Natural Forest Protection Research Articles

A STUDY OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF CHINA'S SLOPING LAND CONVERSION POLICY ‘TUI GENG HUAN LIN’: A CASE STUDY—HANYUAN COUNTY, SICHUAN PROVINCE

ABSTRACT In the summer of 1998 the Yangtze River in China suffered its worst floods in 50 years. In response to this flooding the Chinese government devised the National Forest Protection Plan, a key component of this plan is the Tuigeng huanlin (Sloping Land Conversion) policy. Under this scheme, farmers are offered grain subsidies and small cash payments in compensation for voluntarily returning marginal farmland to forest. This article looks at the initial demonstration stage of Tuigeng huanlin in the southwest and northwest of China and focuses on rural households: • their participation in the policy, • the choices made in terms of tree species (economic or ecological), and • the effect of participation on incomes and livelihoods. It also examines the stability of the policy and the impact these aspects will have on the potential of the Sloping Land Conversion Policy (SLCP) to attain its objectives of environmental protection and increased forest cover in China. It concludes that the government is aware of the shortcomings and is working to correct them.

Biological processes as indicators of sustainable plantation forestry

Synopsis This paper discusses the use of an ecosystems approach in the management of plantations and the concept of plantations in providing goods and services. Ecological indicators are compared for the CIFOR and South African systems. The CIFOR system focuses on three criteria, which involve the maintenance of a) biodiversity, b) ecosystem function and c) genetic variation. The South African system has chosen six criteria: a) the protection of natural forests, b) conservation of biodiversity, c) conservation of ecosystem structures and processes, d) protection afforests from fire, pests, diseases and alien plants, d) maintenance of production potential and e) the conservation of soil and water resources. Ideas are presented on indicators and measures, which may be useful in the sustainable management of nutrient cycling, yield production, pest outbreaks and water use and quality. Indices of nitrogen mineralization rates, soil carbon stocks and ongoing mensuration of biomass are key measurements. Under g...

Carbon offsets for conservation and development in Indonesia?

The logic of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and other such ‘carbon (C) offsets’ rests on the notion that the opportunity cost of reducing C emissions is lower in developing countries, creating opportunities for mutually beneficial C trading. While the CDM may offer significant gross financial benefits, there has been little analysis of the opportunity costs of foregone resource exploitation and development opportunities. In addition to assessing the potential for net benefits, this paper also considers the practical implications for design and implementation of C offsets for forest conservation and agroforestation in Indonesia. Virtually nothing is known about these administrative factors, and their associated costs, which can also play a decisive role in feasibility of C offset schemes. Data are from field studies in the lowlands of the Indonesian island of Sumatra, where forests and derived land uses are broadly representative of the lowland humid tropical rainforest systems of insular South-East Asia. These data are the basis for assessing the trade-offs between natural forest protection for C sequestration and conversion to other land uses to meet national development objectives that directly affect people's livelihoods. Carbon stocks are analyzed in terms of ‘time-averaged’ C, an indicator developed for this project. Opportunity costs of land-use alternatives are estimated using standard techniques for economic assessment of investment projects in developing countries. The study finds that imputed timber values are a significant share of the opportunity costs of forest conservation, even for conservative estimates of timber prices. The question of compensating for these foregone values raises complex questions regarding the political economy of Indonesia, since property rights over these resources are highly contentious. These controversies over property rights are also examined within the context of recurrent smoke pollution from land fires in Indonesia, that (among other problems) contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. This smoke is symptomatic of deeper political and institutional problems that raise questions about the permanence of C storage through land-use practices in Indonesia. In comparison to forest conservation, C offsets through agroforestation seem more feasible in Indonesia because property rights over timber from planted trees would be easier to establish and enforce than property rights over timber from natural forests. Although results in this paper look promising, there is still much to be learned about implementation costs, even for the ‘easier’ case of agroforestation.

Questionable Utility of the Frontier Forest Concept

International concern over the continual loss of natural forests has increased considerably over the last decade (McNeely and Miller 1983, WCED 1987, WRI 1994). The Wo rld Resources Institute (WRI) in Washington, DC, has estimated that almost half of the world’s original forests have been cleared over the past 8000 years. Of the remaining forests, 22% are relatively undisturbed by anthropogenic forces and remain intact, while the rest have been highly altered and fragmented (Bryant et al. 1997). The large number of organisms that forests contain helps to sustain many environmental functions upon which humanity is dependent. These functions include photosynthesis, provision of food and other renewable resources, soil generation and preservation, nutrient recycling, filtering of pollution and waste assimilation, climate moderation, maintenance of the hydrological cycle, and regulation of the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The protection of natural forests is therefore important in the global landscape, where the human population continues to grow and impinge upon the condition and amount of forest (Ehrlich and Ehrlich 1992, Sisk et al. 1994, Folke et al. 1996).

Sustainable forest management in China; the basic principles and practices

ABSTRACT Sustainable forest management is described, in theory and in practice, especially in the regions where the forest resources have been damaged seriously for economic development. It emphasizes the need to exert the multifunctions of forest ecosystems. The paper analyses the main benefits and constraints of sustainable forest management with regard to the special natural and economic conditions of China. According to the basic principles of sustainable forest management, China has been taking the relevant actions. Six national programmes and participatory forest management for forest resources utilisation and conservation are operative as regional implementation strategies. Demonstrations, with 13 sample sites in different typical regions, and 8 Criteria and 80 Indicators based on the Montreal Process for monitoring and assessment of sustainable forest management at the national level, have been established and tested. Biological diversity conservation, plantation management for timber production, natural forest protection, non-wood products and technical training will become the priorities for sustainable forest management in China.

Introduction

Introduction: Sisay Asefa This issue of Northeast African Studies presents eight papers concerning the various dimensions of development in Ethiopia. The papers were selected from among those presented at the first Ethiopian American Foundation (EAF) International Conference on Contemporary Development Issues that convened at Western Michigan University on 16–18 August 2001. They were selected from about 50 papers presented at this conference by the issue editor and the late professor Harold Marcus, Distinguished Professor of African History at Michigan State University and editor of NEAS before his death in January 2003. The purpose of this introduction is to present some highlights from the papers and to briefly draw some policy implications for development challenges that Ethiopia faces. The first paper, by Badege Bishaw, is a discussion of deforestation and land degradation in the highlands of Ethiopia. Badege's paper explores agroforestry and conservation practices and proposes a strategy for physical recovery. He maintains that tree planting through agroforestry and social forestry should constitute an integral part of rural development strategy aimed at providing communities with food, fuel wood, income, and environmental benefits. Badege's paper contains five sections: section 1 is an introduction, where he discusses the benefits of forests in providing wood, food, income, and watershed protection to Ethiopian communities, as well as the serious problem of deforestation and land degradation in the country. He reminds us that Ethiopia's forest areas have been reduced from 40 percent a century ago to 3 percent today, according to several estimates, resulting in massive environmental degradation that threatens sustainable agriculture and development for both the present and future [End Page 1] generations. In section 2, he provides a brief background of Ethiopia's agro-ecology, including the significance of agriculture in the national economy. In section 3, he discusses Ethiopia's forest resources, including the types of forests, forest plantations, community forestry, and soil conservation practices. In section 4, he discusses various strategies for physical recovery such as agroforestry and social forestry practices, forest plantations, and natural forest protection and conservation practices. Finally, Badege discusses various policy issues such as participation of citizens, economic incentives, land and tree tenure, and education and research. In discussing the crucial role of incentives and land tenure for sustainable forest management, the author proposes the urgent need to change land and tree tenure policy toward granting full property (land and tree rights) in order to promote investment in agroforestry and forest plantations that require long gestation periods. Here, he maintains that forest products such as wood should not be considered free goods; rather, they are scarce commodities requiring land, labor, and capital to produce and sustain. The role of the government and public policy in this process should be to provide economic incentives by securing land and tree security and rights legally protected for a long time, and supported by credit and education to farmers who invest in forestry. Paulos Dubale's paper is concerned with the soil and water resources of Ethiopia and the severe degradation experienced by these resources. According to Paulos, the rapid rate of population growth—an increase of 300 percent over the last 50 years—has played played a key role in the natural resource degradation process. His paper identifies three types of land degradation affecting productivity: biological, chemical, and physical, and he cites soil erosion as the most serious problem. He further points out that Ethiopia is losing millions of dollars in natural capital and wealth in the form of soil, water, and agro-biodiversity losses. Paulos calls for the need to find sustained and long-term solutions through appropriate development policy to stem the problem of severe natural resource degradation in the country. Demel Teketay's paper discusses the problem of environmental degradation in the form of land and water degradation and loss of biodiversity in Ethiopia. His paper considers deforestation or devegetation [End Page 2] an important contributing factor to land degradation and soil erosion. He points out, for example, that the amount of grain production lost from land degradation in 1990 alone could have fed more than four million people. Demel's paper notes that population growth is among the primary factors increasing demand for...

Conservation and restoration of degraded ecosystems in arid and semi-arid areas of northwest China

In “West Development” of China, one of the most important activities is the Natural Forest Protection Program, designed to swiftly convert the focus of management and utilization of the natural forests from a timber orientation towards forest conservation, sustainable management and environmental protection. The project covered almost all the arid and semi-arid regions in Northwest region. Accompanying this great campaign this paper studied the conservation and restoration model of degraded ecosystems in arid and semi-arid lands in Northwest China. The past practices have resulted in considerably natural forest degradation and loss through land conversion (primarily for agriculture), over-harvesting, inadequate reforestation and lack of protection. The consequences have been the loss of soil and water resources, diminished timber production capacity on a sustainable basis, and environmental losses. This paper applied Aronson’s restoration model and proposed the conservation, restoration, re-allocation and preservation program for the implementation of environmental improvement and natural forest conservation.

Characteristics and dynamics of sandy natural forests in sandy forest-steppe ecotone in the northern area of China

The research was carried out on sandy natural forest ecosystems in sandy forest-steppe ecotone in the northern area of China from 1980's. In this paper, we introduced the concept and origin, distribution and actuality, types and succession of sandy natural forests in the northern area of China. The conservation value and strategy for sandy natural forests were also discussed. We hope to supply some scientific basis for performing “the Natural Forest Protection Program” reasonably in China.

Strategies on natural forest protection of collective forest area in minority nationality community in China

In the recent 20 years, it is a trend that forest will be distributed to villagers to manage in the world. Also in China, “forestry three determinations” has been carried out since 1980, and many new forestry devolutions have been put forward to and come into being. To face the fact of overusing up natural forest to result in the deterioration of ecology environment, the strategy of natural forest protection project (NFPP) is raised after the heavy flood in 1998. Now, it is paid close attention to systematically study to carry out the strategies of NFPP in collective forest area, especially in the community of minority nationalities. Based on the case of forest resource management in Datu Miao Village, the experience of its forest management in the past is analyzed and the strategies of NFPP in collective forest area are put forward.

Development of Forest Engineering in China — Looking Ahead Ten Years

This paper highlights the development and prediction of forest engineering and forest engineering education in China. activities of forest engineering has changed significantly since the introduction of a market economy into China. Profitability and economic efficiency are emphasized. Techniques and education systems in forest engineering must not be transferred mechanically from other countries. They must match existing social, economic, and physical conditions. importance of forests in supplying non-wood forest products such as water and soil protection, climate adjustment, honey, nuts, mushrooms, medical plants and wildlife need to be considered when decisions are made about forest engineering activities, such as forest harvesting. Forest operations, as an important part of integrated forestry, should be planned from the point of view of sustainability of both timber and non-timber forest products. It is evident that a concerted effort is needed to encourage forest development programs that harmonize interests in conserving forests as well as to wisely use the potential of the forest while maintaining its full regeneration capacity. All forest engineering activities, such as forest resource surveying and harvesting planning, forest road planning and construction, harvesting , post-harvesting site disposal, planting and protection and so on should serve the key purpose of sustainable forestry. In view of the forest quality decline in China, it is essential that forest engineering practices are carried out in a manner to guarantee the sustainability of the forest resources base. The Natural Forest Protection Project”, just started in 1998 in China brings challenges and changes to forest engineering. environmentally sound, low cost and high efficient techniques of forest engineering will be the spotlight of research in the future.

From natural forest to tree crops, co-domestication of forests and tree species, an overview

The process of domestication of tree crops has only been given limited attention. This process starts with the protection of natural forests and ends with the cultivation of domesticated tree crops. In this evolutionary process three types of human-influenced forest environments may be distinguished: (1) conserved forests, (2) modified forests, and (3) transformed forests. During the process of domestication an increasing input of human energy per unit of exploited forest takes place. Accordingly three phases in the domestication of forests may be distinguished: (1) an acculturalization phase in which social measures aimed at controlling the utilization of valuable tree species or patches of forests are implemented, (2) a phase of manipulation of wild tree species in which the socially-oriented management practices are enhanced with measures aimed at enhancing the (re)productive potential of valued species, and (3) a phase of cultivation of genetically modified tree crops. As a result of the co-domestication of forests and trees various types of forests and/or tree cultivation systems can be distinguished. So far more attention has been given to understanding the characteristics of the early and end phases than to the various intermediate phases represented by indigenous forest management and agroforestry systems. These are characterized by a modification of the highly diverse natural forest ecosystems to a state in which the biodiversity has been somewhat reduced, but in which a larger proportion of useful resources are present. Such systems provide interesting examples of the wide range of options for managing forest resources with varying degrees of biodiversity and productive values.

Role of Women in Participatory Forest Management: The West Bengal Experience

This paper attempts to assess the role of forest vicinity women dwellers in forest protection, as was exhibited in Bankura distric of West Bengal. The relative success of forest management programmers in the district of Bankura (as revealed from the dicussion) seems to be because of favourable interplay of three factors first, the grassroots participation of women in the programme; second. a rational perception about the balance between forest exploitation and forest protection among the tribals. who have been maintaining a symboitic relationship with the forest around them for ages and third. the administrative support provided by the state government under the norms suggested by the National Forest Policy. 1958. regarding protection of natural forests.

Fungicidal control of Dothistroma Blight of Pinus radiata

Abstract During the present century increasing world demand for forest products has brought about a rapid expansion of even-aged forest plantation estates, requiring the forester to adopt the outlook and techniques of the farmer to an increasing extent, both to maintain yield and protect crops from damage. Aircraft have already proved their worth in the protection of natural and artificial forests from fire and are frequently used for seeding, fertiliser application, survey and the control of insect pests. They are also potentially useful for the control of forest diseases, although their role in this respect has so far been limited. The development of aerial spraying to control dothistroma blight of Pinus radiata is reviewed in this paper.