Community Forestry Approaches Research Articles

Assessment of the Potential to Promote Nature-based Tourism Industry in the Protected Area Network of Sri Lanka


 
 
 
 Promoting the tourism industry is one of the proven strategies for Sri Lanka to address current economic crises. Sri Lanka has a high potential to develop nature-based tourism with its high biodiversity. The Forest Department and the Department of Wildlife Conservation manage 30% of the country's land as Protected Areas. In comparison to the tourism income generated through archeological sites of the country, the biodiversity sector has earned 83%-90% from 2012 to 2016, without any significant promotions and it shows the potential to develop nature-based tourism. This study aimed to examine the potentiality of using the Protected Area network to promote nature- based tourism. The PESTEL approach was utilized to assess the potentiality, and primary data was gathered through ten structured Key Informant Interviews of senior officials of both the destination management agencies, tourism authorities, and experts. The secondary data were obtained by reviewing official reports and records. The Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance, Forest Ordinance, and their amendments provide legal provisions relating to tourism in Protected Areas with certain limitations. The Wildlife Preservation Fund can be utilized for conservation and development activities in protected areas, including tourism promotion. Even if a higher degree of ̳tourism friendly‘ provisions is available with the Forest Department, there is no mechanism for utilizing the income generated through tourism activities for conservation as revenue credits to the Treasury. Insufficient financial allocation through the treasury, lack of innovative financial solutions for resource mobilization, and ineffective governance mechanisms for promoting public- private partnerships are identified as challenging factors in forest and biodiversity conservation in protected areas. This leads to environmental degradation and biodiversity loss in the country. The study found the potentiality of developing projects worth one billion LKR per annum with more than 20% internal rate of return, if the government develops a mechanism that increases the
 
 
 
 
 benefits/incentives available for the Forest Department from tourism, ensures cooperation and
 
 
 
 
 comprehensive planning among both the departments, introduce innovative sustainable financing solutions, amend the policy and institutional framework in favour of public, private community partnerships, and develop a tourism promotion roadmap for both the Departments. Such initiatives would increase the socioeconomic and environmental benefits to the communities living in the Functional Resource Unit of the Protected Areas. It could be strengthened with an innovative Protected Area management model such as the community forestry approach. The study recommends that tourism should be considered an effective entry point for sustainable use, biodiversity conservation, and economic growth at local and national levels.
 
 
 
 
 Keywords: Protected areas, Nature-based tourism, Innovative financing, Public-private partnerships, Tourism for conservation
 
 
 

Composition and Structure of Woody Vegetation in Community Compared to State Forests in Tehuledere District, South Wollo, Ethiopia

ABSTRACT Restoring the degraded areas with vegetation cover is an optimal strategy to mitigate land degradation. The objective of this study was to examine the composition and structure of woody vegetation in community and state forests in Tehuledere District, South Wollo, Ethiopia. The vegetation data were collected by sampling a total of 40 systematically laid sample plots (i.e. 20 samples in each forest type) and analyzed to determine woody species composition (i.e. number of species, frequency, density, dominance, and importance value index) and forest structure (i.e. diameter distribution, basal area, and biodiversity index). The vegetation structure was described by diameter class using inverse J-shaped as this type of distribution considered being indicative of a stable population structure or good regeneration status. The results revealed that significantly greater densities of seedlings and saplings were found in the community forest than that of the state forest. Moreover, a total of 45 woody species, representing 29 families were recorded in this forest. However, 29 woody species, representing 25 families were only found in the state forest, suggesting that 25 woody species were common in both forest types. However, 20 woody species were found only in the community forest, whereas only three species were exclusively obtained in the state forest. Woody plant densities were 10,881 and 9,501 individuals’ ha−1 in community and state forests, respectively. The result suggested that Juniperus procera was the most dominant species in both forest types. The community forest had a diversity value of 2.26, while the corresponding value for the state forest was only 2.07. Overall, as compared to the state forest, the community forest had a better status in several biological parameters. Generally, the results emphasize the importance of the relative advantage of the community forestry approach to restore, enhance, and maintain (e.g. enrichment planting, pruning, and selective cutting) the forest resources over the conventional or protectionist way of the state forest management. Therefore, intervention for legal framework and institutional development particularly through formal recognition of people’s ownership and right over the conservation management of forests is essential toward sustainable forestry.

A typology of community forestry approaches in Indonesia: implications for external support to forest communities

Community-based management is an increasingly important form of governance and control of forests and other natural resources. In Indonesia, government policy aims to expand the role of communities in controlling and managing forests. Since the 1970s, many different forms of community forestry (CF) have been implemented in Indonesia but there has been little systematic analysis of these different approaches. This paper presents a typology of CF in Indonesia to present academic knowledge of CF in a form that is useful for practice. The typology acknowledges the networked nature of communities and was developed through qualitative analysis of 311 documents representing 112 cases of CF. Two dimensions emerged that illustrate the evolution of CF: a 'formality' dimension and a 'support' dimension. The former indicated the degree of government authorisation and the latter indicated the degree and type of support provided to communities from governments, businesses, NGOs or other external actors. Nine types of CF were identified, six formal, two partially formalised and one informal. An analysis of these types revealed there are mixed benefits for communities in formalising their access to forests and that the challenges, and therefore needs for support, differ markedly between communities. This study provides a systematic basis for researchers aiming to understand the processes of transition to CF, and for policy makers and practitioners aiming to implement CF in Indonesia and elsewhere.

Addressing equity in community forestry: lessons from 20 years of implementation in Cameroon

A community forestry approach was adopted by Cameroon as a strategy to promote the sustainable management of forests, participation by local communities in forest management, and poverty alleviation. However, results have been moderate and community forestry has largely failed in achieving its initial goals. Our work, based on existing literature, uses the three inter-related dimensions of equity: distributive, procedural, and contextual to highlight the main equity challenges encountered in implementing the community forestry approach over the past 20 years in Cameroon. The main constraints to distributive equity identified include: the absence of clear benefit-sharing mechanisms and rents capture by elites, insecure tenure, and limited use rights of forest resources. Regarding the procedural dimension, we observed an exclusion of vulnerable groups, especially women, and a lack of information flow and transparency in decision-making processes. Finally, for contextual equity, the main constraints are unfair laws and regulations that give more advantages to the state and logging companies than to the local population. Moreover, poor community capacities and high transaction costs in the process of obtaining and exploiting community forests are additional constraints to contextual equity. The authors recommend a few measures to improve community forestry contribution to socioeconomic development, equity in benefit sharing, and sustainable management of forest resources. These include the need: (1) to promote transparency in community forests management with fair and gender-based policies that consider socioeconomic differences existing within and between forest communities; (2) to strengthen local community members financial and technical capacities and increase their representation and participation in decision-making structures; and (3) to set up mechanisms that guarantee existing policies are fully implemented.

Economic Benefits of Sri Lanka Community Forestry Program (SLCFP)

The Sri Lanka Community Forestry Program (SLCFP) commenced in 2012 and was completed in December 2016. The program design was based on the ‘Strategy for Community Forestry Management’ developed by the Forest Department (FD) in 2008. The community forestry approach is well established in Sri Lanka and agrees with Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) environmental and economic development strategies for the country. Rural communities also accepted the community forestry concept as it provides various benefits including increased forest cover, increased income and livelihood support.

Actor-centred power: The driving force in decentralised community based forest governance

Community forestry has been described as a decentralised mode of forest governance that only partly lives up to its expectations. The power of important actors to misuse the community forestry approach for their self-interests has been reported as a major obstacle to comprehensive success. Hence, this article aims at developing an analytical, theory-based and empirically applicable framework for assessing an actor's power using community forestry as an illustrative case. The actor-centred power approach (ACP) analysis aims to provide a scientific answer to the question of who are the politically most powerful actors in community forestry practices. In making use of suitable components of power theories it builds strongly upon the social relations of actors, organisational aspects and power sources, as described by Weber, Dahl, Etzioni and their adherents. Actor-centred power approach (ACP) is defined as a social relationship in which actor A alters the behaviour of actor B without recognising B's will. In our framework we distinguish between three core elements: coercion, (dis-)incentives and dominant information. These make up the basis for observable facts that involve not only physical actions but also threats by power elements and the very sources of said power elements. Theoretical considerations show that, despite the focus being on actors, by looking to their power sources a considerable part of structural power can be more tangible at least in part, like rules, discourse or ideologies. Furthermore, the paper shows how the actor-centred power approach distinguishes power from other influences on forest management and contributes to the identification of the group of powerful actors on an empirical basis. Due to the focus on actors and well-defined and observable elements of power, the actor-centred power approach (ACP) could serve not only as a basis for research but also as a tool for quick assessment of power networks, delivering valuable preliminary information for designing forest policy in practice.

Le paysage comme outil d'aménagement des terroirs villageois

La gestion de la ressource bois énergie en périphérie des grands centres urbains est devenue une préoccupation de premier ordre en Afrique centrale. À une demande croissante en bois énergie correspondent des auréoles de déforestation de plus en plus larges. Les communautés villageoises situées dans cette auréole vivent aujourd'hui dans un environnement à ce point dégradé que les écosystèmes forestiers et les biens et services associés y ont presque disparu. La surexploitation de ces espaces nécessite entre autres de repenser l'aménagement des terroirs villageois. Cette étude présente une démarche d'élaboration de plan simple de gestion de terroirs villageois. L'article discute la pertinence d'une approche d'aménagement fondée sur le paysage perçu et vécu par les populations. L'organisation sociale de la communauté, ses pratiques et ses modes de régulation d'accès à la ressource sont des éléments qui structurent le paysage. Ils se traduisent dans une typologie locale de l'espace employée au quotidien. Cette typologie a été mobilisée pour une meilleure appropriation des concepts d'aménagement par les communautés et pour une mise en ¿uvre plus effective. À contre-courant de la foresterie communautaire développée depuis plusieurs années en Afrique centrale, cette approche est structurée autour d'un processus participatif, progressif et itératif. Elle permet d'amener des groupes endogènes à intégrer leur vision de l'espace dans les prises de décision, à faciliter les débats autour de la question de l'aménagement de leur terroir et à contribuer à la reconstitution d'espaces forestiers dégradés.

Community-based sustainable rattan conservation: a case study in Lore Lindu National Park, Central Sulawesi

Hamzari (2011) Community-based sustainable rattan conservation; a case study in Lore Lindu National Park, Central Sulawesi. Biodiversitas 12: 241-245. The following research study focused on community-based rattan conservation and was conducted in a community located in the buffer zone of Lore Lindu National Park. The aims of the study were to generate a model for communitybased rattan conservation and estimate the economic value of rattan management for the community. The results were expected to provide justification for the development of rattan management systems and strategies. The research was conducted using a combination of community education and evaluation of educational outputs. As a result, the research may be characterized as descriptive experimentation with a participative approach of andragogy. Data was collected through the employment of questionnaires, interviews, PRAs, and FGD techniques. Data were analyzed using quantitative and qualitative analysis. Based on result of analysis, inferential that community asses the effort of rattan conservation as a positive effort and its development requires additional support. The community has a desire to conduct efforts of rattan conservation continuously. The forms of rattan conservation that can be developed are rattan cultivation and selective rattan harvesting. The research developed conservation models in collaboration with rattan farming groups and involving community forestry approaches.

A Fair Trade approach to community forest certification? A framework for discussion

Forest certification has gained growing attention as a market-based instrument to make globalizing markets a force for mitigating rather than fostering environmental degradation. Yet in practice, market mechanisms currently appear to encourage concentration of forest certification in Northern temperate and boreal forests, rather than in the tropical forests certification originally aimed to protect. At the same time, the share of tropical and other Southern forests under community management is increasing dramatically. Utilizing a comparative analysis of coffee and wood products commodity chains, a preliminary framework is proposed for exploring the obstacles and the possibilities of a “Fair Trade” approach to community forest certification. Obstacles include the structure of conventional wood products commodity chains, common wood product characteristics, certification's current commitment to conventional market logics and practices, and informal governance influences favoring powerful economic actors. The paper argues, however, that other features of forest certification, especially in the FSC scheme, are potentially supportive of a Fair Trade community forestry approach.

The extirpation of large mammals and implications for montane forest conservation: the case of the Kilum-Ijim Forest, North-west Province, Cameroon

A review was carried out of the mammalian fauna of the Kilum-Ijim forest in the mountains of northwest Cameroon. The purpose was to examine the loss of species, particularly of larger mammals, and the implications of this for forest ecology. Information was collected by direct observation, hunter interviews and a literature review. The forest is the largest remaining representative fragment of the West African montane forest habitat. Seventy-seven species of mammal have been recorded in the forest over the last 50 years. Most are small, especially rodents, bats and insectivores. Seven species are endemic to the Kilum-Ijim area. The process of species extirpation probably began over 100 years ago with the loss of the mega-fauna, possibly beginning with elephant Loxodonta africana (several generations ago), and certainly with buffalo Syncerus caffer (at least 20 years ago), and other large mammals. Remaining large mammal population densities are very low and many species are close to regional extinction. The long-term consequences of these extinctions is uncertain but, as many tree species are monkey- or ruminant-dispersed, severe ecosystem damage has probably already occurred. Human population density in the area is around 300 people per sq km, and no sustainable offtake of wild animals will ever be possible that would provide more than a few grams of meat per person per year from the forest. The protein requirements of the communities of the area will have to continue to be supplied from domesticated stock. Since 1987 the Kilum-Ijim Forest Project of BirdLife International has been working to conserve the remaining forest, using a community forestry approach in collaboration with traditional and local authorities and the government of Cameroon. The project is investigating ways to improve the production of domestic animals outside the forest boundary.

The extirpation of large mammals and implications for montane forest conservation: the case of the Kilum-Ijim Forest, North-west Province, Cameroon

AbstractA review was carried out of the mammalian fauna of the Kilum-Ijim forest in the mountains of northwest Cameroon. The purpose was to examine the loss of species, particularly of larger mammals, and the implications of this for forest ecology. Information was collected by direct observation, hunter interviews and a literature review. The forest is the largest remaining representative fragment of the West African montane forest habitat. Seventy-seven species of mammal have been recorded in the forest over the last 50 years. Most are small, especially rodents, bats and insectivores. Seven species are endemic to the Kilum-Ijim area. The process of species extirpation probably began over 100 years ago with the loss of the mega-fauna, possibly beginning with elephant Loxodonta africana (several generations ago), and certainly with buffalo Syncerus caffer (at least 20 years ago), and other large mammals. Remaining large mammal population densities are very low and many species are close to regional extinction. The long-term consequences of these extinctions is uncertain but, as many tree species are monkey- or ruminant-dispersed, severe ecosystem damage has probably already occurred. Human population density in the area is around 300 people per sq km, and no sustainable offtake of wild animals will ever be possible that would provide more than a few grams of meat per person per year from the forest. The protein requirements of the communities of the area will have to continue to be supplied from domesticated stock. Since 1987 the Kilum-Ijim Forest Project of BirdLife International has been working to conserve the remaining forest, using a community forestry approach in collaboration with traditional and local authorities and the government of Cameroon. The project is investigating ways to improve the production of domestic animals outside the forest boundary.

Kırsal Yörede Köy Bazında Ağaç ve Orman Kaynaklarının Yönetimi ve Faydalanma Şekilleri (Isparta İli-Aliköy Örneği)

This study was carried out in order to determine the management of tree and forest resources in Isparta-Alikoy. The Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA) aproach was used to conduct the study in the village. The total land area of Alikoy is about 43780 decare.at present the total population of this village is about 1311 and the total number of households is 486. There is considerable emmigration of young adults to urban areas, espicially to Isparta City. The village economy is heavily dependent on cash crop farming of barley, wheat, maize and rye and raising livestock. Land tenure is the most important problem in Alikoy, and creating other problems i.e. unconscious of agriculturel practise, declining productivty, low household income, less income generating activities, lack of water and shortage of fuel wood and timber. Whole village was introduced sosyoeconomic and culturel conditions, and given land use form in this study. On the other side, this study was determined the managmement forms of tree and forest sources in Alikoy. This village case study is also an attempt to promote development of sustainable forest products through a community forestry approach. Homegarden, boundary planting and alley cropping are suitable land use practices for village. Keywords: Tree of sources, Management, Utilize.