Forest conversion, conservation and forestry in Cross River State, Nigeria

This paper presents new data on the rate and patterns of loss of tropical moist forest cover to agriculture in Cross River State, Nigeria. Data from sequential aerial photographs and field surveys are used to derive an estimate of forest loss of 0.6 per cent per year. This rate is relatively modest, yet current conservation and forestry policy in the area is based on assumptions of rapid conversion of forest. The implications of these findings for debates about conservation and policy are discussed.     

Forests in Limbo: Assessing Costa Rica's Forest and Land Reform Policies

In this article, we consider the stalled implementation of two state policies among recipients of land reform in Costa Rica: the transfer of authority over forests on state agrarian reform lands over to the Ministry of the Environment, and the Rural Development Institute’s requirement to issue land title to the recipients of its land reform projects. To date, neither of these policies is even partially implemented, resulting in both forests and marginalized landholders existing in a state of dual tenure limbo. In this article we draw on document analysis, interviews with policymakers, and interviews with recipients of land reform to determine why these policies have not been implemented. In addition, we assess the potential consequences for forest conservation that this situation has produced by mapping the extent and characteristics of forests that occupy this state of uncertainty.     

Natural Resource Access Rights and Wrongs: Nontimber Forest Products Gathering in Urban Environments

This article uses research about non-timber forest products (NTFP) gathering in Seattle, Washington, USA to examine how people gain access to natural resources in urban environments. Our analysis focuses on gathering in three spaces: parks, yards, and public rights of way. We present a framework for conceptualizing access, and highlight cognitive mechanisms of access associated with foragers’ internal moral judgments about harvesting. Key findings are: (1) internal moral calculations about whether it is right or wrong to harvest a particular NTFP in a particular place are an important but previously unacknowledged mechanism governing resource access; and (2) these calculations may help prevent over-harvesting of NTFPs, which are common pool resources, in urban environments where social and environmental conditions lend themselves to a de facto situation of open access. Our findings suggest that voluntary codes of conduct may be the best way to manage NTFP access in cities.     

Tracking a Governance Transition: Identifying and Measuring Indicators of Social Forestry on the Willamette National Forest

Abstract

National Forests in the United States have undergone a spatially and temporally uneven governance transition in response to social and economic pressures and contemporary policy changes, with many national forest units moving from a wholly government-led “dominant federal” model to a more collaborative “social forestry” model in which nonfederal actors have greater influence and authority. Here we report on an effort to develop a suite of indicators designed to capture some of the most tangible elements of a transition from dominant federal to social forestry modes of governance. We pilot test these data on the Willamette National Forest using data from a variety of sources internal and external to the USDA Forest Service. We assess the suitability of these indicators for tracking governance transitions and discuss their applicability to other national forest units nationwide.     

A Study of Governance Arrangements for Land Use and Natural Resource Management Planning in Cape York Peninsula

Complex intersecting social, economic and environmental dilemmas in Australia's Cape York Peninsula present a number of challenges for planners seeking to develop and implement land use and natural resource management (NRM) plans. There have been five different attempts at land use and NRM planning in Cape York Peninsula over the last 20 years. These processes have (to greater or lesser extents) failed to deliver community-owned and government-supported plans to guide development and/or the management of the region's natural resources. The region is remote, sparsely populated, and home to a significant Indigenous population. Much of the contestation within the region surrounds the access, use and ownership of the region's internationally valuable natural resources. This paper reviews, from the literature, the relevancy and applicability of criteria for best practice planning and governance. A range of identified best practice governance and planning principles are applied to assess the governance arrangements for planning in the Peninsula. The paper finds that decision-making arrangements for land use and NRM planning in the Peninsula are still in their infancy and are inadequate to support effective outcomes. The paper concludes that broader attention to best practice principles in governance for planning is needed to improve planning outcomes.     

Promises and Perils of Decentralized Forest Governance: The Case of Indonesia's Forest Management Units in Reducing Emission from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+)

Indonesia's forest management unit (Kesatuan Pengelolaan Hutan or KPH) system can be a promising mechanism for balancing international and national interests for global carbon mitigation initiatives with local interests in project implementation. We discuss the potential role of the KPH system in implementing REDD+ (Reducing Emission from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) projects and improving decentralized forest governance. Substantial financial gains from international initiatives like REDD+ and others can provide appropriate motivation for the central government to ensure successful decentralization of forest management. Development and implementation of REDD+ activities can also support the KPHs in performing their basic functions: conducting forest inventory, developing and implementing forest management plans, and strengthening communication and coordination with local communities. However, engaging indigenous peoples and local communities, which is a legal mandate for the system, will require building some measure of democratic process that can hold the KPHs accountable to local people.     

黑龙江哈尔滨白渔泡国家湿地公园沼泽、林地和农田土壤物理、化学和生物性质差异

为了揭示黑龙江哈尔滨白渔泡国家湿地公园沼泽、林地和农田土壤物理、化学和生物性质的差异,于2018年7月25日~8月2日,在湿地公园内,在天然芦苇(Phragmites australis)沼泽、林地、旱田和水田中设置采样地,采集不同深度(0~10 cm、10~20 cm和20~30 cm)的土壤样品,测定土壤样品的物理、化学和生物指标。研究结果表明,白渔泡国家湿地公园不同采样地土壤指标存在差异;与天然芦苇沼泽土壤相比,其它采样地土壤的含水量明显偏低,土壤全氮、全磷、碱解氮和有机质含量都明显偏小,水田土壤速效磷含量偏大;天然芦苇沼泽土壤脲酶、硝酸还原酶、纤维素酶、蛋白酶和β-葡萄糖苷酶活性都高于林地和农田土壤,水田0~10 cm和10~20 cm深度土壤的硝酸还原酶活性显著高于旱田和林地;与天然芦苇沼泽土壤相比,旱田土壤小于0.25 mm的小团聚体含量偏大,而其它采样地土壤的各粒级团聚体的比例变化较小,水田土壤团聚体平均重量直径比天然芦苇沼泽和旱田土壤低。     

The El Cielo Biosphere Reserve: Forest Cover Changes and Conservation Attitudes in an Important Neotropical Region

This article combines approaches to better understand both forest cover changes and attitudes toward environmental conservation in the El Cielo Biosphere Reserve in northeastern Mexico. Satellite images are used to document the extent and response of forest cover in the reserve before and after its designation as a biosphere reserve. Ethnographic interviews are also employed to examine the attitudes of local people toward the costs and benefits of the biosphere reserve in their lives. Our research found that unlike many “paper parks,” large-scale deforestation has stopped and forest cover has expanded after the biosphere reserve was created. Our research also found that local people value both tangible and intangible benefits created by the biosphere reserve.     

Fighting Over Forest: Toward a Shared Analysis of Livelihood Conflicts and Conflict Management in Ghana

Conflicts undermine forest-based livelihoods for the rural poor. Conflict management is key to preventing such conflicts. This article analyzes actor perceptions of forest- and tree-related conflicts and conflict management in Ghana's high forest zone. It also assesses a phased methodology that promotes shared problem definition and ownership of recommendations on conflict resolution strategies through the presentation and discussion of findings from document analysis, surveys, interviews, and focus-group discussions at a workshop with forest professionals held in Kumasi, Ghana. The study found that conflicts are inherent in forest-based livelihoods due to policy and legislative failures and institutional deficiencies, perceived goal incompatibility, opportunities for interfering with the attainment of one another's goals, and environmental scarcity. Ongoing forest governance reforms in Ghana should consider the stepwise conflict management model developed by the workshop participants involved in this study, but expand it to include the views of other stakeholder groups.     

Legitimacy of Different Knowledge Types in Natural Resource Governance and Their Functions in Inter-Institutional Gaps

Abstract

This study expands the Inter-Institutional Gaps (IIGs) framework to conceptualize the legitimacy associated with different types of ecological knowledge (e.g., scientific, traditional and local) used in natural resource governance. We draw on primary qualitative data, and document analysis to examine a case of inland fisheries management in the north-eastern floodplain of Bangladesh. We posit that the pragmatic, moral, cognitive, and regulative legitimacy for different types of ecological knowledge are repeatedly reevaluated by rule-makers and resource users in the process of rule-devising. Results show that inter-institutional gaps may be perpetuated when formal rules do not sufficiently consider traditional and local ecological knowledge. While it is widely proposed that systematically incorporating different knowledge types can better address local-national policy problems, this study underscores that the source of legitimacies for different knowledge types often differs across formal and informal institutional actors. Recognizing the differences is critical to fishers’ resource management.     

Process and Contextual Factors Supporting Action-Oriented Learning: A Thematic Synthesis of Empirical Literature in Natural Resource Management

Despite a long-term focus on learning in natural resource management (NRM), it is still debated how learning supports sustainable real-world NRM practices. We offer a qualitative in-depth synthesis of selected scientific empirical literature (N?=?53), which explores factors affecting action-oriented learning. We inductively identify eight key process-based and contextual factors discussed in this literature. Three patterns emerge from our results. First, the literature discusses both facilitated participation and self-organized collaboration as dialogical spaces, which bridge interests and support constructive conflict management. Second, the literature suggests practice-based dialogs as those best able to facilitate action and puts a strong emphasis on experimentation. Finally, not emphasized in existing reviews and syntheses, we found multiple evidence about certain contextual factors affecting learning, including social-ecological crises, complexity, and power structures. Our review also points at important knowledge gaps, which can be used to advance the current research agenda about learning and NRM.     

格氏栲天然林与人工林枯枝落叶层和粗木质残体有机化学组成研究

对福建省三明市格氏栲天然林及在其采伐迹地上营造的33年生格氏栲人工林和杉木人工林这3种林分的枯枝落叶层及粗木质残体物质化学组成进行研究．结果表明：在分解过程中3种林分枯叶和枯枝水溶性物质和纤维素含量不断下降,而枯枝中苯醇溶性物质和粗蛋白质含量有所上升．除半纤维素和纤维素外,3种林分粗木质残体水溶性物质、木质素和粗蛋白质含量均为L层〉F层,而苯醇溶性物质含量为L层〈F层．格氏栲天然林枯叶和枯枝水溶性物质、木质素、粗蛋白质、半纤维素和纤维素总贮量最高,而苯醇溶性物质总贮量以格氏栲人工林的最高．3种林分F层枯叶和枯枝有机物质的总贮量高于L层．与2种人工林相比,格氏栲天然林粗木质残体中各种有机物质贮量均最高．     

Planning and Local Economies in Navi Mumbai: Processes of Growth and Governance

The objective of this article is to situate the development of unplanned settlements in the newly planned city of Navi Mumbai (New Bombay) in terms of the increasing contradictions in global interconnectedness experienced by the larger Mumbai (Bombay) metropolitan region. The article distinguishes between a global and a local economy operating in the urban region. Using the governance approach to urban poverty in Third World cities, it highlights the complex spatial patterning of the local economy, which is comprised of nonpermanent shelters of a floating migrant population, permanent slums and shanties and villages that predate the new city. What is stressed is that the "poor" do not constitute a homogeneous interest group but are separated among other factors by their residential status and length of stay in the city. Second, both patron-client relations as well as activism are used as strategies to garner a livelihood and shelter in the new city.     

川西米亚罗林区云杉天然林与人工林的群落特征比较

云杉林是四川西部山区重要的群落类型,为了解云杉天然林和人工林在物种组成、物种多样性以及群落结构等方面的差异,促进该区域植被的恢复与重建,我们设置典型样地对两种林型进行了详细调查,通过比较分析表明:在川西米亚罗林区,林龄在30 a左右的云杉林,其天然林乔木层、灌木层的物种数以及其所属科、属数均明显比人工林多一些,而草本层物种数相差不大;但从物种多样性指数方面看,除天然林乔木层物种多样性要明显高于人工林外,二者在灌木层和草本层上无显著差异.天然林和人工林乔木层的生长状况无显著差异,天然林灌木层物种的平均密度和平均高度要显著大于人工林,平均盖度则没有显著差异;草本层各群落特征指标在两种林型之间没有显著差异.但是天然林乔木层、灌木层和草本层的物种个体数在不同样地之间的变幅均要比人工林小.物种相似性指数的比较表明,天然林与人工林内物种组成较为一致,没有显著差异.     

城市体检：空间治理机制、方法、技术的新响应

城市体检评估是促进空间治理体系和治理能力现代化水平全面提升的重要政策工具,有助于落实国家发展战略意志、提高城市综合治理水平、有效回应人民美好生活需要。总结北京已开展的体检评估实践经验,提出城市体检评估从机制、方法、技术3个维度对空间治理优化提供了新响应。机制维度,注重建章立制,形成了"监测-诊断-预警-维护"的城市体检闭环工作体系、"自评估+第三方评估+公众参与"相结合的工作模式、综合多源数据的常态化数据获取渠道,面向不同关注重点,强化体检评估结论严肃性权威性。方法维度,围绕指标体检、任务体检、领域体检3个方面建立成果体系,与总体规划统筹实施机制流程上下衔接。技术维度,积极运用多维度多层次、全要素多主体、重思辨可验证的诊断思路,不断深化城市体检评估多维诊断分析关键技术。     

美国休闲渔业资源空间分布与多中心治理

休闲渔业是美国最受欢迎的户外活动之一,在发展过程中为美国创造了巨大的经济和社会效益,并形成多主体参与的治理机制。文章在分析美国休闲渔业发展现状的基础上,运用最邻近指数、缓冲区分析、泰森多边形和关联维数测度,对佛罗里达州休闲渔业资源分布特征进行空间分析。结果显示,美国休闲渔业形成以淡水为主、咸水为辅的发展格局,其中佛罗里达州休闲渔业资源呈现集聚式、非均衡分布特征,80%的垂钓点位于海岸线20 km以内,各垂钓点之间形成紧密的关联作用。联邦政府、地方政府、行业组织和休闲渔业参与者之间形成的多中心治理模式,能够匹配美国休闲渔业大区域分散、小区域集聚的空间分布特征,适应参与主体多样化、需求差异化的发展需要。有鉴于此,针对中国休闲渔业存在的问题,提出应通过借鉴美国“自下而上”的多中心治理机制,建设服务型政府、行业协会灵活增权以及休闲渔业企业融合创新等措施,推动中国休闲渔业科学管理和高质量发展。     

Two Sides of the Same Coin: Formal and Informal Institutional Synergy in a Case Study of Wildlife Governance in Ghana

Abstract

There has been the call to forge a synergistic relationship between local ecological knowledge and formal institutions in the governance of natural resources. How do informal institutions complement the efforts of formal state regulation of natural resources? How does this complementation foster a regularized human–wildlife interaction? Adopting an ethnographic design, this study assesses the role of institutional complementation in natural resource governance using the case of Boabeng–Fiema Monkey Sanctuary (BFMS) in Ghana, West Africa. We purposively selected 33 informants relevant to the BFMS governance process. The study observes that the synergy between formal and informal institutions strengthens wildlife protection in BFMS and the surrounding villages. The usefulness of informal rules is enhanced if appropriately complemented with a formal institutional arrangement. Over time, it becomes necessary for informal rules to grow in dynamism to depict the principles of collaboration, inclusivity, and benefit arrangements.     

新时期国土空间治理的价值传导与目标演进

基于对国土空间及空间规划内涵的梳理分析,深入剖析新时期国土空间治理的内在价值传导关系,探讨面向高质量发展的市县国土空间总体规划指标体系构建逻辑。研究认为：1）国土空间规划目标与国土空间治理指标之间有着严密的价值传导关系,不同层级政府的战略目标和空间治理理念在传递中分化衍变,导致规划指标体系在关注对象、控制性、统筹性等方面的差异;2）市县国土空间总体规划指标体系的建构,需要基于价值传导和指标控制的协同,以及基于战略目标导向和国土空间治理的统筹,成为规划导向落实的重要抓手;3）多规并行时代的规划指标体系构建共识正在打破重组,构建面向高质量发展的规划指标体系需要认清国土空间规划的战略性和基础性作用,对国家战略的逐级落实和国土空间治理能力提升做出响应。