Extraction Of Forest Products Research Articles

Historical analysis of timber exploitation in the Central Pacific Mountains of Costa Rica

Abstract [Introduction] The mountainous region of the Central Pacific of Costa Rica, currently made up mostly of the cantons of Turrubares, Puriscal and Mora, and to a lesser extent by the southwest of Acosta, was one of the most deforested areas since colonial times. [Objective] To comprehensively analyze the historical, socioeconomic, geo-climatic and ecological factors that possibly favored the logging exploitation of the forests of that region. [Methodology] The historical documents, and the geo-climatic, ecological and socioeconomic factors of the region were reviewed. In addition, a census was carried out among forestry professionals and industrialists to determine the timber species possibly extracted from the forests based on the floristic composition of protected forest areas in the region. [Results] The mountainous region was a transit and settlement site for Spanish colonists since the 16th century, which facilitated the development of access roads. Its proximity to the Central Valley, which needed forest and agricultural products for the growing urban area, together with the existence of an ecological convergence zone extraordinarily rich in trees of commercial importance, greatly facilitated the extraction of forest products. [Conclusion] The early colonization of the region, the existence of infrastructure, high demand for forest products at the national and international level, and the availability of forest resources in an area where the tropical dry forest, the cloud forest and the humid forest converge, and the edaphoclimatic conditions that also facilitated the development of agricultural crops, favored the change in land use and therefore the forestry exploitation of the region.

Contribution of Participatory Forest Management Program in Non-Timber Forest Products to balance Livelihood Improvement and Conservation: a case of Sera Forest, Amigna District, Southern Ethiopia

Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) have a significant role as a local source of medicine, fiber, forage, and sustenance and offer income opportunities mainly in rural families. As sustainable use of NTFPs is imperative to provide ecosystem services and biological resources, this study focused on the identification and documentation of plant species used for NTFPs, their availability, and conservation status in Sera Forest, Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia. The study applied a combination of plant ecological and ethnobotanical methods. Ethnobotanical data were gathered through semi-structured questionnaires and interviews which involved 206 randomly sampled general and 24 purposively selected key informants, group discussions, guided field walks, and market surveys. Data were analyzed and presented using analytical methods of ethnobotany, including descriptive statistics, informant consensus factor (ICF), and ranking. Species diversity, richness, and evenness were also computed using Shannon–Wiener diversity indices. A total of 137 plant species belonging to 49 families used as a source of NTFPs were documented from the study area. Eleven major use categories of the NTFPs were identified. Out of these, medicine, firewood, charcoal making, and construction materials were the most dominant uses requiring large volumes of NTFPs. Direct matrix ranking of plant species with multipurpose use revealed, that Hagenia abyssinica was ranked highest, followed by Olea europaea ssp cuspidata, Grewia mollis, Croton macrostachyus, Ximenia americana and Carissa spinarum. Local communities of the study area possess rich indigenous knowledge in the regulation of grazing and extraction of forest products, forest patrolling, firebreak clearance and maintenance, selective preservation of tree species and nursery activities focused on the restoration of indigenous woody species, which all help in using their natural resources for sustainable livelihood. Sera forest is rich in NTFP-bearing plants and associated indigenous conservation knowledge. However, nowadays illegal timber extraction, grazing, over-harvesting of NTFPs, farm expansion, and fire hazards are found to be threatening the plant resources, irrespective of the Participatory Forest Management (PFM) principles. Therefore, it is important to have strong evaluation and monitoring mechanisms for setting harvesting quantities and regulating types of collection. Besides developing a sense of ownership, and responsibility, integrating their traditional forest management practices with modern conservation approaches is desirable for higher livelihood outcomes with lower environmental impacts.

Analyzing the impact of reforestation on forest fires and the economic outcome in an area in northern Greece.

The reforestation that occurred in the South Evros region in northern Greece was documented and studied. Our hypothesis is that the economic footprint of reforestation with conifers is negative, and the presence of conifers influences the size of the burned area in forest fires. The reforested area, the species, the amount spent on reforestation and operations to enhance the quality of the forest products, as well as the amount of money spent to protect such areas and prevent fires, were documented. Additionally, the extraction of forest products and the sales income were examined. The numbers of fires, as well as the total burned area, were documented for the fires that occurred in the studied forests between 1980 and 2016. Then, the fire episodes that had burned areas of more than 100 hectares, were examined. In order to compare spending across time, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was utilized to convert all gathered expense numbers to December 2016 values. The cost of reforestation is significantly greater than the income it produces, and there is a correlation between the size of the burned forest area and the presence of conifers in the burned area. Based on the results of the present study, the use of conifers in reforestations must be avoided in all cases in the studied area, as well as in similar areas regarding their characteristics and ecology

Community-based forest management promotes survival-led livelihood diversification among forest-fringe communities in Uganda

Livelihood diversification is a prominent feature of rural households in developing countries. It is a strategy commonly pursued by households to enhance their resilience to shocks and/or risks that affect their livelihood. While a common characteristic of Uganda’s community-based forest management (CBFM) is the promotion of alternative livelihood activities to reduce household reliance on natural forest resources from gazetted forests, it is unclear how livelihood diversification has been embraced by households engaged in CBFM. We explore livelihood diversification using cross-sectional survey data collected from 423 households in villages adjacent to Collaborative Forest Management (CFM) compartments and non-CFM compartments of Budongo Central Forest Reserve as well as two Community Forests (CF) in mid-western Uganda. We quantified the levels of diversification and fitted a Gini-Simpson Diversity Index as the response variable in two Tobit regression models to examine the determinants of livelihood diversification among forest-fringe communities in CFM and CF sites. Our results reveal high levels of survival-led household livelihood diversification in the area, with an average household engaging in five livelihood activities that were predominantly on-farm or involved the extraction of forest products for subsistence. In the CFM sites, livelihood diversification levels significantly increased with household heads’ duration of residence in the village and membership in other social groups in the village. In villages adjacent to the community forests, only the household dependency ratio positively influenced household livelihood diversification. Membership in forest conservation groups did not significantly predict the level of household livelihood diversification. Given the current survival-led diversification that these communities pursue, we recommended that development and conservation agencies in the area and other similar sites of CBFM deliberately enhance household access to high-return on-farm and non-farm livelihood activities to achieve meaningful transformations in rural livelihoods.

Participatory forest management for improving livelihood assets and mitigating forest degradation: Lesson drawn from the Central Rift Valley, Ethiopia

The study was conducted in Heban Arsi district, Central Rift Valley, Ethiopia to investigate the contribution of participatory forest management (PFM) to improving household's livelihood assets and mitigating forest degradation. Data were gathered using household surveys, observation, key informant interviews and focus group discussions. During the entire study, 231 households (131 from PFM; 100 form non-PFM households), 35 key informants (25 from PFM; 10 from non-PFM) and 10 focus groups (6 from PFM; 4 from non-PFM) were involved. The livelihood assets framework was used to organize and analyze the quantitative data. The qualitative data was analyzed using topic coding and building categories, themes, and patterns of relationships. The introduction of PFM significantly (P < 0.05) improved the overall natural (index value of 0.72 and 0.58 for PFM and non-PFM, respectively), financial (0.73 and 0.61), physical (0.49 and 0.37), human (0.62 and 0.57) and social (0.77 and 0.59) livelihood asset values of local communities and contributed to the mitigation of forest degradation. On average, households involved in PFM displayed a 61.6%, 45.7%, 30.8% and 24.2% improvements in natural, financial, physical, and social assets, respectively. Households engaged in PFM showed a 37.4% improvement on the overall livelihood assets value, suggesting that PFM households displayed better livelihood assets compared to non-PFM households. However, the overall contribution of PFM to the livelihood assets showed skewed structure, suggesting that the improvements deviate from sustainability. The existing institutional structure including bylaws contributed a lot to strengthen PFM. Yet, it is crucial to strengthening the protection of forestlands through improving rule enforcement and commitments of both formal and informal institutions in managing forest resources. Also, sustaining the extraction of wood and non-wood forest products and the benefits from as well as integration of other interventions in PFM areas such as the provision of improved cook stoves and solar PV could help reduce forest degradation, improve the sense of ownership among local communities and sustain PFM activities. Further, expanding capacity building trainings and improving access to market could play a great role to sustainably manage forest resources through increasing the participation of local communities in decision making processes.

Exploring multiple dimensions of conservation success: Long‐term wildlife trends, anti‐poaching efforts and revenue sharing in Kibale National Park, Uganda

AbstractParks are essential for protecting biodiversity and finding ways to improve park effectiveness is an important topic. We contributed to this debate by examining spatial and temporal changes in illegal activities in Kibale National Park, Uganda between 2006 and 2016 and used existing data to evaluate how the changes were correlated with the living conditions of people in neighboring communities, as well as patrolling effort. We explore the effectiveness of conservation strategies implemented in Kibale, by quantifying changes in the abundance of nine animal species over two to five decades. While uncertainty in such animal survey data are inherently large and it is hard to generalize across a 795‐km2 area that encompasses diverse habitat types, data suggest an increase in animal abundance in the National Park. An increase in patrolling effort by park guards over the decade was correlated with a decline in the number of traps and snares found, which suggests patrolling helped limit resource extraction from the park. The park’s edge was extensively used for illegal forest product extraction, while the setting of snares occurred more often deeper in the forest. Perhaps counter‐intuitively, increased community wealth or park‐related employment in a village next to the park were positively correlated with increased illegal forest product extraction. Overall, our results suggest that the portfolio of conservation strategies used over the last two to five decades were effective for protecting the park and its animals, although understanding the impact of these efforts on local human populations and how to mitigate any losses and suffering they sustain remains an important area of research and action. It is evident that complex social, political and economic drivers impact conservation success and more interdisciplinary studies are required to quantify and qualify these dimensions.

Integrated Planning of Timber Extraction and Hauling Activities by using Network 2000 Program

Planning of forest transportation is a complex problem that requires effective and harmonious design and implementation of various forest operations including extraction, loading, and hauling of forest products. These operations constitute a significant part of the total cost of producing forest products; therefore, developing the most appropriate (minimum cost/maximum net profit) transportation plan has increasing importance for the economic aspect. Computer-aided models can be used to plan the transportation of forest products and systematically searching for the most suitable solution. In this study, a network analysis-based Network 2000 program was used to determine the optimum routes with minimum forest operation costs and maximum net profit of forest products considering two logging truck types (medium and large size). In the solution process, two farm tractors (4x2 and 4x4) for extraction operation and two loaders (tracked and rubber-tired) for loading operation were evaluated. The alternative with the minimum cost was determined using the Network 2000 program. The study was implemented in Kınık Forest Enterprise Chief (FEC) located in the city of Bursa in Turkey, while considering five landing areas where various forest products (i.e. log, mine poles, industrial wood, and paper wood) were extracted from the six harvesting units and hauled to two forest depots. In the study, the optimum solution was searched for two scenarios where only the forest depot which is commonly used in the Kınık FEC was considered in the first scenario while the forest depot of the neighboring enterprise in the region was also evaluated in the second scenario. The results obtained from the first scenario indicated that using large-size tractor reduced the hauling cost by 8% which led to over 1000 TRY reduction in the total cost of forest operations. The hauling cost and total forest operation cost obtained in the second scenario was about 16% and 2% less than that of the cost obtained in the first scenario for the case of large-size truck. On the other hand, total net profit of the forest products received in the second scenario was about 35000 TRY more than that of the net profit received in the first scenario for the case of large-size truck. The optimum farm tractor for skidding operation was successfully selected by the Network 2000 program considering terrain conditions in the harvesting unit and availability of the equipment. Likewise, optimum loader was also determined by considering distribution of the forest products on the landing areas.

Socio-Economic Impacts of Livelihood from Fuelwood and Timber Consumption on the Sustainability of Forest Environment: Evidence from Basho Valley, Baltistan, Pakistan

Forests across the world are considered to be a huge socio-economic and environmental benefit to host and adjacent communities. This study focuses on assessing the impacts of fuelwood and timber consumption on the livelihood of households in the Baltistan region in Pakistan. Primary and secondary sources of data were employed for the study. The primary sources involved the use of questionnaire survey and interview while the secondary sources involved the use of documented information in textbooks and internet materials. The study revealed that 82% of the people within the region were involved in agricultural activities, 71% depended on the extraction of forest resources for their livelihood, while 18% depended on off-farm activities for their livelihood. The study also observed that among the number that depended on forest resources for their livelihood, 59% were involved in the extraction of non-timber forest products while 41% were involved in the extraction of timber forest resources. The study further revealed that there was no significant difference in the level of benefits from the forest across the seven districts under investigation with a chi square value. The volume of forest products extraction was found to be high closest to the forest and to be low with increasing distance from the communities. The major benefits from the forest range were due to employment that increases the individual and family income. Forest also helps to control erosion and enhances aesthetic beautification and temperature regulation. The research suggests that the policy makers must provide a sustainable solution to reduce the overexploitation of the forest resources by providing better alternative earning resources to the resident communities.

Drivers and mechanisms of forest change in the Himalayas

Mountains are critical ecosystems that have a strong influence far beyond their topographic boundaries. More than 50 million people inhabit the Himalayas, and more than one billion people depend on the ecosystem services they provide. Anthropogenic activities have driven concurrent deforestation and regeneration in the Himalayas, and interventions to reduce forest loss and promote forest recovery require a synthetic understanding of the complex and interacting drivers of forest change. We conducted a systematic review of case studies from 1984 to 2020 (n = 137) and combined a system dynamics approach with a causal network analysis to identify, map and articulate the relationships between the drivers, actors and mechanisms of forest change across the entirety of the Himalayan mountain range. In total, the analysis revealed five proximate drivers, 12 underlying drivers, two institutional factors and five ‘other’ factors connected by a total of 221 linkages. Forest change dynamics have been dominated by widespread smallholder agriculture, extensive non-timber forest product extraction, widespread commercial and non-commercial timber extraction, and high rates of agricultural abandonment. Underlying drivers include population growth, poor agricultural productivity, international support for development projects, and successful community forest management systems. Contradictory linkages emerge from a combination of contextual factors, which can have negative impacts on conservation goals. Global processes such as shifts in governance, transnational infrastructure-development programs, economic slowdowns, labor migrations and climate change threaten to destabilize established dynamics and change forest trajectories. The underlying and proximate drivers interact through multiple pathways that can be utilized to achieve conservation goals. Based on this analysis, we highlight five thematic focus areas to curtail forest loss and promote recovery: (1) decreasing the population pressure, (2) sustainable increase of agricultural productivity, (3) strengthening of forest management institutions, (4) leveraging tourism growth and sustainable infrastructure expansion, and (5) fuel transition and establishing firewood plantations on degraded land. The broader adoption of systems thinking, and specifically a system dynamics approach and causal network analysis, will greatly enhance the rigour of policy development, help design site-specific interventions at multiple spatial scales which can respond to local and global changes, and guide deeper inquiry to enhance our understanding of driver-forest dynamics.

Conservation of forest through provision of alternative sources of income; evidence from rural households in Northern Pakistan

The collection of forest products by indigenous communities is the main cause of deforestation and a major&lt;br /&gt;obstacle to efficient forest management. This study develops a time allocation model for a representative household&lt;br /&gt;living in the peripheries of the forest. It is assumed that the household allocates their labour time between three activities:&lt;br /&gt;agriculture, forest product extraction, and off-farm activities. Households maximize their net income subject to the&lt;br /&gt;available forest resources. Using the Optimal Control Theory and applying the unique and global maxima, the results&lt;br /&gt;of the comparative static and dynamic analyses suggest that higher agricultural efficiency, agricultural output prices,&lt;br /&gt;and higher off-farm wages maximize the forest stock. Besides that, knowledge of forest extraction and farming may also&lt;br /&gt;yield the higher equilibrium of forest stock while higher forest and input prices encourage forest resource extraction.&lt;br /&gt;The result from the tobit analyses of a socio-economic survey from the Malakand Division forest in Pakistan provides&lt;br /&gt;supportive empirical evidence.

Characterizing suitable habitat for the largest remaining population of the threatened Florida scrub-jay Aphelocoma coerulescens

Birds that breed in early-successional shrubland habitats are declining throughout North America. The Florida scrub-jay Aphelocoma coerulescens depends on Florida scrub, a shrubland plant community endemic to peninsular Florida, USA. The Florida scrub-jay is nonmigratory, federally listed as threatened, globally listed as Vulnerable, and experiencing ongoing population declines. The largest remaining population occurs in Ocala National Forest (Ocala NF), where the effects of intensive management of scrub for forest product extraction are unknown. During 2011-2014, we conducted the first quantitative evaluation of Florida scrub-jay density and productivity at Ocala NF in relation to the age, size, and connectivity of early-successional habitat patches. Regenerating clearcut stands 3-10 yr post-harvest provided suitable habitat conditions for Florida scrub-jays, with the maximum number of family groups and juveniles occurring in stands 6.5 and 7.4 yr post-harvest, respectively. Our findings indicate that previous definitions of suitable habitat for the species in Ocala NF (e.g. 0-20, 3-15, 3-12 yr post-harvest) are overly broad. We suggest that managers define suitable habitat conservatively given that few stands &gt;10 yr post-harvest were occupied by scrub-jays, and annual productivity in those stands was relatively low. Our findings that scrub-jays readily occupied small scrub patches and did not avoid forested edges should be interpreted with caution, and more demographic study is needed to understand survival and dispersal among patches. Managers can maximize Florida scrub-jay populations in Ocala NF by increasing the availability of habitat that is within 3-10 yr post-harvest.

The Chico Mendes Extractive Reserve: trajectories of agro-extractive development in Amazonia

The Chico Mendes Extractive Reserve (CMER) located in Acre, Brazil in the southwest Amazon is a powerful symbol of the rubber tapper social movement. Created in 1990, the Reserve is named after rubber tapper and union leader Francisco “Chico” Mendes, who was assassinated by ranchers in 1988. The concept of the extractive reserve, a type of sustainable-use protected area, was conceived by rubber tappers to secure land rights and to protect the forests from which they derived their livelihoods. Thirty years since its creation, non-timber forest product (NTFP) extraction maintains a critical role in CMER resident livelihoods, but it is now one of multiple and dynamic trajectories of income generating activities in the CMER. The state government has promoted sustainable development policies aimed at productive and multiple use of forests, including community-based timber management (CBTM). Concomitantly, the scale and scope of small-scale cattle ranching reflecting a growing “cowboy culture” pervasive in Eastern Acre is growing. These forces have brought sociocultural changes to the reserve as CMER residents engage these intertwined trajectories to improve their livelihoods. This article explores the trajectories of multiple development strategies in the CMER. We do this by revisiting and expanding on the principal themes of research of the co-authors – NTFP extraction, cattle ranching, and CBTM. Increasingly diverse CMER households demand multiple pathways to improve livelihoods, and these trajectories have created new economic opportunities for reserve residents. Although the NTFP sector has experienced some success in market development and valued-added initiatives, investments have not produced a sustainable and diversified extractive sector. Cattle ranching and CBTM have provided economic benefits to reserve residents’ livelihoods, but they have also created internal tensions across the social movement and governments agencies. A strategic vision is required that brings diverse government, non-government and reserve residents together and articulates how these dynamic, linked, and sometimes conflicting trajectories can synergize within a balanced, diversified livelihood framework to ensure long-term sustainability of the CMER.

Mapping the socio-ecology of Non Timber Forest Products (NTFP) extraction in the Brazilian Amazon: The case of açaí (Euterpe precatoria Mart) in Acre

Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) contribute to the livelihoods of more than 6 million households in the Brazilian Amazon. Of the three most important NTFPs in the Brazilian Amazon – rubber, Brazil nut, and açaí – the latter is the least known, but the one with the most potential and fastest growing markets. Here we map the socioecology of açaí extractive systems in the Western Amazon state of Acre, Brazil. We interviewed 49 extractivists in settlements and in the emblematic Extractivist Reserve Chico Mendes (RCM) to model ecology (tree density, productivity) and production chain of açaí (prices, costs and net revenues) for an area of 164,000 km2. We estimate a potential annual production of 850 thousand tons for the entire Acre State, which could generate net revenues of US$ 71 million/yr. This is well above the average production of 136 thousand tonnes (over the last 25 years). Net revenues average US$ 57 ha−1.yr−1, with açaí contributing, on average, to 17% of the annual household income. In two case studies, we found a diversity of livelihoods comprising agriculture, NTFP collection, and livestock rearing that were grouped in two broad types of extractivist livelihoods: “old” and “new” settlers. Our results suggest that old settlers tend to focus on cattle ranching as their main economic activity, even inside extractive reserves (RESEX). The shift from extractivist activities to cattle ranching undermines the conservation role of this type of protected area. We conclude that without significant financial support in the forms of subsidies and other development programs NTFPs will continue to struggle against the economics of cattle ranching.

Sustainability issues of commercial non-timber forest product extraction in West Suriname

BackgroundNon-timber forest products (NTFPs) have been traded for millennia by indigenous communities. Current increased demands driven by globalisation, however, put more pressure on local harvesters and their surrounding ecosystems. The safeguarding of indigenous access rights to harvesting grounds is needed, either through communal land titles or collaborative management agreements, both to secure prior indigenous rights and to minimise further negative ecological impacts.MethodsThis study was carried out in two indigenous communities in West Suriname located along the Corentyne River. We assessed the three economically most important NTFPs for each community. We determined the land tenure status of harvesting grounds and negative impacts on target species and/or ecosystem. Ethnobotanical data were collected (n = 53), and semi-structured interviews were held with hunters and gatherers (n = 13). Local and national maps were acquired, and their data merged.ResultsResults showed that the communities have no tenure security over their most important harvesting sites. These collection sites are State owned and some under (active) logging concession. All of the traded wild animal populations had decreased because of increased local and non-local commercial interest, especially the stingray Potamotrygon boesemani (first described in 2008), which was traded for US$250 per live specimen. The stingray population had become imperilled within months as local and (inter-) national regulations for this species are non-existent.ConclusionsWe stress the urgent need for collaborative management agreements over the harvesting sites between the government of Suriname and the indigenous communities to prevent further non-local developments and harvesting to disturb the local economy. An immediate moratorium on the export of P. boesemani is necessary to prevent the extinction of this endemic stingray.

Using Network 2000 Program for Transportation Planning of Forest Products

The construction and maintenance of forest roads are the activities that require the highest financial investment in the extraction of forest products. In addition, the cost of transporting forest products from landing to storage area can be significant proportion of the total extraction cost. For this reason, forest engineers are obliged not only to reduce the cost of road construction and maintenance, but also to prepare the most appropriate transportation plan to minimize total costs. Computer aided models can be used to solve complex transportation problems that require the evaluation of many alternative routes and selection of the alternative with least cost. In this study, the Network 2000 program based on the shortest path algorithm was used in transportation planning of forest product, and then the solution capacity of the method was examined in a sample application. As a study area, two Forest Enterprise Chiefs (FECs) of Paşalar and Sarnıç were selected from Mustafakemalpasa Forest Enterprise Directorate (FED) in the border of Bursa Forest Regional Directorate. The transportation cost of the road sections, forest product types, location of landing and forest depots were entered into the Network 2000 program after being digitized with ArcGIS 10.2 software. In the solution process, firstly, the route that minimized the transportation cost was investigated, and then, the route with the maximum net profit was determined by taking the sale prices of forest products into consideration. According to results, the transportation cost mostly depends on the transportation time, hourly truck cost and load capacity of the truck.

Comparison of Timber Loading Productivity between Manual System and Electric Powered Winch System

In Turkey, extraction of forest products is mostly carried out by forest villagers and/or forest villages development cooperatives. Due to their limited equipment availability, many activities conducted during timber extraction are still done by human power based (manual) systems. However, the work force in forestry sector has recently decreased because young people in the forest villages tend to head for different job opportunities. Besides, manual systems are not favorable in terms of loading time, which directly effects overall efficiency of timber extraction. In recent years, development cooperatives have begun to turn to small-size mechanization systems in timber loading operation. Electric powered winch located at the rear end of the truck platform is one of the methods that can provide development cooperatives with low-cost and time-saving timber loading system. In this study, it was aimed to compare productivity of two loading systems including traditional manual loading and electric powered winch systems. The time and motion study was carried out during loading of round wood materials at the landing area located in Bahçe Forest Enterprise Chief in the city of Osmaniye. Loading operation was divided into specific work stages and time measurements were made in the field using with a chronometer. Based on the productivity analysis, it was found that the average productivity for manual loading and electric winch loading were 3.40 m3/hr and 4.25 m3/hr, respectively. As a result, electric power winch system, which is affordable for forest villages development cooperatives, can be an efficient alternative method for loading operations particularly when there are limited equipment availability.

Can multifunctional livelihoods including recreational ecosystem services (RES) and non timber forest products (NTFP) maintain biodiverse forests in the Brazilian Amazon?

In this paper we use large scale spatially explicit modelling and case study based analyses to assess the links between recreational ecosystem services and the benefits for wellbeing of traditional livelihoods in the Brazilian Amazon. Our results show that, at the scale of the Brazilian Amazon, associations between recreational ecosystem services and extractivist activities of Brazil nut and rubber are very weak with no significant differences regarding Brazil nut (p = 0.61) and rubber (p = 0.41) income across the different tourism development classes. However, qualitative analysis of the case studies reveals that where there are multifunctional livelihoods, recreational ecosystem services are indeed helping to enhance non timber forest product extractivist social values that otherwise would be suppressed by prevailing “cattle ranching” lifestyles. We therefore support innovative ways to make both recreational ecosystem services and non timber forest products extraction not merely a juxtaposition of activities, but integrated into multifunctional livelihoods.

Provisioning Role of Forest Ecosystems: The Case of Non Timber Forest Products Use from Community Forests of East Khasi Hills District of Meghalaya, India

The provisioning role of community forests is critical for the survival of the indigenous communities. The paper presents the extraction and utilization of Non timber forest products (NTFPs) from the community forests of East Khasi Hill District of Meghalaya, India. A total of 216 NTFPs yielding plants belonging to 171 genera and 90 families are harvested and utilized by the communities for 17 different purposes, important uses being food, medicine and firewood. There exists ample knowledge amongst the communities in utilizing NTFPs from plants of different growth habit and life forms ranging from herbs, shrubs, trees, bamboos to mushrooms. The plant parts most commonly used are leaves, followed by fruits and stem and branches. Analysis of seasonality of NTFPs revealed that majority of the fruits and leafy vegetables used for food are available during the wet seasons. Harvesting of stem and branches and underground parts which contribute18 and 8 percent of the harvested plant parts respectively, is a concerned from sustainability point of view as their removal can have significant detrimental effects on plant survival and regeneration. Regulation in commercial extraction of NTFPs in many community forests of the area is an adaptive management strategy taken to prevent overexploitation of these resources and degradation of biodiversity in the area.

Can forest stand alone? Barriers to the restoration of the last remaining rainforest in Assam, India

This study assesses the causes of forest resource depletion in the Poba reserve forest, Assam, India. Although many activities, such as hunting and grazing, are banned, the Poba reserve forest is being degraded. The results of a household survey show local communities have experienced a decrease in forest resources in 2012 compared to 2002. Lack of community-based institutions and proper forest management plan has opened access to the forest, resulting in illegal logging and over extraction of forest products. These activities have limited the ability of Poba reserve forest to deliver ecosystem goods and services, and prevented forest restoration. Change is forest cover and availability of forest products has adversely affected the livelihoods of more than two-thirds of local households. The study suggests that participatory involvement of local communities in forest management can reverse trends in deforestation and forest degradation and restore the ecosystem. The forest cannot stand alone; it needs active support of the local community.

A POPULATION OF LYCHNOPHORA ERICOIDES MART. (ARNICA) (ASTERACEAE) IS PRONE TO EXTINCTION IN A SAVANNA OF CENTRAL BRAZIL

Lychnophora ericoides Mart. (Asteraceae), popularly known as arnica, is a plant species subjected to non-timber forest products extraction. Evidence is mounting that some local populations are on the brink of extinction. However, demographic studies of Lychnophora ericoides are rare. Therefore, as a step towards conservation, a remnant population of Lychnophora ericoides located in an area of the Cerrado (Brazilian Savanna) in Central Brazil was evaluated from 2010 through 2014. Disturbances such as wildfires and harvesting of Lychnophora ericoides were randomly distributed throughout the study period in this area. Four annual transition matrices (A1, A2, A3 and A4) were constructed, based on life stages. The main results of studies of population dynamics for this species are as follows: 1) population growth rates (λ) with 95% confidence intervals indicated a declining population in all periods from 2010 to 2014; 2) stochastic population growth rate considering the four matrices was &lt; 1 with value λ = 0.358 and CI95% = (0.354–0.362); 3) survival with permanence at the same stage of reproductive adult individuals (46–80%) contributed most to population growth rate, based on elasticity analysis; 4) the population is much less likely to have increases in density, compared with reduction, for all intervals from 2010 to 2014, based on transient indices; 5) the low value of λ in the high-mortality year was caused by lower stasis of individuals in the seedling or sapling and juvenile life stages, as well as fecundity in the 2011–2012 and 2012–2013 intervals, as shown by a life table response experiment; and 6) 100% of the population will probably be extinct within 15 years. There is evidence that the main cause for local extinction of Lychnophora ericoides could be the effects of frequent wildfires. Based on these results, it is suggested that the time has come for significant conservation efforts to rescue this population, including monitoring, protection and education as the first steps towards protection of this vulnerable plant species.