CHALLENGEIn Indonesia, the question of forest and land ownership is legally complex. Indonesia’s post-independence land legislation, based on colonial practices, has continued to assign rights and allocate forest and land resources in ways that exclude or marginalize local people, especially historically disadvantaged groups such as indigenous peoples and isolated communities. Approximately 70% of Indonesia's land is classified as forest zone and thus claimed by the state. Although only about 11% of this total land area has been legally verified and gazetted as state forest land, in…
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CHALLENGEWhat are the tools and practices available for financing nature protection in Southeastern Europe? Conforming to European environmental requirements and joining the ecologocial network "Natura 2000" requires better management of natural resources, new approaches for public and private collaboration, and a sustainable method to finance the expansion of protected areas.Although the Croatian Government has identified a network of around 1,000 potential "Natura 2000" sites covering over 250 species and 70 regionally significant habitat types, resources are scarce. A review of best…
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CHALLENGEAccording to the most recent forest assessment (FAO, 2005), the forest area in Lebanon is estimated at over 139,000 ha (13.3% of the country) with an additional 108,000 ha classified as Other Wooded Land (OWL). The FAO analysis shows that 85 % of the forest area in Lebanon is considered "disturbed", i.e. impacted by human activities, with about 14% of the forest area affected by past forest fires. About 60% of the forest area is privately owned, compared to 27% state-owned and 11% owned by municipalities and communities, with only 3% of the area designated as nature reserves.Forests…
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CHALLENGEBiochar is the carbon rich residue of heating biomass without oxygen, a process called pyrolysis, that also releases bio-oil and syngas with high energy content. There is growing interest from public and private investors in biochar as a method for removing vast amounts of atmospheric carbon (mitigation) and rebuilding soil fertility and resilience to drought (adaptation). Considering that the fate of tropical forests lies on the ability to produce more food and energy with less land, the soil fertility effect of biochar is also very relevant to the lasting reduction of deforestation…
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CHALLENGECharcoal is one of the main sources of energy used in the production of pig iron for steel in Brazil. The vast majority of the current charcoal production is from unsustainable and often illegal harvest of native forests, leading to severe environmental degradation and deforestation. However, there have been successful business cases of forest plantation for charcoal production in Brazil, including one Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) project financed by the Prototype Carbon Fund in Minas Gerais. Expanding the area of forest plantations for charcoal on idle or degraded pasture land…
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CHALLENGEThe Chaco Eco-region in northern Argentina includes some of the country’s poorest communities, many of which are dependent on forests for their livelihoods. The Chaco Eco-region also suffers from the highest rates of deforestation in Argentina. Between 2006 and 2011, more than 1.5 million hectares of natural forest were destroyed, with conversion to agriculture and uncontrolled (often illegal) forest exploitation causing deforestation at a rate of 1.2 percent per year. Biodiversity has also been lost, soil and water resources have been degraded, and carbon emissions have increased…
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CHALLENGEVietnam’s national commitment to using forests for sustainable and resilient growth is clearly articulated in the government’s Target Program for Sustainable Forest Development. Furthermore, the government has also shown its commitment to sustainable forest sector use by prioritizing policy actions related to the spatial planning of coastal forests in the ongoing development policy in financing climate change and green growth in the country. Vietnam is also revising its forest law that covers key issues such as collaborative management, restoration of coastal forest areas, and…
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Building Local Democracy Through Natural Resource Interventions -- An Environmentalist's ResponsibilityAPPROACHThrough 17 institutional choice case studies funded by PROFOR, the World Resources Institute (WRI) explored the democratizing effects of ‘decentralization’ reforms and projects in forestry in Benin, Botswana, Brazil, China, India, Nicaragua, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Russia, Senegal, South Africa, and Zambia.MAIN FINDINGSThe findings concluded that institutional choice shapes local democracy—hence, it could be a local democracy tool. Choices of local partners would influence the…
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CHALLENGEIn the last decade two programs helped make forest policy processes more inclusive.The National Forest Program Facility (NFP), hosted by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, worked for 10 years in 80 partner countries. It aimed to foster country leadership and strengthen the participation of stakeholders in developing and implementing national forest programs. About 75% of the 900 grants it delivered went to civil society organizations; the remainder supported central forestry agencies.The Growing Forest Partnerships (GFP), financed by the World Bank, worked for…
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CHALLENGEToday, Haiti has lost over 98% of its original forest cover. Tree harvesting and the widespread agricultural use of steep slopes have radically transformed the natural landscape in Haitian watersheds. High population growth and current land use practices far exceed the carrying capacity of the land, especially the destructive impact of weeded annual crops on unprotected slopes, and the unsustainable production of charcoal. These trends have reduced productivity, decreased water infiltration and exposed the population to acute erosion upstream and severe flooding downstream. In…
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