Sustainable Forest Resource Research Articles

Forest conservation by the indigenous Baduy community in the form of customary law

Purpose The Baduy tribe has its own uniqueness and values regarding the forest; it manages the forest using customary law to keep it sustainable. This research aims to describe the position of customary law used by the Baduy tribe to conserve forest areas.Design/methodology/approach This research is a qualitative research conducted in September 2019 and 2020 at Baduy. The data were collected through a literature study and in-depth interviews with informants related to the Baduy tribe. The collected data included documentation and interview transcripts that were translated into English. Data analysis was conducted in a descriptive manner, equipped with related evidence.Findings The Baduy community holds firm to its customs and culture called pikukuh. The Baduy community applies the concept of sustainable forest management in that local communities are directly involved in forest management activities to improve welfare and implement sustainable forests.Practical implications The implication of this research is that it is beneficial for forest conservation based on customary law, using the conservation approach of the Baduy tribe as a local community in protecting the sustainability of forest resources and their sustainability for the next generation. This study contributes as a guide for the government to formulate policies that will include local communities into conservation programs and government policies. It may apply to a study of coordination with related institutions such as the Ministry of Environment and Forestry in implementing forest conservation.Originality/value This study uses primary data from the Baduy tribe, which has unique local traditional values regarding the territory and the important role of the forest. The originality of the findings from the excavation of each activity was based on the procedures and beliefs regulated in customary law regarding forest management. Preservation of traditional knowledge in customary law has contributed to the urgency of sustainable forest conservation and biodiversity conservation, which is part of the traditional knowledge of the Baduy tribe.

Potential of Agroforestry in Sustainable Fuelwood Supply in Kenya

Sub Saharan African (SSA) region rely heavily on fuelwood for their energy needs and will potentially increase in the foreseeable future due to increased population growth in the region. The continued utilization of fuelwood in the region subject to inefficient technology of energy conversion is projected to put more increasing pressure on forest cover and resources. The decline in forest resources is a precursor to exploration of other resources that may provide energy to human, in which agroforestry comes in mind. Therefore, the aim of this discussion paper was to review the status of fuelwood consumption patterns in Kenya, while highlighting the status and sustainability of fuelwood sector in the country. One of the approaches to deal with fuelwood problem is to enhance adoption of agroforestry, with an aim of reducing the harvest of wood and non-wood products in forests through sustainable planting of trees in the farms. However, the main constraints identified in adopting agroforestry for sustainable forest management were: Lack of suitable laws, legislation and policy framework, unavailability of planting material, inadequacy of research and extension services, long gestation time, access to credit, and finally land tenure and security. In order to expand the adoption of agroforestry for sustainable forest resource use, there is a need for logical approach aimed in promoting a multi-purpose agroforestry system under local farming systems where there is still large land capable of sustaining the practice.

Boosting Biodiversity Conservation through Sustainable Forest Resources Management

Boosting Biodiversity Conservation through Sustainable Forest Resources Management

Community Forestry and Local Development A Study of Sukhani Community Forest User Group

Community forestry is small scale, village level forestry practice where decisions and actions are often made on a collective basis, and where the rural population participate in planning, establishment, management and harvesting of forest crops and receive a many or proportion of the socio- economic and ecological benefits from the forests. Conceptually community forestry can range from pure forest cropping on one extreme to combining tree and food crops agro forestry on the other. In the context of Nepal, according to forest survey, 2016, forest area had covered 44.74 of the total area of the country. This proves the popularly known proverb “Hariyo Ban Nepal Ko Dhan”. Forest alone contributes 10 percent of total GDP; livestock get 40 percent of total fodder from forest foliage. Fuel wood contributes about 76 percent of the total energy sources used in the country, which also comes from forest. Also, much of the agricultural system are directly or indirectly based on the forest. Community Forestry was introduced in Nepal in 1978. The community forest has been defined as the control, protection and management of the local communities known as user groups. It advocates strong community participation, bottom-up planning and sustainable use of forest resources. The main objective of the CF is to achieve the sustainable forest resources by converting accessible national forest into community forest into in stages. The CF approach has been highly successful in the protection of the forest in the hills of Nepal. The local user groups are responsible for the control, protection and management of the forest. CF advocates strong community participation, bottom-up planning and sustainable use of forest resources. Under this program, 2,312,545 hectares of forest land have been handed over to the community, up to 22,519 user groups, and 21,00,000 HHs were directly benefitted in mid-July, 2020. It shows that after emergence of community forestry program, local developmental activities have been increased.

Orman Ürünleri Sanayinde Hammadde Talebinin Doğal Ormanlardan Karşılanmasının Ormancılık Politikası Açısından Değerlendirmesi

After the 1970s, the energy demand for wood has increased, all over the world. After the 1990s, with the effect of increasing population, sustainability of forest resources has become crucial. According to FAO and UNEP (2020) the world's forests have decreased 4.74 million hectares in the last 10 years. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of meeting the raw material demand for wood from our natural forest resources in Turkey. Today, 11.8 million m3 of raw material is needed for the 21 Particle and Fibre Board enterprises in Turkey. The country has 22.9 million hectares, 1.7 billion m3 of forest assets. Raw material demand for wood is met by two different methods: importation or production. Although the need for raw materials is increasing day by day, it is seen that the import value has decreased from 1.5 billion dollars to 440 million dollars in the last 7 years, while the export value has increased by 250 million dollars. In the same period, the amount of industrial wood, produced by Turkey by using local resources, has increased by 11 million m3. In order to meet this demand, our state forests are seen as the first choice due to the high costs of import. Having this policy has two possible consequences. It causes a decrease in the number of species in mixed forests. The fact that the wood production capability of Turkey's forests is not sufficient to meet all the needs causes the future of our forest assets to be endangered.

El sector forestal de México de cara al siglo XXI

The Mexican forestry sector is result of adverse effects which have impacted the forestry ecosystems along decades. The presentnatural resource condition present reflects significant problems in the three components of sustainability, economic, social andenvironmental. From the Economic perspective, the volume of wood harvest has practically remained static along the two lastdecades. As a result, the international trade deficit of wood products has been increasing significantly. The contribution of theforestry sector to the gross national product (PIB) remains below 1 %. From the social perspective, poverty and margination in ruralarea continues with no expectation of possible solution in the near future. The nation confronts an uncertain future, relative to theadverse impact of climate change, increasing degradation and contamination of terrestrial y marine ecosystems, biodiversity lossand forest communities poverty. From de the Economic Outlook, Mexico faces a growing demand of Forest derived goods andservices. The exposed problem poses the urgent need of a thorough planning for the conservation, use and sustainable managementof forest resources under a long run perspective. For the future supply of goods and services provided by the natural resource, amarket prospective is needed, starting from the estimated future Forest ecosystem supply and demand for the three Sustainableconditions. Relevant aspects to consider for future planning are: Sustainable Forest management from watersheds; promotion tocommunity development; commercial Forest plantations as supplement of natural Forests; support to the productive and valuechain, establishment of dendroenergy Forest plantations, Effective territorial use planning and adequate and effective governance.

Good governance of local forest is neither easy nor cheap: Policy learning from Bimbia-Bonadikombo

This paper interrogates good governance of the Bimbia-Bonadikombo community forest (BBCF) Cameroon by the Bimbia-Bonadikombo Natural Resources Management Committee. While governance processes are essential for sustainability of forest resources, they also reveal the transaction costs associated with managing the resource. The paper is based on a longitudinal ethnographic case study of the BBCF carried first between 2005 and 2006, and later between 2019 and 2020. The paper finds that the BBCF is neither governed by provisions of the Cameroon community forestry manual nor by its own Constitution, but by the personalized governance style of its board president, who was accountable to no one in the institution; secondly, an inability to generate enough revenue to meet its operational cost, led to corruption among its forest patrol team. The paper thus shows that the transaction cost of governing the BBCF was greater than its resource capacity. The paper recommends the setting up of vertical, horizontal, and diagonal accountability mechanisms to incentivize good forest governance at the local level. The paper also recommends for a permanent financial subsidy from the global donor community to local forest groups managing community forests in Cameroon. This could be considered as a transfer payment from developed countries to local people in developing countries to maintain their forests as a global ecological good without losing their local access to essential forest products. The paper concludes with a call to forest governance policy makers to not equate local with ahistorical, simple, cheap, and easy because the local is embedded in history and political culture. As donors and governments invests heavily in initiatives like forest landscape restoration, which depends on long-term support of local communities to achieve its goals, this lesson on how to incentivize good forest governance at the local level is of vital importance.

Fifteen-year tree growth on standard long-term soil productivity trials and various adjacent amelioration treatments at Interior Cedar-Hemlock sites in southeastern British Columbia and northern Idaho

Understanding the relationship between soil disturbance and tree growth is key to sustainable forest management. We report fifteen-year tree growth results of Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. glauca [Beissn.] Franco) and western white pine (Pinus monticola Dougl. ex D.Don) growth following clearcut harvesting and installation of three replicates of the international Long-Term Soil Productivity (LTSP) trial protocols. Additional amelioration plots were also established on each replicate site to study rehabilitation of the most severe disturbance, treatment of Armillaria root disease, and enhancement of soil organic matter. Stark differences were found among the various treatments and species. Vegetation control resulted in significantly better growth for both tree species across the core LTSP treatments and amelioration treatments. On the core LTSP treatments, organic matter removal had a significant negative effect on Douglas-fir growth. Amelioration treatments resulted in similar survival and similar or better volume growth than the core LTSP treatments, with the exception of poor volume growth after compaction rehabilitation with no organic matter returned into the soil. Compaction significantly influenced Douglas-fir survival and was often higher on moderate compaction plots. On some sites there was decreased survival and growth associated with heavy compaction that will likely influence longer-term outcomes with a more variable and changing climate. Overall, results to date on the core LTSP treatments, amelioration treatments, and adjacent miniplots reported elsewhere suggest that forest floor removal causes negative growth and, combined with severe compaction, caused both negative growth and poor survival. In the Interior Northwest it is still prudent to minimize soil disturbance and leave organic matter onsite unless there is site specific evidence to the contrary. Additional work is required to reap the full, long-term benefit of the installations. Recommendations are provided highlighting the critical work that should be completed in the near future before biological evidence is lost to decay, including suggestions for further data analysis and extension, the need to continue LTSP core, amelioration and miniplot measurements to demonstrate and calibrate sustainable forest resource management. Our data suggest considering changes to current soil disturbance policy and forest operations based on the current results regarding forest floor displacement.

Understanding Spatial Flow of Building Poles’ Opportunities and Challenges for Sustainable Livelihoods and Forest Resources: The Case of Zanzibar, Tanzania

This paper examines the spatial flow of building poles in Zanzibar, Tanzania, its opportunities and challenges. The objective is to understand spatial flow of building poles’ effects on sustainable livelihoods and forest resources. It is a result of a study that took place in March 2013 in Urban West Region, Ukongoroni and Charawe shehias. The methods used included focus group discussions, a brief questionnaire, an in-depth interview and direct observations. Also Arc GIS version 10.2.2 was used to overlay GPS points of building poles’ depots over land use maps. The findings indicated that the availability of building poles contributed to theexpansion of the Urban West built up area from 8.3km2 in 1985 to 46.8km2 in 2009. It also led to income poverty alleviation among building polesdistributors. However, it led to the gradual disappearance of indigenousspecies as they were being replaced by exotic species such as Casuarinaequisetifolia, which were highly demanded in the construction industry inZanzibar. It is thus recommended that replanting or silvicultural workinvolving indigenous species should be encouraged for sustainableindigenous forests in Zanzibar.

Forest Systems Services Provisioning in Africa: Case of Gambari Forest Reserve, Ibadan, Nigeria

This study, therefore, which is focused on forest systems services provisioning in Africa, case of Gambari Forest Reserve, Ibadan, Nigeria, provides policy makers, decision makers, ecologists, environmentalists, the academia, and other stakeholders with a document geared towards promoting national development through sustainable forest products utilization practices. In this study, a total of 200 key respondents participated in it, out of which 194 copies were returned and distributed among the seven main communities in the study area, namely, Ibusogbora, Oloowa, Daley north and south, Onipe, Mamu, Olubi, and Onipanu, respectively. The respondents stated that moringa 164 (84.5%), mint leaf (166 (85.6%), bitter kola 143 (73.7%), and shea tree accounts for 176 (90.7%), and the wood species utilized by producers in the study area include Leucaena leucocephala, Leucaena glauca, Gliricidia sepium, Tectona grandis, and Gmelina arborea, among others. The study recommends that there is need for African governments to restore public awareness campaign in the area of timber planting initiatives and sustainable forest resource management and increase allocation to fund forestry research in the African continent.

Place-value Attachment on Provisional and Cultural Services for Sustainable Management of Ngezi Forest

This paper uncovers the importance of people’s place-values on sustainable forest management, and how such values can be incorporated into forest management actions and decision-making. Specifically, it focuses on mapping economic and cultural values on forest ecosystem services; assesses how non-materials and materials benefit from forest ecosystem cause landscape fragmentation; and how this information could assist in better forest planning and management. The data were collected from ten villages surrounding the Ngezi forest reserve in Pemba, Tanzania. Data were collected through participatory mapping, field observation, and focus group discussions. A map of place-values for each respondent was transferred from paper to digital format, digitized and coded using the GIS, and analysed using kernel density. Non-spatial data were processed and integrated into GIS-based spatial analysis. The results indicate that only 12 areas were identified as very high-valued and these require careful consideration for sustainable forest planning and management. About 4 out of 6 very high-valued areas for material services are found inside the reserve. The areas outside the reserve are undervalued and not utilized effectively for material services. Contrary to cultural services, only 1 out of 6 very high-valued places is located inside the reserve. Furthermore, economic situations, together with social driving forces, have been important determinants of forest values in the areas. Therefore, placevalues issues, particularly economic development outcomes, preservation of the aesthetics and improvement of recreational amenities should be considered when examining sustainable forest resource management.

Paradox of Deadwood Circular Bioeconomy in Kenya’s Public Forests

With the rising demand for energy, the forest-based circular bioeconomy is gaining recognition as a strategy for sustainable production and consumption of forest resources. However, the forest-based bioeconomy remains underexplored from the perspective of deadwood conservation in public forests. While conducting a literature review and examining the case of Kenya, this study fills a gap in the literature to provide policy suggestions for sustainable forest resource utilization. The results from global literature indicate that deadwood performs essential social, economic, and environmental functions in the circular bioeconomy and sustainable development. Similarly, in Kenya, deadwood resources provide many socially beneficial bioproducts and services. However, the absence of scientific research and detailed guidelines for deadwood conservation may lead to the distortion of the ecological balance in public forests because of the legally sanctioned removal of deadwood, particularly firewood. Moreover, if the status quo remains, with approximately 70% of the growing population consuming deadwood for domestic use and the demand increasing, as shown by the current wood deficit in the country, there will be a major dilemma concerning whether to conserve deadwood for biodiversity or energy. Therefore, averting crisis and providing maximum deadwood value to society requires guidelines and comprehensive research in addition to a cultural and behavioral shift in energy consumption in a manner that embraces the forest-based circular bioeconomy of deadwood.

Soil Infiltration Management on Perspective of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

UB Forest is a Forest Area with Special Purpose (KHDTK) located on the slopes of Mount Arjuno. Before being managed by the University of Brawijaya, there was a change in land cover from natural forest to pine and mahogany production forest. This change was a result of the PHBM (Collaborative Forest Management) contract agreement between Perhutani and the community to carry out agricultural management. The input of organic matter with different quality and quantity will affect the organic matter content and in turn will affect the physical properties of the soil such as bulk density, density and soil porosity. Soil porosity is a physical property of soil that affects soil infiltration. The objective of this study is to identify and analyze the management of Forest Areas and to build a green economy model in the management of KHDTK University of Brawijaya Forest in the Perspective of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Malang Regency. The method used in this research is qualitative research. Implementation of green economy model in the management of KHDTK University of Brawijaya Forest in the concept of forestry sector contribution related to climate change; the concept of sustainable forest resource management; and the concept of environmental service providers. The results of the infiltration measurement using the single ring infiltrometer method can better describe the infiltration that occurs in the soil. The highest soil infiltration is in protected areas with a soil infiltration rate of 131.33 cm/hour (single ring infiltrometer). Meanwhile, the lowest infiltration was found in the pine production forest plot overlaid with seasonal crops with a soil infiltration rate of 12 cm/hour (single ring infiltrometer).

H-2B Guest Workers and the Critical Role They Play in US Forests

AbstractA survey of businesses that provide a variety of forest management services indicated the importance of H-2B guest workers in performing important tasks which facilitate management and sustainability of forest resources in the United States. Those workers accomplish a wide variety of tasks with tree planting being most common. Although the positions filled by those workers are first made available to US workers at government-mandated wage rates, few apply. Businesses reported that it is becoming increasingly difficult for them to secure all of their guest visas to fulfill their contacts. Although former President Donald J. Trump’s proclamation on June 22, 2020, suspending entry of workers with H-2B visas, would have resulted in approximately one million acres not being reforested by respondents in 2020, a National Interest Exemption process provided a reprieve through the end of 2020. A long-term solution is needed to ensure that there are enough H-2B workers available to continue providing these important services.

Characterizing conservative and protective needs of the aridland forests of Sudan

Forests in the aridlands of Sudan are distinctive in nature and require special attention due to the great role they play as a first and last line of defense against southward desertification. Thus, to determine their conservative and protective needs based on current conditions in the Wad Al-Bashir Forest (WF), toward ensuring sustainable forest resources in these areas, we used a systematic field survey, existing and available documents review and key informant interviews (KII), to collect data from 08 December 2017 to 15 May 2018. A severe depletion and changes in the forest tree cover and composition were found during the field survey, where species such as Balanitis aegyptiaca is threatened and invasive species (e.g., Acacia nubica) have started to dominate. Reviewed documents have credited illegal cutting and agricultural activities for the changes in the forest status, whereas the KII indicated that past and current forest conservative and protective practices (CPPs), where forest clearance for agricultural, grazing, pests and disease control, were not given a deserved consideration as they relate to tree cutting and reforestation practices. Likewise, negligence of the needs of those who depend on the forest and inadequate funds have constrained implementation of some CPPs. Accordingly, on the basis of the results of this study, we recommend that CPPs associated with agriculture, grazing, forest fire, pest and disease control should be a top priority concern of forest authorities. Better financial support, which could be enriched by involving governmental and non-governmental organizations, is also needed to boost CPPs in the WF. Invasive species also need to be cleared and replaced by trees such as A. senegal and B. aegyptiaca that are of economic and environmental value.

Effect of Land Property Rights on Forest Resources in Southern China

The land tenure reform is important for forest resource management worldwide. Since China initiated a new round of collective forestland tenure reform (CFTR) in 2003, improving forest output by clarifying property rights plays a crucial role in realizing sustainable forest resource management. Using survey data of 312 bamboo plantation households from Southern China, this paper empirically examines the impact path of land property rights on forest resources. The estimation results show that both the forestland use right and disposal right are able to significantly improve the forest output by encouraging households to invest and optimizing the allocation of forestry labor. Particularly, the results reveal that the use right has a positive impact on forest output through forestland investment. With regard to the disposal right, we find that it has a positive effect on forest output through forestland investment, but it has a negative impact on forest output through the forestry labor allocation. The findings of this study suggest that to promote the growth of forest resources, the government should endow households with a more complete set of rights, and further strengthen their understanding of property rights. In addition, our findings enhance the understanding of the collective forestland tenure reform in China; they also have implications for the decentralized management of forestry elsewhere in the world.

Land use impact of maritime pine and eucalypt: A life cycle assessment study

The forestry sector in Portugal faces important challenges, resulting in an increased incidence of fires and the action of pathogens, which puts the sustainability of forest resources at risk. Due to the economic, social, and environmental importance of forests, this work assessed the land use environmental impact of maritime pine and eucalypt standing in Portuguese forests. SimaPro software was used to translate the inventory table results into land use impact category. The ILCD 2011 Midpoint+ method was chosen to assess the “land use” environmental impact that focuses on soil quality and its indicator (kg carbon deficit), which describes the changes in soil organic matter associated with land interventions. The results showed that for the first rotation time, the land use impact category per cubic meter of maritime pine is 18423 kg C deficit and 23430 kg C deficit for eucalypt, which means that the land use impact category of eucalypt is 27% higher than the impact of maritime pine.

Ethnicity as a Factor Influencing Sustainable Forest Resource Management: A Case Study of a Village in Taunggyi District in Myanmar’s Shan State

We investigated the impact of ethnicity on the adaptability of forest resource management in Myanmar. Within Myanmar’s ethnically diverse population, extensive economically motivated internal migration has led to the forming new villages comprising people of different ethnicities. Conditions and problems encountered in these newly formed villages may differ from those in ancestral villages where customary rights prevail. We assessed the livelihood systems and cooperative behaviours of different ethnic groups within a study village. Our findings were as follows: 1) households’ ethnicities influenced their levels of dependence on different livelihood sources, namely Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) and field crops, and 2) cooperation among the villagers of different ethnicity was weak. To achieve successful and sustainable natural resource management in such region, the characteristics of different ethnic groups should be taken into account in community forest management plan.

Mapping Land use/land cover using a combination of Radar Sentinel-1A and Sentinel-2A optical images

The current study used a combination of Sentinel-1A (SE-1A) radar and Sentinel-2A (SE-2A) optical images in mapping land use/land cover (LULC) in Dak Nong province in 2018. The Random Forest (RF) algorithm was adopted to digitally categorize Landsat images into LULC maps according to ten different LULC classes included: evergreen forest, semi-evergreen forest, deciduous forest, plantation, rubber, industrial plants, crop land, residential area, water surface and others. The results indicated an overall accuracy (OA) and kappa coefficient of 81.40%, Kappa = 0.79, respectively. Based on the results of classified image, a 2018 LULC map of the study area was simulated. Accordingly, the natural forests account for 34.27% of the total area of the province, distributed scattered in districts. In which, the evergreen forest occupies the highest area with more than 166.600 ha, equivalent to 74.54% of the total natural forest area, and concentrated in the high mountain areas. Non-forest covers occupy more than 63% area of Dak Nong province. The industrial and agricultural cropland indicated a high area in the study area with a rate of 34.82% and 11.38%, respectively. This shows a strong development in the scale of industrial and agricultural crops in the study area. The objective information on current land use/land cover in this study can serve as the basis for policymakers to orient the local forest resource sustainability strategies. Besides, the study also shows that the use of a combination of Sentinel-1A radar and Sentinel-2A optical image to classify and construct the LU/LC map is a high-efficiency research direction.

Multi-Time Scale Evaluation of Forest Water Conservation Function in the Semiarid Mountains Area

Forest water conservation function is an important part of forest ecosystem services. The discontinuous distribution of forests in semiarid areas brings difficulties to the quantitative evaluation of forest water conservation functions at the basin scale. In this paper, we took the upstream of Xiong’an New Area (Zijingguan—ZJG, Zhongtangmei—ZTM and Fuping—FP basins) as an example and combine the soil and water assessment tool (SWAT) and the water balance method to calculate the amount of forest water conservation (AFWC) at annual, monthly and daily scales from 2007 to 2017, and analyzed the changes of AFWC. The results showed that the hydrological response unit (HRU) generated with the threshold area zero can accurately reflect the forest patch distribution in the three basins. On an annual scale, the annual AFWC were all positive in ZJG and ZTM basins from 2007 to 2017. While, the annual AFWC in the FP basin was negative in 2009, 2013, 2014 and 2017. On a monthly scale, the positive values of AFWC mainly appear from June to September, and the negative values of AFWC mainly appear from December to March. On a daily scale, the AFWC during extreme precipitation was positive, while that was negative during extreme drought. The annual and monthly AFWC in the three basins was positively correlated with the wetness index, and FP basin needs more humid climate conditions than ZJG and ZTM basins to make the forest store water and keep in a stable water storage state. The above results can not only provide important insight into sustainable forest and water resources management in the region, but also serve as reference cases for other regions to carry out relevant research work.