Project 1: Sustainable Use of Forests

Intermediate goal

To promote sustainable use of natural and secondary forests and smallholder forest plantations so that they maintain their ability to provide different products and environmental services in a competitive manner.

Purpose and users

The purpose is to develop pro-poor, sustainable forest management frameworks and tools that take into account smallholders’ explicit needs and priorities. The aim is to enhance sustainable management of primary and secondary forests and forests plantations using locally adapted strategies. This is achieved through producing information, knowledge, tools and decision support systems for governmental and non-governmental organizations and community-based organisations involved in planning, supporting, and implementing smallholder and community forestry. The project focuses on enhancing both the enabling environment that could encourage or discourage sustainable forest and plantation management, and the capacity of forest managers to develop sustainable forest management practices adapted to local conditions. In addition, the project seeks to increase the competitiveness of smallholder and community forestry in local, national or international markets. This project will study the tradeoffs and synergies between different management objectives including tradeoffs between managing forests for timber and non-timber forest products, and for environmental services.

The project will develop sustainable forest management strategies and decision support systems (tools, models etc.) that cover different spatial and temporal scales and take into account product and service markets and other relevant factors affecting forest management. Much of the work will involve action research through integrating the target groups into the research process. This will be pursued through involving intermediary organizations (e.g. extension services, farmers’ groups, forest enterprises and NGOs) as a part of the process to ensure the relevance and uptake of research findings at the local level. The project will furthermore engage policy and decision makers (e.g. national and local governments, donors, advocacy groups) in a dialogue to develop and promote policies, strategies, guidelines, and market access.

Objectives

1. To enhance sustainable management of primary and secondary forests by promoting locally adapted strategies and frameworks.
2. To promote sustainable and competitive smallholder forest plantations.

Planned outputs

The project will develop frameworks, practical models and guidelines for sustainable forest management of natural primary and secondary forests and forest plantations that are user-friendly to farmers, farmer organizations, forest managers and companies. The project addresses the following three questions: 1) What are those locally driven natural resources management initiatives that support pro-forest decisions of smallholders (key drivers); 2) Are the expectations of smallholders and communities regarding the different forest management systems realistic and competitive (cost, benefits); 3 How to optimize the outputs of the forest management systems to ensure the achievement of results that satisfy both smallholders and the society including a wide range of goods and services (tools, policies). In addition, the project will participate in technology transfer and dissemination of information.

The role of forest plantations in global wood production and trade is growing rapidly. Growing demand of wood, including roundwood, wood fibre, and bioenergy is likely to place new pressures on natural forests and to promote the establishment of plantations. At the same time, smallholder plantation forestry has a potential to create new livelihood options for rural communities. By analyzing these dynamics, the project will produce strategic information for policy dialogue among various stakeholders.

The project will produce information that will: 1) promote more productive, competitive and diverse smallholder plantations that produce higher value products; 2) deliver methods to assess the impacts of plantations on ecosystem services (biodiversity, water, and carbon); 3) deliver innovative methods for involving stakeholders in plantation development and management; and 4) assess the impact of rising demand for wood fibre on natural forests and plantation development, and bring this knowledge back into the policy discussions.

Project outputs include information on the benefits and costs of silvicultural practices for natural forests and plantations, and tools for analysing tradeoffs and synergies among multiple forest-based goods and services when making management decisions. The viability of the most promising existing forest management models will be evaluated for their relevance to rural smallholders, communities and forest enterprises and for their sustainability. The results will be condensed through the development of key indicators, practical tools, and decision support systems (simulation models, forest management systems). Products for policy and decision makers include policy briefs, working papers, and articles on the status of forest management, and that compare the costs and benefits of current and alternative scenarios.

Activities and progress

The programme will continue its research on adoption of sustainable forest management practices in Amazonian forests (Brazil, Bolivia and Peru). In Brazil it will design and apply tools to quantify tradeoffs between timber production and biodiversity conservation in community-managed forests in the Amazon (Bolivia, Brazil, Peru) and develop guidelines for diversified management of community forests in Central America.

The development of pro-poor, sustainable forest management frameworks and tools will be based on a comprehensive overview of forest management strategies applied by smallholder living in different forest types and conditions in the Amazon. In the following phase, the project will produce tools to promote smallholder and community forest management strategies.

CIFOR’s recent research on plantations has concentrated on the social, economic, and technical aspects of plantations with two main foci: 1) public-private partnerships for promoting smallholder plantations and 2) sustainability of large-scale forest industry based on plantation forestry. This first focus of the project has been particularly interested in promoting transparent and equitable partnerships between smallholders, industrial, and other stakeholders that can encourage the sustainable development of plantations and trees outside forests and access to markets in order to improve rural livelihoods. The main current activities in this field are related to improving fair partnership for local development and improved forest sustainability (Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines). This activity will develop approaches and tools that help private companies and governments manage forest resources over the long term in partnership with rural communities and other stakeholders. In addition, technical tools for plantation management and silviculture will be developed. The second focus of this project aims to minimize the adverse impacts of the rapid growth of China’s pulp and paper industry on plantations and natural forests within China and in South East Asia. The work on plantation sustainability also includes a global network “Site Management and Productivity in Tropical Forests Plantations” that has operated in the three continents under CIFOR’s coordination since 1996.

In the future, the project will include: 1) “environmental services in plantations: trade-offs between competitiveness and conservation” looking at biodiversity, carbon sequestration and water aspects in forest plantations, 2) “linking products to markets: managing smallholder plantation in a competitive manner” looking at different management strategies for producing value-added products, 3) development of easy-to-use management tools and models for plantation management aimed at promoting smallholder plantation forestry, and 4) development of tools for larger-scale assessment of the sustainability of forest industries based on forest plantations.

Many activities of this project will be carried out on close collaboration with other projects developed by the Environmental Services and Sustainable Use of Forests program, and with other CIFOR programs, especially with the Forests and Livelihoods program’s project on “Improving Human Well-being through Forests” and with the Forests and Governance Program’s project “Local-Central Relations in Forest Governance”.

Partners

The main developing country partners will be: China: Chinese Academy of Forestry and the Forestry Economic and Development Research Centre (FERDC) of the State Forest Administration ,Guangxi Stora Enso Forestry Co., Ltd, Hainan Jinhua Forestry Co., Ltd, UPM-Kymmene Paper Industry Co., Ltd; Indonesia: FORDA; WWF-Indonesia; Ministry of Forestry; Inhutani II, Toba Pulp Lestari, Riau Andalan Pulp and Paper, Barito Pacific, Arara Abadi, Wirakarya Sakti, Gadjah Mada University (GMU), Perum Perhutani; Vietnam: Forest Science Institute of Vietnam; Bolivia: Superintendencia Forestal, PROMABOSQUE, BOLFOR, National Museum (Botany Dept.), Superintendencia Forestal da Bolivia, Instituto para el Hombre el Ambiente y la Ecologica (IPHAE), BOLFOR, SNV; Philippines: Faculty of Forestry of University of the Philippines, Los Baños (UPLB) and Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR); Malaysia: Faculty of Forestry of Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM); Brazil: Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária (EMBRAPA), Instituto do Homem e Meio Ambiente da Amazônia, Brazil (IMAZON), Instituto de Pesquisa Ambiental da Amazônia (IPAM), Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente e dos Recursos Naturais Renováveis (IBAMA), Centro dos Trabalhadores da Amazonia (CTA), Grupo de Pesquisa e Extensão em Sistemas Agroflorestais do Acre (PESACRE), Programa Nacional de Florestal/MMA, Universidade Federal Rural da Amazonia, Museu Paraense Emilio Goeldi, PPG-7/Promanejo; Mexico: Organizacion de Ejidos Productores Forestales de la Zona Maya (OEPFZM), Organizacion de Productores Forestales Ejidales de la Zona Sur, Secretaría de Desarrollo Rural e Indígena (SEDARI), University of Quintana Roo; Belize: Programme for Belice; Costa Rica: Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñaza (CATIE); Peru: Instituto Nacional de Recursos Naturales (INRENA), ProNaturaleza, Instituto de Investigaciones de la Amazonia Peruana (IIAP), Asociacion para la Investigación y el Desarrollo Integral (AIDER), SNV; Regional initiatives: Amazon Cooperation Treaty (OTCA), The Amazon Initiative.

The main developed country partners are: France: CIRAD-Forêt; United Kingdom: University College London; USA: Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies; Duke School of the Environment, Germany: University of Freiburg, and Sweden: Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. Finland: European Forest Institute (EFI), The Finnish Forest Research Institute (METLA).

Future milestones (2005-2007)

2005

• Papers (1 per country) on factors affecting the adoption of sustainable forest management practices by industries in Bolivia, Brazil, and Peru
• Policy briefs on factors affecting the adoption of sustainable forest management practices by industries in Bolivia, Brazil, and Peru
• Comparative study on the adoption of sustainable forest management practices by industries in Bolivia, Brazil, and Peru
• Papers on logging damage and reduced-impact logging in Kalimantan, Indonesia
• A publication on fibre-supply strategies for China
• Reports for Hainan and Guanxi provinces of China on key livelihood issues associated with pulp industry development and fibre requirements evaluating social consequences of plantation development, land-leasing, and other arrangements
• Papers on silviculture and management of teak plantations (Costa Rica)
• A monograph on silviculture and management of Terminalia amazonia (Costa Rica)
• Models and other risk analysis tools for forest plantations
• An analysis on agreements between farmers and a state owned enterprise to grow trees in Java (Indonesia)
• Papers on the teak market chain issues in Java
• Paper describing the process and tools used to facilitate different stakeholders to come up with an agreement on natural resource management in Palawan - Philippines

2006

• Papers: 3 country studies (Bolivia, Brazil, Peru) on smallholder forestry in the Amazon (in Spanish/Portuguese)
• Electronic data base on China’s pulp and paper industry and associated plantation resource base developed and made publicly available via CIFOR web site
• Paper summarizing key findings from policy and market analyses of wood supply to Chinese pulp industries
• Analytical report assessing structure of natural forest and plantation resource base, plans for new plantation development, and projected availability of pulpwood fibre in South East China
• Analytical report assessing real and projected impacts of China’s demand for wood pulp on natural forests in 5 South East Asian countries
• CD-Rom with data and GIS analysis of forest and plantation resources in China
• An article that explains how to use the Cormas model to help collective action and planning
• Paper describing the process and tools used to facilitate different stakeholders to come up with an agreement on natural resource management in Perak - Malaysia
• A paper about how market chain information can help improving people livelihood. A synthesis based on experience from Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines case studies

2007

• Paper: regional comparison on smallholder forestry in the Amazon (in English - translated into Spanish & Portuguese).
• Book: comparison of negotiation experiences for collaborative forest management in Malaysia, Indonesia and Philippines
• Book: teak issues, interaction between forest management and market

Project 2: Biodiversity in Fragmented Landscapes

CIFOR’s work on biodiversity is ‘crosscutting’ and biodiversity-related objectives feature in the work of all CIFOR’s research programmes. A section that describes some of the key cross-project / cross programmatic linkages is presented as an annex to this project description. The Environmental Services and Sustainable Use of Forests Programme provides the administrative focal point for CIFOR’s cross-programmatic biodiversity research.

Intermediate goal

To promote biodiversity conservation, restoration and sustainable use at multiple scales in fragmented landscapes.

Purpose and users

The purpose of this project is to conserve forest biodiversity in rural landscape mosaics through the development of integrated approaches and solutions in line with the Millennium Development Goals. The project seeks to find ways to balance biodiversity conservation with sustainable use of natural forest resources and improved local livelihoods. This requires a landscape approach and attention to what goes on at multiple scales. The aim of this project is to: (a) provide better scientific information for biodiversity management in forested rural landscape mosaics, (b) develop improved incentive strategies to convince stakeholders to manage biodiversity sustainably, (c) support initiatives in rehabilitation of degraded forest landscapes, (d) influence global and national biodiversity policies, and (e) build capacity and developing resource materials for training in biodiversity management and conservation at multiple scales. The project expects to influence major governmental and non-governmental conservation and development agencies by partnering and advising them on institutional mechanisms and tools for monitoring and evaluating biodiversity management strategies and forest rehabilitation activities. The aim is also to inform and influence multi-lateral environmental agreements and international inter-governmental and non-governmental initiatives, agreements, and agencies in adopting a more livelihoods-focused approach to conservation planning. The main users of the outputs of this research project are community-based organisations, NGOs, local and central government authorities, the private sector, donors and development projects, international initiatives at regional (e.g. NEPAD, Asian Forest Partnership) or global scales (e.g. Global Partnership on Forest landscape restoration, Millenium Ecosystem Assessment, Collaborative Partnership on Forests), and multi-lateral environmental agreements (e.g. CBD, UNFCCC, UNCCD, UNFF, ITTA).

Objectives

1. To contribute to the conservation and sustainable use of forest biological diversity through better information for priority setting and problem diagnosis regarding biodiversity management in forested rural landscape mosaics
2. To promote the rehabilitation of degraded forest landscapes by integrating appropriate rehabilitation activities into national and regional environmental conservation strategies
3. To influence global, regional, national, and local policies on forest biological diversity

Planned outputs

Biodiversity conservation and the poverty or marginal status of forest-dependent communities are part of intricate common larger problems. Poor and marginalized communities often suffer from the same decisions that damage forest biodiversity because local people are the principal users of forest goods and services, and changes in forest landscapes, and their biodiversity, resulting from outside interventions are seldom well anticipated. Decision makers require knowledge and understanding to address the needs and interests of local communities and biodiversity. Merely talking to people sometimes provides insights on these interests, but things are not always that straightforward and decision makers can seldom commit themselves to consult with inaccessible communities.

One should develop tools for assessing biodiversity from a local perspective. Conservation asks what to save and how, but answers will depend on who is asked. Current "global conservation priorities" tends to reflect Western norms. That can lead to conflicts that do little to further conservation. However, it is possible to find shared agendas and negotiate compromises amongst disparate interests through democratic processes, which opens new opportunities for conservation. It means that remoter and more marginalised communities need to have their views better understood. Our research aims to identify local priorities and issues that are central to biodiversity conservation but are often overlooked in current conservation and development activities. The research will provide guidelines /incentives/ information aiming at influencing decision-making processes so that they will take these local priorities into account as well as inform negotiations between stakeholders.

The area of degraded forest landscapes is large and constantly increasing in the Tropics. It is becoming more and more urgent to rehabilitate these landscapes because of widespread wildfires and increasing demands to provide environmental services and meet local livelihood needs. Wood from rehabilitated forests can reduce pressures on natural forests and contribute to conservation and rural livelihoods. Rehabilitation is high on the forestry agenda of many national governments and international fora. Vast amounts of funds, time and resources are being spent and will be spent across the Tropics to increase forest cover and productivity of degraded forest lands. Only a small percentage of these initiatives have been able to fulfil their long-term ecological and/or economic objectives, and many have negatively impacted local livelihoods. The projects differ in scale, objectives, implementation strategies, duration, and in how much they consider socio-economic and institutional aspects, which are essential for successful rehabilitation. To prevent the recurrence of wasted money and effort, it is important to draw strategic lessons from past experiences and use them to plan and guide future efforts and ensure their sustainability.

The research aims to influence future rehabilitation efforts by identifying and promoting the most promising approaches and incentives for environmental and / or economic objectives that also support local livelihoods. This activity will develop guidelines for planning, implementing and evaluating rehabilitation projects targeted at donors, project developers and project managers. It will also develop methods for rehabilitating logged-over forests and for site management of degraded lands. The research seeks to promote forest rehabilitation with minimum negative impacts.

Tropical plantations are rapidly expanding as a source of industrial wood. Such plantations are generally made of large mono-specific blocks interspersed with natural forest remnants. The extent and value of these forest remnants vary as laws and regulations are somewhat unclear and/or left to the interpretation of the plantation company.

With more intensive land use, continuous natural forest cover becomes fragmented and connectivity is reduced. Remaining patches of natural forest become critical in retaining native biodiversity. A typical plantation landscape consists of a mosaic of patches under different intensity of management and subject to various human activities. Plantation stands are managed for maximum productivity and typically with little scope for affecting within-stand management regimes and techniques. With this in mind, we assume that one possible management aim additional to the optimal production of industrial wood to feed the mill is the "persistence" of sensitive or important plants and animals in the overall landscape. First, from a biodiversity and conservation biology standpoint, plantation landscapes should be designed so that on the one hand the landscapes are penetrable and permeable for those biodiversity components that are of conservation concern in the area under consideration, and on the other hand, impenetrable and impermeable for pests, weeds, and other invasive organisms. Second, from a human/social standpoint, the priority must be to design plantations and manage landscapes in a way that minimizes the adverse impacts on the people and communities living in and around these areas. The research aims at affecting future plantation landscapes by providing incentives for better landscape/spatial design and management of those areas that are set aside from production for corridors or conservation areas.

The project will also work to influence the global agenda by injecting ideas and research findings into the multilateral environmental agreements and initiatives relating to forest biodiversity. This will provide policy makers with insights that permit them to formulate better-informed policies. Some of the ideas and findings will come from examples and demonstration sites in working landscapes. The project will target international conventions (e.g. CBD, UNCCD, ITTC, and UNFCCC), policy processes (e.g. UNFF), and initiatives (e.g. the Global Partnership on Forest Landscape Restoration), regional initiatives (e.g. NEPAD, ASEAN, Asia Forest Partnership), international organizations (e.g. FAO, ITTO), multilateral development banks, the GEF, and others key international agencies and processes.

Activities and progress

Over the last years, CIFOR has developed methods for Multidisciplinary Landscape Assessments (MLA) in East Kalimantan. These comprehensive assessments combine participatory approaches with biophysical techniques to show how different communities depend on and perceive forests and forest products and help people make better decisions about tropical forest landscapes by 1) asking what occurs where; 2) asking why it matters (especially to local communities) and 3) diagnosing –evaluating the implications and proposing possible courses of action. The intended result is an appreciation of local needs and priorities. Revealing the services and benefits that accrue locally in tropical landscapes, as well as identifying local costs of ill-conceived national and international policies or management strategies is a critical first step in encouraging better informed choices. Articulating these local links makes them clearer and harder to neglect.

This work will be extended to broadening the range of tools and approaches to allow local adaptation. The project is particularly interested in examining to what extent the methods can be streamlined and simplified. MLA work will continue in Malinau, Indonesia, and the methods have already been tested/adapted in Bolivia, Cameroon and Mozambique. Future prospects are new tests in natural forests in Indonesia (Papua) and Gabon as well as an extension to forest plantation contexts in Sumatra. A regional project to improve research capacity related to biodiversity in Central Africa based at the Makokou research station in Gabon will give young African researchers experience with the MLA approach.

The project will provide research results to local audiences through an iterative dialogue designed to ensure the engagement and interest of local decision-makers and help to identify the most effective forms of presentation. CIFOR’s work at the Malinau site (Indonesia) is expected to demonstrate the potential of MLA methods for developing management recommendations to sustain production of both commodities and environmental values from tropical forest ecosystems over the medium to long term. One specific product that we are developing for the East Kalimantan site is a review of logging and wildlife (species sensitivity and related issues), targeted at the conservation and forest research community. The research already involves various young researchers from Indonesia, Zimbabwe and Cameroon. The research capacity in Central Africa will be improved through collaborative research project conducted in Makokou research station, Gabon.

Since 1996, CIFOR has implemented two large-scale forest landscape rehabilitation projects with Japanese support. The second is ongoing and is working with national partners to review current and past rehabilitation initiatives and to disseminate the lessons learned. The project focuses on Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines, China, Peru and Brazil. Participants include governments, research and development agencies, NGOs, local communities, industries and donors. In the future, the aim is to develop activities aiming at more holistic approach, where the forest landscape restoration is seen as tool for the production of multiple environmental benefits and improved local livelihoods through rehabilitation of degraded lands for the production of a variety of forest products and multiple ecosystem services.

Tropical plantations are rapidly expanding as a source of industrial wood and fuel. Plantations, as currently managed (structurally simple forests; monoculture) may directly contribute to fragmentary processes on a landscape level, by reducing the inter-connectivity of natural/native vegetation patches. Corridors (and other patches set aside from production) represent an option for balancing the goals of sustainable production on plantations with maintenance of biodiversity. Corridors are extensively used in ecological restoration initiatives to alleviate the detrimental effects of fragmentation by restoring landscape inter-connectivity and returning a level of integrity, resilience. Given current rates of environmental transformation and increasing dependency on plantation forestry within the humid tropical zone, further scientific inquiry into the potential environmental, ecological, and human benefits provided by corridors is crucial. Our goal is to develop better plantation management strategies at the landscape scale for improved biodiversity conservation, while maintaining economic profitability of the plantations. This includes analysing and providing knowledge on the economic benefits and costs that corridors and other areas set aside from plantation production, provide including assessment of the ecological, environmental, and social services provided by these areas.

The project implements a joint work programme with the CBD Secretariat since 2000, contributes to the UNFCCC, UNCCD, CBD Joint Liaison Group on Synergies between the Rio Conventions.

Partners

The main developing country partners are: Indonesia: FORDA, WWF-Indonesia, Ministry of Forestry, Inhutani II, Riau Andalan Pulp and Paper, Mulawarman University, Bioma; Philippines: UPLB, DENR; China: State Forest Administration, Research Institute of Tropical Forestry; Vietnam: MARD, FSIV, Tropenbos, WWF-Indochina; Bolivia: PROMABOSQUE, BOLFOR, National Museum (Botany Dept.); Peru: INIA, ICRAF; Brazil: EMBRAPA, IPAM, MPEG; Cameroon: Institut pour la Recherche Agronomique en Développement (IRAD); Gabon: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique et Technologique (CENAREST), Institut de Recherches en Ecologie Tropicale (IRET), Institut pour la Recherche Agronomique et Forestière (IRAF); Zimbabwe: TREP, University of Zimbabwe.

The main developed country partners are: Japan: FFPRI; UK: DFID, Forestry Commission, Kent University, Oxford University; Australia: ANU; France: CIRAD-Forêt; Finland: University of Helsinki; The Netherlands: Tropenbos International

The members of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF): the Secretariats of CBD, UNFCCC, UNCCD, UNFF, and GEF, World Bank, IUCN, ITTO, FAO, IUFRO, UNDP, UNEP, ICRAF. Global networks such as the Resilience Alliance and the Global Partnership of Forest landscape Restoration. NGO’s such as Global Forest Watch-WRI, WWF, WCS.

Future milestones (2005-2007)

2005

• Two peer-reviewed articles based on biodiversity surveys in Indonesia
• Peer reviewed article based on biodiversity surveys in Cameroon and Gabon
• Dissemination of the MLA methods in English, Indonesian, French, and Spanish
• A book on wildlife and logging in Malinau East Kalimantan
• Biodiversity data base for the Malinau research site published online
• Database of rehabilitation initiatives and their key features for selected regions of each country and on detailed outcomes of selected rehabilitation case studies
• Syntheses reports on lessons from past rehabilitation efforts in Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines, China, Peru and Brazil
• A book based on a cross country synthesis “Rehabilitation of Tropical Forest Lands: Learning Lessons from Experiences in Asia and Latin America”
• Manuals and booklets that synthesize the practical findings from the restoration study that specifically target companies, NGOs, communities and other relevant end users
• CD-Rom and Website postings of outputs, media reports, newsletters on restoration
• Reports to Asia Forest Partnership, UNFF, ITTC etc. on forest landscape restoration
• ITTO Handbook on forest landscape restoration
• A session at the IUFRO World Congress “Do we need new management paradigms to achieve sustainability in tropical forests?”

2006

• A synthesis of MLA surveys in the three continents
• A simplified biodiversity assessment tool for forest plantations
• MLA handbook for practitioners
• Paper: Feasible small-scale tree-cropping options on degraded tropical wetlands, enabling conditions and promising management approaches
• Paper: The potential for small-scale tree cropping to improve local livelihoods in degraded tropical wetlands

2007

• Paper: The potential for small-scale tree cropping to stop the cycle of environmental damage in degraded tropical wetlands

Biodiversity-related Cross-Programmatic Linkages

In addition to the work described in Project 2 above, biodiversity-related research features across CIFOR’s research portfolio. Some important examples are highlighted below.

The Forest and Livelihoods program has established an activity titled “Learning to Use Forest to Reduce Poverty” brings together a range of poverty-related research activities at CIFOR. The ideal of improving human wellbeing while maintaining or expanding forest quality (“win-win” outcomes), happen much less frequently than is commonly supposed. More usually, suboptimal outcomes prevail. To prevent “lose-lose” situations, and to establish “win more-lose less” and “lose less-win more” outcomes (if not, ideally, “win-win” ones), the opportunities for, constraints on, and trade-offs required to achieve these improved outcomes need to be explored, refined and communicated. The research seeks to achieve the following objectives: (1) determine to what extent the economic safety net function of forests in developing countries can and should be preserved as a means to keep families from falling deeper into poverty; and (2) understand to what extent and how forest resources can serve as a means to lift rural populations out of poverty and a (3) to a better understanding of the trade-offs between poverty alleviation and environmental conservation. The activity explores the poverty-alleviation potential of developing country forests, and aims at influencing attitudes, policies and practices regarding the relation between forests, forestry and society-wide trends ultimately contributing to the goals of poverty alleviation, food security, and environmental conservation -. (Project 7).

Other biodiversity-oriented work in the CIFOR portfolio includes.

• Development of improved technologies and implementation strategies for ecologically-based and economically sound harvesting practices for small-scale forestry operations that will preserve genetic resource pools; (Project 1)
• Preparation of models and software to improve resource management, at the scales of forest stands e.g. the efficiency of planning harvesting operations to reduce impacts on biodiversity and genetic resources; and landscapes e.g. negotiation support tools for better managing landscape mosaics for biodiversity and livelihood goals. (Project 1)
• Research on improved, ecologically-based forest management to sustain flows of resources and environmental services, including quantification of the associated costs and benefits. (Project 1)
• Work on potential payments for environmental services in Latin America (Projects 3 & 7)
• Work on the dynamics of illegal logging and implications for policy and governance reform and related work to develop incentives for forest regulatory compliance, law enforcement and socially responsible practices (Project 5)
• Analysis of socio-economic dimensions of Pulp and Paper Plantations particularly in China and the Mekong area, including demand and trade-related impacts and the implications for biodiversity loss (Project 5)
• Comparative studies of government decentralization policies, issues, best practices and their implications for forest biodiversity and livelihoods. Field research on the effects of decentralization and local governance on forest condition in Indonesia, Bolivia, Cameroon, Zimbabwe, Nicaragua, Honduras and Brazil (Project 6)
• Work on polices relevant to, maintenance of biodiversity and improved livelihoods from dry forests in Africa (Project 7)
• Research on “Infrastructure, Regional Development and Livestock in the Brazilian Amazon” which investigates the two main proximate causes of forest destruction in the world’s largest remaining rainforest: construction of roads and conversion to pasture to aid the design regional economic development strategies in the Brazilian Amazon that will lead to substantial improvements in both livelihoods and the environment (biodiversity conservation). The roads component of the research is part of a broader activity comparing the effects of roads in Brazil (southern Para and Trans-Amazon) and Central Africa (Cameroon and Gabon). The work will produce geo-referenced database and spatially explicit models to analyze the driving forces behind land use and land cover change (Project 7)

Project 3: Ecosystem Functions and Services in Forested Catchments

Intermediate goal

To sustain and enhance forest ecosystem and catchment functions to increase their resilience and their ability to provide environmental services and products.

Purpose and users

The purpose of this project is to contribute to the Millennium Development Goals on water and on adaptation to climate change. This is achieved through better information and knowledge on conservation of watershed functions in forested catchments, on adaptation to and mitigation of climate change, and on how to produce forest goods and improve wellbeing without compromising environmental services. The aims are: (a) to clarify the roles of, and the options and opportunities for, forests in the fragmented landscapes of upper catchments providing water services, especially in the face of climate change; (b) to design pro-poor approaches, models and negotiation support systems for forested upper catchments, that incorporate our understanding of forest-water relations, likely impacts of climate change, institutional context and forest-water-livelihood dynamics; and (c) to promote adaptation and reduce vulnerability of tropical forests to the adverse effect of climate change through the assessment of impacts and costs of climate change, and through the development of criteria and indicators for adaptive forest management.

To enhance ecosystems resilient in the face of changing climate and socio-economic pressures one must understand how different ecological and social systems interact to produce particular land use patterns at the landscape level. Often there will be trade-offs between what is globally optimal and what is locally desirable. The research under this project will therefore consider different scales and address the links between them. The project will develop methods for integrated assessment of environmental goods and services in forested upper catchments. It will study the interactions between biophysical and socio-economic properties of catchments to better understand the cause-impact chains at patch and landscape scales and the ecological and socio-economic variables affecting land-use. The results of this project will provide guidance and methodologies for measuring and monitoring carbon in LULUCF CDM projects. In addition, the results will provide an analytical frame to assess the costs of negative impacts of climate change to forests and forested landscapes. The results will help to orient response measures towards adaptation to climate change and maintenance of ecosystem resilience under the most likely climate change scenarios. The main target groups are: local and national organizations involved in the development and implementation of forest management guidelines, national governments, and international policy processes on forested watersheds and climate change adaptation and mitigation.

Objectives

1. To promote integrated planning, sustainable use and management of forested landscapes in upper catchments for reduced vulnerability and for sustainable use of natural resources.
2. To articulate the role of forest ecosystems in adaptation to and mitigation of climate change through the promotion of pro-poor mitigation schemes and through increased understanding of challenges associated with adapting to climate change.

Planned outputs

To design and implement management systems that provide sustainable resource use in forested and mixed land use catchments without excluding the poor one needs to understand the factors affecting risks and vulnerability. Significant uncertainty remains about such key issues as how forests and land use changes influence water yield, seasonal flow, water quality, erosion and flooding. There is also a need to find appropriate institutional mechanisms and regulatory frameworks to address the fact that for many resource managers maintaining the provision of environmental services from forests is simply not their priority.

This project will assess the vulnerability of forest ecosystems to climate change, and how global change, forest management and other land use practices affect ecosystem functions and environmental services. It will examine how people regard environmental services and how changes in these services affect their wellbeing. In collaboration with the Forests and Livelihoods programme, it will also look at how payments for environmental services and other mechanisms can create incentives for people to adopt more sustainable and resilient land-use systems and avoid possible conflicts between local, national and global actors.

This project will develop methods for integrated assessment of environmental goods and services in forested upper catchments. It will study the interactions between biophysical and socio-economic properties of catchments to better understand the cause-impact chains at patch and landscape scales and the ecological and socio-economic variables affecting land-use. Based on that, the project expects to develop options for sustainable use of water, forests and natural resources in catchments and to communicate the results to national, sub-national (e.g. river basin commissions), and local policy makers.

The work on the role in forested catchments consists of the following four main components: a) a critical review on the current knowledge on forest-related processes of water use / production (amount and quality), b) collection and analysis of landscape data with local partners, c) analysis of how land cover change and climate changes are likely to affect water use / production and local communities, and d) dialogue with key decision makers in the basins to discuss results and their implications on policy and practice.

The work on the adaptation to climate change will produce the following outputs: a) evaluation of the impact of climate change and climatic variability on tropical forest ecosystems in selected sites, and the development of maps of critical vulnerable areas and forest types, b) development and testing of a set of monitoring protocols to assess the impacts of climate change on forest ecosystems, forest dependent livelihoods and key forest environmental services (water, carbon and biodiversity), c) development and testing of standards and tools (databases, expert systems) on adaptation measures, including analysis of their costs, resistance and resilience, d) development and testing of criteria and indicators for adaptive management of tropical forests to minimize the negative effects of climate change and climatic variability, e) a science-policy dialogue in and across the three pilot regions (South East Asia; West Africa, Central America) in order to test the practicality of developed methods, to diffuse practical and useful information on adaptive forest management to reduce vulnerability, and to build capacities in developing countries through training sessions.

Activities and progress

Many of the topics under this project are new for CIFOR. However, previous work on natural resources management and climate change by CIFOR and its partners creates a platform for future research. Through working in watersheds and landscapes with key agencies, CIFOR’s research is likely to have impacts at those sites. Through more global work on climate change CIFOR can provide inputs to national strategies and international policies.

Review of current knowledge on processes of water use / production related to key landscape elements in forested catchments has been started. A proposal on “Forests, Water and Land-use in Upper Catchments: Catalyzing the Change towards Sustainable Use and Management” was submitted to the Food and Water Challenge Programme. The results will be targeted at a variety of key international processes and major funding agencies. By engaging with the Water for Food Challenge Programme we expect to participate in a major research initiative, which provides a platform for disseminating the results to a wide audience. Some pilot activities are underway. For instance, work carried out in Sabah, Malaysia is aimed a analyzing the impacts of skid-tracks and slash burning on hydrological services and soils. Students from Mulawarman University, Bogor Agricultural University and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences will conduct studies on the use and value of water services from tree based land uses in upper catchments. These studies will be conducted in Malinau Research Forest in East Kalimantan and Sukabumi district in West Java.

In addition, the project aims at initiating research on tropical peatlands, peatland fires and their role impacts at local and global scales. Indonesia has a large area of highly fire-prone degraded wetland under considerable human pressure. There are large negative environmental impacts arising from the fires and wetland degradation such as acrid haze and carbon emission problems and substantial biodiversity loss. There is an urgent and critical need to identify sustainable land use options that will improve local livelihoods, stop the degrading pressures and fires, and enable the restoration and conservation of large sections of these ecosystems. Increasingly tree crop plantations are considered favourably by communities, researchers, NGOs and government agencies as a possible sustainable livelihood option in suitable sites on the degraded swamps.The research will draw on existing experiences to determine the potential for using small-scale tree cropping options to improve local livelihoods, stop the cycle of environmental damage, and enable restoration of large wetland areas. It will help identify the most promising tree crops, and the enabling conditions and management approaches that will be useful to guide any future small-scale plantation initiatives on degraded wetlands.

CIFOR scientists have been participating in international climate change work, mainly through the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) and the Katoomba group. Current activities in climate change include a joint CIFOR-Intercooperation-CATIE workshop on adaptation to climate change, from which the results will be published and presented at the COP 10 in December, 2004. The project is involved in the development of carbon sequestration models and related databases for CDM project developers. In addition, the project is involved in the Indonesian country study on the options for the LULUCF CDM activities under the Kyoto protocol. The project is planning to organize an international workshop on carbon trade for building partnerships in the South-East Asian region. The project is also involved in capacity building on climate change through the participation in the Latin-American training workshop (CATIE/UNDP) on CDMs.

In the future, the project aims at further developing expert systems, tools and support systems (web-based services) for LULUCF-related projects including databases on allometric equations, biomass expansion factors, and other methods related to the measuring and monitoring forest carbon.

Partners

The main developing country partners are: Indonesia: FORDA; Wetland International-Indonesia; Riau Andalan Pulp and Paper, IPB/Bogor, Mulawarman University; Thailand: Chiang Mai University; Vietnam: Information Centre for Agriculture and Rural Development (ICARD); Malaysia: Sabah Forest Industries (SFI); South Africa: Centre for Environmental Economics and Policy in Africa (CEEPA); Burkina Faso: Institut de l’environnement et de la Recherché Agricole (INERA); Zimbabwe: Institute of Environmental Studies (IES); Costa Rica: Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñaza (CATIE).

The main developed country partners are: Sweden: Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU); Norway: Agricultural University of Norway (AUN); Canada: CIDA, Switzerland: Intercooperation; Finland: University of Helsinki; Germany: Hamburg University; USA: USAID, Forest Trends, Winrock International; The Netherlands: Wageningen University, Vrij Universiteit, Japan: Waseda University.

Other partners include the Secretariat of UNFCCC, ADB, IUCN, CI, IIED, START, APN, Global Carbon Project, CARE International, International Water Management Institute (IWMI), and World Agroforestry Center (ICRAF).

Future milestones (2005-2007)

2005

• Paper on forests and water – how to uproot the myths but harvest the benefits
• Paper on sharing the benefits of watershed services
• Paper on environmental services in Costa Rica
• Paper on multiple environmental services and market characteristics
• Paper on payment mechanisms of carbon offsets in small scale community forests
• Paper and software for simulating carbon sequestration at landscape (project) level
• Participation in IPCC (WG I, WG II and LULUCF).
• Participation in Millennium Ecosystem Assessment
• Support to Latin-American training workshop (CATIE/UNDP) on CDM’s
• Development of new partnerships on forest and climate change issues
• MSc-theses/papers on the role of trees in the humid tropics for water services, macro-porosity, infiltration and groundwater recharge.

2006

• Paper on the role of forests and forestry in mixed land use upper catchments, especially in the face of climate change
• Paper on key social processes, resources, information needs and institutional factors leading to successful management of forests in mixed land use upper catchments
• Paper on transacting change in management institutions and land use in upper catchments;
• Paper on lessons for widespread scaling-up of new approaches to catchments management
• Three regional synthesis reports on the adaptation to climate change from each study region (Indonesia, Dry West Africa, and Central America).
• Paper on the role of catchments management in poverty reduction, and the role of environmental service payments
• Paper on models and negotiation-support systems for forested and mixed land use upper catchments – their role and use
• Review paper on the methodology to assess the impacts of climate change and climatic variability on tropical forest ecosystems

2007

• Paper on cases of critically vulnerable areas and unique ecosystems
• Paper on comparison of vulnerability, risk distribution and adaptive capacity across countries and regions
• Paper on policy analysis of adaptation to climate change at national and global levels.