forest degradation Articles
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Legally REDD: Building readiness for REDD by supporting developing countries in the fight against illegal logging
If reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) is to work effectively, developing countries will need support to build the capacities required for enforcing their own laws and regulations. At present, timber production that violates the developing country’s own laws both acts as a barrier to REDD and costs these countries billions of dollars per year. This paper examines ...
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Farmers' (local and colonists) perceptions of environmental changes in the forest frontier of the upper Amazon, Peru
Amazon ecosystem degradation profoundly impacts life supporting processes of global importance such as climate regulation, as well as local conditions for livelihoods. In Peru's highland jungle, an expanding deforestation front of forest conversion to agriculture has vastly transformed the landscape. Small–scale farming, the main driver of forest degradation, and consequently household natural ...
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4 Reasons Assessing Governance Matters for Forests and People
The world’s forests and the people who depend on them face a host of challenges—including deforestation, rural poverty, and degradation of critical ecosystem services. These negative outcomes are often exacerbated by weak forest governance, including low levels of transparency and participation in forest decision-making and as well as poor oversight of forest activities. To tackle ...
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A Model for Communal Forest Management
Guna Yala, an autonomous indigenous territory inside Panama, is one of the most unusual places on the planet, where the Guna people have preserved their way of life and the forest around them thanks in large part to their exceptional land rights and sovereignty. At first glance, life on Guna Yala’s dozens of inhabited Caribbean islands seems idyllic — a place without cars, with little ...
By Ensia
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Indigenous biodiversity `crucial` to forest futures
Forestry experts are calling for an increase in the use of native tree species in reforestation projects, arguing that they are better for biodiversity and can slow the pace of global warming. The recommendation appears in a report published by the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) that was presented during the UN climate change conference in Doha, Qatar, earlier this ...
By SciDev.Net
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Timber formwork is not sustainable
Human societies around the world have used timber as a building material for thousands of years. As wood is the only significant biological building material we are naturally inclined to believe that using wood in construction is good for the environment. As a matter of fact the environmental benefits of using timber are not straightforward: although it is a natural product, a large amount of ...
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Thailand's disappearing forests: the challenge to tropical forest conservation
Despite the ever-increasing concern about their conservation, tropical forests in Thailand are undergoing depletion and degradation, because the government pursued a policy of increasing national revenue through commercial logging and forest encroachment for the expansion of commercial agriculture until the end of 1980s. The pace of deforestation was further accelerated by the ever-growing ...
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Emerging REDD+ programs need additional emphasis on Land Tenure
Since 2009, more than 30 countries have submitted proposals for REDD+ readiness grants to start addressing the social, economic, and institutional factors that contribute to forest loss. Many countries have made encouraging strides in defining their plans to become “ready” for REDD+. Yet, in a new WRI analysis of 32 country proposals, we identify the need for stronger commitments and ...
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Reviving the degraded forests of Andhra Pradesh, India: an effort through joint forest management
Joint forest management in Andhra Pradesh was initiated to restore degraded forests and support livelihoods of forests dependents. Vegetation development in 20 JFM villages was assessed. Stem density ranged up to 321 trees/ha. Number of cut stems/ha varied from 49–92 indicating tree removals. Tree species were over 50 in Ghats, 40 in sub plains and 30 in plains indicating biodiversity ...
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Warsaw Climate Meeting Makes Progress on Forests, REDD+
For most observers, the outcomes of this year’s climate negotiations in Warsaw, Poland COP 19 were an inadequate response to climate change. But there was one bright spot— negotiators made big advances on a program called Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+). While much work remains to be done, the progress on REDD+ sets countries up for success when it ...
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“Swapping Land” to Produce Sustainable Palm Oil in Indonesia
Indonesia has the world’s third-largest rainforest, which is a haven for biodiversity and an economic lifeline for many rural communities. However, Indonesian forests are in rapid decline and the country regularly tops deforestation hotspots lists. The key to protecting Indonesia’s forests remains reforming its massive forestry and agriculture sectors. By giving these industries the ...
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Safeguarding forests and People: A framework for designing a national system to implement REDD+ safeguards
Background Around the world, members of governments, civil society, and the private sector are grappling with how to design and implement initiatives that reduce greenhouse gas emissions by slowing, halting, and reversing forest loss. These efforts have been spurred at least in part by the agreements onlong-term cooperative action (LCA) that Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on ...
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Developing a forest naturalness indicator for Europe - Concept and methodology for a high nature value (HNV) forest indicator
Background In Europe, forests cover around 40 % of the land area (190 million ha), making Europe one of the most forest-rich regions in the world. Forests are important habitats for many species of wildlife. Yet, forestry can also have negative impacts on biodiversity as unsustainable forest operations can lead to forest degradation and loss of biodiversity. In more recent times increased land ...
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What Does it Take for Successful Forest Landscape Restoration?
This week in Washington, D.C., members of the Global Partnership on Forest Landscape Restoration (GPFLR) met to advance strategies to restore degraded forest landscapes around the world. Such restoration has the potential to bring millions of hectares of land back to life—a move that could help protect watersheds, ensure food security, improve the livelihoods of rural communities, tackle ...
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New mapping technology: Nova Scotia’s powerful ally in protecting valuable forests
The government of Nova Scotia announced an ambitious plan earlier this month to protect 245,000 hectares of forest and park land, establishing the Canadian province as a conservation leader in one of the world’s most heavily forested nations. Roughly 14 percent of all land in Nova Scotia will now be legally protected from development, making it the province with the second-highest ...
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Global Forest watch - join the movement
We know remarkably little about what is happening to forests. Businesses currently have no way of determining whether or how much the soy, palm oil, or pulp and paper they use contribute to deforestation. So companies like Unilever and Nestlé, which have committed to halting deforestation in their supply chains, are unable to measure progress toward this important goal. Concerned ...
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Indonesia extends its Forest Moratorium: What comes next?
Indonesia’s President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono made a bold and courageous decision this week to extend the country’s forest moratorium. With this decision, which aims to prevent new clearing of primary forests and peat lands for another two years, the government could help protect valuable forests and drive sustainable development. Enacted two years ago, Indonesia’s forest ...
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5 lessons for sustaining global forests
As the old adage suggests, it is important to see the forests for more than just the trees. While an estimated 500 million people depend directly on forests for their livelihoods, the entire world depends on them for food, water, clean air, and vital medicines. Forests also absorb carbon dioxide, making them critical to curbing climate change. Despite some encouraging anti-deforestation efforts ...
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Preserving Russia's carbon sink: strategies for improving carbon storage through boreal forest protection
The boreal forests of Siberia, which store 40000 million tons of carbon and account for 25% of all non-ocean carbon absorption in the northern hemisphere, play a critical role in maintaining global climate balance. Siberia's forests, however, are being destroyed and degraded at an ever-increasing rate. This paper discusses the impact of Siberia's forests on the global carbon cycle, and what ...
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