From Community Forest Management to Polycentric Governance: Assessing Evidence from the Bottom Up

Decentralization of governance is an emerging trend in many natural resource sectors in both developed and developing countries. Despite the normative agenda of community-based natural resource management for social and ecological outcomes, a shift to multilevel or polycentric theorizing is warranted. Polycentric governance recognizes the importance of cross-scale interactions, as well as the horizontal and vertical institutional linkages of authority, networks, and markets in which community institutions are embedded. Based on qualitative community forestry research in Revelstoke, British Columbia, Canada, this article explores the themes of livelihood and local economy, collaborative forest planning and participation, and environmental governance. Bottom-up empirical evidence suggests that viewing community forestry through a polycentric governance network is necessary for theorizing complex cross-scale dynamics. Incentivizing policies that encourage the development of polycentric systems for natural resource governance is important for maintaining local benefits, while increasing adaptive capacity to deal with complex social–ecological challenges.     

Contribution of Community Forestry in Poverty Reduction: Case Study of Multiple Community Forests of Bajhang District,Nepal

In Nepal, nearly half of the total land is covered by forest, which holds a potentially important position in promoting rural livelihoods and in alleviating rural poverty. The rural landscape that encompasses an agrarian economy, a fragile ecology, and a complex and differentiated society is changing rapidly in Nepal today. Although poverty alleviation has been one of the top priorities for national development since 1976, poverty still remains widespread, persistent and it is also an acute problem in Nepal, where people are in a state of deprivation with regard to incomes, clothing, housing, healthcare, education, sanitary facilities and human rights. Thus, Nepal is considered as one of the poorest countries in South-Asia, with 25.2% people living below the poverty line. The objective of this study was to assess changes in poverty of forest users brought on by the community forestry program, in order to analyze the level of participation in community forestry management activities. For this study, Bajhang district was chosen as the study site, which is one of the poorest and most remote districts in the country of Nepal. Different Participatory Rural Appraisal methods such as face-to face interviews, focus group discussions and key informants’ interviews including secondary data were used to gather information. The findings showed that the forest users’ participation in meetings, discussion and other activities, like community forestry management or silvicultural operation related to community forestry, was high. The assessment found that 42.3%, 32.6% and 25.1% of respondents strongly agreed, agreed and were neutral, respectively, towards the idea that poverty reduction from community forests had occurred. The results showed almost all the respondents were depended upon agriculture and/or forest resources for their livelihoods. Different ecosystem services such as ethnomedicines, aesthetic value and ecotourism, control of soil erosion/land-slides, water recharge and soil fertility have increased due to the decomposition of leaf litter. This was apparent from the formulation of community forests. Poverty in rural areas of the country is still higher than in urban areas and the incidence of poverty is the highest in the Far western Province where this research was conducted, Therefore, the government, policy makers and other stakeholders should work hand-in-hand to effectively reduce the poverty that persists in Nepal.     

A Forest Commons Revival in Slovenia

Forest commons in Slovenia are a poorly known indigenous institution for common resource management. They are a functional entity linked to a specific community that establishes interpersonal and intergenerational ties, as well as a link to the resource. We refer to shared ownership of resource, once made of pastures; today forests prevail. Collective property management remained despite community changes and legislation development. Today registered forest commons represent approximately one-third of those that existed before 1945. We highlight seven developmental turns to explain their revival. Six indicators are used in the analysis of current conditions. Forest commons are a potentially effective response to forest management challenges in Slovenia but also a potential model of social cohesion, rational resource use, and a balance between forest use and conservation. However, they are plagued by state ignorance, which hinders statistically sound analyses.     

Assessing participatory GIS for community-based natural resource management: claiming community forests in Cameroon

This paper critically reviews and analyses participatory GIS (PGIS) and participatory mapping applications within participatory spatial planning for community-based natural resource management in developing countries. There is an often implicit assumption that PGIS use is effective, in that it meets content needs, satisfies underlying local stakeholder interests and therefore is a tool for better governance. The analytical framework looks at participatory spatial planning performance with respect to key dimensions of governance, especially the intensity of community participation and empowerment, equity within communities and between 'governed' and 'governing', respect for indigenous knowledge, rights, ownership, legitimacy, and effectiveness. Specific development focus is given by a case study using participatory mapping and PGIS in community forest legitimization, planning and management in Tinto, Cameroon. 'Good governance' criteria are applied ex-post to the implementation procedures, the geo-information outputs, and the longer-term outcomes of the PGIS processes. Impacts of incorporating PGIS were examined in terms of the types and degrees of participation in the process; access to, and the uses made of, the geographic information; whether the information outputs met stakeholders' requirements; and the overall changes in equity and empowerment in the community. It was found that PGIS/participatory mapping processes contributed – positively, though not comprehensively – to good governance, by improving dialogue, redistributing resource access and control rights – though not always equitably – legitimizing and using local knowledge, exposing local stakeholders to geospatial analysis, and creating some actor empowerment through training. PGIS promoted empowerment by supporting community members' participation in decision-making and actions, and by enabling land use planning decisions beyond community forestry itself.     

金川县农业生产条件与资源开发

金川具森林丰富、果类品质好,但农牧资源开发水平低、山区经济落后、制约农业生产的自然-社会经济条件众多。今后应以林果业为主,稳定、提高农牧业生产水平,大力发展农林牧副产品深加工工业等,坚持振兴山区经济的战略开发方向,并要采取相应的主要对策。     

Sustainable Community-Based Forestry Development: A Policy and Programme Framework to Enhance Women's Participation

Conventional development theory and practice have often failed to recognise the centrality of women in sustainable resource management. A conceptual shift in environment and resource policies, planning and programmes is required to affirm that women are active participants rather than passive recipients of change. To address the need for enhanced women's participation in community-based forestry development, this paper focuses on the policy and programme elements important in the design and implementation of successful community forestry projects. Consequently, the intention of this paper is to increase the awareness of planners and decision-makers regarding methods of operationalising women's participation in community-based forestry. Building upon previous work from aid agencies and other researchers, a range of institutional, organisational, socio-cultural and project elements are identified. These elements provide a comprehensive framework of the policy and programme issues requiring consideration when promoting women's participation in successful community-based forestry activities.     

‘Let this forest for ever rest’:* tracking protest and identity in Australia’s forests

ABSTRACT

Exploitation of natural resources has long been a flashpoint for contention in Australia. This is clear in the case of forest management, where groups advocating protection have faced off against state and industry actors. The move towards multifunctionalism that recognises different values in the management of natural resources has led to a search for alternative solutions. In the case of forestry, introduction of Regional Forest Agreements (RFA) in the 1990s sought to devolve responsibility to the States, while striking a balance between economic and environmental considerations. The aim of this paper is to identify how forest activism has developed since the RFA process began and its significance in relation to changes in land use. The paper draws on a protest event catalogue of forest-related events over the 1997–2017 period to identify the intensity, tactics and location of such actions. The findings suggest that state action has reduced the intensity of contention, in line with changes in resource management practices. However, they also point to the importance of identity and its link to the social construction of resources in determining the ability of actors to de-escalate and find solutions.     

Community clusters in wildlife and environmental management: using TEK and community involvement to improve co-management in an era of rapid environmental change

Environmental change has stressed wildlife co-management systems in the Arctic because parameters are changing more rapidly than traditional scientific monitoring can accommodate. Co-management systems have also been criticized for not fully integrating harvesters into the local management of resources. These two problems can be approached through the use of spatially-defined human social units termed community clusters, which are based on the demographic or ecological units being managed. An examination of polar bear management in Nunavut Territory, Canada, shows that community clusters provide a forum to collect and analyse traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) over a geographic area that mirrors the management unit, providing detailed information of local conditions. This case study also provides examples of how instituting community clusters at a governance level provides harvesters with social space in which to develop their roles as managers, along the continuum from being powerless spectators to active, adaptive co-managers. Five steps for enhancing co-management systems through the inclusion of community clusters and their knowledge are: (1) the acceptance of TEK, science, the precautionary principle and the right of harvesters not to be constrained by overly-conservative management decisions; (2) data collection involving TEK and science, and a collaboration between the two; (3) institutionalization of community clusters for data collection; (4) institutionalization of community clusters in the management process; and (5) grass-roots initiatives to take advantage of the social space provided by the community cluster approach, in order to adapt the management to local conditions, and to effect policy changes at higher levels, so as to better meet local objectives.     

森林碳汇决策与农村可持续发展研究

认为有必要在基于碳汇的土地利用和当地可持续发展之间建立一种更加明确的联系.依托一个中国-加拿大合作项目,以中国贵州省黎平县为例,阐述了一种将森林碳汇、森林资源管理以及如何促进当地可持续发展联系起来的综合评估方法,并且着重介绍了能帮助资源管理和规划部门实施这种综合评估的土地利用决策支持工具(LUDST).     

Janus-Faced Linkages: Understanding External Actors in Community-Based Natural Resource Management in Southern Thailand

In community-based natural resource management, there is an emerging body of research on the work of external actors and their influence in community–resource interrelationships and community management decisions. Contributing to this research, this study examined the work of external actors using findings from semistructured interviews and participant observations conducted in Klong Prasong subdistrict, Krabi Province, Thailand, in mid-2014. The external actors, through Janus-faced linkages, are able to influence community–resource interrelationships and management approaches both positively and negatively. This case study also revealed university researchers, ecotourists, and private investors as non-conventional external actors. By influencing decision-making structures and environmental stewardship, external actors impact on the governance of a community natural resource.     

Effects of migration patterns of forest use and forestry projects in a Thai village

As part of a 1987 program to develop land use management plans and activities that meet local needs while complying with the objectives of national resource management, this study traces migration and settlement patterns in the Thai village of Huai Muang, which was created by squatters in part of the Dong Lan Reserved Forest on land which had been reserved since 1964. In addition, the effect of the settlement patterns on land use and the willingness of settlers to accept social forestry activities are explored. Data were collected through observation and interviews with key informants from the 347-household village. Migration occurred in four phases. Group 1 migrants came from nearby villages starting in 1959 and claimed large plots of land. When ordered to leave in 1964, no one complied. In 1968, 6 more households joined the village. No one had legal title to any land. In 1975, 17 households of Group 2 migrants followed a logging road to join the settlement. During the next two years, 10-20 additional households joined the group from other provinces in the northeast. Members of this group bought land from Group 1 migrants, and they also cleared more of the forest. The third and largest group arrived in 1978-81, claimed the least desirable land, and swelled the settlement size to 150 households. This group also purchased land but do not have enough to support their families and must work as laborers. The last group of less than 30 households arrived after 1981 and were unable to acquire much land. By this time, further clearing was prevented. In 1989, the settlement received official recognition as a village. Group 1 originally lived near the forest, collecting forest products, hunting, and grazing livestock. All of these settlers have left the village. Group 2 and 3 migrants farm maize, rice, and soybeans. The only dependence on forest products remains in the landless Group 4, but many of their activities, such as making charcoal, are illegal. The social forestry intervention consists of promotion of silkworm cultivation, the development of household nurseries of fruit trees, planting trees in a local temple area, and demonstrating nursery techniques. Participation in this project was limited because the activities were unsuitable for those without land (who were most in need) and because of a lack of community cohesion. Many questions remain about equitable land reallocation and policies to reduce deforestation.     

森林碳汇决策与农村可持续发展研究(英文)

认为有必要在基于碳汇的土地利用和当地可持续发展之间建立一种更加明确的联系.依托一个中国-加拿大合作项目,以中国贵州省黎平县为例,阐述了一种将森林碳汇、森林资源管理以及如何促进当地可持续发展联系起来的综合评估方法,并且着重介绍了能帮助资源管理和规划部门实施这种综合评估的土地利用决策支持工具(LUDST) .     

我国森林资源的保护和合理开发利用

40年来,特别是近10年来,我国森林面积有所增加。这对保护生态环境、支援经济建设、改善群众生活起着重要的作用。但发展很不平衡,有些林区森林质量下降严重,问题不少。为改变这种局面,要采取十项措施。     

Economic Contribution of Forestry Sector to National Economy in Nepal

Forests are major sources of energy, timber and non-timber forest products, medicinal and aromatic plants, hydrological functions, biodiversity conservation, and also fundamental sources of revenue collection to the nation. Studies indicate that forests could significantly enhance economic growth and create employment opportunities for local communities under intensive management. This paper aims to predict the contribution of the forest sector to the national economy. The economic facets of forestry considered in this paper are revenue generated from timber, non-timber forest products (NTFPs) and medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs), and protected areas. The ARIMA model was used to forecast the economic contribution of the forestry sector. The study found that the total revenue generated from the selling of timber and fuelwood (USD 50.19 million) was higher than the total revenue collected from protected areas (USD 37.58 million) and NTFPs/MAPs (USD 6.9 million) in the past 15 years. The model projected that the mean revenue for the timber and fuelwood sale will USD 3.5 million for the next ten years. Similarly, the mean revenue will be generated about USD 0.5 million and USD 6.2 million from NTFPs/MAPs and protected areas, respectively, for the next ten years. The study limits to take account the in-kind use of forest products such as timber, fodder, fuelwood, etc., as used by community people within a forest users’ groups. Thus, practicing sustainable forest management, enabling policy documents, establishing forest-based industries, establishing forestry nurseries, conducting agroforestry practices, and tenure security could enhance the forestry sector's economic aspects.     

INTEGRATED LANDSCAPE ANALYSES OF CHANGE OF MIOMBO WOODLAND IN TANZANIA AND ITS IMPLICATION FOR ENVIRONMENT AND HUMAN LIVELIHOOD

Landscapes bear witness to past and present natural and societal processes influencing the environment and human livelihoods. By analysing landscape change at different spatial scales over time the effects on the environment and human livelihoods of various external and internal driving forces of change can be studied. This paper presents such an analysis of miombo woodland surrounding the Mkata plains in central Tanzania. The rich natural landscape diversity of the study area in combination with its historical and political development makes it an ideal observation ground for this kind of study. The paper focuses on long‐term physical and biological changes, mainly based on satellite information but also on field studies and a review of documents and literature. The miombo woodlands are highly dynamic semi‐arid ecosystems found on a number of nutrient‐poor soil groups. Most of the woodlands are related to an old, low‐relief geomorphology of erosion surfaces with relatively deep and leached soils, or to a lesser extent also on escarpments and steep Inselberg slopes with poor soils. Each period in the past has cast its footprints on the landscape development and its potential for a sustainable future use. On a regional level there has been a continual decrease in forest area over time. Expansion of agriculture around planned villages, implemented during the 1970s, in some cases equals the loss of forest area (Mikumi‐Ulaya), whilst in other areas (Kitulangalo), the pre‐independence loss of woodland was small; the agricultural area was almost the same during the period 1975–1999, despite the fact that forests have been lost at an almost constant rate over the same period. Illegal logging and charcoal production are likely causes because of the proximity to the main highway running through the area. Contrasting to the general regional pattern are the conditions in a traditional village (Ihombwe), with low immigration of people and a maintained knowledge of the resource potential of the forest with regards to edible plants and animals. In this area the local community has control of the forest resources in a Forest Reserve, within which the woody vegetation has increased in spite of an expansion of agriculture on other types of village land. The mapping procedure has shown that factors such as access to transport and lack of local control have caused greater deforestation of certain areas than during the colonial period. Planned villages have furthermore continued to expand over forest areas well after their implementation, rapidly increasing the landscape fragmentation. One possible way to maintain landscape and biodiversity values is by the sustainable use of traditional resources, based on local knowledge of their management as illustrated by the little change observed in the traditionally used area.     

Tourism as a local development strategy in South Africa

The promotion of tourism has been identified as a key strategy that can lead to economic upliftment, community development and poverty relief in the developing world. In the last few years, tourism has also emerged as a significant development option in post–apartheid South Africa. In the context of some current debates on tourism in poor countries, the paper examines how economic, social and environmental resources are being utilized to promote tourism as a local economic development strategy in South Africa, and more specifically it focuses on current local government endeavours in this regard and two communities that have suffered the loss of their economic resource base. Tourism–based development initiatives, one in KwaZulu–Natal and one in the Western Cape, are evaluated in the context of generating economic growth, alleviating poverty and addressing the apartheid legacy of discrimination and inequality. The significance of the dynamics of development processes involved in these initiatives has much wider relevance for local economic development, both within South Africa and elsewhere.     

森林利用的冲突与调解途径理论探讨

森林价值的多样性和利用群体的多样性,是森林利用冲突的根源,也决定了森林利用的冲突形式。同一社会中,不同利益群体从各自的利益和兴趣出发,竞相利用有限的森林资源的各种价值,导致森林利用的冲突,冲突若不及时解决,将影响森林为人类社会持续提供价值。是伴随着森林管理的一种不可避免的现实,不论是哪一种管理方式都存在着这样或那样的冲突。解决的途径也不相同,包括技术途径、调解、仲裁和诉诸法律等。村社林业是相对于政府直接控制管理森林的另一类林业管理方式,村社林业的实践也需要解决冲突,建立和培养村社解决冲突的机制和能力是开展村社林业的一项重要任务。村社林业管理模式的成功需要建立冲突的调解和仲裁机制,透明、参与、合作和创造是建立这种机制并使这种机制发挥作用的基础。     

Community Forest Owners Evaluate a Decade of Payments for Ecosystem Services in the Mexican Cloud Forest: The Importance of Attention to Indigenous Sovereignty in Conservation

Payments for ecosystem services (PES) programs have taken a variety of forms that depend on many mediating factors, such as national and local politics, land tenure, regional collective action, the capacity of intermediaries, and socio-ecological context. This diversity has produced unsurprisingly mixed experiences, with many falling short of achieving the twin goals of environmental and social benefits and some causing adverse consequences. This study examines one rare PES case that has contributed both to forest conservation and to community livelihoods. In this study, community forest owners from four indigenous communities in the Mexican cloud forest evaluate their participation in ten years of a public PES program to support watershed stewardship. We argue that attention to indigenous sovereignty and self-determination in program implementation contributed to widely appreciated socio-environmental benefits. Though many PES programs are implemented in indigenous communities, scholarly debates have rarely dealt directly with these issues.     

森林资源信息提取和制图技术方法研究

森林资源信息的提取和制图依赖于大量空间数据的有效处理,探讨了ＡＲＣ／ＩＮＦＯ７．０．１和ＡＲＣＶＩＥＷ３．０地理信息系统在森林资源信息提取,分析及制图等方面的技术方法,并以中国东北部大兴安岭地区的塔源林场为例,对方法的具体应用作了阐述。     

南方山区县域森林可持续经营对策--以福建省永安市为例

以福建省永安市为例,探讨南方山区以集体林为主的县域森林可持续经营对策,旨在为相类似区域森林可持续经营对策研究提供借鉴。根据区域可持续发展的要求和森林可持续经营标准与指标的启示,从林业可持续发展环境辨识体系、林业可持续发展目标决策体系、森林可持续经营的保障体系、森林可持续经营技术体系、森林可持续经营信息支撑体系和森林可持续经营能力建设体系等六个方面,构建福建省永安市森林可持续经营对策的总体框架,并在这个总体框架下,分别从发展条件、发展目标、发展保障、发展技术、发展信息支撑、发展能力建设等六方面阐述其森林可持续经营对策。