Assessment of Forest Investment, Financial Flows and Revenue Collection in the Abia State Forest Sector, Nigeria

Participatory forest management has been globally studied and it has been argued that clearly defined boundaries for access of the community forest resources will lead to sustainable use of resources and enhanced sustainable livelihoods to the communities dependent on the forests for their survival. In contrast, however current studies indicate that while there are efforts to define spatial boundaries of resource use and the resource users within the community based forest management approaches, the definition of boundaries of resource use and resources users has proved more difficult, for instance when gathering relevant information and tools that can promote forest resource users partnerships,  engaging of different stakeholders, assisting local communities to organize, preparing for negotiations meetings, procedures, rules, logistics and equity considerations, negotiating for  the establishment of agreements and empowering  of the local communities. This book therefore provides a process that would guide the establishment of partnerships when establishing forest resources and resource users’ boundaries in order to enhance sustainable use of forest resources, mitigate conflicts and improve the livelihoods of communities depended on forests for their survival. Qualitative research design was employed in the book. All the forests involved in participatory forest management in Kenya namely: Keraite; Nyamweru, Arabuko-Sokoke Forest, Kakamega, Loita, and upper Imenti were selected for to provide information for writing the book. All the respondents were purposefully sampled from each category of interviewees namely: households living adjacent to the forest, various groups that are working in or with the communities in the management of the forest resources. Policy makers from government and a group of experts e.g. head of various government ministries and Non-Governmental organizations. To collect data semi-structured interviews were done for the respondents. All the data collected was analyzed through coding and grouping similar important ideas or phenomena from the research and then used for writing the book. It is explained in the book that functional partnerships, forest resources and resource user’s boundaries are needed for effective community participation in forest management. It is recommended that broad understanding of boundaries is a pre-requisite to ensure that community and other stakeholders appreciate resource use and the resource users within the community based forest management approaches so as to facilitate sustainable use of forest resources and enhanced community livelihoods of the forest dependent communities.

Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) strategies aim for the sustainable use of forest resources maintaining forest-related ecosystem services for future generations. SFM is a central concept in international debates on forest governance. However, how the concept of SFM ‘travels’ from these international debates and governance arenas to its implementation on the ground involves various institutional translations that result in different outcomes per locality. This thesis focuses on investigating how SFM institutions – rules, norms, and beliefs – are translated from their conceptualisation in international policy arenas, to domestic and sub-national policy and governance frameworks, and further down to their implementation in a specific locality. For the purpose of this thesis, SFM institutional translations are defined as processes through which SFM institutions are reshaped by actors across different levels of governance and social-ecological settings until their implementation on the ground. The thesis investigates how multiple actors from governmental and non-governmental organisations, including civil society and private industry and businesses, translate SFM institutions across different levels of governance, and explores how these translations occur specifically in Caatinga biome, in Brazil. Caatinga biome, a tropical dry forest, is often not the focus of research and policy efforts when discussing strategies to combat deforestation in Brazil, even though it represents one of the most biodiverse tropical dry forests in the world, and is home to the poorest population in Brazil. The main objective of this thesis is therefore to explore how SFM is translated within the global- local nexus of forest governance. The overall findings of this thesis demonstrate that horizontal interactions in the global-local nexus, in addition to vertical dynamics across administrative levels, are highly relevant for understanding how SFM institutions are translated in the Brazilian forest governance context. Moreover, in a country such as Brazil, which is home to multiple biomes, the different values that are given to forest resources in various regions are key factors that shape SFM institutional translations. Therefore, studying the interactions amongst actors, resources use, and governance systems within these different social-ecological settings is essential to understanding how SFM institutions are translated differently across the country. Finally, the findings of this thesis demonstrate that different groups of local actors, isolated or together, reject, adapt, and/or integrate SFM institutions through their local practices in order to cope with SFM implementation challenges. As such, the global-local nexus of SFM embodies a complex set of vertical and horizontal interactions amongst actors, forest resources, and governance systems. Within that complexity, greater sensitivity to sustainable use on multiple levels of governance – not just the global or the local - will be needed to enhance the ‘guardian’ role of local communities in the conservation of forest resources.

The Triple Forest Management Principle: A holistic approach to forest resource use in South Korea

Elaboration and adoption of the for the conservation and sustainable use of forest genetic resources in were caused by the need to define the strategic goals and objectives, methodological, methodical, organizational principles and techniques for conservation of forest genetic resources in Ukraine on a nationwide scale. The development of the Concept aims at providing stable functioning of forest ecosystems today and in the future, preserving the potential of forests for producing of their unique set of economic, environmental and social benefits. The use of the document will serve as the basis for developing of new and improving the existing legislative, departmental and administrative regulations that provide different aspects of biodiversity conservation in forests – programs, regulations, guidelines, directives, recommendations, etc. In the Concept, which is developed in Ukraine for the first time, characterized are the topicality and the necessity for conservation of forest genetic resources, the classification of factors that endanger the genetic diversity of forest tree species is described, legal basis of the process for conserving forest genetic resources is analyzed, the methods and strategy of genetic variability of forest tree species conservation are reported, attention was paid to the benefits from sustainable use of forest genetic resources, also here were indicated the necessity of scientific support of this process and outlined ways of implementing this concept.

This paper examined the relationship between forest resource use conflicts and conservation, which are contemporary issues in the field of environment conservation. The study was carried out in Enderit forest block, Mau forest Complex. The study findings indicate that the forest block has lost considerable vegetation cover in the recent past due to resource use conflict which in turn attracted conservation efforts from various stakeholders. The identified conflicts not only threaten the sustainability of these efforts but also community livelihoods that depend on this vital resource in the long term. The study therefore sought to establish the types of forest resource use conflicts, identify the stakeholders and their areas of focus and examine how the forest resource conflicts are affecting forest conservation efforts. Both quantitative and qualitative research methods were used. The results indicate that there exist various forms of conflicts within the forest block while various actors are involved in the forest conservation efforts. However, despite the concerted conservation efforts, there existing forest resource use conflicts that frustrate these efforts and slow the implementation of conservation programs. Based on the findings, the study recommends that for sustainable conservation of the forest block, the Government and the stakeholders should put in place policy measures aiming at increasing income and generating off-farm employment activities for the forest adjacent communities. This will reduce forest dependency and consequently enhance biodiversity conservation and sustainable use of the forest resources.

The aim of this study was to assess the institutional constraints that limit the active participation of rural communities in the sustainable use and management of forest resources in Mozambique. It was found that the Land Law does not encourage smallholders to invest in land resource conservation when soil fertility and yields decline and weed infestation begins to manifest. Recognition of customary institutions as legitimate authorities in the management of land and embedded resources by the Land, and Forestry and Wildlife laws constrains the effective participation of women in sustainable use. Both laws externalize the costs of natural resource degradation and have inappropriate beliefs in the capacity of traditional institutions to effectively implement sustainable use and management of natural resources. Lack of skilled human resources was also identified as a key factor limiting the effective implementation of natural resources policies in Mozambique. The majority of rural communities that depend on land, forest, and wildlife resources are unaware of the relevant statutes that govern the ownership and utilization of these natural resources. This paper provides pertinent recommendations for resolving these institutional constraints on the sustainable use and management of natural resources in Mozambique.

An analysis of a numerous official documents and publications reveals a serious crisis of forest management in Russia. Forest management paradigm, defined by the Forest Code ideologues, will lead inevitably to the Russian forest fund degradation. Meanwhile, forestry is production industry in which laws of the market economy are in force. For this reason, forest management should be reconstructed in Russia. A principle of forestry revival will be impartial ecological and market economic assessment of forest resources, which would be instrumental in transition of the subsidized scheme of forest management financing to a system that would provide rational forestry and a profit. Forestry organization is the key task of forest inventory that is completed in close connection with forest economy and forest management. Specific problems of sustainable forestry organization and forest use should be solved on this basis. When State owns forests in the market economy environments, stumpage sale at prices lower than the cost for reforestation cannot be allowed. In view of this, market transition of forest use is crucial to establish payments for standing timber based on rental income. This will guarantee the financing of reforestation as well as assignments to the budget at the different levels. Chief reorganization objective of forest management in Russia is outlined as follows: ensuring economic efficiency of the forest sector; sustainable use of forest resources and reforestation; forest conservation for the next generations.

The strategies for the conservation and sustainable use of forest genetic resources, which are essential for the future adaptation of forest species to changing environments, are also a source of valuable genetic resources for breeding and restoration activities. The first step to define and implement cost-effective strategies is to identify specific priority populations. Mexico, in spite of being characterized by high levels of tree species diversity, mostly lacks a combined strategy for the genetic conservation and use of forest genetic resources. The aims of this work are: (i) to identify areas for gene conservation, and (ii) to propose measures for the conservation and sustainable use of forest genetic resources of four pine species: Pinus greggii Engelm. ex Parl., Pinus oocarpa Schiede ex Schltdl., Pinus patula Schiede ex Schltdl. & Cham. and Pinus pseudostrobus Lindl. To do that, we use the existing information on the distribution, genetic variation and conservation and breeding efforts in Mexico. Overall, 51 areas for establishing genetic conservation units were prioritized and 6 genetic zones for the use of forest genetic resources in breeding and selection of forest reproductive material were identified. The current conservation efforts for the four priority Mexican pines should be improved to satisfy the needs of a national breeding and conservation network.

Wood resources for energy sector in Latvia. Is it a sustainable solution?

Following the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, the central government of the Russian Federation introduced policies of economic liberalization and administrative decentralization and gave regional governments more authority to define their own development efforts. Among other things, regional governments in the Russian Far East (RFE) opened the forest sector to expanded economic and environmental collaboration with foreign firms and international organizations. This paper reviews the new situation and highlights some issues that are particular to the globalization of forest use in the RFE. The first section presents an overview of the natural resource and political-economic base of the forest sector in the region. The second section presents the internationalization of the forest industry, as domestic and foreign forest industry enterprises turned to the Pacific Rim markets of Japan,China, and the Republic of Korea for the export of RFE wood products. The third section focuses on the parallel internationalization of the forest ecological movement,as nongovernmental organizations and multi- and bilateral development agencies joined hands with Russian counterparts to work toward the sustainable use of forest resources in Russia’s Pacific territories.

Community forestry is small scale, village level forestry practice where decisions and actions are often made on a collective basis, and where the rural population participate in planning, establishment, management and harvesting of forest crops and receive a many or proportion of the socio- economic and ecological benefits from the forests. Conceptually community forestry can range from pure forest cropping on one extreme to combining tree and food crops agro forestry on the other. In the context of Nepal, according to forest survey, 2016, forest area had covered 44.74 of the total area of the country. This proves the popularly known proverb “Hariyo Ban Nepal Ko Dhan”. Forest alone contributes 10 percent of total GDP; livestock get 40 percent of total fodder from forest foliage. Fuel wood contributes about 76 percent of the total energy sources used in the country, which also comes from forest. Also, much of the agricultural system are directly or indirectly based on the forest. Community Forestry was introduced in Nepal in 1978. The community forest has been defined as the control, protection and management of the local communities known as user groups. It advocates strong community participation, bottom-up planning and sustainable use of forest resources. The main objective of the CF is to achieve the sustainable forest resources by converting accessible national forest into community forest into in stages. The CF approach has been highly successful in the protection of the forest in the hills of Nepal. The local user groups are responsible for the control, protection and management of the forest. CF advocates strong community participation, bottom-up planning and sustainable use of forest resources. Under this program, 2,312,545 hectares of forest land have been handed over to the community, up to 22,519 user groups, and 21,00,000 HHs were directly benefitted in mid-July, 2020. It shows that after emergence of community forestry program, local developmental activities have been increased.

The study of variation at different levels is a constant topic of research. In the field of genetics, it is necessary to know the causes and the effects of variation in traits that influence traits of individuals in their natural habitats. Genetic variation is considered the most basic level of biological diversity and a prerequisite for the variability of species, populations, and ecosystems. Populations that lose genetic variation cannot evolve since evolution cannot proceed without genetic variation and populations that are unable to adapt to changing conditions will go extinct. Forest genetics studies have shown that environmental heterogeneity influences the genetic differentiation among tree populations, creating geographic genetic patterns that are consistent with phenotypic traits. One can look at this association to detect climate variables that are shaping the genetic structure of populations or even identify which genes are under pronounced natural selection. Genetic conservation aims to protect and preserve genetic variation, vital for the maintenance of adaptive potential within populations and species. Conserving forest genetic resources (FGR) constitute a unique and irreplaceable resource for the future, including for sustainable economic growth and progress and environmental adaption. The aim of this thesis is to investigate the phenotypic variation among natural population of pines at local and regional scales, and define its implications in the use and conservation of genetic resources. At first step, we analyzed the relationship between within-population variance in fitness-related phenotypic traits (survival, height and diameter), phenotypic plasticity of these traits, and environmental (climatic) heterogeneity in the region surrounding provenances of Pinus sylvestris, P. pinaster and P. halepensis. We used multi-site tree provenance tests of Iberian pine species and a model selection approach to infer the relationship between them. It was found that climatic heterogeneity at different spatial scale can explain a significant part of the intrapopulation phenotypic variation in different traits, but the relationships depend on the species and traits considered. Second, we assessed the inter- and intraspecific genetic variation in seedling drought tolerance in Pinus oocarpa, P. patula and P. pseudostrobus from the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, a relevant genetic resource management scale. It was evaluated the growth and biomass fractions of pine seedlings in a greenhouse with two highly contrasted watering regimes. We found that even at reduced geographical scales, Mexican pines present differences in the response to water stress. The responses differed among species, including the allometric phenotypic changes in biomass allocation (plasticity), the genetic differences among populations, and the differences in phenotypic plasticity among populations. 10 Third, we identified areas for gene conservation and proposing measures for the conservation and sustainable use of forest genetic resources for four pines species: P. greggii, P. oocarpa, P. patula and P. pseudostrobus. It was obtained the most relevant information related to the identification and characterization of forest genetic resources of these species. We used the distribution range of the species, and information for conservation of forest genetic resources and for the sustainable use of forest genetic resources. It was checked gaps considering the distribution area and the genetic zones of the species. We propose recommendations to improve the status of conservation and sustainable use of forest genetic resources in the evaluated species.

In the last decade, forestry policies in Spain have undergone changes needed to comply with the European and world directives on forest conservation. The elaboration of strategic plans has to take into account the State organization (Central and Autonomous Regional Governments share the responsibilities), resulting in agreed documents, effective at a national level and fulfilling the peculiarities and aspirations of each region. The most recent development has been the elaboration of a Strategy for Conservation and Sustainable Use of Forest Genetic Resources, which can be seen as a consequence of, among other factors, the implementation of the Spanish Strategy for Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biodiversity along with Spain's participation in the European Forest Genetic Resources Programme. This document arose from the lack of approaches to the conservation of population diversity of forest species in the current policies, and as a means to promote and coordinate activities on conservation and use of genetic resources. The Strategy has been arranged through a participative process involving the ForestAdministration, Research Centres and Universities. The document includes a definition of priorities and proposals of activities, which are mainly focused on optimising the efficiency of existing tools and infrastructures and on increasing synergy among different initiatives. Implementation of the Strategy is expected to occur through the development of National Action Plans. Finally, coordination mechanisms must be enhanced in order to maintain the levels of cooperation achieved during the elaboration process.

In complex systems, small anthropogenic changes of the initial conditions could lead to profound changes in the entire system. In this sense, the present literature review has surveyed several studies related to the multiple uses of forest resources and sustainability in small and medium-sized farms in the tropics. In 1985, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) published a work addressing multiple uses of forests in the tropics. Since then, despite the technological advances, multiple practices in forest management have not expanded as expected. The Forest Principles from 1992 emphasizes that forests should be managed to meet social, economic, ecological, cultural and spiritual needs of present and future generations. In many tropical countries, multiple use management of forest products and services has traditionally been neglected or it is not well known by policy makers and farmers. Laws are usually written with narrow objectives and tend to decrease social inclusion because of the limited cross-sector dialogue. In spite of these issues, several success stories are reported around the world. Key words: Forestry enterprises, natural resources management, sustainable use of forest resources, land use, multiple use.

It is essential to understand and recognize the role that environmental resources such as forest goods and services play in the provision of income to peoples’ livelihoods (especially the poor and marginalized communities). The purpose of this paper is to give a concise account and scientific basis of the importance of the phenomenon of valuation of environmental goods and services which is manifested in two ways. Firstly, it helps policymakers in designing and implementing effective sustainable livelihoods and poverty reduction strategies. Secondly, the size and nature of environmental values have implications for issues of conservation and sustainable resource use. This paper outlines the contemporary models and approaches of valuing the direct use benefits, indirect use benefits and intermediate use services of the forest as an ecosystem and not a mechanical body to produce goods and services for income generation, overlooking the fundamental principles of sustainable forest management and sustainable development. Shortcomings and remedial measures of valuation methods are also summarized. Through appreciating the total value of the forest resources, national governments and local communities would be able to promote sustainable forest resource use across all strata of society and incorporate the value of natural forests and woodlands in their System of National Accounts to avoid unnecessary conversion of forests into other development projects. Key words: Forest goods and services, natural woodland, sustainable, economic valuation, user surveys, non-use values.