Community Forestry Projects Research Articles

Identifying and addressing ‘wicked’ social problems in community forestry in Papua New Guinea

We explore the link between the social and biophysical aspects of a community forestry project in Papua New Guinea (PNG). Despite widespread acknowledgement in the literature of the importance of social aspects, less attention has been paid to how severely they can affect project outcomes. We use the heuristic of ‘tame’, ‘complex’ and ‘wicked’ problems', adapted from the urban policy and planning literature, to illustrate the compromises and trade-offs in project objectives which may be required to accommodate the social context of traditional governance and land tenure. In a case study of three communities, we show how the criteria by which problems can be judged to be wicked or incapable of an objective solution, provide a framework for devising solutions to the problems which inevitably arise during project planning and implementation. In our cases, clan power structures and traditional customs reduced our ability to either progress extension activities, restricted our access a wide community clientele or diverted project activities away from agroforestry towards cash crops. Our solutions ranged from a reluctant withdrawal of support to compromises which required trade-offs in project objectives. As a qualitative and subjective approach to addressing social aspects of community forestry or forest landscape management, we suggest that the concept of wicked problems provides a valuable qualitative framework which complements objective or biophysical aspects of project planning and implementation.

Is timber management a realistic conservation alternative for indigenous Amazonian communities?

Indigenous people, who are often economically, socially, and culturally dependent on forests, represent important stakeholders in forest management. Due to high costs, indigenous communities partner with external institutions to harvest timber, often resulting in forest degradation within their territories, internal and external conflicts, and disinterest in starting new timber management projects. Using a standardized methodology to investigate the outcomes of previous community forestry projects presents an opportunity to better understand and potentially resolve further issues. To investigate this issue, we conducted research in the Sinchi Roca I native community in Peru. Our objectives were: (1) to describe the process of timber harvest; (2) to analyze gender differences in local perception of timber management; and (3) to evaluate the outcomes of the timber activity, applying socioeconomic criteria and indicators. Data collection included in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and intra-household surveys. We found that locals partnered with a company for timber harvesting, which led to a sanction from the Peruvian government. Timber harvesting was negatively perceived in the community, with 83.75% of survey respondents dissatisfied with the activity and 88.75% reporting internal and external conflicts due to the presence of the company. Moreover, women did not have a major role in timber harvesting, nor did they actively participate in planning meetings. Results suggest that improving future timber management projects in indigenous communities requires that projects be adapted to local realities and encourage local participation, including training for locals in governance, administration of documents, and negotiations with external stakeholders.

Are portable sawmills a financially viable option for economic development in tropical forests?

Community forest enterprises facilitated by non-governmental organizations (NGOs), using portable sawmills to produce rough-sawn lumber is one approach being pursued by tropical forest indigenous communities to improve their livelihoods. To investigate the profitability of portable sawmills operated by community forest enterprises, we developed a discounted cash flow model with a Monte Carlo risk analysis simulation. We populated this model using forest inventory data from six forest sites in Papua New Guinea, combined with cost and revenue data collected in country. We found that the application of this small-scale native forest management model has a high likelihood of producing a negative net present value (NPV). The cash outflows to produce the lumber are found to be consistently greater than the cash inflows from lumber sales, resulting in a probability of achieving a positive NPV of 0.04. If only the most valuable species are harvested the probability of achieving a positive NPV increased to 0.56. However, the communities would be at risk of overexploiting or high-grading their forests. We recommend that future community forestry projects utilizing portable sawmills explore value adding opportunities for rough-sawn lumber to overcome the high costs of portable sawmill operations and reduce the potential occurrence of forest high-grading.

Biophysical Factors Affecting Forest Cover Changes in Community Forestry: A Country Scale Analysis in Cambodia

Community forestry (CF) is increasingly used in developing countries to achieve both the socioeconomic outcome of poverty reduction and an ecological outcome. There have been many single case studies in a specific region to identify the factors affecting the success or failure of CF. Other studies have used large-N data collected from multiple countries. However, there is a dearth of large-N studies within a single country. In this study, we used a country scale dataset of 197 CF projects, established between 1994 and 2005 across Cambodia, to identify the biophysical factors that affected forest cover changes from 2005 to 2016. A mixed-effects logistic regression model was used for a total of 71,252 randomly sampled data pixels nested in the 197 CF. Results showed that deforestation in CF was likely to increase with increasing size of CF area at lower elevations and on gentler slopes. Deforestation also increased if CF was located close to villages, markets and CF boundaries, but further away from main roads. These findings on biophysical factors can help the government to decide on priority locations for further conservation interventions or for the establishment of new CF projects.

Assessment of grant and loan assisted community forestry projects in Nepal

Abstract on the PDF

Perspective on Forest Management

Community forestry offers many perspectives on the forest management system. It has become an avenue for special collaboration between state, scientific communities, social enterprises, businesses, and local communities, as well as a means of promoting practical solutions in forest conservation. Furthermore, it becomes an arena where forest people can participate in forest conservation projects, improve their livelihoods and manage forest projects via their own traditional knowledge. Inspired by its unique features, the researcher carried out a qualitative research study of community forestry with the hope of exploring its possibilities in the South East Pahang Peat Swamp Forest (SEPPSF). In this regard, the researcher employed research methods that consisted of interviews, focus group discussions and field observations. The interviewees were asked to reflect on current forest management practices in SEPPSF. Other participants included government officials, social activists and researchers. This study found that the SEPPSF offers a unique opportunity for collaborative forest care. To achieve this vision, however, there is a need to resuscitate the following three important elements of community forestry in SEPPSF: community empowerment in forest care; community land security; and community consultation for forest related activities. In addition, this study recommends two contemporary models to prompt effective forest governance: a short-term community forestry project in SEPPSF and a long-term community forestry project for the Orang Asli. It is anticipated that this paper will provide a fresh perspective on collaborative forest management. Furthermore, it is hoped that its findings parallel increasing calls for holistically sustainable forest management in Malaysia.

Community forestry and sustainability research at The New York Botanical Garden

Research focused on community forestry and the sustainable use of tropical forest resources has been conducted at The New York Botanical Garden for over 30 years. Five of the projects are located in the Neotropics, six are in Southeast Asia, and three are in Tropical Africa; project sites include some of the largest remaining areas of tropical forest in the world, e.g. Amazonia, Borneo, northern Myanmar, and Papua New Guinea. All of the projects have had a training component, several have incorporated both training and the collection of baseline data, and much of the recent work has included training, baseline data collection, and community-based natural resource management (CBNRM). The CBNRM initiatives at NYBG are unique because (1) they are based on quantitative inventory and growth data, (2) they are conducted in intact forests as a conservation incentive, and (3) the data collection, management planning, and monitoring activities are conducted by the villagers themselves. Although a variety of different ecological, economic, and social factors can influence the success of a community forestry project, one of the major lessons learned from the NYBG interventions is that management programs specifically tailored to a given community and forest based on a preliminary assessment of the actual supply and demand of forest resources are most effective.

Key factors which influence the success of community forestry in developing countries

While community forestry has shown promise to reduce rural poverty, improve reforestation and potentially offset carbon emissions, many projects have failed, either partly or completely. In order to understand why community forestry succeeds or fails, we examined in detail the literature related to community forestry from three countries, Mexico, Nepal and the Philippines. We also drew on experiences in other countries in Asia, Latin America and Africa. We identified five main interconnected factors which the literature suggests are often critical to the success of community forestry. To integrate the many ways in which community forestry projects can improve the state of these factors, we use the concept of ‘bonding social capital’, i.e. communities’ ability to work together towards a common aim and ‘bridging social capital’, i.e. their ability to liaise with the outside world. To understand the interaction of the five success factors and the way in which improvements to bonding or bridging social capital may affect them, we developed a causal diagram which depicts the interrelationships between the success factors and the key points at which project inputs may be best applied. It is clear from our analysis that failing to appreciate both the complexity and interaction of the various influences may lead to project failure.

Ensuring Better Natural Resource Management Through Gender Mainstreaming

With a view to bring women in mainstream of life and involve them in the forest and environment conservation, Forest Department, Haryana initiated women development programme with implementation of European Union aided Haryana Community Forestry Project in the State from 1999–2008. Self Help Groups (SHGs) were constituted for women and the success achieved in this direction as a result of right approach, led to believe that the participation of women in various development activities strengthen the programme and hence the need for institutionalizing this in the regular working of forest department in the state. Accordingly, SHGs were constituted under Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) project as well. SHGs constituted by Haryana Forest Department were evaluated in seventeen districts of Haryana state of India and while carrying out the evaluation on Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of United Nations were also kept in view. It was found that on all these parameters, the women in SHG villages performed better than the non-SHG villages.

Comparison of mitigation potential estimates of three models using the IPCC 3-tier approach

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to estimate carbon mitigation impacts of project activities in a community forestry project in Andhra Pradesh, India. Measurement and quantification of carbon stocks, monitoring of these stocks over time and projections using models is necessary for assessing the climate change mitigation potential or impacts of all forest development and conservation projects. Design/methodology/approach – In this study, multiple mitigation assessment methods and models were used to estimate the carbon mitigation impacts – PROCOMAP, TARAM and CATIE, by adopting a three-tier approach similar to Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Guidelines. Findings – There are differences in mitigation potential estimates across models as well as across tiers. The study highlights the strength and weaknesses and/or limitations and advantages of adopting the different approaches and their applicability for estimating mitigation potential of a forestry project. The same could be adopted for a future Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) regime also, given countries may not have the necessary technical capacity and data needed during the post-2012 REDD scheme. While countries with advanced data, technical and research capabilities could use models or, in other words, adopt the Tier-3 approach, countries with data and technical limitations, as in India, could adopt a Tier-2 or Tier-1 approach to begin with. Research limitations/implications – The limitations and advantages of use of the multiple mitigation models is addressed. Originality/value – This work would help understand use of three mitigation models by prospective students and researchers and also the data needs and limitations for use of these models.

한국 임업부문 공적개발원조의 방향성에 대한 연구

Official Development Assistance(ODA) in forestry sector has been implemented for about 60 years after the second world war. Forestry aid is getting important due to its role to play as a practical methodology of Millenium Development Goals(MDGs). Korea has conducted ODA in forestry in 22 developing countries since 2005. However its contents are mostly focused on environment conservation by plantation. In the other hands, the other donor countries try to eradicate poverty of people who are dependent on forestry, environment conservation and etc in MDGs by means of ODA in forestry. Swiss, Germany, Japan, UK, and the other donor counties found out without taking account of forest dependent people who are supposed to manage 22% of developing countriess forest, forestry aid could not be successful. The direction of Korean ODA in forestry need to change in order to meet the current movement of International ODA. For this, Korea should develop various contents of forestry aids like CF (Community Forestry) project which the donor countries with long history of forestry aids have implemented in many ways.

Economic impact of community forestry in Nepal: A case of mid-hill districts of Nepal

The main objective of this study is to find the economic impact of community forestry. Specifically the study aims to indentify the elements of cost and benefits of community forestry and estimate the monetary value of costs and benefits. This study is basically based on secondary information including unpublished documents of Nepal Swiss Community Forestry Project (NSCFP). Due to the lack of refined data on the benefits and costs, first elements of costs and benefits were identified and estimation of monetary benefits and costs has been estimated with certain assumptions.The study found that annual cost for the management of community forestry is about NRs. 119 thousand for each community forest user’s group in the studied three districts. Of the total costs, about 64% is borne by the forest user’s group households mostly in the form of labour. The donor contributed about 16% and the Government of Nepal contributed about 13 % of the total costs.Similarly the annual monetary benefits (only direct) per Community Forest User Group (CFUG) per year is NRs. 710 thousand. This indicates that the benefits are about 7 times greater than the costs even without considering the indirect benefits. Of the total about 80% benefit comes from the forest products, about 11% from time saving and about 7% from employment generation due to better management of community forestry. It is also found that CFUGs are able to mobilize about NRs. 38 million and utililizing part of it for the development of community in different ways.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/ejdi.v13i0.7212 Economic Journal of Development Issues Vol.13 & 14 2011, pp.75-96

A novel application of satellite radar data: measuring carbon sequestration and detecting degradation in a community forestry project in Mozambique

Background: It is essential that systems for measuring changes in carbon stocks for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) projects are accurate, reliable and low cost. Widely used systems involving classifying optical satellite data can underestimate degradation, and by classifying the landscape ignore the natural heterogeneity of biomass. Aims: To assess the ability of repeat L-band radar to detect areas of small increases or decreases in above-ground biomass (AGB) across a Miombo woodland landscape. Methods: ALOS PALSAR L-band cross-polarised (HV) radar data from 2007 and 2009 were used to create maps of AGB, calibrated using 58 field plots. The change in AGB was assessed for land parcels with known landcover histories: (i) 500 ha of new agroforestry; (ii) 9500 ha of protected (REDD) areas; and (iii) 23 ha of land where degradation occurred between 2007 and 2009. Results: Increases in AGB were detected in both the agroforestry and REDD areas (0.4 and 1.1 Mg C ha−1 year−1, respectively), while the degraded areas showed a decrease of 3 Mg C ha−1 year−1. Conclusions: PALSAR data can be used to detect losses and gains in AGB in woodland ecosystems. However, further work is needed to precisely quantify the uncertainties in the change estimates, and the extent of false-positive and false-negative change detections that would result from using such a system.

Community Forestry as Perceived by Local People Around Cross River National Park, Nigeria

The prior identification of local people's preferences for conservation-development projects will help gear nature-conservation strategies toward the needs of different groups of local people. This will help policy-makers in designing a more acceptable and effective conservation strategy. This article reports a study of local perceptions of a community forestry project that aims to help improve the design as well as local acceptance of the project. The data originated from personal interviews conducted in communities around Okwangwo Division of the Cross River National Park in southeast Nigeria and were analysed using ordered logit and binary logit models. The results showed that >50% of the respondents were satisfied with the community forestry project. The respondents' perceptions were mainly influenced by education, age, gender, and willingness to contribute money to tourism as well as the contributions of cocoa, banana, and afang (Gnetum africanum) to the respondents' income. The results from this study have important implications for nature conservation in Nigeria and potentially other conservation contexts across the developing world.

Of biodiversity and boundaries: a case study of community-based natural resource management practice in the Cardamom Mountains, Cambodia

SUMMARYIn the Cardamom Ranges (Cambodia) community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) is proposed by the international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) community as a natural resource management strategy to achieve the targeted outcomes associated with the protected area (PA) management plan. Local people are expected to participate in CBNRM projects such as community forestry (CF) in order that the protected area management plan can be realized. The experiences of the local people are juxtaposed against the aims of these local biodiversity projects. Overall, it is accepted by the NGOs and government agencies that communities need to be involved in the design and management of the PA and that the protection of biodiversity resources can only occur with the provision of alternatives for local livelihood options to decrease land clearing for agriculture and harvesting of wild foods and animals. This case points to a basic misalignment between biodiversity conservation and CBNRM. Participants in this study contested the meaning and usefulness of the PA and the CF projects. Their concerns were cultural, social, economic and political, exposing uneven relations of power and uncertainty associated with the long term outcomes. Participation itself required scrutiny in this situation, as did the promotion of a global biodiversity ‘good’ over local understandings of place and landscape. Lessons from more than 20 years of participatory CBNRM may be used to reconfigure the CBNRM ideal, to assist planners and implementers towards an integrated approach with biodiversity values reflected in both conservation and local production systems, acknowledging that these systems are culturally constituted.

Voluntary carbon trading: Potential for community forestry projects in India

Voluntary carbon markets, such as the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX), were worth $90 million in 2006. This paper finds that community forestry interventions of three organizations in India are eligible to sell carbon sequestration credits on CCX. Their combined annual sequestration potential is 104,427 tons of carbon dioxide (tCO2), worth $417,708 at 2007 prices. Although this value will be difficult to realize immediately, it indicates the potential for carbon sequestration to raise rural incomes in India. These benefits can be actualized by first linking small pilot projects with CCX and then scaling up operations. Projects will also need to reduce transaction costs to raise the shares of carbon revenue that farmers receive. The diversion of land to raise tree crops needs to be balanced with food security concerns. A potentially viable approach would be to take up carbon plantations on common lands with concerned agencies acting as a liaison between farmer groups and the market.

Innovating through commons use: community-based enterprises

Community-based enterprises are of interest to commons researchers because they offer a means to study how local institutions respond to opportunities, develop networks, new skills and knowledge, and evolve. Nevertheless, the relationship between commons and community-based enterprises has received little attention, with a few exceptions (<a class="bibr" href="/index.php/ijc/article/view/206/107#r7">Bray et al. 2005</a>; <a class="bibr" href="/index.php/ijc/article/view/206/107#r5">Berkes and Davidson-Hunt 2007</a>). Therefore, we decided to organize a conference session and explore this relationship in more detail. We invited a diverse array of scholars and practitioners active with indigenous enterprises, community development, community forestry, ecotourism and conservation-development projects. This Special Issue includes peer-reviewed and edited versions of seven of the papers (plus two additional invited papers) presented at the two panels on “Innovating through commons use: community-based enterprises”, at the 12th Biennial Conference of the International Association for the Study of the Commons (IASC 2008) in Cheltenham, England.

Innovating through commons use: community-based enterprises

Community-based enterprises are of interest to commons researchers because they offer a means to study how local institutions respond to opportunities, develop networks, new skills and knowledge, and evolve. Nevertheless, the relationship between commons and community-based enterprises has received little attention, with a few exceptions (<a class="bibr" href="/index.php/ijc/article/view/206/107#r7">Bray et al. 2005</a>; <a class="bibr" href="/index.php/ijc/article/view/206/107#r5">Berkes and Davidson-Hunt 2007</a>). Therefore, we decided to organize a conference session and explore this relationship in more detail. We invited a diverse array of scholars and practitioners active with indigenous enterprises, community development, community forestry, ecotourism and conservation-development projects. This Special Issue includes peer-reviewed and edited versions of seven of the papers (plus two additional invited papers) presented at the two panels on “Innovating through commons use: community-based enterprises”, at the 12th Biennial Conference of the International Association for the Study of the Commons (IASC 2008) in Cheltenham, England.

Methodological issues in developing a community forestry greenhouse gas emissions mitigation project in Mancherial forest division of Andhra Pradesh, India

There are several contentious issues related to forestry mitigation projects. The special report of the IPCC and literature published so far have shown that permanence, leakage, baseline establishment, measurement, monitoring, etc., could be addressed satisfactorily using existing scientific methods and accounting rules. To understand the methodological issues of developing community forestry projects, a case study was conducted in Mancherial forest division of Adilabad district in Andhra Pradesh, India. This paper addresses: the setting of project boundaries, baseline selection, establishment of additionality and the calculation of carbon sequestration as a result of the project, prior to project implementation. The steps involved in development of the project and the different methods used for establishing baseline, estimating leakage and transaction cost of developing a community forestry project are presented. The stock is projected to increase by $1480\times 10^3$ t C during 2000–2012 over the baseline scenario under the modeling approach and the cost of establishing a baseline and project formulation for a project extending over 32,956 ha is estimated to be US\$ $1.25 ha^{-1}$ and US\$ 4 t $C^{-1}$.

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back: The Sirionó and Yuquí Community Forestry Projects in the Bolivian Amazon

Since the early 1990’s, “community forestry” has taken the spotlight in conservation and development initiatives in the Bolivian Amazon, particularly among indigenous peoples. This paper will examine the cases of two culturally related indigenous groups, the Siriono and Yuqui, who are both stakeholders in community forestry management projects. The first project, carried out among the Siriono by the NGO (non-governmental organization) CIDDEBENI (Centro de Investigacion y Documentacion para el Desarrollo del Beni), was funded by several international NGOs and governmental entities. It was small-scale and the staff had in-depth knowledge of the indigenous culture, practiced careful planning, engaged in participatory decision-making, and provided continuous monitoring and documentation for assessment. As a result, the project has contributed positively to the cultural continuity and integrity of the Siriono people and their economic development. The second project, targeted at the Yuqui and carried out by th...