rainforests of Cameroon Topa, Giuseppe; Karsenty, Alain; Megevand, Carole ...
2009, 20090101
eBook, Book
Open access
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 Soviets are often viewed as insatiable industrialists who saw nature as a force to be tamed and exploited.Song of the Forestcounters this assumption, uncovering significant evidence of Soviet ...conservation efforts in forestry, particularly under Josef Stalin. In his compelling study, Stephen Brain profiles the leading Soviet-era conservationists, agencies, and administrators, and their efforts to formulate forest policy despite powerful ideological differences.By the time of the revolution of 1905, modern Russian forestry science had developed an influential romantic strand, especially prevalent in the work of Georgii Morozov, whose theory of "stand types" asked forest managers to consider native species and local conditions when devising plans for regenerating forests. After their rise to power, the Bolsheviks turned their backs on this tradition and adopted German methods, then considered the most advanced in the world, for clear-cutting and replanting of marketable tree types in "artificial forests." Later, when Stalin's Five Year Plan required vast amounts of timber for industrialization, forest radicals proposed "flying management," an exaggerated version of German forestry where large tracts of virgin forest would be clear-cut. Opponents who still upheld Morozov's vision favored a conservative regenerating approach, and ultimately triumphed by establishing the world's largest forest preserve.Another radical turn came with the Great Stalin Plan for the Transformation of Nature, implemented in 1948. Narrow "belts" of new forest planted on the vast Russian steppe would block drying winds, provide cool temperatures, trap moisture, and increase crop production. Unfortunately, planters were ordered to follow the misguided methods of the notorious Trofim Lysenko, and the resulting yields were abysmal. But despite Lysenko, agency infighting, and an indifferent peasant workforce, Stalin's forestry bureaus eventually succeeded in winning many environmental concessions from industrial interests. In addition, the visionary teachings of Morozov found new life, ensuring that the forest's song did not fall upon deaf ears.
Following the 1917 Mexican Revolution inhabitants of the states of Chihuahua and Michoacán received vast tracts of prime timberland as part of Mexico's land redistribution program. Although locals ...gained possession of the forests, the federal government retained management rights, which created conflict over subsequent decades among rural, often indigenous villages; government; and private timber companies about how best to manage the forests. Christopher R. Boyer examines this history in Political Landscapes, where he argues that the forests in Chihuahua and Michoacán became what he calls "political landscapes"—that is, geographies that become politicized by the interactions between opposing actors—through the effects of backroom deals, nepotism, and political negotiations. Understanding the historical dynamic of community forestry in Mexico is particularly critical for those interested in promoting community involvement in the use and conservation of forestlands around the world. Considering how rural and indigenous people have confronted, accepted, and modified the rationalizing projects of forest management foisted on them by a developmentalist state is crucial before community management is implemented elsewhere.
This book provides a comprehensive overview of the most endangered ecosystem in the tropics: the tropical seasonal dry forests. Written by the best experts in studying these forests and leaders of ...the initiative on reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, this reference will be the major synthesis of knowledge on the state of tropical dry forests of the Americas. It addresses new approaches for data sampling and analysis using remote sensing technology, and discusses new ecological and econometric methods to evaluate the effectiveness of the economic model used and to recognize ecosystem services at the continental level and at the national level.
Over the last decade, the field of plant ecology has significantly developed and expanded, especially in research concerning the herb layer and ground vegetation of forests. This revised second ...edition accounts for that growth, presenting research that approaches the ecology of the herb layer of forests from a variety of disciplines and perspectives. The book synthesizes the research of top ecologists and biologists on herbaceous layer structure, composition, and dynamics of a variety of forest ecosystem types in eastern North America. The 2003 first edition of this book was praised for containing the most extensive listing of herb-layer literature in existence. This second edition brings this material up to date, revised to include current research and data. The book incorporates quantitative data to support analyses that was previously unavailable during the publication of the first edition. Also featured are six entirely new chapters, focused on the response of the herbaceous layer to a wide variety of natural and anthropogenic disturbances.
Japanese colonial rule in Korea (1905-1945) ushered in natural resource management programs that profoundly altered access to and ownership of the peninsula's extensive mountains and forests. Under ...the banner of "forest love," the colonial government set out to restructure the rhythms and routines of agrarian life, targeting everything from home heating to food preparation. Timber industrialists, meanwhile, channeled Korea's forest resources into supply chains that grew in tandem with Japan's imperial sphere. These mechanisms of resource control were only fortified after 1937, when the peninsula and its forests were mobilized for total war. In this wide-ranging study David Fedman explores Japanese imperialism through the lens of forest conservation in colonial Korea-a project of environmental rule that outlived the empire itself. Holding up for scrutiny the notion of conservation, Seeds of Control examines the roots of Japanese ideas about the Korean landscape, as well as the consequences and aftermath of Japanese approaches to Korea's "greenification." Drawing from sources in Japanese and Korean, Fedman writes colonized lands into Japanese environmental history, revealing a largely untold story of green imperialism in Asia.
Many forest-related problems are considered relevant today. This Element takes stock of these issues and initiatives by analysing different forest governance modes, shifts and norms, and case ...studies. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.
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