Forest Conservation

The ''Proyecto Pavo'' is a project dedicated to the conservation of the Ocellated Turkey (Meleagris ocellata) through sustainable use of the species in multiple-use, community-managed forest concessions of the Maya Biosphere Reserve in Petén, Guatemala. Since 2000, the project has conducted selective turkey harvests, performed related research, and promoted the conservation benefits of managed sport hunting for this species. Field activities of the project feature providing high-quality Ocellated Turkey hunts to sport hunter clients. Participating concessions benefit directly from harvest revenues of a resource that was not previously exploited commercially and indirectly from affiliated project activities. The project began operations in a single concession on an experimental basis and evolved into a commercial enterprise operating in multiple concession units. The project has overcome numerous development and operational challenges, including compatibility issues with timber and NTFP extraction. Under proper circumstances, carefully designed sport hunting programs can offer profitable and sustainable forest product diversification alternatives that are highly compatible with tropical multiple-use management and forest conservation objectives.

Ecologists recommend preserving a larger share of the old-growth forests in Norway, as half of the species have forests as their main habitat. However, progress has been slow and at the time of this study only 1.4 % of the productive forest area had been preserved. We investigate benefits and costs over a 50-year period of increasing this level to 2.8% (doubling), 4.5% ("ecologists' minimum") and 10% (goal suggested in public debate). The benefits are estimated based on a national contingent valuation (CV) survey of Norwegian households. Two independent measures of total costs are used; i) the actual compensation amounts paid to forest owners, and ii) results from a survey of forest owners' minimum willingness-to-accept compensation to preserve. Results show that social benefits outweigh costs of all three conservation plans by a large margin. The middle option of 4.5% has the highest net present value. The results are robust to a range of assumptions, including considerations of potential hypothetical bias in benefit estimates. The results of this cost-benefit analysis reflect the preferences of the general population, the authorities and the forest owners with respect to biodiversity and ecosystem services preservation, and supplement the expert opinion of ecologists.

In arid and semi-arid ecosystems, water availability is discontinuous, highly variable, and characterized by discrete pulse events separated by long periods of limited resource availability. Plant recruitment in these ecosystems is also episodic and dependent on the water available during and after these discrete rainfall events. Precipitation thresholds for plant establishment have been estimated mainly for herbaceous plants and tree seedlings, but extrapolation of short-term results based on seedlings to natural tree populations is difficult. Nevertheless, estimations of water availability thresholds for tree recruitment are essential for successful policies on forest conservation and restoration. We propose a methodology to estimate precipitation thresholds for adult tree populations using tree-ring series and precipitation data. We used this methodology with two Prosopis species from South America: Prosopis pallida and Prosopis chilensis. Results indicate a precipitation threshold of around 85 mm for the establishment of P. pallida trees, whereas the threshold for P. chilensis is likely to be much higher. r

In the French-speaking countries of Africa, strategies of conservation, inherited from the colonial time, exclude the bordering people in the management of the national parks plant resources. Today, policies and legislation try to reconcile forest conservation and development by associating local people. As a consequence, approaches of participatory planning of forest management schemes have become necessary. A major challenge has been the issue of how to (use?) scientific knowledge and local knowledge in the most appropriate way. This article provides an account of a contribution to addressing this issue in the case of the "Parc National Kaboré Tambi" in Burkina Faso, by proposing a combination of ethno-botanical surveys and botanical inventories. The article analyses the importance of the park plant species, identify the constraints faced by local people to harvest the park plant products, analyse the park vegetation structure and assess the degree of regeneration of the main useful species. The surveys reveal that bordering people consider the park as their granary, their pharmacy, their pasture, their place of religious worship, and the source of the strength of their territory. They harvest in the park Non Wood Forest Products (NWFPs), although the Forest Code bans free access. About one hundred plants species are used, but the pattern of extraction of the products or some plant parts could destroy the resource base. Technically, conservation by domestication of the source species and improved harvest of Non Wood Forest Products could be combined for sustainable management of the park. Finally, the process toward an integration of ecology, silviculture, law, economy and decentralisation in order to achieve the park sustainable forest management is of great importance. The success of this process will depend on all actors including policy makers, technicians, local people, researchers and funding agencies.

Palm leaves are an important source of roof thatch for rural communities in many parts of the tropics. Often leaves are harvested from wild populations, and as a non-timber forest product may promote local commitment to forest conservation. Nevertheless, reports suggest that at least some wild populations are declining due to over-harvesting. In Amazonian Ecuador the understory palm Geonoma macrostachys Mart. is often the preferred species for thatching. Here we explore the limits to sustainable harvesting of this species combining ethnobotanical data on the use of this species by the Huaorani indigenous group with ecological data and transition matrix modeling. We ®nd that due to severe light limitation there seems to be little scope for sustainable harvesting of this species from old-growth forest. Instead high rates of sustainable harvesting could probably be achieved in semi-open anthropogenic habitats, e.g. agroforestry systems or young secondary forests. We also ®nd that harvesting scheme has a strong impact on sustainable harvesting rates; if only adults (leaf length 100±223 cm) are harvested, while subadults (leaf length 35±99 cm) are left unharvested, two to three times as much leaf material can be harvested per area (at a ®xed density) as when subadults are also harvested. #

Scholars have long argued that various modern, Western cultures have come to conceptualize " the environment " as a separate, ordered, and submissive entity. A problematic human–nature divide stems from this rational view, resulting in environmental degradation. Yet, humans and other-than-humans regularly interrupt these ordered, rational framings. Through a qualitative examination of a K–12 state forest conservation education program, I use a transhuman, materialist communication approach to illustrate how curriculum and the forest service problematically construct humanature relations. I then show how students, rangers, and other-than-humans disrupt and disorder these framings. Instead of using practices that worsen the problem, practitioners and researchers can create ecocultural conversations—connective communication practices that help bridge the human–nature divide. This article articulates how more sustainable environmental communication theories and practices can address dire social and environmental problems.

Conservation of indigenous tree species is crucial for restoration of ecosystems and provision of livelihood support functions among rural communities. However, most tree planting initiatives have promoted exotic species, ignoring native species which populations have for long depended on. This study assessed the indigenous tree species conservation and Use Values in the Kyoga plains and the highland ranges Agro Ecological Zones of Uganda. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to capture primary data from a total of 422 household heads. Data were coded and entered in SPSS statistical package (Version 16). Descriptive statistics were generated to establish the distribution of indigenous trees on farms and tree management options employed by farmers. Chi-square test at 5% probability level was used to assess whether there was any difference in indigenous tree establishment, propagation and management options in the four study districts. The Use Value index technique was used to rank and prioritize 20 indigenous tree species. Most of the local communities in Eastern highland ranges prefer planting and retaining indigenous tree species in crop fields, while deliberate tree planting in the vicinity of family compounds (homestead) was predominant in the Kyoga plains. Indigenous tree species mode of establishment, propagation and management options significantly differed across the four study sites (P<0.05). The overall tree species Use Value Indices generally correspond to the number of uses of a particular tree species and vary between 2.4 and 0.2. Our study findings show rather a narrow range between the highest and least use value, implying that communities generally valued a particular tree species for at least more than one preferred use. Local communities prefer protecting naturally growing indigenous tree seedlings than planting. They facilitate tree regeneration when the benefits of their investment are guaranteed and the economic value such trees can provide to the household. Therefore, while evaluating indigenous tree species for relative importance and use, the end objectives of such evaluation must be critically examined in light of the interest of different tree resource user groups.

This article presents an assessment of the implications of past and current forest conservation and regeneration policies and programmes for forest carbon sink in India. The area under forests, including part of the area afforested, is increasing and currently 67.83 mha of area is under forest cover. Assuming that the current trend continues, the area under forest cover is projected to reach 72 mha by 2030. Estimates of carbon stock in Indian forests in both soil and vegetation range from 8.58 to 9.57 GtC. The carbon stock in existing forests is projected to be nearly stable over the next 25 year period at 8.79 GtC. However, if the current rate of afforestation and reforestation is assumed to continue, the carbon stock could increase from 8.79 GtC in 2006 to 9.75 GtC by 2030 -an increase of 11%. The estimates made in this study assume that the current trend will continue and do not include forest degradation and loss of carbon stocks due to biomass extraction, fire, grazing and other disturbances.

Local ecological knowledge (LEK) a b s t r a c t Numerous communities associated with at least five distinct ethnic Mayan groups in southern Mexico and Central America continue to rely upon forested areas as integral components of their agricultural systems. They carefully manage these areas so that forests provide food, raw materials, and animals. Management practices include removing and planting of woody and herbaceous species, apiculture, and seed harvest. Mayan agroforestry systems in geographically and ecologically distinct areas of Mesoamerica were evaluated to better understand traditional agroforestry system components and how indigenous Mayan agroforestry could be a part of regional forest conservation and restoration. Systems were within Mexican land grant areas (ejidos) or on contested land. Although these systems rely upon different woody species and management techniques, common among them are: (1) the use of multi-stage and successional pathways with forest as a part of the larger system, (2) species that are believed by traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) to accelerate forest regeneration -more than 30 tree species are recognized and managed as potential facilitators of forest regeneration and (3) direct human consumption of forest products at all stages of regeneration.

Se estudió la mortalidad y el reclutamiento de los árboles con un diámetro a la altura de pecho (dap) = 10 cm, en un bosque húmedo montano bajo (sensu Holdridge) situado en la Cordillera de los Andes (8º39'N; 71º24'O), entre 2200 y 2500 m.s.n.m. El análisis se realizó con datos provenientes de seis parcelas permanentes de 0,25 ha, con 23 mediciones sucesivas (1968 -2000). Se registraron 55 especies arbóreas incluyendo palmas, con 622 individuos ha -1 y un área basal promedio de 46 m 2 ha -1 . Entre las especies más abundantes se encuentran Myrcia fallax, Graffenrieda latifolia y Beilschmeidia sulcata, con más de 100 ind ha -1 . Las tasas anuales de reclutamiento y mortalidad de los árboles fueron de 1,64 y 1,59%, respectivamente, con diferencias estadísticas entre parcelas solo para el reclutamiento. En cuanto a la variación entre periodos, se encontraron diferencias significativas para ambas tasas. Se observó un incremento en la densidad arbórea de un 12%. Así mismo, las estimaciones de vida media proyectadas varían entre parcelas para un promedio de 43,21 años. Se concluye que aparentemente el bosque no está siendo afectado en su dinámica; sin embargo, se sugieren algunas acciones que podrían contribuir a su conservación.

A sustainable forestry scenario aimed at meeting the projected biomassdemands, halting deforestation and regenerating degraded forests wasdeveloped and analyzed for additionality of mitigation and cost-effectivenessfor India. Similarly, mitigation potential of a commercial forestry scenarioaimed at meeting the biomass demands from forestry activities on privateland was assessed. India has a significant scale baseline scenario afforestationand effective forest conservation activities. India is afforesting at an averagegross rate of 1.55 × 106 ha yr-1 over the past 10 years, while the gross deforestation rate was 0.272 × 106 ha yr-1 during the same period. The sustainable forestry scenario could lead to an additional carbon (C) stock of 237 × 106 Mg C during 2000 to 2012, while the commercial forestry scenario apart from meeting all the incremental biomass demands (estimated for 2000 to 2015) could potentially lead to an additional carbon stock of 78 × 106Mg C during 2000 to 2012. Short- and Long-rotation forestry activities arecommercially viable. With appropriate policies and financial incentives allthe industrial wood, sawnwood and commercial fuelwood requirementcould be met through commercial forestry, so that government funds couldbe dedicated for conserving state owned forests and meeting subsistencebiomass demands. The commercial forestry activities could receive financialsupport under greenhouse gas (GHG) abatement programmes. The government, however, needs to develop institutions and guidelines to process, evaluate, approve and monitor forestry sector mitigation projects.

National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry Forest conservation genetics : principles and practice. Bibliography. Includes index. ISBN 0 643 06260 2 1. Forest genetic resources conservation. I. Young, Andrew. II. Boyle, Timothy James Butler. III. Boshier, David. ...

Özet: Bu yazı, orman işletme ve koruma faaliyetlerinin geçmişten bugüne izini sürüyor. Fennî ormancılığın, Avrupa yayılmacılığı döneminde hangi saiklerle ortaya çıktığını; ardından bu uzmanlık alanının ulus devletlere nasıl aktarıldığını anlatıyor. Yazının dört bölümü var. İlk bölümde sömürgeci/kolonyal dönemde " dokunulmamış cennetler " keşfetmek ve buraları yerlilerden korumak adına nasıl bir dil geliştirildiği üstünde duruluyor. Bu esnada ormanların akıbeti ve dünyanın geri kalanında Avru-pa'ya bağımlı ekonomilerin nasıl yaratıldığı ele alınıyor. İkinci bölümde, ormanın bir bilgi nesnesi hâline nasıl getirildiği sorgulanıyor. Ormanların denetlenmesi, korunması, geliştirilmesi, haritalarının çıkarılması, ders kitaplarına ormanlarla ilgili bilgiler eklenmesi ve benzeri işler, hem orman alanlarını devletlerin " akılcı " idaresinin nesnesi hâline getiriyor hem de devlet kurumlarını vazgeçilmez kılıyor. Dolayısıyla bu kısımda bütün bu faaliyetlerin ormanlarla kurulan ilişkiyi, mekânsal örgütlenmeyi ve devletin idare alanını nasıl köklü şekilde değiştirdiği inceleniyor. Üçüncü bölüm, bu idare şeklinin sömürge yönetimlerinden ulus devletlere ne yollarla aktarıldığını anlatıyor ve söylemsel-teknik devamlılıklara yoğunlaşıyor. Son bölüm ise Osmanlı'nın son dönemi ve Türkiye Cumhuriyeti'ndeki fennî ormancılık ve ormanları koruma retoriği hakkında. Bu birbirinden görece bağımsız görünen hatların ortak noktası, ormanın bir dispositif olarak nasıl ortaya çıktığını göstermek, bunun kapitalist üretim ağlarıyla ilişkisini irdelemek.

Nepal has increasingly gained world-wide recognition in participatory forest management, primarily through "Community Forestry" program. This paper sketches trajectory of forest management policies and practices in Nepal and analyzes achievements and pitfalls associated with Community Forestry. The focus is on analyzing the relations amidst good forest governance, sustainable livelihoods and forest conservation. Our analysis indicates that Community Forestry program has been successful to meet the twined goals of forest conservation and socioeconomic transformation through power devolution, participation and good governance. Encouraged with such achievements, Nepal has envisioned attaining the national goals of poverty alleviation and the global goals of Sustainable Development by strengthening good forest governance, sustainable forest management, and livelihood improvement. Though, there are adequate challenges, mostly socioeconomically, Community Forestry has been a 'Learning platform' that empowering people and recognizing their rights over the resources is the most viable approach of sustainable forest management for a country like Nepal.

Despite the rapid pace of development over the last century, Peninsular Malaysia has managed to retain about 45% of its total land area under forest cover. Sustainable forest management has become an increasingly important strategy in sustainable development, and Peninsular Malaysia has benefited in having an extensive network of permanent reserved forests (PRFs) that over more than three-quarters of all remaining forested land in the peninsula.

In achieving sustainable forest management, it is imperative that strict monitoring and control is imposed on deforestation. Effective monitoring would benefit from public participation and, therefore, up-to-date and accurate information related to forest cover, and the excision and addition of PRFs should be made available to the public.

We compiled data on excision and addition of PRFs in Peninsular Malaysia, over a five-year period (2001-2005), from the Gazette of the federal and state governments and compared them with information available in annual reports produced by the state forestry departments, the Forestry Department Peninsular Malaysia (FDPM) and the Malaysian Timber Certification Council (MTCC).

There are discrepancies in the data from the different sources and there is also much variation in the types of information available from one state forestry report to another. We recommend that standards for reporting be established and that the FDPM should make more information available to the public in a more efficient and effective manner. We also put forward recommendations for increased public participation in processes related to excision and addition of PRFs.

Authors: Tobias Kuemmerle, Mariana Altrichter, Germán Baldi, Marcel Cabido, Micaela Camino, Erika Cuellar, Rosa Leny Cuellar, Julieta Decarre, Sandra Díaz, Ignacio Gasparri, Gregorio Gavier-Pizarro, Rubén Ginzburg, Anthony J. Giordano, H. Ricardo Grau, Esteban Jobbágy, Gerardo Leynaud, Leandro Macchi, Matias Mastrangelo, Silvia D. Matteucci, Andrew Noss, José Paruelo, Maria Piquer-Rodríguez, Alfredo Romero-Muñoz, Asunción Semper-Pascual, Jeffrey Thompson, Sebastián Torrella, Ricardo Torres, José N. Volante, Alberto Yanosky, Marcelo Zak

Deforestation in Ghana over some decades now has undoubtedly destabilized the socioeconomic and socio-cultural importance of the forests for a large number of rural people especially, forest fringe communities who directly depend on the resource to support their
livelihood. The assessment identifies activities such as; agricultural expansion, unsustainable wood harvesting, population and development pressures, mining and mineral exploitation as the principal drivers of deforestation in Ghana. Although deforestation is having negative effects on the nation in many ways, some communities derive their livelihood from it through their access to forest resources like Fuelwood for sale. Forest conservation policies in Ghana were discussed and further highlighted limitation of skills and surveillance instruments, cultural and customs drawbacks, policy limitations and climate change as the challenges to sustainable forest management in Ghana.  The study recommends that scientists as well as policy makers scrutinize the extent to which the issue of deforestation is affecting the country’s economy and her environment, and revise, and where necessary formulate new policies that will help in the conservation of Ghana’s
Forests. Furthermore, attention be paid to the adoption of a bottom-up approach in Forest management through the proper inclusion and involvement of the various stakeholders in the conservation and management processes at the community level.

Industrial growth in developing countries, often depend on the natural resources endowment, as well as other factors including technology and power. Apart from petroleum resources, Nigeria also has abundant forest resources. Given also the eco-tourism potentials of tropical rain forests (TRFs), efforts toward their effective management, have in recent times reached an unprecedented proportion in Nigeria. Invariably, this great concern is based on the fact that TRFs (selvas) are also of very inestimable value, because of their complex ecosystems and distinctively high biodiversity. Their inestimable values in promoting sustainable livelihood, industrial raw materials availability, food security, medicine and health care researches, cannot be over emphasized, especially in the march towards poverty and hunger eradication, finding solutions to sexually transmitted diseases (STDs ) including HIV/AIDS, and more effective Malaria drugs. These potentials are interwoven with most of the stated Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Thus the objectives of this paper include the provision of an integrated insight into the strategies viable for the effective management of the wide varieties of Nigeria's natural vegetations, especially the TRFs, and to identify the Int. J. Environ. Bioener.2014, 9(2): 76-94

In the northern end of Peninsular Malaysia bordering Thailand, there is a relatively unknown expanse of lush rainforest almost twice the size of Singapore, and accessible mainly by boat. Upon entering this ancient forest, the visitor enjoys a feeling of seclusion rarely felt elsewhere in this increasingly crowded planet.

In the rainforest of Ulu Muda there are rivers, lakes, caves and scattered saltlicks, including one that spews steamy hot sulphuric water that provides much-needed minerals for wild animals.

This book gives a glimpse of what Ulu Muda has to offer as a key site for wildlife conservation and nature tourism. Its geology, hydrology, flora and fauna are briefly introduced with a generous dose of colourful photos and maps, and useful nuggets of information for the would-be visitors.

Ulu Muda has so far escaped the attention of even well-travelled nature enthusiasts but for those who make the extra effort, they are usually rewarded with soothing green vistas, a free performance by the “jungle orchestra”, and for the very lucky, a glimpse of the wild inhabitants of the forest.

The study examined The Role of Beekeeping in Forest Conservation and Poverty Alleviation in Moshi Rural District. It was guided by the following research objectives firstly to examine the challenges of beekeeping, secondly to identify the market, products and technology used in beekeeping and lastly to examine the contributions of beekeeping on forest conservation and poverty alleviation in Moshi rural district. The study employed mixed research design where by 70 beekeepers were sampled. Both primary and secondary data were employed in this study. Different methods were used in data collection which included house hold questionaire, interviews, wealth ranking, observation and focus group discussion. Statistical package for social science (SPSS) version 16 and microsoft excel were used to analyze quantitative data. Findings revealed that 40% of sampled beekeepers agreed that beekeeping contributed to forest and biodiversity conservation through afforestation programs. which imply Results revealed that there is strong positive relationship (r = 0.718) between numbers of beehives and liters of honey produced in a year in Moshi rural district. Majority, 75% of the sampled beekeepers disagreed to the fact that beekeeping contributes to poverty alleviatio. This is because majority lacks skills, reliable market and appropriate technology. The findings further revealed that financial constraint is the most emerging challenge where by 62% of the respondents said they lack finaces to buy modern beehives.

Sal (Shorea robusta) is one of the most important timber-yielding trees in India, spread over an estimated area of 13 million hectares. Sal occurs gregariously on the southern slopes of the Himalayas and is also distributed on the plains and lower foothills of the Himalayas including the valleys. Regeneration is considered as a key process for the existence of a species in the community as it maintains desired composition and stocking. Presence of ample number of seedlings and saplings in a given population indicates successful regeneration. This study is a comparative assessment of the natural regeneration of Sal under protected and unprotected conditions and consequently aims at identifying the environmental and anthropogenic factors influencing the regeneration of Sal. It is essential to study the influence of protection and conservation on the regeneration potential of Sal for the efficient management and silviculture of these forests. The major factors influencing the regeneration of Sal were identified as soil characteristics, structure and floristic composition of the forest, relationship of Sal with its associate species, canopy density, light conditions, rainfall, temperature, frost, drought, forest fires and other important anthropogenic factors such as grazing, firewood collection, seed collection, lopping and harvesting of non-timber forest products. The degree of disturbances faced by the protected and unprotected forests were sharply contrasting, enabling an efficient comparative study. The study was carried out in two different forest patches, one under complete protection and the other exposed to anthropogenic disturbance. However, as the two patches are in close proximity, climatic conditions are identical. The two sites are located in the Doon Valley region, on the Himalayan foothills in the Uttarakhand State of India and under the management of Kalsi Forest Division. Nearly 80% of the Doon Valley forests are Sal forests. Phytosociological analysis and soil sampling was carried out in the months of January and February 2015. The sampling and data collection was done by dividing the forest structure into three layers, trees, shrubs and herbs. Saplings and seedlings were included in the shrub and herb layers respectively. This data was then quantitatively analysed to calculate the density, frequency, abundance, Importance Value Index, basal area and Whitford Index separately for the three layers. The data was also analysed for α-diversity and estimation of other diversity, similarity, richness, dominance indices and evenness. Sal was the only species found in the tree layer, indicating its complete dominance in this layer. 21 species were found in the shrub layer of the protected site, while 19 species were found in the unprotected site. However, the density of Sal saplings was found to be 340 individuals/ha in the unprotected site, significantly higher than the protected site having 120 individuals/ha. The major species found to be competing extensively with Sal were Clerodendrum viscosum, Mallotus philippensis, Murraya koenigii, Jasminum sp and Lantana camara, thus hindering its regeneration. The most significant results were obtained from the herb layer, as the density of Sal seedlings was found to be only 20 individuals/ha in the unprotected site, while the protected site had 80 individuals/ha, clearly indicating the lack of Sal regeneration under disturbed conditions in the unprotected site. Echinocarpus, Oplismenus compositus and Rungia pectinata were observed to be the species competing with the Sal seedlings in the herb layer. The graphical representation of the density of Sal trees, saplings and seedlings of both the sites clearly indicates the better regeneration of Sal under protected conditions. Although the regeneration of Sal is better in the protected site, it is not as high as expected, due to the high canopy density obstructing the sunlight and rainwater reaching the lower layers and the forest floor and excessive growth of competitive species. This indicates that protection should be coupled with appropriate silvicultural and forest management strategies to maximise the natural regeneration. The correlation analysis of the physico-chemical properties of soil with the floristic composition of the shrub layer shows that pH is the only negatively correlated soil property and acidic soils are necessary for the healthy growth and composition of Sal forests.

The current process of industrialization, urbanization and globalization are adversely influencing on the natural resources like land, water, forests etc. There is utmost need to conserve and utilize these resources in a sustainable manner since they are the very basic components of human development. In a developing country like India, the thrust for economic development has put more pressure on the natural resources, particularly the forest resources. The present paper deals with the issue of forest conservation in India with special role of the Supreme Court of India. In India the conservation of forest has been ensured through legislative acts, judicial pronouncements and executive orders. It is a fact that there are number of legislative steps taken to ensure forest conservation in India but the contribution of Indian Supreme Court in this context is unparallel. Since last two decades the Supreme Court of India has been performing the stellar role by taking a Herculean task of comprehensive conservation and protection of forest across the country. It has added a new dimension to environmental scenario in a country. With the help of some cases, it has covered almost all aspects related to forest conservation and other related issues like conservation of biodiversity, national parks etc. The Court has emerged as a lawmaker on forest conservation issues. How far it is correct? What would be the consequences if the same trend persists? This is the focal point of the present paper.

Rural households play an active role in reorganizing their livelihood strategies to respond to external stresses and shocks. What is unclear is the extent to which rural households can remain resilient in the face of continued external stresses and how policy actions at larger scales can more effectively encourage rural food and livelihood sustainability. Economic and ecological stresses and shocks have negatively impacted livelihood security and wider economic stability in Belize. This has increased the number of people below the poverty line to 41.3 percent, who remain disproportionately located in rural areas. With a high degree of import dependency, global food price surges have resulted in direct pass through effects on domestic prices, creating food price inflation of up to 22.8 percent between 2006 and 2009. Within this context, this study assesses the state of livelihood security in a village of the Cayo district by assessing the quality of household capital assets, including human, financial, natural and social capital. Semi-structured face- to-face interviews were conducted in 2012 using a random sample of 64 households. Participant observation, key-informant interviews, the use of secondary sources and extra- local interviews with government officials were also employed to gain deeper insight into the complexity of the rural environment and institutional policies related to food security and sustainable agricultural development.

          Results show high levels of livelihood diversification among both grain farmers and non-farming households. No significant difference existed between total household median incomes. However, the median income of non-grain male household heads is significantly greater than that of grain farmer male householders (U = 1393, n1 = 43, n2 = 16, p < .05). Part-time farming households maintained the highest number of livelihood strategies compared to non-grain households, with a median of 4 to 3 respectively (U = 506, n1 = 11, n2 = 48, p < .0005). Compared to non-farmers, part-time farmers are disproportionately engaged in day labor as a primary income strategy, where pay is lower and work is less reliable (Chi = 57, df = 1, p < .01). Human capital is low among both household types, with 65 percent of non-farming male householders receiving no education above the primary school level, while all grain farmers received no education above the primary school level (Chi = 59, df = 1, p < .01). Domestic and foreign remittances did not impact the majority of
participants, as only 28 percent reported they received, or would receive, some amount of extra-household monetary support. Yet, the median value of out-country remittances was significantly greater for non-farmers compared to grain farmers (U = 21.00, n1 = 4, n2 = 3, p < .05). Despite these strategies, financial capital remains constrained, as over 75% of households are unable to save money, and the large majority of working females worked out of necessity. In addition, nearly two thirds of households have reduced meal size in recent years, with no significant difference between household types.

          Nearly three quarters of all householders valued home gardens as a mode to adding diversity to the diet and improving health or reducing purchasing costs. Among farmers, 94 percent stated that their farms provided their family with food, where 62.5 percent indicated risk management, specifically, as their reason for farming. This proportion rises to 83.3 percent when looking at local (white) corn producers exclusively. When asked if farming has become more difficult, less difficult, or the same compared to the past, 62.5 percent of grain farmers stated that agriculture in Belize has become more difficult (Chi = 6.5, df = 2, p < .05). Biophysical constraints among both household types include vulnerability to waterlogging and drought, soil fertility and pest problems. Input costs are also of concern, while grain farmers faced additional transaction risk. Furthermore, land tenure insecurity is widespread. To compound the problem, social capital is also weak given disillusionment with formal organizing, where exclusionary policies by the local cooperative further restrict access to relevant low-cost and low-input technologies. Expanding access to sustainable technologies through participatory research and extension is recommended. However, greater access to technology alone is insufficient for sustaining intensification that can ensure resilient food and livelihood strategies. Reducing costs and risk through secure access to productive resources, markets, and financial services in a manner that accounts for heterogeneity in farming systems and local food security priorities are also essential. To this end, and with attention to national-level social and economic conditions, a pro-poor agricultural growth strategy is considered within a dynamic food sovereignty framework.

Keywords: Belize; Sustainable Agriculture; Small Farmers; Sustainable Rural Livelihoods; Subsistence Farmers; Agricultural Development; Political Agroecology; Local Food Systems; Adaptive Capacity; Food Sovereignty.

World conservation discourse concentrates on forests of high naturalness, which are variously termed intact forest landscapes, primary forests, pristine forests, and wilderness. In this essay, we bring Amazonian Indigenous perspectives to this discussion, both because Amazonian Indigenous Peoples have the right to be in the discussion and because they have a lot to teach us about naturalness. It is essential to understand that Indigenous ontologies do not distinguish culture from nature, since all beings, humans and non-humans, are part of a network of social-ecological interactions. Hence, forests are not natural, but the domus of different beings who inhabit, care for and cultivate them. Each part of the forest mosaic in different stages of socialecological succession has different owners: when people open swiddens, they must respect other – non-human – forest residents to do so, and when they fallow their swiddens, these other forest residents reassume their original roles as managers and conservers of that part of the mosaic. Each stage of the succession also contains cultivated and domesticated plant populations, so we can think of a different kind of conservation: that of genetic resources. From this perspective, swidden-fallow represents on farm conservation, while less anthropogenic parts of the forest mosaic represent in situ conservation.We believe that reframing forest conservation and learning from Indigenous People can inspire innovative conservation science and policies.

Human-ecosystem relation is very crucial for sustainability of both human and ecosystems. Nevertheless, this relationship has been trivialized for a long time and this has led to massive degradation and misuse of ecosystem. This study will explicitly focus on carbon trade (REDD+) and its implication on the environment and the society. We first examined the implications of REDD+ implementation from the broader perspective. Later, we contextualized this argument using the empirical case studies from Madagascar and Costa Rica. Empirical studies indicate that the attempt to address both environmental challenges and poverty may diminish the efficiency in meeting the desired REDD+ objectives. Some scholars argue that PES should focus on one objective at time in which they were formulated for and the other might be achieved as a side way. In Madagascar by 2012, the Makira REDD+ project largely reduced the rate of deforestation from 0.27% to 0.2%. It also created jobs for the local communities and enhanced ecotourism. Costa Rica’s success is attributed to adding representatives from indigenous population and civil society into REDD+ executive board.

Tikal, a major lowland Maya civic-ceremonial center in the heart of the Petén region of Central America, relied heavily on the adjacent lowland rainforest as a resource base for fuel and construction materials. In this study, we analyzed 135 wood samples from timbers used in the construction of all six of the city's major temples as well as two major palaces to determine which tree species were being exploited and to better understand ancient Maya agroforestry practices during the Late Classic period. We found evidence for a change in preference from the large-growing, upland forest species, Manilkara zapota, to a seasonal wetland species Haematoxylon campechianum in A.D. 741 as well as a decrease in lintel beam widths over time. Though M. zapota later returned as the wood species of choice in A.D. 810, beam widths were found to be significantly smaller. These findings concur with models that hypothesize widespread deforestation during the Late Classic period and indicate a declining forest resource base by the 9 th century A.D. Also, because of the many large timbers used in temple construction, some system of forest conservation is suggested for the ancient Maya prior to the Late Classic period.

The current policy process to develop forest conservation in southern Finland requires information about Finnish citizens&#39; attitudes towards forest conservation. Dichotomous- choice contingent valuation (CV) data were collected by both mail and Internet surveys to provide monetary welfare estimates for policy planning and also to compare these two data-collection methods. The willingness-to-pay (WTP) distribution, however, of the commonly used logit

This guide is an excerpt from a more comprehensive publication, sustainable procurement of wood and paper-based products: guide and resource Kit, which provides an overview of ten key issues and related resources to consider when procuring wood and paper-based products. This guide was developed for users with particular interest in understanding the legality requirements for sustainable procurement. To view the sustainable procurement of wood and paper-based products guide, please visit www.sustainableForestproducts.org.

Integrated conservation and development projects in the recent years view local people's support for protected areas management as an important element of biodiversity conservation. Increased knowledge about the interaction between conservation of natural resources and the development needs of local people is an essential part of understanding sustainable protected areas management in Haiti. This paper investigates farmers' perceptions on the impact of the Forêt des Pins Reserve on the economic, social, and environmental status of local people using factor analysis and linear structural models. Data from 243 farmers inside the Reserve are used in the empirical analysis. The results suggest that farmers most value economic and environmental objectives, such as tourism and tree planting activities, in promoting forestry programs inside the Reserve. Respondents who believe that their farming activities would benefit from forestry programs through soil protection tended to be more positive.

living in most tropical countries. They also play important roles in forest conservation. This paper explores the roles NTFPs and home gardens play in improving the livelihoods of forest dependent people and forest conservation in and around a newly declared protected area, Satchari National Park. We conducted an intensive field survey from mid-February to late June, 2006. Study results suggest that 27% of households in the Satchari area receive at least some cash income from NTFPs. Moreover collection, processing and selling of NTFPs constitutes the primary occupation of 18% of these households. We also found that wealthier households with rich homegarden compositions rely less on nearby forests, than poorer households who are mostly dependent on forests to meet their subsistence needs.