Vietnam has seemingly been able to shortcut the forest transition (FT) by quickly moving to the reforestation phase. Provincial-level forest cover and socio-economic trends are, however, not necessarily compatible with a standard FT framework. This article compares forest cover change and associated policy reforms in two provinces. Bac Kan is one of the poorest provinces in Vietnam, and has, after years of deforestation and forest degradation, expanded its forest cover during the past two decades.

Shea products in Benin (West Africa) are produced in a low-developed agroindustry, but they are estimated to be the country’s third largest export. The nut harvesting and quality guaranteeing in the butter process can only be achieved through improvements in the value chain, thus making it more attractive for stakeholders. The aim of this paper is to provide keys to a better product valorization, obtain a significant increase in household incomes based on shea butter marketing opportunities, and offer competitive products at the local and regional markets.

In Norway, 84% of the productive forest is privately owned, and these forests dominate the supply of timber to industries. However, during last 80 years, annual forest growth has seen a substantial upsurge while annual timber harvest has been rather stable, generating an increasing potential for timber supply. In this study, we provide new insights to better understand Norwegian non-industrial private forest owners’ timber harvesting decisions.

Research Highlights: The reasons for persistence of forest fragments in human-dominated landscapes have rarely been examined, despite their importance in biodiversity and ecosystem services. We determined these reasons for forest fragments on collective land in Xishuangbanna prefecture, southwest China. Background and Objectives: Reconciling economic development with biodiversity conservation has been a major challenge in China’s small tropical land area, where local realities have often been in conflict with national policies.

This paper applies the international environmental negotiations framework (IENF) and the multiple streams framework (MSF) to analyze the influence of Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs) and International Development Agencies (IDAs) in the development and implementation of the Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade agreement (FLEGT) and the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) regimes in Cameroon. Deforestation, forest degradation, and illegal logging are critical issues in forest management in many forest-rich countries around the world.

Slash-and-burn is a farming practice of the indigenous communities in the Himalayan foothills of Nepal. The traditional land-tenure system is based on a customary oral tradition. However, the government’s persistent denial of land rights has fueled the indigenous conflicts in the last few decades. Deliverance of scientific evidence-based arguments may underpin the ongoing conflict-resolution dialogues between the authorities and the indigenous communities.

In this paper, we explore how diverse community networks in Brazil have locally advanced seed production and institutional systems to enhance a restoration economy. By focusing on the experiences of the six major native seed suppliers in Amazonia, the Cerrado, and the Atlantic Forest, we estimate the capacity to scale-up community-based systems to meet a large-scale restoration target as a rural development strategy. Over one decade, 1016 collectors traded 416.91 tonnes of native seeds representing, on average, 31.41 kilos yearly and USD 256.5 as household income.

Forest plantations have expanded rapidly in response to financial support from the state and local governments and have had significant positive impacts on rural livelihoods and development in Vietnam, since the late 1980s. This study used net present value (NPV) and internal rate of return (IRR) to examine the economic performance of plantations for three species, Acacia mangium Willd, Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus urophylla S.T. Blake × Eucalyptus camaldulensis Dehn), and Manglietia conifera Dandy, in Bac Kan province.

Deforestation and biodiversity loss in agroecosystems are generally the result of rational choices, not of a lack of awareness or knowledge. Despite both scientific evidence and traditional knowledge that supports the value of diverse production systems for ecosystem services and resilience, a trend of agroecosystem intensification is apparent across tropical regions. These transitions happen in spite of policies that prohibit such transformations.

Anthropologists sometimes ask what flexible practices mean when used in instances of land use and access among protected area regimes which control the land and the indigenous or local people who claim rights to the land. In the Mount Cameroon National Park (MCNP), West Africa, this question comes with urgency because of the historical disputes associated with defining access and user-rights to land within this park. In this case, we present an ethnographic study using a transect walk with a native Bakweri hunter to map and analyze his opinions about land use and access into the park.

The Forest Stewardship Council initiated a Forest Certification for Ecosystem Services (ForCES) project from 2011 to 2017 to improve and promote sustainable forest management addressing a range of ecosystem services. Three sites in Indonesia were included in the pilot. Whilst the development of the certification standard was largely the result of a partnership between the certification standard organization, civil society and research organizations, implementation and monitoring of the impact of this sustainability standard will entail interactions with state regulations.

Participatory forest management has been considered as a practical and effective strategy for sustainable forest management, especially in situations where land tenure is not securely settled. For effective forest restoration, local communities, as the cornerstone of participatory management, should be provided with incentives to facilitate their participation and active role. We postulate that participation in mangrove restoration projects can not only provide financial rewards but also yield intangible benefits for communities, i.e., social capital.