Structure and floristic composition of community forests and their compatibility with villagers' traditional needs for forest products

A persisting problem in protected area management in Nepal is whether resources from buffer zones can replace villagers' extraction of resources from protected areas. Community forestry is assigned a major role in supplying these substitutes, and natural regeneration and rehabilitation of degraded forests are thought to be means to establish forests with a high compatibility with villagers' demand. This study investigates the structure and floristic composition of six community forests established through natural regeneration of degraded sal (Shorea robusta) forests and of former riverine forest areas which have been cleared and overgrazed. The inventories are compared to an in-depth survey of the extraction of forest products from Royal Chitwan National Park (RCNP) for 12 consecutive months by nine households. The results show that natural regeneration creates a multi-layered forest structure and that early succession stages of mixed forests, which floristically resemble former primary forests, emerged in only a few years when protected from grazing. The presence of timber and fuelwood species in the community forest matched to some extent the species traditionally extracted by people from the Park. With regard to non-timber forest products (NTFP), the natural regenerated community forests were much less compatible with the villagers' traditional dependency on and extraction from the Park, which points to the limitations of community forestry in relieving anthropogenic pressure on the RCNP.     

Effects of Socioeconomic Conditions on Multiple Uses of Swamp Forests in Central Brazil

Local communities in central Brazil harvest buriti palm (Mauritia flexuosa) fruit from swamp forests as well as using them for agriculture and cattle and pig farming. This study describes the intensity of forest use by buriti fruit harvesters and identifies how their socioeconomic conditions influence resource use. We visited 75 swamp forests where buriti fruits are harvested and interviewed the head of the nearest household. Agriculture was practiced in 72?% of forests and cattle farming in 52?%. For almost half (48?%) of households agriculture and buriti fruit harvest were the main sources income. Forests resources were equally important to all socioeconomic classes, even richer farmers. The intensity of fruit harvest did not differ between collective and private use regimes of forests. Market access was a limitation to fruit harvest intensity. The high intensity of swamp forest use suggests that their conservation will require change to current management practices.     

Can we make participatory NTFP monitoring work? Lessons learnt from the development of a multi-stakeholder system in Northern Laos

Monitoring natural resources is essential for their successful and sustainable management. Community participation should enable local people to take ownership of the monitoring and ensure that it is cost-effective. But even then, success is often elusive. We developed a participatory Non Timber Forest Product (NTFP) monitoring system in 6 upland villages of Luang Prabang Province, Lao PDR, using focus group discussions, interviews, village meetings and direct observations. We used simple approaches to select resources, discuss issues, and develop a cost-effective NTFP monitoring system. Communities usually relied on shifting cultivation, fishing and collection of NTFPs. Gold mining activities affected livelihoods in three villages, which had better access to markets. Participatory monitoring looks less successful when external economic pressures or a major environmental threat disturbs local livelihoods. In the case of gold mining, we observed the prioritization of villagers’ activities towards this sudden new economic opportunity. In contrast, communities not impacted by mining participated more actively in data collection. They understood how the data could be used to influence the local government, to achieve more beneficial land management for all stakeholders concerned. We believe that participatory NTFP monitoring can work and is an important tool for decision-making and economic empowerment for local communities. We identified the conditions under which participatory NTFP monitoring could work: reaching a shared understanding of what needs to be monitored and how; testing and refining a simple monitoring system; and integrating local government concerns with those of other stakeholders.     

Incentives for collecting Gaharu (fungal-infected wood ofaquilaria Spp.; thymelaeaceae) in east Kalimantan

The economic importance of gaharu is assessed in three villages on the Bahau River in north-central Borneo to gain insights about the incentives for harvesting and management of a valuable nontimber forest product. Three indicators of economic value—level and proportion of income, returns to labor, and proportion of gaharu collecting households per village—are used to demonstrate the multiple incentives that NTFP income can generate. The concept of incentive logic is developed as an analytical technique to show how economic values can be linked to incentives for different types of management actions. The article discusses how incentives from gaharu income were most likely linked to the stake local people had in the resource, their preferences about which forest product to harvest, and their willingness to engage in collective action. These incentives contributed to sustainability to the extent they induced actions that reduce threats to the resource. The article suggests that an understanding of the influence of economic incentives on people’s resource management can be improved by recognizing three factors: the multiple incentives created by an income, the logical link of those incentives to a management action, and the influence of other sociocultural and biophysical factors on management.     

Relocating plants from swidden fallows to gardens in Southwestern China

As upland farmers in Southeast Asia change from shifting cultivation to permanent agriculture and lose access to swidden-fallow forests and their resources, they are introducing economically important forest and fallow plants into their house gardens. We describe this process in Daka, a village of Hani ethnicity in Yunnan Province, China. Daka smallholders collect both seeds and seedlings from fallow forests and transfer the plants to house gardens, initiating the transformation of wild species to a cultivated or semi-domesticated one. Two kinds of species are commonly transferred from swidden fallows to house gardens. Some are particularly rare, others are plants in great demand. Between 1998 and 2000 Daka households earned an average of US$68.20 annually from the products of fallow forests. We also found that villagers harvest and use 76 plant species from fallow forests and 126 species from house gardens. Twenty-two species found in house gardens that had been transferred from fallow forests. Households vary widely in the frequency with which they engage in this pattern. We believe that local knowledge of these practices is a potentially important resource in the development of other areas of smallholder farming.     

Co‐benefits of biodiversity and carbon sequestration from regenerating secondary forests in the Philippine uplands: implications for forest landscape restoration

Shifting cultivation is a widespread practice in tropical forested areas that policy makers often regard as the major cause of forest degradation. Secondary fallow forests regrowing after shifting cultivation are generally not viewed as suitable for biodiversity conservation and carbon retention. Drawing upon our research in the Philippines and other relevant case studies, we compared the biodiversity and carbon sequestration in recovering secondary forests after shifting cultivation to other land uses that commonly follow shifting cultivation. Regenerating secondary forests had higher biodiversity than fast growing timber plantations and other restoration options available in the area. Some old plantations, however, provided carbon benefits comparable the old growth forest, although their biodiversity was less than that of the regenerating forests. Our study demonstrates that secondary forests regrowing after shifting cultivation have a high potential for biodiversity and carbon sequestration co‐benefits, representing an effective strategy for forest management and restoration in countries where they are common and where the forest is an integral part of rural people's livelihoods. We discuss the issues and potential mechanisms through which such dynamic land use can be incorporated into development projects that are currently financing the sustainable management, conservation, and restoration of tropical forests.     

Role of non-timber forest products in a subsistence economy: The case of a joint forestry project in India

Non-timber forest products (NTFP) such as fuelwood, fodder, fruit, medicinal plants, and small timber are important to the rural poor in India. The traditional usufruct rights that the poor enjoyed have been gradually eroded by state control. This process has accelerated with increases in the prices of timber and industrial wood products. Non-timber forest products collected by the poor do not enter the system of national accounts, which results in the undervaluation of the forest wealth of the country. According to some estimates, the total demand for these products outstrips the sustainable yield of the forests in India. To ensure the best use of the forests, it is necessary for rural communities to share the responsibility of forest management with the forest departments. A proposed joint forestry project in South India is discussed as a case study of this innovative approach to forest management. Data on the existing patterns of NTFP extraction are presented to gain a better understanding of the role that these products play in the life of the rural poor. Policies from the case study are discussed in the concluding section.     

Impact of eucalyptus and pine growing on rural livelihood: the lesson from Bukoba area, north western Tanzania

Sustainable resource management intends to allocate resources in such a way that unnecessary deterioration of biophysical and socio-economical systems is avoided. In Bukoba Area where rainfalls are plenty, evergreen grasslands were expansive and forests were limited, eucalypts ( eucalyptus spp.) and pines ( pinus spp.) were grown on grasslands for preventing land degradation through deforestation and for providing additional source of income for rural poor. This study shows that in addition to detrimental consequence of eucalyptus and pine forests on soil resources, conversion of Bukoban grasslands to forests has negatively impacted livelihood of the rural poor. Growing eucalypts and pines on grasslands prevented a farming system that enabled integration of grasslands, cattle keeping and crop production. Consequently, the grasslands role of nutrients cycling was disrupted, food crop production reduced, home-gardens productivity declined, majority deprived important livelihood asset and foreign income flow into the area reduced.     

Socioeconomic determinants of cultivation of non-wood forest products in southern Nigeria

Cultivation of non-wood forest products (NWFP), although a veritable means of ecosystem and biodiversity conservation and improved natural resource management, has not been sustained in southern Nigeria (Nigeria’s major forest region) notwithstanding the unprecedented rate of depletion of the resource in the wild. For example, efforts in the past to support cultivation of NWFP in southern Nigeria under a USAID funded Cross River State forestry project, especially through nursery establishment for some rural communities, was not sustained as the initiative was abandoned by the participants. Hence to promote cultivation of NWFP, this study ascertained socioeconomic factors that influence cultivation of NWFPs. Multi stage sampling technique was used in selection of respondents (households) from two States: Cross River and Enugu States of southern Nigeria. A sample size of 400 households was used for the study. Probit and multinomial logistic regressions were used in estimating NWFP cultivation. The findings show that cultivation of NWFP was positively determined by gender, farming occupation (especially of women farmers) distance to forests where NWFP was collected, proportion of household food from NWFP, and medium wealth category. Age had a negative effect on cultivation until the age of 46 after which the effect became positive. In addition, household size, gender and farming occupation of household heads positively influenced cultivation of NWFP in plantations as against home gardens while gender and farming occupation had positive effect on cultivation of some stands of NWFP as against home gardens. Incorporating the findings of this study in future intervention project for NWFP cultivation will help sustain the initiative.     

Non-timber forest products in the community of El Terrero, Sierra de Manantlán Biosphere Reserve, Mexico: Is their use sustainable?

The importance of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) to rural income was examined in a highland community in the Sierra de Manantlán Biosphere Reserve, Jalisco-Colima, Mexico. Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA) techniques were used to interview 70% of households in the community of El Terrero. Of the nine plant species identified as NTFP sources, the two principal species traded by the community were tila (derived from the flowers and fruits of the tree Ternstroemia lineata), and blackberry (Rubus spp.). Collecting and selling of NTFPs was almost exclusively undertaken by women, with 80% of respondents participating. NTFP sale ranked as the most important source of cash income for 30% of women interviewed, and either second- or third-most important for the remainder. The research examined harvesting impact on populations of T. lineata, an understory tree species characteristic of cloud forest, which this was assessed in the four most-frequented collecting sites. Our results suggested that current harvesting approaches appear to be sustainable, although 95% of the women interviewed reported a decline in resource availability within the last 15 years, apparently resulting from illegal cutting. Suggestions are made with respect to the sustainable development of NTFP resources to help alleviate poverty within the Reserve.     

Rural-to-Urban Labor Migration,Household Livelihoods,and the Rural Environment in Chongqing Municipality,Southwest China

Rural migration and its relationship to the rural environment have attracted increasing research interest in recent decades. Rural migration constitutes a key component of human population movement, while rural areas contain most of the world’s natural resources such as land and forests. This study empirically evaluates a conceptual framework incorporating rural household livelihoods as an integrative mediating factor between rural migration and the rural environment in the context of rural-to-urban labor migration in Chongqing Municipality, Southwest China. The analysis draws on data collected through household surveys and key informant interviews from four villages. Results confirm the hypothesis that labor-migrant and non-labor-migrant households differ significantly in livelihood activities including agricultural production, agricultural technology use, income and consumption, and resource use and management. Implications for the subsequent environmental outcomes of rural labor out-migration and corresponding natural resource management and policy in rural origin areas are discussed.     

Accessibility Factors and Conservation Forest Designation Affecting Rattan Cane Harvesting in Lambusango Forest,Buton, Indonesia

Rattan cane is an important non-timber forest product (NTFP) harvested from Indonesian tropical forests. However, the extraction of NTFPs such as rattan cane may conflict with forest conservation efforts. A better understanding of harvesting practices can help assess the extent of this conflict and guide forest management decisions. This study assesses the accessibility factors that influence rattan cane harvesting levels in Lambusango Forest, Buton Island, Indonesia, and whether the harvesting of rattan cane is affected by the designation of conservation areas. To this end, the analysis adopts participatory mapping, Geographic Information Systems and a questionnaire survey and employs multiple regressions and analysis of covariance. The results show that accessibility, particularly slope and distance, can play a role in the quantity of rattan canes harvested. The presence of conservation forest does not significantly affect rattan cane harvesting levels. This could be due to limited awareness of the harvesters going to the vicinity of the designated conservation areas and mixed sentiments towards conservation efforts due to the long tradition of forest dwelling and harvesting activities. The study concludes that the successful establishment and management of conservation areas require consideration of the specificity of the local context such as the abundance of forest resources, accessibility and historical forest-people interactions, in addition to biological factors.     

Conservation and human livelihoods at the crossroads: Local needs and knowledge in the management of Arabuko Sokoke Forest

Arabuko Sokoke Forest is the largest remaining single block of indigenous dry coastal tropical forest in Eastern Africa. Households within a 5 km buffer zone depend heavily on the forest for their livelihood needs, and the pressure on forest resources is on the increase. In May 2015, 109 households were interviewed on resources they obtain from the forest, in terms of the self‐reported level of monthly income. We found household income and farm size significantly positively correlated with benefits from the forest, highlighting the possible influence of household wealth in exploiting forest resources. A large proportion of households (32%) had limited knowledge of local birds, while human–bird conflict was reported by 44% of the households. While many households were keen to participate in conservation projects that maintain the forest, 44% had no knowledge of the forest management plan, and 60% of those interviewed had no idea of how forest zones were designated for particular activities. Drivers for local community participation in conservation projects appear to be sustainable income and fulfilment of basic household needs.     

Rapid recovery of tropical forest diversity and structure after shifting cultivation in the Philippines uplands

Shifting cultivation is a widespread land‐use in the tropics that is considered a major threat to rainforest diversity and structure. In the Philippines, a country with rich biodiversity and high rates of species endemism, shifting cultivation, locally termed as kaingin, is a major land‐use and has been for centuries. Despite the potential impact of shifting cultivation on forests and its importance to many people, it is not clear how biodiversity and forest structure recover after kaingin abandonment in the country, and how well these post‐kaingin secondary forests can complement the old‐growth forests. We investigated parameters of forest diversity and structure along a fallow age gradient in secondary forests regenerating after kaingin abandonment in Leyte Island, the Philippines (elevation range: 445–650 m asl). We first measured the tree diversity and forest structure indices in regenerating secondary forests and old‐growth forest. We then measured the recovery of tree diversity and forest structure parameters in relation to the old‐growth forest. Finally, using linear mixed effect models (LMM), we assessed the effect of different environmental variables on the recovery of forest diversity and structure. We found significantly higher species density in the oldest fallow sites, while Shannon’s index, species evenness, stem number, basal area, and leaf area index were higher in the old‐growth forest. A homogeneous species composition was found across the sites of older fallow age. Multivariate analysis revealed patch size as a strong predictor of tree diversity and forest structure recovery after shifting cultivation. Our study suggests that, secondary forests regenerating after shifting cultivation abandonment can recover rapidly. Although recovery of forest structure was not as rapid as the tree diversity, our older fallow sites contained a similar number of species as the old‐growth forest. Many of these species are also endemic to the Philippines. Novel and emerging ecosystems like tropical secondary forests are of high conservation importance and can act as a refuge for dwindling tropical forest biodiversity.     

Using suitable projects in adding value to nonwood forest products in The Philippines: The Copal (Agathis Philippinensis) trade in Palawan

Using Suitable Projects in Adding Value to Nonwood Forest Products in the Philippines: The Copal (Agathis philippinensis)Trade in Palawan. Economic Botany 58(3):476-485, 2004. The Philippines is a country that has little low-forest cover left, but it still has many useful forest species. Despite the decline of forest area and the degradation of forests, many of the poorest households, both indigenous and migrant, are pushed into the remaining forest area and depend on forest goods for their subsistence and monetary income. These goods are inevitably nonwood forest products (NWFPs) because timber extraction is now illegal in many parts of the country. The extraction of nonwood forest products, such as resin and rattan, is the only source of a cash income for many households. However, despite the long tradition of NWFP extraction in forest-edge villages, the income that collectors get from these products is still minimal. The impediments to a more equitable and efficient trade in NWFPs are examined, and possible ways of adding value locally to NWFPs are presented, using almaciga (Agathis philippinensis) resin extraction as a case study.     

The Effects of Processing Non-Timber Forest Products and Trade Partnerships on People's Well-Being and Forest Conservation in Amazonian Societies

This study evaluated whether processing non-timber forest products (NTFPs) and establishing trade partnerships between forest communities and companies enhance the outcomes of NTFP commercialization. In particular, we evaluated whether product processing, partnerships, or their combination was associated with a number of outcomes related to the well-being of forest inhabitants and forest conservation. We based our analyses on ethnographic and quantitative data (i.e., survey and systematic observations) gathered at seven communities from five societies of the Brazilian and Bolivian Amazon. Our results indicated that product processing and partnerships do not represent a silver bullet able to improve the results of NTFP commercialization in terms of well-being and conservation indicators. Compared with cases without interventions, households adopting partnerships but not product processing were most often associated with improved economic proxies of well-being (total income, NTFP income, food consumption and gender equality in income). In comparison, the combination of product processing and partnerships was associated with similar outcomes. Unexpectedly, product processing alone was associated with negative outcomes in the economic indicators of well-being. All of the investigated strategies were associated with less time spent in social and cultural activities. With respect to forest conservation, the strategies that included a partnership with or without processing produced similar results: while household deforestation tended to decrease, the hunting impact increased. Processing alone was also associated with higher levels of hunting, though it did not reduce deforestation. Our results indicate that establishing partnerships may enhance the outcomes of NTFP trade in terms of the financial outcomes of local communities, but practitioners need to use caution when adopting the processing strategy and they need to evaluate potential negative results for indicators of social and cultural activities. With respect to conservation, the three strategies are promising for reducing deforestation, but more pervasive impacts, such as hunting, might increase.     

Transaction costs of community-based forest management: empirical evidence from Tanzania

Levels of transaction costs in community‐based forest management (CBFM) in four communities adjacent to the Ambangulu mountain forests of the north‐east of Tanzania were assessed through questionnaire responses from 120 households. Costs and benefits of CBFM to the rich, medium and poor groups of forest users were estimated. Costs of CBFM were participation in forest monitoring and time spent in meetings. Benefits included forest products consumed at household level. Transaction costs relative to benefits for CBFM were found to be higher for poorer households compared with medium income and richer households. Higher income groups obtained the most net benefits followed by medium and poorer households. Community involvement in forest management may lower the transaction costs incurred by government, but a large proportion of these costs are borne by poorer members of the community. Transaction costs are critical factors in the success or failure of CBFM and need to be incorporated into policies and legislation related to community‐based natural resource management.     

Nontimber forest product extraction, utilization and valuation: A case study from the Nilgiri Biosphere reserve, southern India

We evaluated the diversity, social, and economic aspects of nontimber forest product (NTFP) collection in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve (NBR), in southern India. The NBR is a region known for its floral andfaunal diversity, as well as an area with increasing human pressure. Fifty to 75% of the households (HH) in rural areas gather a diversity of forest products. Dominant NTFPs contributed 25–60% of the average annual per capita household income from NTFPs. The mean annual per capita household income from NTFPs ranges between Rs. 134 and Rs. 4955. The mean annual income per hectare ranges from Rs. 93 in the montane zone to Rs. 3780 in the moist deciduous. NTFPs contribute 15–50% of the annual per capita income of rural households. Ethnicity plays an important role in the collection of NTFPs and ethnic tribes derive a large proportion of their annual per capita income from NTFPs.     

露水河林业局森林资源类型与结构变化

基于遥感技术,并在GIS的支持下对长白山林区露水河林业局森林资源变化进行研究.结果表明:1985年研究区森林资源本底为成熟阔叶林和成熟针叶林,二者联合比例为68.52%;1999年为中龄针叶林和成熟阔叶林,二者联合比例为65.96%.15年间森林面积增加了17.6%,成熟林比例下降到48.75%;在人为因素和自然因素的共同影响下,研究区森林资源发生了显著变化,其中有些森林经营方式不够合理,不利于森林进展演替;森林蓄积结构较为单一,应改进营林措施,增加乡土良种的培育.