Abstract
Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) has globally gained support as a strategy to use and manage forest resources while maintaining forest ecosystem services. However, type, relevance, and utilisation of forest ecosystem services vary across eco-regions, countries, and policy implementation pathways. As such, the concept of SFM is subject to a series of translations within the social-ecological context in which it is implemented. This article discusses translations of SFM in Caatinga biome—a tropical dry forest in the north-eastern semi-arid region of Brazil. Our analysis is based on a qualitative analysis of 24 semi-structured interviews and 30 documents. We discuss SFM and the interplay of resources, governance, and actors. Results for Caatinga show that (1) a technical approach to SFM that focuses on firewood and charcoal production is dominant; that (2) SFM implementation practices hardly address the needs and interests of local populations; and that (3) local actors show little support for the implementation of SFM. We conclude that the social-ecological context of Caatinga shapes translations of SFM mostly in a techno-bureaucratic rather than a socially embedded way. As a result, local practices of forest use are excluded from the regional SFM approach, which negatively affects its implementation.
Highlights
Translations of Sustainable Forest Management within a Specific Social-Ecological ContextToday, debates on implementing Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) to combat deforestation are especially focused on natural forests in tropical regions
We found that social power relations among international organisations, governments, and market actors directly influenced the design of research, policies and implementation strategies linked to SFM [62,63]
The use of forest resources as a source of biomass for energy supply is relevant to local populations, we found that SFM initiatives in Caatinga still do not align with many other socially embedded forest uses: forests are crucial for livestock and as a source of non-wood forest products (NWFP), forest uses that are neither recognized by authorities nor considered legal or legitimate by them
Summary
Translations of Sustainable Forest Management within a Specific Social-Ecological ContextToday, debates on implementing Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) to combat deforestation are especially focused on natural forests in tropical regions. SFM has become part of strategies aiming to protect natural forest resources against deforestation pressures resulting from land use change [3]. This support for SFM implementation in natural forest contexts follows the broad application of SFM within several international environmental policies. Natural forests in tropical regions are often hotspots of deforestation, harbour high levels of biodiversity, and play a key role in regulating global climate [2,3]. Natural forests are subject to a diversity of domestic governance regimes linked to international policy debates, including climate change, biodiversity, desertification, poverty, and human rights [6]. This brings challenges to the implementation of SFM on the ground, including how to align domestic governance regimes with the needs and specificities of local social-ecological systems [7,8]
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