The evolution of forest producer associations and their current role in REDD+: case studies from Quintana Roo,Mexico

Forest associations (secondary-level institutions that support and represent groups of forest producer communities) play an important and understudied role in promoting community forestry in a multi-level forest governance context in many countries. This role continually evolves to meet new demands from their constituents, with associations diversifying into activities that bring new governance issues, interests, organizational logics and capacity needs. As community forestry in many countries is being integrated into REDD+ national strategies, questions arise regarding new roles for these associations. Through a case study of two forest associations in Quintana Roo, Mexico, this study traces the history and evolution of these associations as they react and adapt to a changing forest sector, uses forest stakeholders’ opinions to assess the associations’ current status and perceived importance of their involvement in the forest sector, and examines how current opinions and historical legacy have shaped their role in REDD+ in Mexico. Results show that association members and outsiders (mostly government stakeholders) hold divergent views of the utility of these organizations. Outsiders’ negative perceptions, as well as the niche that the associations are currently in, is largely determining their limited participation in REDD+ consultation and implementation to date. This is a missed opportunity to engage important allies who still hold high legitimacy in the eyes of the communities that will be the ultimate implementers of REDD+.     

Integrated planning for landscape diversity enhancement,fire hazard mitigation and forest production regulation: A case study in central Portugal

Forest fires and forest biodiversity are related issues of major concern in Mediterranean countries and require an integrated approach to landscape planning. The aim of this study was to develop a GIS approach for regulating forest production while promoting landscape diversity and mitigating fire hazard. A study area located in the centre of Portugal was chosen. The area was primarily occupied by maritime pine and had a high fire hazard, low tree species diversity and an extensive protection area. The classical area control method was used to assist in forest production regulation. Species suitability maps were produced for 21 recommended species for afforestation in the study area. Maritime pine management compartments were defined, and a 50-year harvesting plan was proposed. In each harvested compartment, protection areas were identified for species conversion (e.g., native oaks and/or broadleaves). Afforestation species were proposed according to the species suitability maps produced earlier. Low flammability species that produce high-quality wood, non-wood products and landscape enhancement were preferred. A comparison of the land cover in the study area in 2007 to that anticipated in 2064 via the proposed plan showed that a more fragmented landscape structure could be achieved by introducing 16 species of lower flammability than maritime pine into the study area. This study proved the usefulness of this methodological approach for guiding sustainable changes in homogeneous, unmanaged forest landscapes prone to fire. Further research is needed regarding integrated planning approaches that incorporate environmental, economic and social dimensions (e.g., human desertification of rural areas).     

Need for a cross-sector approach in protected area management

The need for various stakeholders to harmonize their policies and practices has emerged as a dominant paradigm for 21st century natural resource management. Cross-sector coordination is promising because it can enhance policy consistency, enable the realization of synergies and resolve conflicts among sectors regarding resource management. The extent to which ministries and their main stakeholders make efforts to achieve integrated policies for nature conservation requires further research. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore the consultation reports of ministries from relevant fields (i.e., environmental protection, agriculture, spatial planning, and security) regarding the management plans for Romania’s protected areas. We analysed and visualized 152 consultation reports (2013–2016) covering 15% of Romania's protected areas using self-organizing maps (SOMs), an unsupervised machine-learning method. Our results showed that considerable attention was paid to formal issues in these reports. The cross-sector issues that emerged as the most important were those related to forest landowner consultation, and the harmonization of agricultural and forestry practices, as well as spatial plans for conservation. The resulting SOMs could be used as a tool to strengthen protected area management in the future because they can (i) guide managers of protected areas to develop plans that ensure that resources will be used in the best way according to the visions of multiple sectors and (ii) help the relevant ministries to improve future consultation reports.     

新疆集体林权制度改革经济效应分析

以集体林权制度改革为政策背景,采用C-D生产函数模型,根据新疆林业经济统计数据,就林业科技进步、林业资本投入、林业劳动力投入、新增造林面积以及作为虚拟变量的集体林权制度改革等要素,对新疆林业经济增长的贡献做出定量评价。结果表明:集体林权制度改革后林业科技进步、林业资本投入、林业劳动力投入对林业经济增长具有明显推进作用,作为虚拟变量的制度因素集体林权改革对林业经济增长具有正向推动作用。新疆林业经济的增长在很大程度上依赖于林业资本的大力投入,因此新疆林业要实现经济快速增长,必须继续深化集体林权制度改革,落实林权证的发放,不仅要继续加大劳动力投入和科技投入的力度,而且要促进林业劳动力投入和科技进步的结合;同时还要不断完善人才培养机制,加快新疆林业技术人才的引进。     

Back to the Forest’s future: Guiding principles of German forest stakeholders and their impact on the forestry sector

Long-term planning is an important aspect of forestry. The future-oriented guiding principles of forestry stakeholders impact their decisions and therefore the future of the sector. Forestry faces major challenges due to global changes. At the same time, the ability of traditional forestry stakeholders to manage uncertainty and ensure sustainable management is increasingly being questioned from both within and outside the sector. To study the shared and conflicting guiding principles followed by forestry stakeholders and how these might shape stakeholders’ actions, we conducted 49 semi-structured qualitative interviews with different German forestry stakeholders, mostly from Bavaria. We used a qualitative approach and linked the “Leitbild analysis” (Leitbild = German for guiding principles) and the sensemaking concept to derive a typology of six guiding principles followed by forestry stakeholders. Results show that the guiding principles of forestry stakeholders are mostly formed around policy conflicts between traditional forest users and nature conservationists. Differences were mainly based on the question of which side would dominate future forest management. In all the groups, the views reflected were mainly negative, and traditional forestry stakeholders saw themselves losing power and authority in the future. We argue that these negative future expectations might narrow stakeholders’ perspectives on potential chances and opportunities due to the low self-efficacy that we observed. In line with the assumption that by guiding today's actions, future images have a real-world impact, we find that current problems might be perpetuated through the expectation that they will remain unchanged in the future. Based on our findings, we emphasize the need for a stronger focus on potential future chances and shaping options within the German forestry sector and the need to embrace new ways of cooperation between stakeholders.     

Analysis of the potential socio-economic impact of establishing plantation forestry on rural communities in Sanga district,Niassa province,Mozambique

This study assesses the livelihoods of rural households in a proposed green field forestry area located in Sanga district of Niassa province, Mozambique. The livelihood analysis was used to analyze potential socio-economic impacts of introducing forest plantations to rural households located within the proposed afforestation area. The study made use of household interviews, key informant interviews and secondary data. The sustainable livelihoods framework was used in the research process to develop the household questionnaire and to identify livelihood strategies. Data were analyzed using 331 household questionnaires collected throughout the proposed afforestation area in various communities in the study area. Findings from the study indicated that there is minimal wealth gaps between rural households; but that the introduction of the forestry industry and the subsequent employment created thereof may result in larger wealth gaps between wage earning and non-wage earning households. The study further concludes by linking the potential socio-economic impacts with mitigation recommendations that could be harmonized with FSC Standard requirements for forestry companies interested in developing a forest industry in the study area.     

林地规模对农户林地投入的影响分析

基于浙江省3个县245户农户的调查数据,对不同林地规模下农户的投入进行统计分析的结果表明:随着地块规模的扩大,单位面积林地总投入虽然有一些波动,但总体上呈现出逐渐减少的趋势。采用多元线性回归模型对林地规模影响农户林地投入进行的分林种实证分析结果表明:林地面积对经济林及竹林地块投入均具有显著的负向影响;当年是否造林对经济林及竹林投入均具有正向影响;林业生产是否存在资金困难对竹林投入具有负向影响;林地距主干道的距离对经济林投入有负向影响;林业收入占比对经济林投入有正向影响。     

Dynamic land use and land cover changes and their effect on forest resources in a coastal village of Matemwe,Zanzibar, Tanzania

Recent land cover change estimates show overall decline of tropical forests at the regional and global scales caused by multiple social, cultural and economic factors. There is an overall concern on the prevailing land use practices, such as shifting cultivation and extraction of forest materials as agents of forests losses, but also new, emerging land uses are threatening tropical forests. Understanding of the long-term development and driving forces of forest changes are needed, especially at local levels where many decisions on forest policies and land uses are made. This paper addresses the importance of such information for improved estimates of forest dynamics by studying local level land cover and land use changes during the last 50–70 years in the Eastern African tropical island of Zanzibar, Tanzania. The paper discusses the role of traditional and new land uses mainly subsistence farming, tourism and government interference through tree planting, in the long-term development of the forests at the village level. The material for the study is gathered from the interpretation of archival maps and aerial photographs combined with contemporary digital aerial photographs. The analyses are based on the mapping, spatial sampling and spatio-temporal change trajectory analysis (LCTA) of forest land cover, forest land uses and settlement patterns with GIS and statistics. Six distinct forest land cover change trajectories were identified and these illustrate dynamic and heterogeneous nature of the forests. Closed forest cover has dominated throughout due to cyclical land use patterns, but over 70% of the land area has been continuously transforming between closed, semi-open and open land cover conditions. Land use turnover rates indicate that hardly any forest areas are left untouched from the forces, which remove and re-establish forest vegetation in the long run. Land cover and land use change trajectories are spatially fragmented in the studied landscape. Majority of forest loss-gain dynamics is caused by shifting cultivation, while forest losses are most dramatic along the coast, where traditional and new land uses meet and land uses pressures are highest. The study suggests that landscape change trajectory analyses, where contemporary and historical information on land uses and land cover changes are spatially linked, can provide valuable aspects into local level forest land use planning and management strategies. For the case study, the findings suggest the following key forest management strategies for consideration: (1) establishment of a protected forest/scrubland in participation with the local stakeholders, especially the farmers, (2) promotion of areas for permanent agricultural practices, while simultaneously introducing management controls in the traditional slash-and-burn farming areas, and (3) promoting new livelihood opportunities for the farmers, who have traditionally been dependent on forest resources, meanwhile introducing alternatives for fuel wood for cooking.     

Modeling of ecosystem services informs spatial planning in lands adjacent to the Sarvelat and Javaherdasht protected area in northern Iran

Dynamic models of ecosystem services supply and scenario analysis of changes in multiple services are being increasingly used to support land use planning and decision making. This approach reduces potential and real conflicts among various stakeholders potentially creating win–win solutions for all. It is particularly applicable in areas where insufficient land for agriculture and settlements is resulting in high rates of conversion of natural forest and grasslands. We quantified and mapped multiple ecosystem services, including habitat provision as a proxy for biodiversity, carbon storage and sequestration, and water balance and supply in the Sarvelat and Javaherdasht region of the globally-significant Hyrcanian (Caspian) forests in northern Iran using the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs tool. This region is experiencing a rapidly increasing rate of forest conversion and as a result, the protected area located within the study landscape is threatened by human encroachment. Plausible future landscapes were modeled under three scenarios: (i) business as usual; (ii) protection-based zoning which reflects an expansion of the protected area boundary to prevent land use changes; and (iii) collaborative zoning through redefining the protection boundary simultaneously with an adjustment to meet local stakeholders’ objective of expansion of anthropogenic cover. The results showed that the collaborative zoning scenario would best contribute to effective policy because it presents a more rational spatial configuration of the landscape maintaining the provision of ecosystem services. This scenario may lead to reduced environmental impacts while achieving less conflict between the government and local communities. These results will help to inform and shape natural resource management policies in Iran and is applicable elsewhere in the world.     

Drivers of land change: Human-environment interactions and the Atlantic forest transition in the Paraíba Valley,Brazil

Human societies constantly interact with the environment through mutual feedbacks and adaptations. The aim of this research was to analyze human and environmental dimensions so as to understand how the dynamic processes of land use and land cover change are contributing to the increase of forest cover observed between 1985 and 2011 in the Paraíba Valley, Brazil. The forestry sector, based on eucalyptus plantations, is given particular attention due to its role in these change processes. Multi-layer perception neural network (MPNN) models were adopted to evaluate the influence of independent variables in the process of the forest transition. Based on the model's results, we conclude that the process is conditioned by a set of biophysical and socioeconomic variables that operate during different historical periods and in different landscape settings. The proximity of Atlantic forest remnants was influential in the forest transition for the three periods analyzed: 1985–1995, 1995–2005, and 2005–2011. In the first period of change (1985–1995), topography was most influential. Between the periods of 1995–2005 and 2005–2011, the proximity to eucalyptus plantations was an important factor, indicating a high probability of native forest recovery occurring in the vicinity of these monocultural areas. The forest transition tends to occur in areas less suitable for agriculture at the outset, but as these areas are replaced by forest cover, socioeconomic drivers such as farm credit and economic development play important roles in forest recovery.     

Forestry in the Republic of Ireland: Government policy,grant incentives and carbon sequestration value

Recent decades have seen a rapid increase in the area of privately owned forest plantations in Ireland. This has been largely driven by grant aid and annual premium payments from the government and the European Union. These forests are significant carbon sinks and as such are delivering added benefit to the country by contributing to greenhouse gas reductions under the Kyoto Protocol.The direct impact of government subvention on the net present value (NPV) for a defined forestry plantation is investigated. The added value of carbon sequestration to forestry investment is also examined using the Forestry Commission (Great Britain) carbon model. Extending the typical assumption of a constant carbon price for project appraisal purposes, this paper allows carbon prices to evolve randomly according to a flexible stochastic price process. The model chosen is an extended mean-reverting jump-diffusion with the flexibility to capture the higher order statistical features (i.e. skewness and kurtosis) of the carbon markets. This allows for an analysis of the risk and uncertainty around the NPV from exposure to stochastic carbon prices. It is shown that government grants and annual premiums for afforestation significantly improve the NPV on forestry investment. Carbon sequestration is shown to add further value.     

重点国有林区改革进程对职工工资性收入影响研究

以2001—2016年东北、内蒙古重点国有林区87个林业局为样本,采用固定效应模型对重点国有林区林业局职工工资性收入影响因素进行估计,并采用面板数据分位数回归进一步分析改革进程对不同收入组林业局职工的影响。研究结果表明:重点国有林区改革的持续推进有利于职工工资性收入的增长;改革进程对高、中、低各收入组林业局职工工资性收入均具有显著的正向影响,收入越高的林业局职工从重点国有林区改革进程中获益越大。因此,提出继续深化改革、关注天保工程资金在重点国有林区创造就业岗位及增加职工收入等方面的经济社会效益、关注中低收入职工群体等建议。     

The Index of Function Suitability (IFS): A new tool for assessing the capacity of landscapes to provide amenity functions

Integrating social demands into landscape management has been proven difficult because of a lack of suitable measures. In order to address this issue this article describes the development of the Index of Function Suitability (IFS). This offers an integrated conceptual tool for incorporating social demands into landscape management. The IFS links preferences to land cover spatial patterns as it uses quantitative indicators for gauging differences between the preferred landscape patterns by users, for a certain activity related to an amenity function (e.g. hunting), and the land cover patterns of a given rural area (either at the present or from scenarios developed for the future). Introducing the measurement of the difference between the preferred spatial patterns and the landscape patterns occurring in a given landscape is a fundamental conceptual development represented in the IFS. By using the same set of indicators to quantify different land cover patterns, the IFS gauges quantitatively the differences between their spatial patterns, thus providing landscape managers with an indication of the suitability of changing land covers to support the selected amenity functions. In this paper, the conceptual aspects, as well as the methodological steps of the IFS were explained and further applied to one empirical case study in the Alentejo region of Portugal. This paper also examines both the strengths and weaknesses of the IFS approach along with a discussion for improvement.     

江苏省林业产权制度改革中权属关系之研究

江苏地处长江下游 ,是一个“一山二水七分田”的平原农业省 ,按人口和经济实力在全国是一个大省 ,但土地面积和资源状况在全国是一个小省 ,特别是森林资源相对匮乏 ,林地面积有限。在人多地少 ,森林覆盖率低 ,生态环境脆弱的情况下 ,如何加快林业建设 ,使林业生产与江苏经济建设和社会发展相适应就显得十分重要。经过多年的努力 ,江苏省林业取得了长足进展 ,“八五”期间基本上实现平原绿化。林业作为生态环境的主体 ,其生态效益和社会效益日益明显 ,在发挥这两大效益的同时 ,林业已经成为江苏农村经济的重要组成部分。本文通过对江苏省林业的实地调查 ,针对现实中存在的问题 ,从产权权属法律规定的角度 ,阐明了进一步深化江苏林业产权制度的对策措施。     

北京市海淀区建设新型林业初探

论述了北京市海淀区建设新型林业的内涵、意义、总体布局和构想,总结了海淀区建设新型林业的初步实践。新型林业的内涵是生态型、景观型、科学型、文化型、服务型、安全型。其总体构想是东播绿、西改林、南建园、北织网;全区生态体系按照城区、新区和山区进行布局。城区重点是提升绿地水平,新区重点建设大面积近自然森林,山区建成生态保护区和旅游观光区。     

To plant or not to plant—Irish farmers’ goals and values with regard to afforestation

To encourage Irish farmers to transfer land into forestry, a premium scheme supporting farmers who afforest was implemented in 1989 and afforestation targets outlined in 1996. In the period from 1996 to 2006, however, only half of the targeted area was planted in Ireland. As the income of many farmers would improve when joining the scheme, a number of studies have been conducted to find out why the response was not as expected. However, to date the phenomenon has not been explained. Amongst the studies undertaken, a lack of qualitative approaches looking at farmers’ decision-making was identified. In order to understand farmers’ decisions regarding farm afforestation, in-depth interviews with 62 farmers in the North-West and Mid-Western regions of Ireland were conducted in winter and spring 2011. The interviews were based on the theory of farmers’ goals and values developed by Ruth Gasson in 1973 and relate specifically to their instrumental, intrinsic, social and expressive values about farming. The results of this study show that farmers exhibit complex, multiple and sometimes contradictory values in relation to farming. The biggest group in the study were guided by intrinsic values when it comes to farm afforestation. Their decision not to plant is made based on their values and beliefs about farming, e.g. that it is a shame to plant land used for food production, even if this returns a greater profit. A much smaller group were directed by profit maximisation when it comes to afforesting land. These farmers would plant if the financial incentives for forestry were more attractive, e.g. if the premiums available for afforestation were higher or if the outlook for agricultural profits was not as good as anticipated.     

Analysis of EU support for managed succession of agricultural land in the Czech Republic

The article presents a comparison of EAFRD support for afforestation of agricultural land (managed succession) in the years of 2007–2013 and model costs required to compensate for both operational inputs and agricultural income forgone when establishing woodland on agricultural land in the Czech Republic.The aim was to investigate whether the blanket support rates for the afforestation of agricultural land are sufficient to cover the associated costs in a wide range of site conditions. Costs were calculated for 43 groups based on forest typology. The calculation was based on the comparison of present costs and present revenues (here: European fund support) with the discount rate of 3% and a 15-year evaluation period. The analysis demonstrated that input costs vary considerably in the different forest typologies; 44% of groups show higher present costs than the support rates currently available. In the most expensive group costs are 150% higher than even an increased support rate in less favoured areas available to agricultural entrepreneurs, and almost 200% in comparison with the basic support rate. In several cases – and always in case of pine management – the support payments are notably higher than the related input costs, and because of that the land owner might be strongly motivated to change the land use from agriculture to forestry.The article points out the sensitivity of the results to the discount rate used and to the importance of the CZK/Euro exchange rate fluctuation.The analysis’ results lead us to strongly encourage a more substantial differentiation of the support rates for afforestation of agricultural, and other, land. This differentiation should be based on realistic input costs according to forest typology – the methodology of which might be relevant in several other EU countries.     

天鹅山林场森林景观异质性分析

景观空间格局分析是景观生态学研究的核心问题;利用SPOT5数据以及森林资源调查数据在资兴市天鹅山林场开展森林景观异质性分析,对林场森林资源景观分为杉木林、阔叶林、竹林、灌木林、松林、幼林及非林地等7种景观类型,结合Fragstats3.3景观分析软件进行景观格局指数计算,研究结果表明:天鹅山林场一级森林景观斑块总体密度平均值为7.6458块/hm2,在7个森林景观类型中,以竹林的斑块密度最高,其次才是阔叶林、松林、非林地、杉木林和幼林;景观多样性指数为1.5377,均匀度指数为0.7902,优势度指数为0.4802,说明景观异质性较高,景观类型丰富。     

福建省茫荡山自然保护区森林景观评价

在生态学的理论基础上,利用定性分析与景观综合评价指数法的定量分析相结合的方法对福建省茫荡山自然保护区的森林景观进行综合评价。景观综合评价指数法选取自然性、珍稀性、多样性、典型性、科研性等10个评价指标对保护区内森林景观质量进行等级划分,得出保护区内森林景观质量达到Ⅱ级水平,具有较好的生态旅游开发价值,并针对保护区目前存在的现状及问题提出相应的建议。     

制定林业具体会计准则的探讨

为了规范林业企业的会计业务,急需制定林业具体会计准则。本文探讨了林木资产、林木资本、营林生产成本和营林管护费用等林业会计要素的确认、计价。