed most appropriate for advancing market development. We emphasize policy alternatives that are consonant with political and economic conditions in the country, that leverage outside funding, that recognize political feasibility, and that build upon existing legal and institutional frameworks.