Perceptions of incentives for participation: insights from joint forest management in India

The participatory approach in management of forests is now well established in forest policies of many developing countries. Incentives for different groups to participate have been argued by many to be desirable characteristics to promote participation. A key challenge for government and donor agencies is to develop better understanding of the incentives for different groups to be able to achieve and sustain their participation. Based on a case study of a joint forest management (JFM) programme in the northern state of Haryana in India, this paper highlights the relevance of understanding people's perception of the incentives. It specifically examines three hypotheses related to perceptions of villagers about incentives offered under the JFM programme and relates them to their participation in joint management. It concludes that a better understanding is likely to help in improving project implementation at the local level and the design of participatory forest management programmes more generally.     

Perceptions of the local community on the outcome of community fishery management in Krala Peah village,Cambodia

Since fishery resources are regarded as an important source of income and food security, these resources need to be protected and conserved for sustainable use. To do this, the government of Cambodia has revised its policies, shifting management and responsibility to the local level. In response to government policy, Krala Peah village community fishery was established to manage resources within the area. The purpose of this study was to assess the outcome of community fishery management. Moreover, community fishery management was assessed through face-to-face interview and a participatory approach. The major findings of this study indicate that community fishery has led to a more equitable and efficient fishery within Krala Peah village. Although it has not led to improvements in fishing habitats and fish catch, it has reduced some factors that adversely affected sustainability. Furthermore, it has caused a reduction in illegal fishing, which was the main objective of the fishers.     

Local level sustainability planning for livelihoods: A Cambodian experience

How do Cambodian villagers perceive sustainability and what do they do 'on the ground'? Looking at sustainability issues through the lens of two local resource management committees, and using a triangulation of social science research methods, this paper examines the roles and responsibilities of these groups and how they grapple with resource degradation and related activities. The committees have experimented with a range of resource management strategies, from creating fishing sanctuaries to resolving fishing gear theft. The results indicate that one reason villagers are willing to engage in community-based management is when they believe that they can improve livelihoods within their community. Community-based management is being carried out in the absence of formal legislation; it is recognized through government policy and administrative approvals. In this regard, local-level support and leadership has been key, and the current arrangement has created the political space for experimentation and learning.     

Non-timber forest products and village livelihoods in Rajasthan,India: adaptation in a changing environment

This paper presents the results of research conducted between 2009 and 2014 in the village of Khanda Sharol in the state of Rajasthan, India. Our research objective was to determine how the livelihoods of village residents have been affected by the intensification of forest use, and the resulting loss of domestic access to traditionally used forest resources. Results indicate that changes in forest cover have resulted in a loss of livelihood options for village residents. Yet rather than being victimized by environmental change processes, this paper shows how villagers have responded by partnering with public and private actors to develop a community protected forest area that is now helping villagers to meet their livelihood needs. These findings suggest that sustainable livelihoods in rural regions of India require committed and scaled approaches involving local, public, and private actors.     

Availability and Extraction of Forest Products in Managed and Primary Forest around a Dayak Village in West Kalimantan, Indonesia

We examined the density and abundance of marketable products in managed forest (rubber gardens, fruit gardens, and dry rice fallows) and in primary forest surrounding the Dayak village of Kembera, near Gunung Palung National Park, West Kalimantan, Indonesia. We calculated the proportion of trees that were marketable and useful for local consumption by counting and identifying trees in each managed forest type, and we documented extraction of products through interviews. Villagers harvested four marketable tree products: tengkawang seeds ( Shorea stenoptera ), durian fruits (various Durio spp.), rubber ( Hevea brasiliensis ), and timber, especially Bornean ironwood ( Eusideroxylon zwageri ). We inventoried trees at least 20 cm diameter at breast height (dbh) of marketed species from 0.4-ha plots in primary forest ( n = 8) and from 0.1-ha plots in each managed forest type ( n = 10–11). With the exception of timber, the density of trees producing a marketable product was significantly higher in the forest type managed for that product than the density of the marketed species, or of similar wild species, in primary forest. Total abundance (product of density and available area) of durian and tengkawang was greater in primary forest; however, villagers gathered these products only from managed forest. We infer from this choice a greater efficiency of harvesting from trees in dense stands near the village. Historically, this choice resulted in deliberate development of fruit gardens in preference or in addition to gathering from the more distant, primary forest. Because of low product density in primary forest, extractive forest reserves or buffer zones designed to encourage the production of fruits such as tengkawang or durian may not provide a sufficient incentive for the protection of primary forest around Kembera and other Dayak villages near Gunung Palung National Park.     

A system dynamics model for evaluating collaborative forest management: a case study in Indonesia

This article presents a system dynamics (SD) method to examine the problem of forest degradation. The model developed takes a system-oriented view of forest management, embracing both social and biophysical factors affecting deforestation. Social factors examined are socio-economic variables or elements that influence behaviour and decision-making choices at the household level. Biophysical factors are four sub-components that are considered major land uses namely, the paddy field component, rattan plantations, coffee plantations and forest stands. The model was applied in a case study located in Pasir District of East Kalimantan, Indonesia. The site covers an area that includes a protected forest and a privately allocated timber license concession. Three village communities are examined in the case study. The SD model developed was applied to the case study focusing on three management policies or scenarios, which are based on access rights to the forest resources within the study area. Specifically, the property arrangements examined in each scenario are: Policy 1 – status quo (i.e. continue present property rights arrangements); Policy 2 – local communities manage the forest exclusively; and Policy 3 – collaborative management involving both local communities and a private company. Results from the model show that the third policy is the most viable option, and also lead to a win–win solution.     

Using MCA tools for evaluating community-managed forests from a green economy perspective: lessons from Nepal

ABSTRACT

Nepal is in the process of formulating its forest policies at the provincial level . Various community-managed forests have been designed in the past by the Nepal government to decentralize the forest for its sustainable management practice. This study facilitates the process of identifying appropriate forest management options in two of the provinces, namely Provinces Three and Gandaki. Four forest management options – passive, active, scientific and multiple – were identified following the existing management practices. For the evaluation of the overall performance of the options, a framework with three criteria, 10 indicators and 28 verifiers were designed. The framework followed the green economy perspective considering the improvement of the forest conditions, economic and social well-being, and low carbon emission. The Analytical Hierarchy Process was used to prioritize the best management option and analyse trade-offs to guide future decision-making and reduce the risk of unwanted consequences. Our results show that the elicitation of preferences for the evaluation criteria varied by stakeholder groups. Their preference was largely guided by improving the forest resource condition and economic well-being. Foresters prefer scientific and active forest management, policymakers prefer multiple-use forest management and scientific management, whereas community forest user groups prefer active forest management. We argue that a scientific management approach may contribute better to economic aspects, although it may often compromise the other aspects. The multiple forest management option seems to be the best for green economy considering ecological, economic and social consequences.     

REDD+ and forest tenure security: concerns in Nepal’s community forestry

As one of the dominant large-scale mechanisms proposed to combat climate change, biodiversity loss, and rural poverty, REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) has added further complexity to the challenging governance of rights and resources in global forests. As REDD+ is commodifying carbon, concerns emerge about how carbon ownership and its rights can be accommodated into the existing framework that governs local forest resource rights. The Nepalese government has formally entered into REDD+ policy preparations, but it lacks clear legal provisions regarding key forest tenure rights such as carbon ownership, benefit sharing, and the political participation of community forest user groups from national to local. As a result, Nepal’s policy process points toward performance-based carbon forestry in a way that may undermine and weaken existing community tenure rights and forest tenure security.

This paper discusses Nepal’s potential impacts of new REDD+ and carbon ownership arrangements on forest tenure security and community-based forest governance. In a threefold methodological approach, the paper presents three scenarios for a REDD+-oriented tenure reform within the existing framework and assesses their concerns through in-depth qualitative interviews with key stakeholders, representatives, and advocates of Nepal’s community forestry system, complemented by a review of government documents and academic literature of REDD+ lessons so far. The analysis identifies critical concerns for forest tenure security, state-community power relationships, and effective local institutions of the commons, and suggests that Nepal’s REDD+ process is taking place at a particularly consequential time for structural changes of the forest governance framework.     

Using soundscapes to detect variable degrees of human influence on tropical forests in Papua New Guinea

There is global concern about tropical forest degradation, in part, because of the associated loss of biodiversity. Communities and indigenous people play a fundamental role in tropical forest management and are often efficient at preventing forest degradation. However, monitoring changes in biodiversity due to degradation, especially at a scale appropriate to local tropical forest management, is plagued by difficulties, including the need for expert training, inconsistencies across observers, and lack of baseline or reference data. We used a new biodiversity remote‐sensing technology, the recording of soundscapes, to test whether the acoustic saturation of a tropical forest in Papua New Guinea decreases as land‐use intensity by the communities that manage the forest increases. We sampled soundscapes continuously for 24 hours at 34 sites in different land‐use zones of 3 communities. Land‐use zones where forest cover was fully retained had significantly higher soundscape saturation during peak acoustic activity times (i.e., dawn and dusk chorus) compared with land‐use types with fragmented forest cover. We conclude that, in Papua New Guinea, the relatively simple measure of soundscape saturation may provide a cheap, objective, reproducible, and effective tool for monitoring tropical forest deviation from an intact state, particularly if it is used to detect the presence of intact dawn and dusk choruses.     

Common property resources in drylands of India

Common property resources are areas of land or water being used by a community or a group of communities. These have special significance to peoples and communities who depend on them for their livelihood. The commons in all arid districts of India include village pastures, community forests, wasteland, common threshing grounds, waste dumps, watershed drainage, village baoris¹, talabs², nadis³ and ponds, and tanks, rivers, rivulets, wetlands, riverbeds, community conserved areas, protected areas, Dhaam⁴ or Dhooni⁵, culturable wastelands, barren & un-culturable land, etc. The area under commons often ranged from 9 to 28% of total village area. Appropriation of the commons by the state for building essential infrastructure such as schools, clinics, veterinary hospitals, housing for government functionaries, SEZ and industrial corridors, etc. is a cause of serious concern. Presently the ownership rights over CPRs are not clear and there are many who claim ownership, some at State level but also like local bodies. The 12^th plan of the Planning Commission of India recognized and highlighted the need for favourable land tenure arrangements, institutional design and programme architecture in order to achieve effective governance and management of the commons. The revitalization of CPRs is crucial for protecting livelihoods, as well as for biodiversity conservation and for the improvement in arid microclimatic conditions. Dialogue continues on the status of common property resources, the available legal framework and some policy related issues for its conservation through strengthening of local institutions and capacity building for stakeholders.     

Hunting for common ground between wildlife governance and commons scholarship

Wildlife hunting is essential to livelihoods and food security in many parts of the world, yet present rates of extraction may threaten ecosystems and human communities. Thus, governing sustainable wildlife use is a major social dilemma and conservation challenge. Commons scholarship is well positioned to contribute theoretical insights and analytic tools to better understand the interface of social and ecological dimensions of wildlife governance, yet the intersection of wildlife studies and commons scholarship is not well studied. We reviewed existing wildlife-hunting scholarship, drawing on a database of 1,410 references, to examine the current overlap with commons scholarship through multiple methods, including social network analysis and deductive coding. We found that a very small proportion of wildlife scholarship incorporated commons theories and frameworks. The social network of wildlife scholarship was densely interconnected with several major publication clusters, whereas the wildlife commons scholarship was sparse and isolated. Despite the overarching gap between wildlife and commons scholarship, a few scholars are studying wildlife commons. The small body of scholarship that bridges these disconnected literatures provides valuable insights into the understudied relational dimensions of wildlife and other overlapping common-pool resources. We suggest increased engagement among wildlife and commons scholars and practitioners to improve the state of knowledge and practice of wildlife governance across regions, particularly for bushmeat hunting in the tropics, which is presently understudied through a common-pool resource lens. Our case study of the Republic of Congo showed how the historical context and interrelationships between hunting and forest rights are essential to understanding the current state of wildlife governance and potential for future interventions. A better understanding of the interconnections between wildlife and overlapping common-pool resource systems may be key to understanding present wildlife governance challenges and advancing the common-pool resource research agenda.     

Lessons from Fragmentation Research: Improving Management and Policy Guidelines for Biodiversity Conservation

Abstract:  Ideally, science should inform policy development in all areas of human endeavor. Nowhere is this truer than in the case of human land use and our impact on the natural environment. Unfortunately, little recent science has percolated into policy guidelines for tropical forest management in areas facing serious threats. To help science inform policy we present six guidelines, which have been empirically proven important, for the management of fragmented landscapes: (1) incorporate protection measures as part of development projects; (2) protect large areas and prevent the fragmentation of currently contiguous large patches of forest; (3) manage forest edges when creating forest patches; (4) protect gallery forests along waterways to connect isolated forest patches; (5) control the use of fire and the introduction of exotic plant species and limit the use of toxic chemicals in areas near forest patches; and (6) promote reforestation and forest cover in critical areas of landscapes. Straightforward linkages between science and policy formulation can result in simple, yet powerful, changes in land-use patterns and have a concurrent positive effect on biodiversity and natural resources.     

Evaluation of alternative forest system management policies the case of the spruce budworm in New Brunswick

A major difficulty in choosing a forest management policy that regulates yearly spraying and logging levels is the fact that such a choice involves comparisons among risky alternatives. Practical and theoretical constraints often make the specification of a utility function for the system infeasible. This paper demonstrates that by making reasonable and easily verifiable assumptions about some properties of preference profiles of participants in the system, it is possible to produce an effective algorithm for forest policy evaluation. The method proposed and applied to the case of the New Brunswick forests consists of: (1) construction of a forest simulation to generate policy contingent distributions of outcomes, and (2) employment of stochastic dominance to identify a nondominated set of policies.     

Management Decentralization and Montane Forest Conditions in Tanzania

Abstract: We examined how differences in local forest‐management institutions relate to disparate anthropogenic forest disturbance and forest conditions among three neighboring montane forests in Tanzania under centralized, comanaged, or communal management. Institutional differences have been shaped by decentralization reforms. We conducted semistructured interviews with members of forest management committees, local government, and village households and measured anthropogenic disturbance, tree structure, and species composition in forest plots. We assessed differences in governance system components of local institutions, including land tenure, decision‐making autonomy by forest users, and official and de facto processes of rule formation, monitoring, and enforcement among the three management strategies. We also assessed differences in frequencies of prohibited logging and subsistence pole cutting, and measures of forest condition. An adjacent research forest served as an ecological reference for comparison of forest conditions. Governance was similar for comanaged and centralized management, whereas communal managers had greater tenure security and decision‐making autonomy over the use and management of their forest. There was significantly less illegal logging in the communal forest, but subsistence pole cutting was common across all management strategies. The comanaged forest was most disturbed by recent logging and pole cutting, as were peripheral areas of the larger centralized forest. This manifested in more degraded indicators of forest conditions (lower mean tree size, basal area, density of trees ≥ 90 cm dbh, and aboveground biomass and higher overall stem density). Greater tenure security and institutional autonomy of the communal strategy contributed to more effective management, less illegal logging, and maintenance of good forest conditions, but generating livelihood benefits was a challenge for both decentralized strategies. Our results underscore the importance of well‐designed institutional arrangements in forest management and illustrate mechanisms for improved forest governance and conservation in the context of Tanzanian decentralization reforms.     

REDD+ comes with money,not with development: an analysis of post-pilot project scenarios from the community forestry of Nepal Himalaya

Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) attracts poor nations to keep their forest standing only to sequester carbon through monetary incentives. However, in countries like Nepal where forest is an integral part of social practices, communities need to keep using forests for making a living. Based on household survey, field interview, personal observation, and broad review of forestry legislations, this paper scrutinizes villagers’ experiences of changes in forest management after implementation of a REDD+ pilot project in nine Community Forestry Users Groups (CFUGs) of Nepal. Since REDD+ was not initiated by local communities but tacitly implemented by international NGOs, most villagers lacked knowledge about it and the associated benefits from the pilot project, thus fewer villagers were found to be motivated to participate in the pilot project. Consequently, it delinked villagers from their forest by implicitly tightening uses rules, which resulted in constraints to fetch forest products. In addition, REDD+ benefits were distributed to some poor households but not to all, which resulted to an antagonistic sentiment in the villages. Thus, a rigorous assessment of conditions and framework of REDD+ and an involvement of local community from the start without compromising in the uses of forest products is of the utmost importance before considering the REDD+ framework as an alternative or as similar to CFUG in Nepal. Alternatively, REDD+ can be a part or a development project under the CFUG’s framework, which could be socially as well as legally acceptable on the present situation.     

Ecosystem Management across Ownerships: the Potential for Collision with Antitrust Laws

Abstract:  Cross-boundary ecosystem management is increasingly being advocated to address large-scale ecological issues on forested landscapes. Such management requires information about the age, composition, and distribution of trees and other vegetation in addition to the ability to coordinate management over large areas. In the United States, the forest industry owns and manages a large quantity of biologically productive forest land, and these forests are crucial to the success of regional ecosystem planning. Antitrust laws, such as the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890, limit the industry's ability to participate in regional ecosystem planning because they restrict the ability of competing firms to coordinate activities and share information. Because antitrust courts do not consider the intentions of violators, achieving conservation or other public policy goals, even when working with government agencies, is not a sufficient defense. Therefore, the real and perceived threat of antitrust litigation is a disincentive to the forest industry's participation in large-scale ecosystem management. Potential solutions to this problem include state immunity statutes and third-party data aggregation.     

Realities of offering advice to governments on CITES

What happens when those who provide conservation advice are required to take policy and management action based on that advice? Conservation advocates and scientists often try to prompt regulatory change that has significant implications for government without facing the challenge of managing such change. Through a case study, we placed ourselves in the role of the government of Thailand, facing obligations to seahorses (Hippocampus spp.) under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). These obligations include ensuring that its exports of seahorses do not damage wild populations. We applied a CITES-approved framework (which we developed) to evaluate the risks of such exports to 2 seahorse species. We used the framework to evaluate the pressures that put wild populations of the species at risk; whether current management mitigates the risk or offsets these pressures; and whether the species is responding as hoped to management policy. We based our analysis on information in published and grey literature, local knowledge, citizen science data, results of government research, and expert opinion. To meet CITES obligations, exports of both species would need to be prohibited until more precautionary adaptive management emerged. The risk of any exports of Hippocampus trimaculatus was above a tolerable level because of a lack of appropriate management to mitigate risks. In contrast, the risk of any exports of Hippocampus kuda could become tolerable if monitoring were put in place to assess the species’ response to management. The process we developed for Authorities to determine risk in response to CITES guidelines was challenging to implement even without the need for government to consider social implications of conservation action. Despite the imperfections of our risk evaluation, however, it still served to support adaptive management. Conservationists need to keep implementation in mind when offering advice.     

Institutional responses to development pressures: Resilience of social-ecological systems in Himachal Pradesh,India

In the Kullu District, Himachal Pradesh, India, economic and urban growth, and diversification have increased pressure on forests and forest-based social-ecological systems. As in many Himalayan regions, livelihood sustainability is linked to forest resources, products and services. Recent development in the region, to which these systems may be vulnerable, brings into question environmental and livelihood sustainability. This paper examines the resilience of integrated systems of people and nature, or social-ecological systems, in the face of development pressures by evaluating a number of local and state-level institutional responses. Resilience, which describes the ability of the social-ecological systems to adapt to change by buffering shocks, improving self-organization and increasing capacity for learning, is an essential quality for sustainable development. Institutional responses which positively contribute to resilience and sustainability include the work of mahila mandals in forest management, adoption of Joint Forest Management (JFM) policies and practices, upholding rules, strengthening local institutions, establishing firewood depots and adopting alternative energy sources. Institutional failures brought about by the lack of rule enforcement and corruption erode resilience. The analysis of institutional responses helps to identify areas where capacity exists and areas in which capacity building is needed to produce resilient social-ecological systems and therefore, sustainable development.     

Effects of Forest Management on Amphibians and Reptiles in Missouri Ozark Forests

Abstract:  As part of the Missouri Ozark Forest Ecosystem Project (MOFEP), we experimentally evaluated the impacts of forest management on the relative abundance of amphibians and reptiles in Missouri's Ozark forests (U.S.A.). Using large study sites (average size of 400 ha) as the experimental unit, we tested the effects of uneven-aged and even-aged forest management treatments compared with no-harvest management (i.e., control) on the relative abundance of 13 focal amphibian and reptile species. Within even-aged management sites, we also focused on the local-scale effects of clearcutting on these species by comparing relative abundance among plots located within clearcut stands, 50 m away from clearcut stands, and 200 m away from clearcut stands. Pretreatment sampling of species abundance occurred from 1992 through 1995, and post-treatment sampling occurred from 1997 through 2000. At the landscape scale, treatment significantly affected the abundance of Bufo americanus . This species declined less on even-aged management sites than on control sites, but the general decline on all sites suggests that other factors may have contributed to this result. Within even-aged management sites, most amphibian species declined and some reptile species increased relative to pretreatment abundances within clearcut stands. We found significant effects of distance from clearcut for two amphibian species, Ambystoma maculatum and Rana clamitans, and two reptile species, Scincella lateralis and Sceloporus undulatus . In general, we conclude that clearcuts within even-aged management sites locally affected amphibian and reptile species but, at a larger spatial scale, we did not detect significant effects of even-aged and uneven-aged forest management. These findings represent relatively short-term data but suggest that forest management and maintenance of biodiversity may be compatible when relatively small amounts of the landscape are disturbed.     

The additionality problem with offsets: Optimal contracts for carbon sequestration in forests

Carbon offsets are a frequently discussed tool for reducing the costs of an emissions reduction policy. However, offsets have a basic problem stemming from asymmetric information. Sellers of offsets have private information about their opportunity costs, leading to concerns about whether offsets are additional. Non-additional offsets can undermine a cap-and-trade program or, if the government purchases them directly, result in enormous government expenditures. We analyze contracts for carbon sequestration in forests that mitigate the asymmetric information problem. Landowners are offered a menu of two-part contracts that induces them to reveal their type. Under this scheme, the government is able to identify ex post how much additional forest each landowner contributes and minimize ex ante its expenditures on carbon sequestration. To explore the performance of the contracting scheme, we conduct a national-scale simulation using an econometric model of land-use change. The results indicate that for an increase in forest area of 61 million acres, government expenditures are $5.3 billion lower under the contracting approach compared to a uniform subsidy offered to all landowners. This compares to an increase in private opportunity costs of just $110 million dollars under the contracts. Thus, the contracting scheme is preferable from society's perspective.