Farmer Perceptions of Tropical Dry Forest Restoration Practices on the Azuero Peninsula of Panama – Implications for Increasing Biodiversity in a Human-Dominated Landscape

Abstract

AbstractPatches of second-growth forest are biodiversity islands with critical importance in agricultural landscapes, providing ecosystem services that support human livelihoods and promote biodiversity, no matter the size. Natural regeneration presents an opportunity for forest landscape restoration (FLR) at low cost. However, this is not always the chosen strategy for the smallholder farmers that control about 80% of farms worldwide and are the primary decision-makers for large land areas with restoration potential. Understanding the perceptions of farmers on restoration strategies can increase our capacity to implement restoration projects. We surveyed 64 Panamanian land managers in Los Santos province, where 53% of farmers are smallholders, to better understand how they perceive restoration strategies (reforestation, regeneration, and assisted natural regeneration) and their preferences. Participants were most confident defining reforestation, associating it with tree planting. Farmers associated natural regeneration with independently growing vegetation, and assisted natural regeneration with human intervention and tree planting. Farmers were polarized in their preference for land clearing, with 36% preferring it as a first option and 42% preferring it as a last option. Over half of participants ranked letting vegetation grow and tree planting among their first and second options. High percentages of tree cover were associated with low preference for land clearing. Large farm size was associated with higher preference for natural regeneration. Expanding natural regeneration requires clearly defining and standardizing this practice. Understanding farmers’ preferences and knowledge of restoration practices will allow the best FLR strategies to be implemented in each specific case to achieve desired restoration goals.KeywordsCattleCommunity-based researchForest landscape restoration (FLR)ParticipatoryReforestationRegenerationTree planting