Community-based Forest Management Research Articles

The effect of conservation policies on wildlife hunting and consumption in north-eastern Madagascar

SummaryThe Makira Natural Park (Makira) is the largest terrestrial protected area in Madagascar, supporting nearly 200,000 people living around the park, who derive a significant proportion of their animal-source foods from hunting. Makira is currently managed with three different policies: (1) traditional management with no external assistance; (2) community-based forest management (Gestion Contractualisée des Forêts; GCF) with non-governmental support and externally developed policies; and (3) strict external management policies (Zone d’Occupation Controlée; ZOC), meaning a zone of controlled residence for communities inside the core protected area. Here, we longitudinally assess the impacts of these policies on wildlife hunting and consumption by using a difference-in-differences method to evaluate policy efficacy. We found that externally developed conservation policies led to drastically reduced wildlife hunting and consumption in Makira. We also found that public education in the form of environmental awareness-raising, conducted 1 year before adoption, led to a greater concealment of hunting behaviours. Overall, wildlife hunting and consumption have decreased in the Makira region since the adoption of GCF and ZOC policies and could be effective at reducing the unsustainable wildlife hunting across the Makira, particularly when supported by economic development and the creation of alternative sources of livelihood and food.

COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT STRATEGY AROUND FORESTS THROUGH COMMUNITY FOREST MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (PHBM) IN PRINGAPUS DISTRICT SEMARANG DISTRICT

Forest Management in Java is carried out by Perum Perhutani, which has implemented a Community-Based Forest Management (PHBM) system. Pringapus Kecanatan has a State Forest which is quite extensive, however, most of the population around the forest is still in poor condition. The condition of the community around the forest in Pringapus District is illustrated by the people who do not have independence, do not have access to use the forest, the level of education and skills are still low. In an effort to overcome all this, Perum Perhutani is empowering the community in Pringapus District through the Community Forest Management System. This system is considered quite strategic because it is very accommodating to the interests of various parties including the community as the agents of development. This study aims to evaluate the implementation of the Collaborative Forest Management System (PHBM) from the Institutional aspect, the Empowerment aspect, the Agribusiness aspect and the LMDH Role aspect and formulating a community empowerment strategy through the PHBM. Analysis of the data used to answer the objectives is descriptive analysis, multiple linear regression analysis and SWOT analysis. The results of PHBM research in Pringapus sub-district indicate that the institution is being illustrated by the lack of realization of work programs as well as sub-optimal level of LMDH participation

Migration, Land Acquisition and Bundle of Rights: The Case of Selected Community-based Forest Management Projects in Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines

ABSTRACT The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is mandated to lead in the sustainable management of the country’s natural resources. The continuous migration in forest and forest lands (FFL) and succeeding forest cover loss resulted in tenure reforms, with bundles of rights devolved to communities. Bundle of rights refers to a specific set of privilege granted to an individual or group of people, to do certain things with land or property. It includes access, use, management, exclusion and alienation rights. This study documented the migration trend and mode of land acquisition, extent of individual/collective rights, impact of secure tenure on livelihood and forest conservation, and how property rights in Community-Based Forest Management (CBFM) areas improved. Migration happened in three important periods, with migrants wanting to secure better livelihood. The issuance of tenure instruments legitimized claims, allowed tenure holders to use, manage, and exclude others from accessing and using resources. While the ‘bundle of rights’ is within the terms and conditions of the DENR, the tenure reform is still a better option than any other programs implemented in the past. Lessons learned may be used as basis in further improving the provisions of the CBFM program in the future.

Role in the Forest Village Community-Based Forest Management Sustainable Development

The Village Forest Society Institution is present on the basis of the existence of a Joint Community Forest Management (CBFM) program from one form of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). This PHBM policy seeks to empower communities around forest areas with managed areas under the authority of Perum Perhutani in the Provinces of Central Java, East Java, West Java and Banten, except for conservation forests which are implemented to provide welfare efforts for forest village communities so that they can participate in enjoying the results. forest production through a sharing system based on SK. Directors of Perum Perhutani No.682 / KPTS / DIR / 2009 concerning Guidelines for Collaborative Forest Resource Management, Law on Forestry, Village Law, and other supporting legislation..The role of LMDH is needed so that the partnership system in PHBM is able to reach forest village communities through an institution that is formed as an institution that receives delegations from the central / regional government in the management of production forests in the area specified in PP No. 72 of 2010 concerning State Forestry Public Company. With the existence of this LMDH, it is ecpected to be able to provide welfare for the communites around the forest and jointly manage forests based on sustainable development, so that the sustainability and availability of forest resources for future generations can be maintained.

Implementing community-based forest management in the Brazilian Amazon Rainforest: a strategic action fields perspective

ABSTRACT We assess the conditions under which forest-dependent groups in the Brazilian Amazon Rainforest may overcome inequalities in the legal access to forest resources. Through the development of contrasting case studies, we address attempts made by two community-based associations that represent those groups to legalize their timber production. We explore the dominance and mobilization of resources and draw on the Strategic Action Fields perspective to organize and systematically compare the case studies. Results reveal that to overcome existing barriers to legalization, communities need to create a social movement dynamic to seize opportunities caused by the exogenous interferences in local social orders. Skilled social actors need to mobilize powerful supporters to accumulate resource endowments necessary to put forward the legalization process. These results are particularly important considering the enormous environmental importance of the Brazilian Amazon Rainforest, the increase in deforestation rates, and the precarious socio-economic situation of forest-dependent peoples.

STAKEHOLDERS' MAPPING AND STRATEGY FOR RESTORING PEATLAND FOREST IN WEST TANJUNG JABUNG JAMBI, INDONESIA

Peatland forests became the centre of discussions in Indonesia because 33% of 2.4 million hectares burned in 2014. This research aims to describe the stakeholders' position and their logic in choosing a strategy for peatland forest areas. The result shows that nine stakeholders were actively involved in peatland forest restoration in West Tanjung Jabung Regency. Based on categorization, the analysis points out that all stakeholders had occupied key players' position. Further analysis using a ladder of participation criteria found two models of participation, i.e. citizen power and tokenism. However, the value of citizen power is higher than tokenism that is 56% and 44%, respectively. It means that stakeholders should develop partnership and other models in citizen power criteria to reach their targets. It also means that trust is an essential variable in the relationship among stakeholders and should be developed in peatland forest restoration. The consequence of this research is that stakeholders can improve two strategies, i.e. collaborative forest management and community-based forest management.

Economic viability of community-based forest management for certified timber production in southeastern Tanzania

Community-based forest management has become increasingly widespread in Africa since the 1990s as an approach to conserving local forests while contributing social and economic benefits to local communities. Community forests (CFs) can sell forest goods and services to generate revenue for community benefit. Increased understanding of whether and how CFs can be economically viable is important for assessing their potential to alleviate rural poverty and deliver benefits to local communities. Questions of viability of commercial timber-producing CFs largely have not been addressed to date in the African context, and have important ramifications for community members, government decision-makers, and external donors. We conducted an economic and financial evaluation of a group of CFs in southeastern Tanzania that sell high-value tropical timber from Forest Stewardship Council–certified community forests. We found that this group of CFs currently is not economically viable, with forest management costs 2.6 times forest revenues over the five-year study period. However, revenues appeared to be increasing and costs decreasing over the period, and in the final two years costs were about 1.5 times revenues. The largest forest management costs were related to CF establishment and maintenance, which may be driven by the cost of relying on external experts; still, these costs decreased over time. Community transfer payments – used to support local development projects or community members – were the second largest cost category, but are unrelated to forest management. Based on current prices and rates of fixed and variable costs, timber sales would have to increase almost tenfold for these communities to be economically viable independent of external donations; however, some combination of increased timber sales, increased training and capacity, capped community payments, and added timber value could be successful in achieving economic viability. Increased sales seem to be the most direct approach, but is constrained by lack of demand at present, so marketing is needed.

Evaluating the Role of Community-Managed Forest in Carbon Sequestration and Climate Change Mitigation of Tripura, India

Community-based forest management provides an opportunity to build a sustainable link with ecology for meeting future needs. A study was carried out to understand the effect of management strategies on the biodiversity, soil nutrient, and carbon stock of two community forests practiced by Jamatia (JCF) and Halam (HCF) tribes of Tripura, northeast India. The forest managed by Jamatia is community conserved, whereas the Joint Forest Management (JFM) regulation issued by the Government of India was implemented in Halam community-based forest. JCF showed higher tree diversity (2.741) than HCF (2.176), while there was no significant variation in the total number of species in these forests. Anogeissus acuminata, Schima wallichii, and Terminalia bellirica were the most dominant species in JCF and HCF. A relatively higher amount of organic matter, nitrogen, and phosphorus content was found in JCF soils. JCF showed higher carbon stock (342.9 Mg C ha–1) than HCF (158.7 Mg C ha–1). A positive and significant correlation of SOC concentration was observed with soil moisture, SOM, and soil nutrient content. The results show that both stands were at developmental stages; however, regular extraction of biomass from HCF was attributable to lower carbon stock. We found that the Jamatia communities are proactively involved in the conservation of forests and sustainable management of biodiversity under their control. The results reveal that the agent of management can play a vital role in enhancing tree diversity, soil properties, and carbon stock in community forests.

Evidences of homogenization in species assemblages of restored mixed Shorea robusta forest stands of Nepal

Recent forest assessment in Nepal has shown an increase in total forest area as a result of implementation of community-based forest management strategies and effective forest restoration interventions. However, success of ecological restoration in some forest stands are argued based on how restoration success is determined. Does increase in spatial coverage and stem densities of preferable plant species alone represent successful restoration or should benefits to alpha diversity of the assemblages also be required? Empirical studies comparing structural attributes of restored and reference forest stands are very limited in Nepal. In this context, species assemblages and structural metrics of woody plants in restored and natural stands of mixed Shorea robusta forests situated in the central lowland of Nepal were assessed and compared. Woody species were evaluated for 60 sub-plots, each of an area of 0.1 ha, established in two sets of stands of 3 Buffer Zone Community Forests. We observed significant difference (p = 0.002) in plant species composition between restored and natural forest stands. Species wise density showed S. robusta with significantly higher (p < 0.0001) density in restored stands compared to natural stands, but densities of other associated woody plants, such as Mallotus philippensis, Lagerstroemia parviflora, Casearia graveolens and Dillenia pentagyna were significantly higher (p < 0.0001) in natural stands. Restored and natural stands did not differ in means of overall basal area of woody plants, but when basal area of S. robusta was considered, it was greater in restored compared to natural stands. Alpha and beta diversity values for woody plant assemblages were significantly higher in natural compared to restored stands. Our study revealed emblematic density diversity deflections in restored forest stands. Indicator species analysis showed substantial fewer numbers of indicator species in restored compared to natural stands. We observed evidence of homogenization in species assemblages in all examined restored mixed S. robusta forest stands of Nepal, so future restoration interventions should focus on increasing species heterogeneity.

Are community forests delivering livelihood benefits? Insights from Uganda

ABSTRACT Most developing countries in the tropics have embraced various forms of community-based forest management. Uganda’s Community Forestry (CF) approach grants de jure rights to community groups to manage and own proceeds from specified forest resources to enhance socio-ecological benefits. However, two decades following its implementation, there is insufficient empirical evidence linking changes in local community livelihoods to participation in CF. Guided by insights from the Sustainable Livelihoods Approach (SLA), we conducted a cross-sectional survey in seven villages surrounding two de facto CFs in mid-western Uganda to quantify and compare livelihood capitals, strategies and outcomes among 40 households that were members of Communal Land Associations (CLAs) that are mandated to manage the CFs and 91 non-member households. Our results indicate significant improvements in access to natural, social and financial capitals of CLA member households. On-farm income was the main household income source in the area, but households also exhibited heavy dependence on forest environmental income observed to reduce poverty incidence by 12.5% and 5.5% among CLA member and non-member households, respectively. In order to significantly contribute to rural livelihoods, conservation and development interventions should amplify both economic and non-economic incentives to consolidate the gains that have been made while developing human and physical capital.

Conservation Activities of Women in Nyangores Forest Station, Mau Conservancy, Kenya

Community-based forest management has increasingly gained popularity in many parts of developing countries. Although the roles of women in forest conservation, management and sustainable utilisation, as well as livelihood improvement, are of paramount importance, it is still scarce and unaddressed in new forest management approaches. Structured questionnaires were administered to 248 Nyangores community forest association members to capture the forest conservation activities of women, determine their role in community forest management and evaluate their socio-economic benefits. Results indicate tree seedling propagation (87.1%), monitoring and evaluation (M&amp;E) (85.1%), and protection of regenerates (84.7%) as the major forest conservation activities. Minor roles included timber harvesting (22.9%), enrichment planting, silvicultural operations (12.9%), and firefighting (8.5%). Accrued socio-economic benefits as a result of women’s role in forest management and conservation were freshwater (95.6%) and firewood (94.8%). These results suggest the incorporation of both genders as a pre-requisite for the success of community forest conservation programs in Mau Conservancy, Kenya.

Local soil knowledge, sustainable agriculture and soil conservation in Central Vietnam

Efforts to support farmers living near forests to achieve sustainable agriculture and natural resource conservation have predominantly focused on services or schemes such as agricultural extension and community-based forest management, with little attention being focused on farmers' local soil knowledge (LSK). This paper provides insights into farmers' LSK, their agricultural and soil conservation practices and economic reliance on natural forests. Household survey (n = 146) and key informant interviews (n = 24) with farmers was conducted in two communes of the buffer zone of Bach Ma National Park, Central Vietnam. The results indicated that 70% of farmers had reasonable LSK, and farmers with comprehensive LSK (21%) were more familiar with their soils and the relationships between essential soil properties that reflect soil problems. Most farmers used soil colour to allocate crop types because of its association with soil fertility or plant yields. Erosion was identified as a major production constraint, yet less than a fifth of farmers had placed soil erosion control measures into practice. However, low-cost techniques, such as growing native plant cover (e.g.“lồ ô” (Bambusa balcooa)), were suggested by a few farmers to address soil loss. The Katu farmers had greater potential to secure LSK as the next generation are continuing to farm, while the Kinh farmers' LSK is threatened by a lack of engagement in farming by the younger generation. However, Katu farmers have less opportunity to use their LSK due to limitations in farm size and cropping options. These findings have raised different challenges to the succession of farmers' LSK for sustainable agriculture and natural resources conservation in the two communes. Finally, this study highlighted the importance of involving farmers' LSK in the early stages of designing and conducting research through forums or workshops to improve relevance and adoption of practices developed so they align with local people's understanding and practice.

Diagnosing pristine pine forest development through pansharpened-surface-reflectance Landsat image derived aboveground biomass productivity

A map of natural forest aboveground biomass (AGB) can serve as a baseline for forest managers to integrate multi-temporal information to account for the trend of reducing carbon emission from the forest degradation over time. Taking advantage of spectral and spatial enhancement in Landsat OLI images, a machine learning based kNN algorithm was applied to derive AGB maps of a pristine forest of Pinus kesiya in 2014 and 2019 via allometric models of the pine and inventory data. AGB productivity of the study site was derived and examined for diagnosing the pristine pine forest development. The radiance of the Landsat image was first restored and then normalized by the FLAASH model, a radiation transfer model-based algorithm used to derive surface reflectance image, and finally a pansharpening technique was applied to improve the spatial resolution while retaining the spectral resolution of the reflectance image. Results showed that the pansharpened surface reflectance image was able to derive AGB maps with a satisfactory accuracy of root mean square percentage error, RMSPE = 15%, which shows significant improvement on the performance of AGB estimation using the raw image (RMSPE = 56%) and non-pansharpened surface reflectance image (RMSPE = 48%). The loss of AGB stocks is mainly caused by landslide, forest fire, and agricultural expansion, particularly the use of fire for land preparation for cropping. Land covers other than pine stands have complicated the edge of the pristine pine forest. The non-forest cover types surrounded the forest enlarged the boundary of the forest and made the pristine forest slightly fragmented. The results also showed that the AGB loss/gain of a forest parcel is negatively/positively related to the size of the parcel. Appropriate forest land zoning and community-based forest management for the surrounding non-pristine pine forest could have the benefit of mitigating the degradation of the pristine pine forest and improving the biomass stocks for better REDD achievements.

Concentration Effect of Ethanol Extract Pinus merkusii Leaves Litter on Zea mays L. Seed Germination

Human resources is one of the main factor in forest management, so it is important to develop a model of community-based forest management through agroforestry system. The agroforestry system in Trenggalek was implemented by combining a pine plant with Bisi-2 corn varieties. However, the presence of dry pine leaves litter suspected to contain allelopathy, thus make the percentage of germination of seed corn in a low. This study aimed to determine the concentration effect of ethanol extract of pine leaves litter (Pinus merkusii) on the germination of seed corn (Zea mays L.) Bisi-2 varieties. The research design that used Completely Randomized Design and four replications with concentration variations of 0% (control), 10%, 15%, 20% and 25%. Based on ANOVA and Duncan Multiple Range Test with significant level of 5% showed that there was the influence of the ethanol extract of pine leaves litter on the germination of seed corn Bisi-2 varieties. The higher concentration, make the germination of corn seeds more inhibited.

Policy Model Reconstruction of Social Forestry

Internationally, there has been a paradigm shift in forest resource management from state-based forest management to community-based forest management. This change has also occurred in Indonesia, namely through the social forestry program as outlined in the the Minister Regulation on Social Forestry and the Minister Regulation on Social Forestry in Perhutani Area. Indeed, these Ministerial Regulations already contain the principles of community-based forest management. However, the implementation still leaves problems. This paper will analyze the procedural weaknesses and inaccuracies in the designation of these Ministerial Regulations. The approach used is the statutory approach and comparison with qualitative analysis. The result shows that it is necessary to change the policy model by changing procedures by re-functioning the role of Forest Management Units as an institution that has the authority to manage forest resources in its area. Besides, the Social Forestry program should only be intended for forest communities who have pioneered forest resource management, whether they have joined the Community Joint Forest Management program or not. However, they must reside around forests managed by Perum Perhutani.

Forest Cover Change and Ecosystem Services: A Case Study of Community Forest in Mechinagar and Buddhashanti Landscape (MBL), Nepal.

The community-based forest management program has been successful in the conservation of forest cover in Nepal. We investigated forest cover change for the Mechinagar and Buddhashanti Landscape (MBL) area within the Jhapa district, Nepal, during 1990-2019 using Landsat images and GIS tools and valuated the major ecosystem services (ES) of Kalika Community-managed Forest (KCF) within the MBL landscape using the economic approach-market price method (revealed price). Land cover analysis of the MBL area indicated that over the study period, there were increases in urban/built-up areas, forest, and tea plantations, and declines in cultivated land, shrub, barren land, water body, and grassland areas. In particular, forest cover increased by 8.6% from 41.5 sq.km to 45.1 sq.km, due to the conversion of 3.9 sq.km cultivated land and 2.4 sq.km shrub into forest cover. KCF, the selected case study area for ES valuation, has been successful in providing noticeable economic benefits from provisioning and cultural services. Of the provisioning services, wood and timber make the largest contribution with an average revenue collection of Nepali Rupees (NRs) 3091.4 thousands followed by non-timber forest products (NRs 883.1 thousands) and firewood (NRs 524.3 thousands), respectively, while ecotourism-based income is also important (NRs 458.4 thousands) and is increasing in later years. As monitoring forest cover in a rapidly changing landscape and evaluating the ES of the community-managed forest cover are imperative for sustainable environmental planning and policy formulation, these research outputs are expected to be a significant benchmark for planners, policy makers, and future researchers.

Impacts of Rural Community on the Forest Estate in Ugbolu, Oshimili North Local Government Area, Delta State, Nigeria

This study examined the impact of Community based forest management (CBFM) in Ugbolu forest reserve (UFR), Delta State. A random selection of 110 respondents was carried out. Information on activities encouraging deforestation, list of resources extracted, jobs and income provided from involvement in CBFM, structure and strategy used by community in managing UFR were collected using structured questionnaire and interview section. Descriptive statistics was used to analysed the data (frequency table and likert scale). Majority of respondents were male (51.8%), married (61.6%), between the age of 31-40 (34.5%), had household size of 7-9 (39.1%). The activities that contributed to deforestation in the reserve were logging (70.9%), livestock breeding (15.5%), and farming (10.9%). The forest resources harvested included Tectona grandis, Gmelina aborea, Rattus fuscipes, Thryonomy swinderianus. Involvement in CBFM provided jobs (categorized as Forest user groups (FUG) namely; timber merchants, fellers, loaders, hunters, farmers, forest guards to community members. The income earned varied between ₦11,000 ($28.9) to ₦200,000 ($526.3) monthly. Majority (58.2%) of respondent stated that heads of different FUG constituted the committee which works with an annual plan (53.4%), arrived at by voting (70.0%). The annual plans meet the demands of various FUG (81.8%) with little interference from government (86.4%). The committees major forest management strategies included partnership of forest guards with rural people (40.0%), creation of a community forest administration group (26.4%) and laws stopping illegal entry into the forest estate (23.4%). Intensification of government involvement and adequate funding for effective CBFM were recommended by the study.

Factors in the Establishment of Coffee Agroforestry in Community Based Forest Management and its Influence on Rural Society: A Case Study in West Java, Indonesia

Factors in the Establishment of Coffee Agroforestry in Community Based Forest Management and its Influence on Rural Society: A Case Study in West Java, Indonesia

Energy Inputs of Selected Agroforestry Systems in Zamboanga City, Philippines

A study aimed to estimate the energy inputs of selected agroforestry systems (AFSs) within the Community-Based Forest Management (CBFM) in Zamboanga City, Philippines was conducted. All Mcal units were converted into Liter Diesel Oil Equivalent (LDOE), where 1.0 LDOE = 11.414 Mcal. Purposive sampling was used in determining the fitted characteristics and the number of respondents required across the 16 CBFM sites, where nine (9) dominant AFSs were identified. A total of 100 respondents were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. The relationships of predictors such as the direct, indirect and embedded energy inputs per AFS were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Means, percentages and sums were compared. The rubber+1based AFS obtained the lowest total energy inputs (TEI) at 5,790.5 Mcal ha^-1 or equal to 507.3 LDOE ha^-1, while the rubber+3based AFS obtained the highest TEI at 11,801.3 Mcal ha^-1 (1,034.0 LDOE ha^-1) compared to other AFSs such as the coconut+1based, mango-based, marang-based, lanzones-based, coconut+3based, rubber+2based and coconut+2based with individual TEI that ranged from 6,267.16-11,250.2 Mcal ha^-1 (549.1-985.6 LDOE ha^-1). Of the total TEI across the nine (9) AFSs, the direct energy input (DEI) contributed 1.6-5.4%, indirect energy input (IEI) 94.1-98.0% and embedded energy input (EEI) 0.3-0.5%, respectively. The TEI is the sum total of DEI, IEI and EEI where each was accounted from pre-land preparation (PLP), crop establishment (CE), crop care and maintenance (CCM), harvest and postharvest (HPH) activities. The high imputed cost on IEI was attributed to high usage of agrochemicals and labor which are identified as the ‘energy hotspots’ or the energy-intensive inputs. The high plant density and number of trees present within the system contributed significantly in the overall TEI. Understanding the significant contributions of various energy-intensive systems will guide policy makers and local planners to initiate an integrated farming approach with reduced energy inputs that is climate smart with higher economic potential for the upland environment in the City of Zamboanga.

Improving Decentralised Forest Governance Through Polycentric Systems: A Case Study of Kenya's Community Forest Management

Community-Based Forest Management is a tool for local participation in forest management. Community involvement and stakeholder participation became important components of development and natural resource management, prompting developing countries to undertake decentralisation reforms by the 1990s. The reforms aimed to encourage participatory development, local empowerment and poverty reduction, democratisation, and resource sustainability. Their performance has, however, been mixed. Decentralisation efforts have suffered in situations where powerful actors, through various strategies, have managed to retain control over natural resources, obstructing power transfers to the communities. This has resulted in Responsibilisation, which is the transfer of responsibility to local communities without the transfer of requisite power. Responsive, collaborative governance is crucial in efforts to avoid responsibilisation. This refers to governance that devolves responsibilities and powers together, providing the requisite capabilities and support, enabling appropriate management decisions and actions at the devolved levels. Polycentric governance is crucial towards this end. Participatory Forest Management, a modality of Community-Based Forest Management, has been practised in Kenya since the Forest Act of 2005. This paper looks at forest polycentric governance institutional structures with cross-level interactions and representation bodies at each level of forest governance for successful social and ecological outcomes. This paper's product is a proposed forest polycentric governance institutional structure for better social and ecological outcomes in Kenya, which can be generalised to broader cases.