Environmental and cultural changes under Chilean neoliberalism: an ethnography of forestry and the Mapuche in Valle Elicura

Dominant development discourses often proclaim promises of economic prosperity and global inclusion, while actually disenfranchising local cultures in the Global South from their traditional environments. In Latin America, and specifically Chile, development manifests itself through neoliberal economic policies implemented in the late twentieth century, while simultaneously creating political economies ripe for foreign and corporate exploitation. Using a political ecology framework, this ethnography presents a case study of the correlation between the development of Chilean neoliberalism and the lifeways of Mapuche indigenous peoples in the town of Valle Elicura, Chile. The findings reveal that natural resource extraction and ecological devastation to local forests by large, international logging companies result in environmental, cultural, and environmental-cultural transformations for this community. The local people who more closely rely on their surrounding environments to regulate and inform their transportation networks, basic life needs, and religion, among other applications, are forced to compete for resources with foreign corporations focused on profit. However, it is this short-term focus that threatens extinction for the traditional lifeways of the Mapuche peoples and many other marginalised communities of facing the demands of development.     

Integrative Management of Commercialized Wild Mushroom: A Case Study of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Thelephora ganbajun</Emphasis> in Yunnan,Southwest China

The management of wild mushroom is interdisciplinary in nature, whereby the biophysical considerations have to be incorporated into the context of a wide range of social, economic and political concerns. However, to date, little documentation exists illustrating an interdisciplinary approach to management of wild mushrooms. Moreover, the empirical case studies necessary for developing applicable and practical methods are even more rare. This paper adopted an interdisciplinary approach combining participatory methods to improve the habitat management of Thelephora ganbajun, an endemic and one of the most economically valuable mushroom species in Southwest China. The paper documents an empirical case of how an interdisciplinary approach facilitated the development of a scientific basis for policy and management practice, and built the local capacity to create, adopt and sustain the new rules and techniques of mushroom management. With this integrative perspective, a sustainable management strategy was developed, which was found not only technically feasible for farmers, but also acceptable to the government from an ecological and policy-related perspective. More importantly, this approach has greatly contributed to raising the income of farmers. The paper highlights how the integration of biophysical and socioeconomic factors and different knowledge systems provided a holistic perspective to problem diagnosis and resolution, which helped to cope with conventional scientific dilemmas. Finally, it concludes that the success of this interdisciplinary approach is significant in the context of policy decentralization and reform for incorporating indigenous knowledge and local participation in forest management.     

Assessing the sustainability of forest management: An application of multi-criteria decision analysis to community forests in northern Ethiopia

Continuous deterioration of the natural resource base has become a serious threat to both the ecological systems and economic production in Ethiopia. Many of these problems have been attributed directly or indirectly to the rapid dwindling of the country's forest cover which is associated with unsustainable forest use and management. Closing community woodlands from human and livestock intervention to promote natural regeneration of forests has been one of the environmental restoration strategies pursued in the degraded highland areas of northern Ethiopia. However, local pressure to use reforested community lands for economic benefit has become a major threat to forest sustainability.Using locally identified sets of criteria and indicators for sustainable community forest management, this paper applies a multi-criteria decision analysis tool to evaluate forest management problems in the northern province of Tigray, Ethiopia. Three MCA methods – ranking, pair-wise comparison, and scoring – were used in evaluating the sets of criteria and indicators and alternative forest management scenarios.Results from the study indicate a number of noteworthy points: 1) MCA techniques both for identifying local level sustainability criteria and indicators and evaluating management schemes in a participatory decision environment appear to be effective tools to address local resource management problems; 2) Evaluated against the selected sets of criteria and indicators, the current forest management regime in the study area is not on a sustainable path; 3) Acquainting local people with adequate environmental knowledge and raising local awareness about the long-term consequences of environmental degradation ranked first among the set of sustainability criteria; and 4) In order to harmonize both environmental and economic objectives, the present ‘ecological-biased’ forest management regime needs to be substituted by an appropriate holistic scheme that takes into account stakeholders' multiple preferences and priority rankings.     

Mowers versus growers: Riparian buffer management in the Southern Blue Ridge Mountains,USA

Despite long-standing knowledge of the benefits of riparian buffers for mitigating nonpoint source pollution, many streams are unprotected by buffers. Even landowners who understand ecological values of buffers mow riparian vegetation to the streambank. Do trends in rural riparian conditions reflect the development of riparian forest science? What motivates residential riparian management actions? Using high-resolution orthoimagery, we quantified riparian conditions and trends between 1998 and 2015 in the rural upper Little Tennessee River basin in Macon County, North Carolina and explored how landowners view riparian zone management and riparian restoration programs. Buffer composition in 2015 was as follows: no buffer (32.5%), narrow (19.3%), forested (26.7%), shrub (7.2%), and intermediate (7.0%). Relative to 1998, the greatest decrease occurred in the no buffer class (−17.7%, 46 km) and the largest increases occurred in the shrub (+72.5%, 20 km) and narrow (12.6%, 14 km) classes. Forested buffer marginally increased. Semi-structured interview data suggest that landowners prioritize recreational and scenic aspects of riparian buffers over ecological functions such as filtration and bank stabilization. Riparian restoration programs might be made more enticing to non-adopters if outreach language appealed to landowner priorities, design elements demonstrated intentional management, and program managers highlighted areas where ecological goals and landowner values align.     

Towards sustainable management of natural ecosystems on farms? a New Zealand perspective

Many New Zealand farms still have large remnant indigenous forest patches. This paper discusses constraints and opportunities for the sustainable management of these remnants. First, the paper analyses why the specific ecological situation of the New Zealand vegetation poses severe constraints for sustainable management. Second, results from a case study are presented suggesting that analysis of farmers’ attitudes to remnant ecosystems might provide valuable data for improving existing environmental legislation. Finally, the possible management implications of the new Resource Management Act 1991 and Forest Amendment Act 1993 are discussed. It is argued that these Acts may bring to an end a thousand years of wilful and accidental destruction of New Zealand's natural environment.     

Indigenous economic institutions and ecological knowledge: A Ghanaian case study

Increasingly, the urgency of reorienting conventional development paradigms to take into account indigenous institutions and their ecological knowledge base is being recognized in both developed and developing countries. Based on a field research in Ghana, this paper discusses the nature and operation of indigenous economic institutions, their ecological knowledge, norms, beliefs, and practices pertaining to sustainable utilization of natural resources and environmental management. The institutions provide a framework of ideas, guiding principles, and practices that could serve as a foundation for endogenous options and broad-based efforts to solving resource and environmental management problems in the developing world. The paper also discusses limitations of indigenous ecological knowledge and practices.     

Pashmina production and socio‐economic changes in the Indian Changthang: Implications for natural resource management

A unique pastoral community uses the arid rangelands of eastern Ladakh, known as Changthang, northern India. The nomadic people rear a variety of livestock such as sheep, goats, horses and yaks, which provide them with various goods and services. Nevertheless, the needs and aspirations of the people are changing. There is a trend towards increasing the livestock population, especially of a breed of goat that produces one of the finest natural fibres: Pashmina, which is the mainstay of their economy. This increase in goat population, however, is jeopardising the long‐term survival of the wild herbivores in the region, and as such is not sustainable. We present information on the current trends in socio‐economy, Pashmina production, wildlife conservation, and the conflicts of interest between wildlife and nomads in the region. On the basis of this information, we make suggestions for the conservation of natural resources in the region. We recommend preserving the historical societal norms and notions of the people, and capitalising on them to manage natural resources. We also recommend joint management of natural resources by the local people, State and non‐governmental organisations. Our findings provide a platform on which a grazing policy for the region may be formulated.     

Carbon sequestration,biological diversity,and sustainable development: Integrated forest management

Tropical deforestation provides a significant contribution to anthropogenic increases in atmospheric CO₂ concentration that may lead to global warming. Forestation and other forest management options to sequester CO₂ in the tropical latitudes may fail unless they address local economic, social, environmental, and political needs of people in the developing world. Forest management is discussed in terms of three objectives: carbon sequestration, sustainable development, and biodiversity conservation. An integrated forest management strategy of land-use planning is proposed to achieve these objectives and is centered around: preservation of primary forest, intensified use of nontimber resources, agroforestry, and selective use of plantation forestry. The information in this document has been wholly funded by the US Environmental Protection Agency. It has been subjected to the agency's peer and administrative review and approved for publication of an EPA document. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use.     

Linking Local Perceptions to the Biophysical and Amenity Contexts of Forest Disturbance in Colorado

Disturbances by insects have considerable effect on the heterogeneity of forested landscapes in North America. Responding to calls for bringing human dimensions of landscape disturbance and heterogeneity into ecological assessments and management strategies, this paper explores linkages between biophysical, socioeconomic, and perceptual aspects of a mountain pine beetle (MPB) (Dendroctonus ponderosae) outbreak in north central Colorado. Findings are presented from surveys conducted with residents of nine Colorado communities and variations in local perceptions of MPB risks and forest management attitudes are compared to indices of tree mortality and amenity characteristics. Findings suggest respondents from lower amenity communities with more recent emphasis on resource extraction and higher tree mortality had significantly higher risk perceptions of some MPB impacts, lower trust in federal forest management, and higher faith in forest industry and specific industry options than those from higher amenity communities with less tree mortality. While not implying these contextual influences fully explain such perceptual dimensions, this paper explores possible implications of heterogeneity across human landscapes for improving the saliency and efficiency of regional forest management and planning.     

Protected areas and deforestation: new results from high‐resolution panel data

This paper investigates the effectiveness of protected areas in slowing tropical forest clearing in 64 countries in Asia/Pacific, Africa and Latin America during the period of 2001–2012 by comparing deforestation rates inside and within 10 km outside of the boundaries of protected areas. Annual time series of these deforestation rates were constructed from recently published high‐resolution data on forest clearing from Hansen et al. (2013). For 4,028 parks, panel estimation based on a variety of park characteristics was conducted to test if deforestation was lower in protected areas because of their protected status, or if other factors explained the difference. From a sample of 726 parks established since 2002, a test was also conducted to investigate the effect of park establishment on protection. Findings suggest park size, national park status and management by indigenous people all are significantly associated with effective protection across regions. For the Asia/Pacific region, the test offers compelling evidence that park establishment has a near‐immediate and powerful effect.     

Direct and Indirect Effects of Forest Harvesting on Sediment Yield in Forested Watersheds of the United States

Managed forests generally produce high water quality, but degradation is possible via sedimentation if proper management is not implemented during forest harvesting. To mitigate harvesting effects on total watershed sediment yield, it is necessary to understand all processes that contribute to these effects. Forest harvesting best management practices (BMPs) focus almost exclusively on overland sediment sources, whereas in‐and‐near stream sources go unaddressed although they can contribute substantially to sediment yield. Thus, we propose a new framework to classify forest harvesting effects on stream sediment yield according to their direct and indirect processes. Direct effects are those caused by erosion and sediment delivery to surface water from overland sources (e.g., forest roads). Indirect effects are those caused by a shift in hydrologic processes due to tree removal that accounts for increases in subsurface and surface flows to the stream such that alterations in water quality are not predicated upon overland sediment delivery to the stream, but rather in‐stream processes. Although the direct/indirect distinction is often implicit in forest hydrology studies, we have formalized it as a conceptual model to help identify primary drivers of sediment yield after forest harvesting in different landscapes. Based on a literature review, we identify drivers of these effects in five regions of the United States, discuss current forest management BMPs, and identify research needs.     

How farmers develop local ecological knowledge for on-farm tree management: The perspectives of some farming communities of Ghana

Scientific insights into what it means to manage on-farm trees by local farmers, is an essential step towards documenting local ecological knowledge for sustainable landscape management. A study was therefore conducted in the Kumawu Forest District in the Ashanti Region of Ghana to assess how farmers conceptualise on-farm tree management and develop local knowledge for it. Using a case study approach, data were collected through informal interviews and focus group discussions with 120 farmers drawn from 15 communities who were involved in the management of three cropping systems; cocoa, maize and cassava-cocoyam-plantain mix. It was observed that the farmers regard on-farm tree management as a continuous process which occurs in three phases of the farming cycle; land preparation, crop cultivation and fallow management. For each of the three phases, farmers are guided by specific principles that ensure enough light penetration in-between tree crowns in the land preparation phase, suitable spacing between trees and crops in the crop cultivation phase and adequate tree regeneration in the fallow phase. The decisions made during the selection of tree species, spacing of trees adjudged suitable for any particular cropping system and recruitment of saplings prior to the fallow phase of farming constitute tree management. Farmers develop tree management knowledge by studying the physical characteristics of species, matching them to ecological functions they could perform and how they are likely to respond to treatments meant to control or enhance their development. Species are then subjected to trial and recommended or otherwise.     

PROFILE: Indigenous Institutions and Environmental Assessment: The Case of Ghana

/ The search for sustainable development provides the impetus forexamining the role of indigenous institutions and their ecological knowledgein environmental assessment and local sustainability. This paper attempts totrace the evolution of environmental assessment in Ghana. Focusing on theAshanti Region, the paper further discusses the nature and operations ofindigenous institutions, their ecological knowledge, beliefs, practices, andsocial norms that are relevant to environmental assessment process in thecountry. Some of the challenges that emerge from the discussions arehighlighted. There is a need to establish environmental assessment andcooperative management boards that would include representatives ofindigenous institutions. In addition, the introduction of technicaldictionaries and training manuals based on indigenous ecological knowledgeand their humane environmental practices will further improve theenvironmental assessment process in Ghana.KEY WORDS: Environmental assessment; Indigenous institutions; Indigenousecological knowledge; Sustainable development; Environmental assessmentboards     

The management implications of fine fuel dynamics in Bushlands Surrounding Hobart, Tasmania

Hobart's bushlands consist of eight distinct vegetation types ranging from open woodland to wet forest. Fine fuel accumulation characteristics are distinctive across this range of vegetation types and mostly seem to conform to the function W_t = W_ss(1−e^−kt)+ l·92(e^−kt), although there is considerable scatter around the lines of best fit in many types.This information contributes to determining the applicability and appropriate frequency of controlled burning as a means of reducing fuels to protect life and property from wildfire. Regular burning of grassy vegetation should ensure relatively safe zones within the urban/bush matrix. It is likely that burning heathy forest types at frequencies that would ensure safe fuel loads would be ecologically detrimental. It would be difficult and futile to use fuel reduction burning in wet forest types as a means of protecting life and property. The fuel accumulation characteristics and the existing ecological knowledge of Allocasuarina verticillata shrubland suggests that fuel reduction burning would be counter-productive in this vegetation type.     

Assessing the Effects of Management Alternatives on Habitat Suitability in a Forested Landscape of Northeastern China

Forest management often has cumulative, long-lasting effects on wildlife habitat suitability and the effects may be impractical to evaluate using landscape-scale field experiments. To understand such effects, we linked a spatially explicit landscape disturbance and succession model (LANDIS) with habitat suitability index (HSI) models to assess the effects of management alternatives on habitat suitability in a forested landscape of northeastern China. LANDIS was applied to simulate future forest landscape changes under four management alternatives (no cutting, clearcutting, selective cutting I and II) over a 200-year horizon. The simulation outputs were linked with HSI models for three wildlife species, the red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris), the red deer (Cervus elaphus) and the hazel grouse (Bonasa bonasia). These species are chosen because they represent numerous species that have distinct habitat requirements in our study area. We assessed their habitat suitability based on the mean HSI values, which is a measure of the average habitat quality. Our simulation results showed that no one management scenario was the best for all species and various forest management scenarios would lead to conflicting wildlife habitat outcomes. How to choose a scenario is dependent on the trade-off of economical, ecological and social goals. Our modeling effort could provide decision makers with relative comparisons among management scenarios from the perspective of biodiversity conservation. The general simulation results were expected based on our knowledge of forest management and habitat relationships of the species, which confirmed that the coupled modeling approach correctly simulated the assumed relationships between the wildlife, forest composition, age structure, and spatial configuration of habitat. However, several emergent results revealed the unexpected outcomes that a management scenario may lead to.     

Indigenous Grass Ecology and Socio-Economic Values in Swaziland

The fast-degrading land resources of Swaziland requires a multi-faceted approach to their management. One resource of utmost importance to all Swazis is grass. Grass research over the years had focused on pasture grass, while other uses have been neglected. The omission is a serious one and could be attributed to the neglect of indigenous grass knowledge and people's socio-economic values of grasses. Grass as a major resource is used for cattle feed, ecological control measures, medicinal plants and crafts. Within the study area, 46 grass species were identified and described by the local people. The neglect of the people's knowledge and utilitarian values of grass is a waste of resources. Thus, for grass research to be relevant to the people and national development objectives, research scientists should rethink their approach; they need to recognize and incorporate the indigenous knowledge about other uses of grasses.     

The miombo woodlands at the cross roads: Potential threats, sustainable livelihoods, policy gaps and challenges

The Miombo, the most extensive tropical woodland formation of Africa directly supports the livelihoods of over 100 million people through the provision of many tree products and ecosystem services essential to both the rural and urban communities. While the destruction of the Miombo has often been blamed on the rural communities dwelling near the forest resources, many urban dwellers depend heavily on the various products derived from the woodlands. This paper highlights the importance of the Miombo in the livelihoods of rural people, the potential threats to this ecosystem and opportunities for its sustainable management. About 70% of energy consumed in southern Africa is in the form of fuelwood or charcoal. The economic importance of the Miombo especially from non-timber forest products (NTFPs) is usually understated due to their perceived non-economic value yet they play an important role in sustaining livelihoods of forest dependent people in the miombo ecoregion. The Miombo also contributes to health services through the use of medicinal plant and products, in some cases, contributing up to 80% to rural health, including helping in coping with effects of HIV/AIDS, malaria and several diseases. The possibility of developing payment for environmental services schemes through public–private partnerships, and community-based sustainable management models are proposed. Through conservation and commercialization of some of the products and services, there is a potential to provide income and improve the livelihood of people involved in the trade along the value chain.     

Variation in Vegetation Structure and Soil Properties, and the Relation Between Understory Plants and Environmental Variables Under Different Phyllostachys pubescens Forests in Southeastern China

Biodiversity maintenance and soil improvement are key sustainable forestry objectives. Research on the effects of bamboo forest management on plant diversity and soil properties are therefore necessary in bamboo-growing regions, such as southeastern China’s Shunchang County, that have not been studied from this perspective. We analyzed the effects of different Phyllostachys pubescens proportions in managed forests on vegetation structure and soil properties using pure Cunninghamia lanceolata forests as a contrast, and analyzed the relation between understory plants and environmental variables (i.e., topography, stand and soil characteristics) by canonical correspondence analysis (CCA). The forest with 80% P. pubescens and 20% hardwoods (such as Phoebe bournei, Jatropha curcas, Schima superba) maintained the highest plant diversity and best soil properties, with significantly higher plant diversity than the C. lanceolata forest, and better soil physicochemical and biological properties. The distribution of understory plants is highly related to environmental factors. Silvicultural disturbance strongly influenced the ability of different bamboo forests to maintain biodiversity and soil quality under extensive management, and the forest responses to management were consistent with the intermediate-disturbance hypothesis (i.e., diversity and soil properties were best at intermediate disturbance levels). Our results suggest that biodiversity maintenance and soil improvement are important management goals for sustainable bamboo management. To achieve those objectives, managers should balance the inputs and outputs of nutrients and protect understory plants by using appropriate fertilizer (e.g., organic fertilizer), adjusting stand structure, modifying utilization model and the harvest time, and controlling the intensity of culms and shoots harvests.     

Towards sustainable community‐based natural resource management in the indigenous Meqmegi community in Taiwan: Rethinking impacts of local participation

This paper examines approaches for local resident participation in community‐based natural resource management (CBNRM); focusing particularly on the potential impacts that local participation imposes on the natural environment. This study used qualitative methods to collect data, and selected Meqmegi, an indigenous community in Taiwan, as a case study. The findings indicate that many opportunities can be created that stimulate a community to participate in natural resource management; moreover, residents are prone to use their own ways to participate. Therefore, although local participation is praised for its people‐oriented way of natural resource management, impacts from the participation process will ultimately be imposed on the environment. We suggest that more consideration be given to the environmental conditions during the process of local participation via CBNRM to make sure that impacts on the environment are positive, and lead to a truly sustainable future.     

Finding common ground: birds, biodiversity, and the implications for collaboration with traditional landowners in New Guinea

It has been proposed that indigenous societies can be models for the conservation of biodiversity. However, attempts at implementing conservation-based development plans are being judged failures. In this article, I argue that these failures can be addressed by translating indigenous knowledge into context that is mutually intelligible to both indigenous people and conservation biologists. Drawing on sixteen months of ethnobiological fieldwork, this article uses indigenous knowledge to describe the relationship of traditional life to biodiversity for the Hewa of Papua New Guinea’s Central Range. The island of New Guinea is one of the planet’s last bastions of cultural and biological diversity. Using birds as an indicator of diversity, I argue that more productive conservation policies will emerge when indigenous activities are viewed not as vehicles for establishing equilibrium with the environment, but as a source of ecological disturbance. Although Hewa traditions currently play a significant role in shaping this biologically diverse environment, their lifestyle is not necessarily a template for sustainability in the future.