In 1994, the Government of Cameroon introduced an array of forest policy reforms, both regulatory and market-based, to support a more organized, transparent, and sustainable system for accessing and ...using forest resources. This report describes how these reforms played out in the rainforests of Cameroon. The intention is to provide a brief account of a complex process and identify what worked, what did not, and what can be improved. The barriers to placing Cameroon's forests at the service of its people, its economy, and the environment originated with the extractive policies of successive colonial administrations. The barriers were further consolidated after independence through a system of political patronage and influence in which forest resources became a coveted currency for political support. These deeply entangled commercial and political interests have only recently, and reluctantly, started to diverge. In 1994, the government introduced an array of forest policy reforms, both regulatory and market based. The reforms changed the rules determining who could gain access to forest resources, how access could be obtained, how those resources could be used, and who will benefit from their use. This report assesses the outcomes of reforms in forest-rich areas of Cameroon, where the influence of industrial and political elites has dominated since colonial times.
The World Bank's revised forest policy came into being in 2002 and covers all types of forests. It has the following key objectives: (i) harnessing the potential of forests to reduce poverty in a ...sustainable manner; (ii) integrating forests effectively into sustainable development; and (iii) protecting vital local and global environmental services and values. The policy enables the bank to fully engage in forestry throughout the developing world, while ensuring that it complies with such safe guard policies such as OP 4.01 (Environmental Assessment), OP 4.04 (Natural Habitats) and OD 4.20 (Indigenous Peoples). On the other hand, the policy provides only a general framework for its lending operations in forestry and cannot take account of the individual socio-economic and environmental needs of regions and sub regions. To carry out the work, experienced local consultants were recruited to prepare country level reports following guidelines provided by the FAO Investment Centre, the aim being to gain a strong local perspective on the main issues and potential for sustainable and equitable growth in the sector. These reports were complimented by reference to an extensive literature base to produce individual country reports and the summary which follows. Given the complexity of forestry in the region, the need to involve large numbers of stakeholders, and the need to accommodate change, the findings of this report should not be regarded as definitive, but rather as a first step to shaping the Bank's interventions in the sector in individual countries over the medium term. It should also be noted that data have been obtained from a variety of sources, and that inconsistencies and gaps were common; they should consequently be regarded as orders of magnitude.
In the Middle East and North Africa Region, forest resources are generally limited, as is their contribution to GDP, and it is for this reason their importance is often overlooked. However, ...forestry's contribution to natural resource and environmental management, is significant, which should not be underestimated. The report, implemented as an input to the development of a Bank Forestry Strategy in guiding its work in the sector, reviews the Bank-assisted forestry projects in the region over the last ten years, defines the regional forests, and describes its current status, and related policy and economic issues, including the need of civil society, and private sector involvement in forestry related issues. It is highlighted that ultimately, the decisions taken on the directions to be followed by the Bank, would be based on sound knowledge of the overall regional aspects, proposing Economic and Sector Work for the future. The report outlines appropriate policy formulation and technical solutions, but emphasizes that local communities must be directly involved in the planning, implementation, and monitoring of forestry development activities. This approach implies that public administrations, responsible for forestry development, become fully decentralized, and capable of strengthening local capacity.
In this study we used Landsat images to analyze land cover change processes since 1984 in the middle Ebro valley (Spain). The purpose was to identify abrupt changes suggesting modification of the ...land cover category, and gradual changes not associated with a change in the land cover type but potentially indicative of significant changes in natural areas. The results showed that: i) in analysis of land cover change the seasonality of vegetation cover is an important factor that must be taken into account in identifying the various change processes that may affect a region; ii) the major land cover changes in the study area were related to very diverse processes including urban expansion, industrial activities, the establishment of land irrigation, land extensification, natural revegetation following rural abandonment, forest fires, and changes in natural vegetated areas related to global warming and drought. With the exception of the occurrence of forest fires, the changes in natural areas (forest, shrubs and steppes) tended to be gradual with respect to both positive (forest colonization following rural abandonment and land extensification) and negative (land degradation and forest decline) processes. These areas showed rates of change that were lower in magnitude than those directly transformed by human activities. We found that time series of high spatial resolution satellite images and the application of change statistics provided a useful approach to the identification of abrupt changes, and gradual land cover change processes that are not commonly revealed using classical analytical approaches.
► Complex abrupt and gradual changes are affecting semiarid Mediterranean areas. ► Different seasonal data is determinant to identify the observed change processes. ► Land cover changes are related to processes including natural and human factors. ► Natural changes tend to be gradual but human changes tend to be abrupt.
Using a set of 16 Landsat TM and Landsat ETM+ images from 1984 to 2006, we tested whether climate trends in the last three decades differentially controlled the vegetal activity of eight
Pinus ...halepensis forests located across a marked bioclimatic gradient. Our results show spatial differences in trends in the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) between 1984 and 2006, which were highly related to the spatial distribution of aridity. There was a strong correlation between the change in the NDVI values and the climatic water balance in each forest (
R
=
0.86,
p
=
0.006). A large increment of the NDVI was observed in forests located in the most humid areas, whereas those located in the most arid areas showed a slight decrease in the NDVI. We used a forest growth simulation model (GOTILWA+) to estimate the leaf area index (LAI) in each of the eight analyzed forests, and found similar results to those obtained for the NDVI. Significant correlation was found between the spatial pattern of NDVI and LAI trends between 1984 and 2006 (
R
=
0.82,
p
=
0.01). The climate evolution in the last four decades explains the observed and modeled changes in the NDVI and the LAI. In agreement with other studies, we showed that the general response of the forests to more favorable conditions (in terms of temperature increment and CO
2 fertilization) is increased leaf activity and biomass. Nevertheless, in forests located in the most arid areas the positive trend observed in the potential evapotranspiration rates increased water stress, and had a negative effect on forest growth. Given the future predictions of warming and declining precipitation from global climate models for the Mediterranean region, an increase in stress conditions affecting these forests is expected, which will affect their growth and survival, mainly in the most arid areas.
Illegal activity within protected forests, such as illegal logging, slash-and-burn farming, and agricultural expansion, has brought many plant and animal species to the brink of extinction and ...threatens various conservation efforts. The Philippine government has introduced a number of actions to combat environmental degradation, including the use of mobile platforms such as the SMART-Lawin system to collect patrol data from the field, which represents a remarkable step towards data-driven conservation management. However, it remains difficult to control illegal forest activity within protected landscapes due to limited patrol and law enforcement resources. A better understanding of the spatial distribution of illegal activity is crucial to strengthening and efficiently implementing forest protection practices. In the present study, we predicted the spatial distribution of illegal activity and identified the associated environmental factors using maximum entropy modeling (MaxEnt). Patrol data collected using the SMART-Lawin system from the Baliuag Conservation Area for the period 2017-2019 were used to train and validate the MaxEnt models. We tuned the MaxEnt parameter setting using the ENMeval package in R to overcome sampling bias, avoid overfitting, and balance model complexity. The resulting MaxEnt models provided a clear understanding of the overall risk of illegal activity and its spatial distribution within the conservation area. This study demonstrated the potential utility of data-driven models developed from patrol observation records. The output of this research is beneficial for conservation managers who are required to allocate limited resources and make informed management decisions.
유아숲체험장의 이용후 평가 강태순; Kang Tae-sun; 이명우 ...
한국조경학회지,
04/2017, Letnik:
45, Številka:
2
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
숲공간이 갖는 유아발달의 긍정적인 영향으로 다양한 사업주체에 의해 숲활동공간의 조성과 운영이 양적으로 증가하고 있으나, 실제적인 공간설계 및 운영프로그램에 관한 연구는 미흡한 실정이다. 따라서 본 연구의 목적은 숲활동에 참여한 교사와 유아를 대상으로 이용후 평가를 실시하여 유아숲체험장의 공간 및 운영프로그램을 평가하는데 있다. 이를 위해 서울시 ...유아숲체험장 12개소를 대상으로 현장조사, 수업참관, 숲교육전문가 인터뷰를 통한 현황분석과 115명 의 산림교육전문가 및 보육교사들에게 중요도, 성취도, 전반적 만족도, 공간선호도 설문조사를 하였다. 또한 29명의 유아를 대상으로 면담법, 사진 시뮬레이션, 유아용 설문지를 사용하여 전반적 만족도와 공간선호도를 파악하였다. 중요도 및 성취도 분석결과, 운영프로그램특성 영역이 공간특성 영역보다 높게 평가되었고, 구조적 프로그램의 적용 여부를 바탕으로 구분한 집단간 비교에서 적극적인 적용 그룹이 소극적/자유놀이 그룹보다 두 영역 모두를 높게 평가하였다. 유아설문결과는 구조적 프로그램을 적용한 유아들은 시설공간을, 자유놀이 중심의 유아들은 자연공간을 선호하였으며, 두 집단 모두 숲활동에 대해 `만족`하였다. 이를 바탕으로 1) 숲활동공간의 조성은 접근성, 안전성, 경사다양성, 수공간을 확보하고, 숲길로서 연결될 수 있게 하며, 다양한 지형과 수목 및 자연재료를 확보하도록 한다. 2) 운영 프로그램은 숲활동 프로그램을 체계적인 운영과 구조적 프로그램 및 자유놀이의 비율이 편향되지 않도록 한다. 또한 자유놀이시간의 충분한 확보와 숲속 공간에서의 놀이 점유율이 높은 운영 프로그램을 계획한다. 3) 산림교육전문가의 역할과 전문성을 확보하여 유아의 자율성을 높일 수 있는 프로그램을 운영하도록 한다.
Due to the positive effect of forest space for child development, the creation and operation of forest activity space of various organizations is increasing in quantity; however, the research on practical space design and management program is insufficient. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to evaluate the space and management programs of the forest experience centers through the post-occupancy evaluation of teachers and preschoolers participating in forest activities. To do this, we analyzed the selected twelve sites through field survey, class observation, and interviews with forest education specialists, and then surveyed 115 forest education experts and childcare teachers for importance, performance, overall satisfaction, and space preference. In addition, we accessed overall satisfaction and space preference of twenty-nine preschoolers through interviews, photo-simulation, and questionnaires. As a result, the importance and performance of management program area was rated higher than the spatial characteristics area. In terms of group comparison, the group with active structured program rated two areas higher than the groups with free play. Preschoolers with structured programs preferred facility space, but preschoolers with free play preferred nature. Two preschooler groups rated forest activity as satisfactory. Based on the analysis results: 1) The composition of the forest activity space should ensure accessibility, safety, diversity of diversity, water space, connect to the forest road, and secure various terrains, trees, and natural materials; 2) The management program should ensure that forest activity programs have the proportional balance of structural programs and free play; also. management programs should plan for sufficient free playtime and a high share of play in the forest; and 3) Ensure the role and expertise of forestry specialists and run a program to increase the autonomy of preschoolers.
A method to evaluate the forest function in a small watershed area in every raster was shown. Concurrently, the influence of the raster size on forest function evaluation was analyzed by changing the ...raster size (10m, 20m, 50m). As a result of comparison with function classification in a small sub-compartment unit, from conversion accuracy of vector information and presumed result of inclination angle, it was considered that a raster size of 10m×10m is optimum for forest function evaluation in a small watershed area. As for comparison of a forest in a small sub-compartmentunit and raster unit, the areas for the timber production, public health and recreation, and selection cutting water source conservation functions increased. Conversely, a decrease in the areas for erosion production and reserved water source conservation functions was recognized.
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