A survey-based evaluation of community-based co-management of forest resources: a case study of Baishuijiang National Natural Reserve in China

Community-based co-management (CBCM) mechanisms for forest management have matured through the development of new economic analysis and common property theory. However, while many local CBCM mechanisms have been initiated in Chinese Natural Reserves, there are few objective, data-based evaluations of whether these mechanisms improve forest conservation and local livelihoods. This research uses Baishuijiang National Natural Reserve (BNNR) as a study case to evaluate China’s current CBCM mechanisms. The evaluation is based mainly on three criteria: efficiency, equality and sustainability of project operation. Survey data indicate that local CBCM mechanisms provide a wide-participation platform for local villagers, associated administration managers, research institutions and NGOs to join in forest resource protection work while improving local livelihood. CBCM projects have also facilitated a reduction in forest resource dependency, the improvement of household income and encouragement of local people to participate in forest resource protection. Our analysis suggests that most CBCM organizations have made progress in efficiency, equity and sustainability. However, further study should focus on how to deal with the lingering problems of inequity in responsibility and rights among CBCM committee members, poor distribution of benefits, insufficient program-design and management expertise, faulty information dissemination, and insufficient capital investment.     

Threatened access, risk of eviction and forest degradation: case study of sustainability problem in a remote rural region in India

Degradation of common pool resource (CPR) in developing countries has often been traced to high rate attached by poor people in discounting future flow of benefits, market failure, pressure on carrying capacity or sometimes property right failure. However, the concept of poorly enforced property right and particularly risk of eviction as a measure of insecurity of land tenure has not been adequately examined in the context of degradation of CPR. A game theoretic framework is developed where degradation of forest grazing land is explained in terms of changes in perceived risk of eviction from the encroached land. Logit regression is applied to empirically analyse the impact of perceived fear of reduced access and other variables on the state of degradation. For this purpose, a sample of seven villages is considered in tribal dominated region in West Bengal, India. It is observed that apart from a number of socio-economic variables like poverty, mutual trust and other incomes, perceived fear of eviction (represented as a dummy variable) arising from insecurity of forest land tenure, has a significant impact on forest degradation status in the study region.     

Hunting of kebung (Ratufa bicolor) and other squirrel species from morang forest by the Adi tribe of Arunachal Pradesh,India: biocultural conservation and livelihood dimensions

Arunachal Pradesh in northeastern India is considered a biocultural diversity hotspot, with diverse tribal peoples and immense floral and faunal diversity. This rich diversity, sustained through the morang (community forests) and jhum (slash and burn) cultivation systems, is the backbone of native communities’ livelihood security. Kebung (Ratufa bicolor) and other squirrel species are intricately related to biocultural systems of the Adi people of Arunachal Pradesh. Primary surveys and participatory rural appraisals were carried out in 20 villages of East Siang and Upper Siang districts of the state. Results indicated that Kebung squirrels are hunted from successional forests, including from morang and jhum lands. They are an integral part of the Adi sociocultural, economic and livelihood systems, being used for food, medicinal, ceremonial and other purposes. Hunting methods vary in the traditional and transitional Adi villages. Recently, kebung populations have diminished, and this is attributed to overhunting. In particular, a decrease in kebung populations in some morang and jhum habitats has threatened the biocultural resources of the Adi. Knowledge and management practices relating to kebung hunting are gradually eroding among the younger Adi generations. However, the community recently passed a resolution for kebung conservation, supported by the customary norms. We conclude with a discussion of policy requirements for sustainable management of kebung populations to maintain Adi biocultural and livelihood security.     

Invasive alien species as drivers in socio-ecological systems: local adaptations towards use of Lantana in Southern India

Lantana camara. L (hereafter Lantana) was first introduced by the British into India in 1807 as an ornamental plant. Since then the species has spread across the length and breadth of the country. Attempts to control Lantana in India have not been successful. In this study, we analysed the use of Lantana by local communities in southern India and identified the possible causes and consequences of its use through the use of a household survey of the socio-economic profile of the user and nonuser households and an analysis of the ecological history of the communities. Communities have been using Lantana for over 25–30 years and apparently such use was not prompted by external agencies. The characteristics of user and nonuser households were similar, except that Lantana users were more literate and had a greater number of occupations per household than nonusers. Per capita income was similar between user and nonuser groups. For nonuser groups, their main income sources were from trading (44 %), wage labour (32 %) and forest resources (23 %). In contrast, the Lantana user groups substituted their loss of income from forest resources (7 %) by income from Lantana (46 %). The ecological history revealed that Lantana was adopted as a resource at a time when it was increasing in the landscape and traditional bamboo resources were in decline because of overuse by commercial enterprises and mast flowering. This change in ecological resource availability prompted a major shift in livelihoods for some in the area.     

Institutions, Forest Management, and Sustainable Human Development – Experiences from India

New institutional economists have argued that there are many categories of institutions, including market and non-market institutions, which may prove economically efficient, specifically for public goods and common pool goods. The Government of India introduced a non-market community-based institution, known as Joint Forest Management (JFM), for forest management and protection in 1990. JFM is a sharing mechanism for forest planning and management based on sharing of rights and duties, control and decision-making authority over forestlands, between forest departments and local user groups. By 2001, 42 000 Village Forest Committees established under JFM were managing over 11.5 million ha forestland. These institutions have proved very useful, and have contributed to forest management as well as four aspects of sustainable human development (SHD) – ecological output, income generation, village infrastructure development, and community empowerment. In the long-term, community-based institutions will prove to be a foundation of SHD and participatory democracy.     

我国森林资源资产产权制度存在的问题及对策研究

森林资源概念向森林资源资产概念的演进是可持续发展的客观要求，是人与自然关系逐渐从单纯索取向相互依存转变的实际表现。对森林资源资产产权制度的研究，对于优化森林资源资产配置，实现林业可持续发展具有极其重要的意义。研究认为我国森林资源资产产权制度的问题主要存在于产权意识、产权界定、产权管理和产权制度评价体系等方面上。在对其深层次原因和加剧“三农”问题严重性的负面影响作出分析的基础上，提出解决我国森林资源资产产权制度存在问题的对策：提高行为主体的产权意识和生态意识；重新对森林资源资产产权进行科学和系统的界定；明确森林资源资产产权主体的责权利边界；建立新型的适应社会主义市场经济发展要求的森林资源资产产权管理体制；健全森林资源资产产权变动管理制度；建立森林资源资产补偿机制；建立森林资源资产产权制度的动态评价体系。     

Using a novel climate–water conflict vulnerability index to capture double exposures in Lake Chad

Climate variability is amongst an array of threats facing agricultural livelihoods, with its effects unevenly distributed. With resource conflict being increasingly recognised as one significant outcome of climate variability and change, understanding the underlying drivers that shape differential vulnerabilities in areas that are double-exposed to climate and conflict has great significance. Climate change vulnerability frameworks are rarely applied in water conflict research. This article presents a composite climate–water conflict vulnerability index based on a double exposure framework developed from advances in vulnerability and livelihood assessments. We apply the index to assess how the determinants of vulnerability can be useful in understanding climate variability and water conflict interactions and to establish how knowledge of the climate–conflict linked context can shape interventions to reduce vulnerability. We surveyed 240 resource users (farmers, fishermen and pastoralists) in seven villages on the south-eastern shores of Lake Chad in the Republic of Chad to collect data on a range of exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity variables. Results suggest that pastoralists are more vulnerable in terms of climate-structured aggressive behaviour within a lake-based livelihoods context where all resource user groups show similar levels of exposure to climate variability. Our approach can be used to understand the human and environmental security components of vulnerability to climate change and to explore ways in which conflict-structured climate adaptation and climate-sensitive conflict management strategies can be integrated to reduce the vulnerability of populations in high-risk, conflict-prone environments.     

‘Complex crisis’ and the rise of collaborative natural resource governance: institutional trajectory of a wildlife governance experience in Ghana

Natural resource governance is underpinned by institutions which evolve ‘circumstantially’ over time. An attempt at understanding the contemporary institutions and governance structure of a resource requires an in-depth ethnographic enquiry. Adapting a four-phase institutional analysis framework, this study discusses the evolution and adaptation of wildlife governance structures and institutions using the unique experience of Boabeng–Fiema Monkey Sanctuary in Ghana. The study adopted a transdisciplinary research approach which was participatory and consultative. The key observations are that: wildlife institutions have gone through three main evolutionary phases, a pre-collaborative phase, which was exclusively underpinned by informal institutions; a critical juncture stage, where contextual challenges led to an adaptive response; the third and contemporary phase is a collaborative governance regime, where the erstwhile informal institutions have been complemented by formal state structures and institutions to synergistically enhance viability of the wildlife species. In spite of the problems posed to community members by the monkeys (wildlife), the study still observes a cordial human–wildlife relationship. Based on the study outcomes, we derive four key conclusions which have implications for institutionalism and natural resource governance.     

Poverty alleviation as a pathway to sustainable forest management

In a major deviation from conventional joint forest management approaches where the emphasis of management is on provision of forest products to the participating villagers, the Tamil Nadu Afforestation Project (TAP) focused on poverty alleviation as the principal means to achieve sustainable forest management. This study assesses the effectiveness of TAP’s strategy in improving the ecology and socio-economic conditions of forest fringe villages using a diverse set of research methods. Results indicate that in a span of four to seven years, there was significant increase in forest cover, biodiversity, and agricultural productivity. The project villages have also shown considerable progress in various indicators of socio-economic development. The authors, however, suggest continued poverty alleviation and promotion of alternative livelihood opportunities to place the programme on a stable ground. Meeting the development needs of local villagers through strong and durable institutional linkages is also suggested for the programme to sustain and succeed.     

Local vulnerability as an advantage: mangrove forest management in Pará state,north Brazil,under conditions of illegality

When ecosystems are threatened or scientific knowledge of the effects of human action is uncertain, legislative prohibition is often adopted. This paper examines how the criminalization of mangrove tree use affects ecosystem management outcomes. We explore the biological, economic and social sustainability effects of the legal ban on mangrove use on the coast of Bragança, Pará, north Brazil. There are two main categories of mangrove users in this area: firstly, local subsistence users who also derive some financial incomes from mangrove sale. Their mangrove use is intertwined with household livelihood strategies and they display self-initiated planning and action towards sustainable management; secondly, more mobile, purely commercial users who are responsible for most commercial mangrove exploitation and who employ regionally sequential, predatory resource exploitation strategies. These users are typically based at some distance from the exploited areas and share neither local livelihood strategies nor sustainability agendas. The current outright ban on any utilization of mangrove flora seems to undermine biological sustainability, is economically inefficient and generates normative insecurity, conflict and social polarization. The ineffectiveness of the outright legal prohibition of mangrove tree use in terms of sustainable coastal management leads us to investigate alternative management options. We suggest that the legalization of local mangrove utilization and the strengthening of local users rights and responsibilities to control outsiders in a co-management framework, as proposed in the Brazilian extractive reserves (RESEX) approach, is most likely to advance ecologically, economically and socially sustainable mangrove management. It is demonstrated that a legal recognition of local entitlements to mangrove trees would reduce social vulnerability and therefore move forest management outcomes into more desirable directions.

Defect and Innovation of Water Rights System

Abstract

The rare deposition of water resources conflicts with its limitless demand. This determined the existence of the water rights transaction system. The implementation of the water rights transaction system requires clarifying the definition of water resource right above all distinctly. At present, it is a kind of common right system arrangement which needs the Chinese government to dispose of water resources. Though a series of management systems guaranteed the government’s supply of water resource, it hindered the development of the water market seriously and caused the utilization of water resources to stay in the inefficient or low efficient state for a long time. Thus, we should change the government’s leading role in the resource distribution and really rely on the market to carry on the water rights trade and transaction. In this way, the water rights could become a kind of private property right relatively, and circulate freely in the market. As a result of this, we should overcome the defects of common right, make its external performance internalized maximally and achieve the optimized water resource disposition and use it more effectively.     

The effectiveness of village bylaws in sustainable management of community-managed exclosures in Northern Ethiopia

Communities in Tigray, Northern Ethiopia, have established exclosures on formerly degraded grazing lands and other land uses to promote natural regeneration of plants. Village bylaws devised by communities govern the management of exclosures. We analysed the effectiveness of village bylaws that are used to manage exclosures in addressing forest degradation, resolving conflicts among users over natural resource use, and meeting high expectations of users to realise economic benefits from exclosures through enhancing revenue from sale of grass and dry wood. We collected data using qualitative methods during July and November 2008 in two villages of Tigray. The village bylaws mitigated forest degradation by facilitating users to have common goals in the management of exclosures, and resolved conflicts among users by using monetary sanctions including penalties. The village bylaws were not effective in meeting the high expectations of users to realise economic benefits from exclosures. In some cases, the enforcement of village bylaws was constrained by high social capital, which resulted in the negligence among users in exposing free riders. This indicates that high social capital does not always enhance communal resource management. Moreover, recurrent drought, shortage of fuel wood, and the growing number of landless youths in both villages constrained the effectiveness of village bylaws and further expansion of exclosures. Village committees should focus on addressing the low level of rule enforcement and minimise negligence among users of exclosures through developing a sense of responsibility among users rather than focusing on penalties.     

Land Cover and Use Changes in Relation to the Institutional Framework and Tenure of Land and Resources in Eastern Tanzania Miombo Woodlands

In Tanzania, well-defined land tenure and resource protection apply in forest reserves which account for 30% of forested land, while the remaining 70% (mostly miombo woodlands) are village and general lands with very limited protection. The aim of this study was to determine local peoples ownership rights, knowledge and institutional capacity for sustainable management of resources in forest reserves and general lands. Data were collected using participatory rural appraisal, structured and semi-structured interviews, as well as aerial photographs and landsat images. In general lands, woodlands declined by 50% between 1964 and 1996, bushlands and croplands increased by 599%, and settlements and homegardens increased by 277%. These land use and vegetation structure changes are attributed to harvesting for charcoal production and shifting cultivation. The continued decline in aerial woodland cover in the general lands suggests that common property regimes do not function in the area. Local institutional capacities are weak in enforcing control mechanisms to check the overuse of resources, which tends to approximate open access conditions. The issues of land tenure and village empowerment are not only institutional, but also political in nature. Government institutions should provide and motivate for an enabling environment, including acknowledgement of traditional knowledge, well-defined property rights and operational village by-laws. In order to ensure equity and sustainable development of natural resources, the paradigm shift in management is important whereby communal goods are to be managed for the benefit of the local society.     

Spatial analysis of soil resources in the Mewat district in the semiarid regions of Haryana,India

The soil characteristics are critical for crop health and its yield and therefore for agriculture. The soil properties are spatially variable and therefore soil resources should be managed as per location-specific requirements. An integrated spatial analysis of the soil resources of Mewat district was conducted to identify the soil resource management zones to develop site-specific soil management plan which might lead to sustained and enhanced crop yield. Spatial analysis of soil resources was conducted by modeling soil fertility and erosion which determines the crop productivity in the region. Soil fertility of the region was modeled using weighted overlay approach using 10 soil parameters, namely nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, sulfur, iron, zinc, manganese, organic carbon, electrical conductivity, and pH. Each parameter was assigned weights based on their relative importance to agricultural productivity. The modeled soil fertility was classified into three fertility zones, low, medium, and high. Soil fertility was found to be low to moderate in 65% of the area, largely because of the low nitrogen, soil organic carbon, phosphorus concentration, and excessive salinity. Soil erosion was modeled using the universal soil loss equation (USLE) model by estimating rainfall erosivity factor (R), the soil erodibility factor (K), the topographic factors (L and S), cropping factor (C), and the conservation practice factor (P). Soil erosion problems were limited to areas having high elevation with barren land and areas with minimal management practices. The severity of soil erosion was found high in 15% of the region, while the remaining 85% showed low to moderate erosion. Soil fertility and erosion were integrated using the multivariate clustering method to identify soil management zones. The region was delineated into three soil management zones. Zone I (29%) which covers majorly Tarou block, was characterized by high soil fertility and low soil erosion. Zone II (18%) with medium soil fertility and high erosion covers villages of Taoru, Nuh, Nagina, FP Jhirka, and Punhana, which are located in the foothills of Aravalli ranges. Zone III represents the major part of the region, covering Nuh, Nagina, and FP Jhirka blocks (54%) with low soil fertility and erosion conditions. Thus, within the study area, the soil management domains are spatially variable in terms of fertility and soil erosion, and thus zone-specific soil management measures are required to improve the soil condition in order to sustain and improve agriculture production. The study would help the policy makers to design site-specific planning for identified soil resource management zones.     

The South Australian lobster fishery management model

Modelling the rock lobster (Jasus edwardsii) fishery in South Australia was the focus of a three-year data gathering program. In collaboration with fishers, a tool for assisting in the sustainable management of the resource was developed. The goal was to test management policies to allow increases in reproductive output while enhancing economic yield. The model's user interface was developed to an ease of use comparable to commercial software for use by fishers in comanagement of the resource. This paper describes the modelling framework, user interface, and results for management strategies under consideration. The framework is comprised of five principle submodels: catch, effort, growth, economics, and population reproduction, with the lobster population divided into 8 mm length classes by sex and spatial cell. The mortality of lobsters occurs by commercial harvest, natural mortality, incidental release mortality, predation inside pots before retrieval, illegal harvesting, and recreational catch. Five categories of management control scenario were simulated: catch quota, effort regulation (as total pot retrievals), size regulations (allowing minimum, maximum, and mid-range slice length protection), and seasonal and area closures. Model outputs imply that size strategies have limited potential compared with effort limitations and quota.     

Causal relationships between African mahoganies exports and deforestation in Ghana: policy implications

When exploiting forest resources, the resource use must be sustainable if its use is to support its function in the natural ecosystem. The African mahogany, a prized timber species, is widely exploited, raising policy concerns about the management of forest resources to meet the social, economic, and ecological needs of present and future generations. This paper explores, for the purpose of policy implication, the relationship between the exportation and deforestation of African mahoganies. The analysis employed a Granger causality test within the error correction model to evaluate the direction of causality between African mahoganies exports and deforestation in Ghana. The results suggested that in the short run, there was significant (P < 0.01) unidirectional causality from African mahoganies exports to deforestation. However, there was no directional causality from deforestation to mahogany exports. Thus, mahogany extraction and logging in general are among the major factors contributing to deforestation in Ghana. The general assessment of historical trends in the extraction levels of the two main genera of African mahoganies revealed that Entandrophragma cylindricum and Khaya ivorensis have been the most exploited species over the years. Improvements in, and the enforcement of, existing forest institutions and incentives, as well as related policies, could minimise the rate of deforestation not only of the African mahogany but also in timber logging, thus stemming forest degradation and deforestation in the country.     

矿产资源资产化管理理论和方法的分析与展望

本文全面地介绍了矿产资源资产化管理及资产评估的国内外研究现状，系统地总结了在矿产资源价值、矿产资源资产评估、矿产资源资产化管理、资源耗竭—补偿、资源核算等方面的研究成果，并对这一课题的研究提出了建议     

Commodity production as restoration driver in the Brazilian Amazon? Pasture re-agro-forestation with cocoa (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Theobroma cacao</Emphasis>) in southern Pará

The increasing demand for agricultural commodities is a major cause of tropical deforestation. However, pressure is increasing for greater sustainability of commodity value chains. This includes the demand to establish new crop plantations and pasture areas on already deforested land so that new forest clearing for agriculture is minimized. Where tree crops are planted as part of agroforestry systems on deforested land, this amounts to a form of re-agro-forestation which can generate environmental benefits in addition to crop production. Here, we discuss a case where agroforestry systems based on cocoa (Theobroma cacao) are being established on crop and pasture land in the south of Pará state, Brazilian Amazon. The adoption of cocoa by farmers and ranchers of the region is stimulated by the coincidence of (1) favorable prospects for cocoa on the national and international markets including the expectation of a global cocoa supply gap; (2) environmental policies obliging land owners to reforest excess cleared land with native trees, with agroforests based on the native cocoa tree being an economically attractive option; and (3) biophysical conditions (especially soil fertility) favorable for growing cocoa in part of the region. We show that in the state of Pará at least 1.26 million hectares of naturally high-fertility soils in deforested areas outside legally protected and indigenous lands are potentially suitable for cocoa production with low agrochemical inputs, sufficient to make a significant contribution to closing the predicted supply gap. Their actual suitability depends on their state of degradation after years of pasture use and the availability of technologies and finance to convert them into tree crop agroforests. We discuss the significant environmental benefits of pasture re-agro-forestation with cocoa-based systems, including reduced emissions of up to 135 Mg of carbon per hectare compared to the historically common scenario of planting cocoa after forest clearing. We identify important research questions related to the scaling up of this practice and the maximization of its environmental benefits. We conclude that the coincidence of the afore-mentioned factors could drive a re-agro-forestation frontier in this part of the Amazon, with potential for positive outcomes in terms of commodity production while generating social and environmental benefits.     

The relative importance of sexual reproduction and clonal propagation in rhizomatous herb Iris japonica Thunb. from two habitats of Jinyun Mountain, Southwest China

Reproductive behaviour of clonal plants might change in contrasting habitats. In field and simulated experiments, we studied the relative importance of sexual reproduction and clonal propagation in rhizomatous herb, Iris japonica Thunb. in two forest habitats (BF, bamboo forest and OAFE, open area of forest edge), and effects of population origin (BF vs. OAFE) and environmental effects (shading) on sexual vs. clonal reproduction. In field experiment, the relative importance of reproduction in I. japonica populations was different in two habitats, which showed predominantly sexual reproduction in OAFE and clonal propagation in BF. In simulated experiment, the effect of population origin and light treatment (shading) was significant for reproduction of I. japonica. Clonal propagation was only influenced by population origin, and sexual reproduction was determined both by population origin and light treatment. A trade-off between two reproductive modes exhibited in both experiments. The trade-offs was more obvious in OAFE than in BF because sexual reproduction, resource and inter-specific competition obviously lacked in BF. The results indicated that the selective forces shaping reproduction of I. japonica in contrasting habitats might demonstrate pronounce adaptive population differentiation among forest habitats. Thus, I. japonica populations formed local differentiation by adaptation of reproduction to local heterogeneous forest habitats.     

水资源所有权问题研究

我国水资源短缺和水污染问题严重,最根本的原因是水资源产权制度尤其是水资源所有权制度不合理。从水资源配置的效率与公平角度,依据产权经济学理论,对水资源所有权及其分配问题进行了探讨：对水资源所有者产权与他物权,江河湖泊等水体所有权和水体所蕴含水资源所有权进行了区分;以水资源是社会成员生存与发展的自然物质基础、水资源的竞用性和水资源自然供给的区域性为依据,探讨了江河、湖泊等水体水资源所有权的权属界定,水资源所有权在社会成员间的合理分配,国家与水资源所有权的关系和国家拥有的水资源所有权的性质;最后提出了既能保障社会成员生存与发展权利,又能实现资源配置效率与公平的以社会成员所有为主的水资源所有制。