Wooden chutes for big, heavy timber built with round logs can provide permanent transportation solutions. However, their use in tropical natural forests cannot be generally recommended due to the fact that their construction needs specially trained labor and that extractable volumes are often very low, in most cases not exceeding 20-30 meter (m)3 per harvest cycle.

Equity has featured prominently in international climate change discussions since the establishment of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 1992. Looking forward, equity is expected to be of even greater relevance in this year’s hoped for landmark climate agreement, to be finalized at the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) in Paris. Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) remains a focal point of global debate at the intersection of forest and climate change policy.

This report is an output of the Forest Certification for Ecosystem Services (ForCES) project. The ForCES project is implemented by the SNV Netherlands Development Organisation in Vinh Tu commune, Quang Tri province and the Huong Son Forest State Company, Ha Tinh province. Funding for the ForCES project has been provided by the Global Environment Facility and the Embassy of Finland through the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and RECOFTC – The Center for People and Forests.

This brief reviews a teak tree valuation methodology that attempts to ameliorate the risks inherent to borrowers and banks as well to ensure that community forestry principles and aims to improve livelihoods and capabilities are adaptable to existing social and economic pressures. The valuation method was created in tandem with the implementation of a smallholder forestry project in Bokeo, Lao PDR. The project was implemented by RECOFTC in conjunction with the Lao Provincial Organisation for Forestry and Agriculture (PAFO) and the Lao Department of Agriculture and Forestry.

Forestry policy and practice in Britain has been subject to a series of paradigm changes since the establishment of the Forestry Commission in 1919. Drawing on a documentary analysis of legislation, published policy statements, commentaries and scholarly critiques, this paper argues that British forestry policy has undergone three significant paradigm shifts since it was first mooted in the late 19th century.

The development of modern high efficiency bioenergy technologies has the potential to improve energy security and access while reducing environmental impacts and stimulating low-carbon development. While modern bioenergy production is increasing in the world, it still makes a small contribution to our energy matrix. At present, approximately 87% of energy demand is satisfied by energy produced through consumption of fossil fuels.

Projected land demands for bioenergy fall well within conservative estimates of current and future land availability (240 to 905 Mha). Estimates for the amount of modern bioenergy needed to meaningfully mitigate climate change range from 80 to 200 EJ in the 2050 timeframe. At the upper end of this range, we estimate that about 200 million hectares would be required. This may be compared to most estimates for the amount of land available for bioenergy, which exceed 500 million hectares.

Despite myriad challenges, Kenya has emerged in recent years as one of Africa’s frontier economies, with headline growth in the most recent decade propelling the country toward middle-income status. Less well understood is how risk dynamics associated with production, markets, and policy adversely impact sector performance, in terms of both influencing ex ante decision making among farmers, traders, and other sector stakeholders and causing ex post losses to crops, livestock, and incomes - destabilizing livelihoods and jeopardizing the country’s food security.

This work summarizes background papers prepared for the World Bank Group with significant input from government counterparts and other development partners. It takes stock of major recent developments and argues that a lot has been achieved in the last decade in terms of production of commodities for export and food consumption, with favorable impact on rural poverty reduction. It also argues that the two factors driving the recent agricultural performance, namely favorable international prices and expansion of the agricultural frontier, have reached their limits.

... This piece of community initiated action research reveals a number of lessons we can learn. The authors try to reflect the challenges of and opportunities for community based natural resources management in a seemingly forgotten Karen controlled area of southern Myanmar. The paper examines a number of case studies including the construction of a local water supply system, the establishment of fish conservation zones and community-driven forest conservation.

This market assessment;undertaken in 2015;reviews the constraints faced by smallholder farmers in three sectors (rural land rental;access to finance and agriculture) that limit the positive impact of second level land certification in Tigray and the Southern Nations;Nationalities;and Peoples Region (SNNPR). Furthermore;the assessment provides a list of feasible interventions to catalyse the economic impact of increased tenure security..This resource was published in the frame of the Land Investment for Transformation (LIFT) Programme.

The objective of this transport component of the broader Africa Climate Business Plan (ACBP) is to begin to mainstream climate benefits into the World Bank’s transport program for Sub-Saharan Africa, the better to assist African countries in bringing their climate change efforts to scale.