The humid tropics are exposed to an unprecedented modernisation of agriculture involving rapid and mixed land-use changes with contrasted environmental impacts. Afforestation is often mentioned as an unambiguous solution for restoring ecosystem services and enhancing biodiversity. One consequence of afforestation is the alteration of streamflow variability which controls habitats, water resources, and flood risks. We demonstrate that afforestation by tree planting or by natural forest regeneration can induce opposite hydrological changes.

Participatory research and the social learning it supports are increasingly being used to improve forest management. Yet, the participation of women and other marginalized groups is often limited in these processes. This is a serious shortcoming, not only due to concerns for gender and social equity, but also because socially excluded, forest-dependent groups hold specific ecological knowledge, skills and interests that influence prospects for sustainable forest management.

Sarawak, Malaysia, is home to a wide range of native fruit tree species (NFTs) that contribute to the livelihoods of rural women and men. Yet, most agricultural research in the area, and elsewhere, has focused on commercial, non-native species, and the economic potential of lesser-known NFTs has often been overlooked. What is more, little attention has focused on research for development tools that can build on the local ecological knowledge of both men and women while supporting forest-based livelihoods and biodiversity conservation.

Vietnam has pilot-tested a payment for forest environmental services (PFES) program in an effort to restore and protect forest areas, some of which have been severely degraded by the excessive cutting of trees by small-scale farmers planting annual crops on steep, sloping lands. The pilot program implemented in southern Vietnam seems to be successful, yet the program in northern Vietnam has not produced the desired rates of planting and maintaining forest areas.

In 2014 the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-sharing took effect and is being implemented by countries. This is important for fair and equitable sharing of benefits derived from genetic resources. However, scientists are concerned about its effect on non-commercial research, which has scientific, societal and environmental benefits beyond commercial gains. Such research may be delayed by cumbersome procedures and hampered by poor understanding of its scientific purposes and research requirements.

This study evaluated the conservation status of tree populations and the impact of illegal logging in the Niassa National Reserve, a huge protected area in northern Mozambique, bordering Tanzania. The Miombo woodland around 8 villages was sampled on 43 transects laid out from log patios showing evidence of felling. Standing trees and stumps of 8 timber species (P. angolensis, A. quanzensis, M. sthulmannii, B. africana, C. imberbe, D. melanoxylon, P. angolensis and S. madagascariensis) were identified, quantified and measured.

In the Ethiopian highlands, church forests have a substantial contribution to landscape restoration, and conservation of endangered indigenous tree species and biodiversity. However, the environmental and economic benefits of church forests are declining due to a combination of economic, environmental, and cultural factors. This study was conducted in Dera district, Ethiopia, to assess the perception of local communities on church forests and investigate the willingness of local communities to pay to manage and protect church forests.

Tropentag, September 18-21, 2016, Vienna, Austria

“Solidarity in a competing world —

fair use of resources”

Prosperity Prospects in Contested Forest Areas: Evidence from

Community Forestry Development in Guatemala and Nicaragua

Dietmar Stoian

1

, Aldo Rodas

2

, Jessenia Arguello

3

1

Bioversity International, Healthy Diets from Sustainable Food Systems Initiative, France

2

Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, Guatemala, Natural Resources and Agrotourism,

3