Organizers: Benno Pokorny (University of Freiburg, Germany) & Wil de Jong (Kyoto University, Japan)
Employment and income generation in the non-timber economic activities in the Brazilian Amazon. Ferreira Filho, J.B.S.
(University of São Paulo, Brazil; jbsferre@usp.br), Fachinello, A. (Federal University of Santa Catarina, Brazil;
fachinello@hotmail.com).
In this paper we develop a Social Account Matrix (SAM) for the Brazilian Amazon region, with a focus on non-timber forest activities. The Amazon SAM distinguishes 12 activities related to the forest in the Amazon, and allows a detailed picture of jobs and income creation in those sectors. The linkages of those sectors with the rest of the economy are also addressed, as well as the degree of processing of forest products, both for local use and exports (to the rest of the world and the rest of Brazil). The SAM is used to derive SAM-based multipliers which highlight the interconnection of those forest sectors with the rest of the economy, allowing the analysis of their economic potential for income and jobs creation in a general equilibrium setting. Results show the limitation of those activities in terms of jobs and income creation in the Amazon, in contrast to the importance of the timber sector. Labor multipliers in some primary activities were found to be large, pointing to the importance of organizing their supply chain. Multipliers associated with forest products processing industries were also found to be large, highlighting the importance of developing further those sectors.
The role of smallholders in a green economy: the case of Peru. Guarin, A., Scholz, I. (German Development Institute, Germany; alejandro.guarin@die-gdi.de; imme.scholz@die-gdi.de).
This paper addresses the question of whether, and how, smallholder production contributes to the so-called green economy (or green growth), an economic model that explicitly considers the unaccounted for goods and services provided by ecosystems, as well as the negative externalities of human action. In this framework, the value of forests goes beyond timber and non-timber products to include the critical role of biodiversity and carbon sequestration, which is why payments for avoided deforestation (such REDD programs) play an important role. In the Peruvian Amazon, smallholder farmers appear to sit uncomfortably in this framework: they are allegedly one of the main drivers of deforestation through the expansion of subsistence agriculture. Despite broad assumptions, little is actually known about the real potential of smallholder farming for growth, inclusiveness and sustain-ability (the three pillars of a green economy). We review studies about smallholder economy in the Peruvian Amazon and rely on original interviews to address three main issues: (1) What is the evidence for the causes, motivations and results of deforestation in the Peruvian Amazon? (2) What is the evidence for the productivity, value generated, and environmental impact of smallholder farming? (3) What are the distributive effects of current REDD programs?
Forest management by smallholders in Western Amazon: towards more integrated approaches. Pacheco, P. (Center for International Forestry Research, Indonesia; p.pacheco@cgiar.org).
Signifi cant reforms were undertaken in the past to promote sustainable forest management in the Western Amazon countries (i.e.
Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador) including measures such as adopting instruments for regulating forest resource use, clarifying forest tenure rights and putting in place systems for illegal timber supply verifi cation. These attempts have, however, not attended the demands from smallholders that have continued using the forests and engaging to the markets often in informal ways due to the diffi culties to legalize their forestry operations. This paper explores the situation facing smallholders in their attempts to undertake forest management. The analysis is based on fi eldwork undertaken in 2012 and 2013 in Ecuador, Bolivia and Peru. This paper suggests an integrated framework to move forward our understanding of the required policy approaches and steps towards more sustainable and inclusive forest management as part of broader economic and livelihood strategies undertaken by local actors. The latter entails not only to give more explicit attention to some dimensions of forest management, mainly those related to fi nance and business models, that have received little attention so far, but also to look at sustainable forest management as part of more integrated management perspectives of farms, community lands and landscapes.
Collective action for forest management: institutional challenges for enhanced social-ecological systems of the
“environmental agrarian reform” in Anapu, Brazilian Transamazon. Porro, R. (Embrapa Eastern Amazon, Brazil;
roberto.porro@embrapa.br), Miyasaka Porro, N., Menezes, M. (Federal University of Pará, Brazil; noemi@ufpa.br;
marlon@ufpa.br), Bartholdson, Ö. (Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden; orjan.bartholdson@slu.se).
This paper examines socioeconomic outcomes after fi ve years of community forest management in a Sustainable Development Project (PDS) in Anapu, Brazilian Transamazon. The PDS is a tenure modality integrating land reform and environmental conservation. In 2007 families at the PDS Virola-Jatobá were advised by public agencies to perform forest management through a community-company partnership. Operations were conducted in 3 000 ha and near 50 000 m3 of timber extracted, generating revenues of US$ 2 million to the local association. Yet, recent federal regulations determine that private companies should no longer control forest management in PDS areas, and families have to adjust their strategy. The article presents a temporal
assessment of collective action based on key stages in the trajectory of land access and forest management since families’ initial struggle for land. It verifi es impacts of the initiative on PDS-Virola-Jatobá social structure. Finally, it analyzes prospects for a system under direct coordination of producers’ organizations. Changes in management are seen as positive as long as the state supports proper adjustment of local capacity, what is unlikely in the short term. As most of the families reached the limit of allowable land clearance, effective forest management is critical for these newly formed social groups to consolidate their land occupation and properly manage natural resources.
Frontier landscapes in the Peruvian Amazon: options by smallholders along the forest transition curve. Robiglio, V.
(World Agroforestry Center-ICRAF, Peru; v.robiglio@cgiar.org).
The purpose of this research is to compare and contrast smallholder natural resource management strategies along the forest transition curve in the department of Ucayali (Peru). District land cover maps and deforestation rates are used to establish a forest transition curve for the region. Secondary spatial data, statistics and expert information are used to describe the gradient of factors and environmental conditions the curve symbolizes. Demographic, agricultural, forest, market statistics and government plans are analysed to characterize local development patterns and assess the correspondence between frontier confi guration (i.e. forest fragmentation pattern) and identifi ed development contexts. Primary household and focus group data on livelihoods strategies, local ecological knowledge and technological packages adopted by communities in selected districts are used to characterize production systems, understand how their combine in livelihoods strategies within each development context/frontier. Based on preliminary results and expert consultation selected production systems are discussed to understand if/how they vary along the frontier landscape curve, offering an assortment of locally fi ne-tuned alternatives of standard development models/technologies.
Traditional perspectives on ecology and timber extraction in a bamboo-dominated forest: A complementary knowledge base for sustainable management. Rockwell, C. (Center for International Forestry Research, Peru; rockwell_cara@yahoo.com), Kainer, K. (University of Florida, USA; kkainer@ufl .edu).
Bamboo-dominated forests of southwestern Amazonia cover a tremendous area of approximately 180 000 km2. Nonetheless, relatively little information on this system has been documented in the literature, in terms of local knowledge and management.
To identify constraints of timber harvesting and implications for smallholder management systems in this region, we evaluated available scientifi c data, traditional local knowledge, and relevant community experiences in forest management in Acre, Brazil.
All informants interviewed had been involved with timber management activities from 4–10 years, and all indicated that tree removal by logging crews favored bamboo expansion and increased fi re risk – views that correspond with the scientifi c literature on anthropogenic disturbances and bamboo forests. Yet, these same informants identifi ed the important role that the bamboo-dominated forest type plays in their land management strategies, including providing nutrient-rich soils for shifting agricultural crops and suitable habitat for game animals. We also analyzed existing local data for tree species composition to assess local forest value. We provide suggestions about how these complementary bodies of knowledge can be put into practice for the purpose of sustaining the natural resource base within the context of local communities.
Opportunities and perceptions of smallholders regarding their potential to contribute to forest landscape transitions under REDD+: two case studies from Mexico. Skutsch, M., Paneque Gálvez, J., Salinas Melgoza, M., Borrego, A. (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico; mskutsch@ciga.unam.mx; jpanequegalvez@gmail.com; ma.masm@gmail.com;
armoniab@gmail.com), Bee, B. (East Carolina University, USA; bethbee78@gmail.com), Mas, J., Gao, Y. (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico; jfmas@ciga.unam.mx; yangao98@gmail.com).
In Mexico, REDD+ is being presented as a win-win policy that will enable forest communities to benefi t fi nancially and diversify their income sources while preserving and increasing their forest carbon stocks through more sustainable management. Although in Mexico REDD+ is expected to be led by its States, it is expected that forest communities will have opportunities to tailor their own approaches. In this context, locally devised strategies to contribute to and benefi t from REDD+ will depend on local opinions about what the opportunities under REDD+ could be. However, to date there is little understanding about what opportunities exist in reality for forest communities to contribute to forest landscape transitions under REDD+, and even less about how forest smallholders perceive these opportunities. To address such a gap, we assess (1) smallholders’ perceptions about their opportunities in REDD+, (2) what strategies they are currently envisaging for participation, and (3) what the trade-offs and synergies with other dimensions of local development appear to be. The paper reports on on-going research in two areas of Mexico, the basin of the Ayuquila River in Jalisco, and the Monarch Butterfl y Reserve in Michocan, where pilot REDD+ projects are underway.
Posters
The role of forests, fallows and fi sheries in household income generation and fl ood shock coping in the Peruvian Amazon fl oodplain. Cotta, J. (University of Copenhagen, Denmark; jcotta@earthlink.net).
This study contributes detailed quantitative data related to natural resource contributions to subsistence and cash incomes in the Ampiyacu-Apayacu basin. It also highlights the importance of resource harvest for household shock coping following a severe fl ood, which is especially relevant in light of the increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events related to climate change worldwide. In-depth household surveys quantifi ed annual household incomes from all sources in eleven villages in 2011 and structured questionnaires assessed natural resource-based coping following a severe fl ood in 2012. Key products relied upon to cope with economic fl ood impacts included Mauritia fl exuosa fruits, Astrocaryum chambira handicrafts, Lepidocaryum tenue roof thatch, Euterpe precatoria palm heart, wild game, timber and fi sh. These products are particularly valued after the fl ood due to the ineffi ciency of mutual assistance in the midst of widespread livestock and crop staple losses. Resource harvest is infl uenced by shock intensity, typical household livelihood portfolios, ethnicity, and proximity to resources and markets. Interventions to improve smallholder shock resilience for forest-dependent populations should consider landscape heterogeneity and specifi c resource user types. Particular attention should be paid to households characterized by high vulnerability (e.g., residents with only fl ood-vulnerable cultivation) and limited availability/diversity of environmentally-sourced coping resources.
Projections for small and medium size forest enterprises in Chile. Grosse, H., Gysling, J. (Instituto Forestal, Chile;
hgrosse@infor.cl; jgysling@infor.cl).
Chilean forest development is based on the current 2.5 million ha of planted forests (Pinus radiata, Eucalyptus globulus and Eucalyptus nitens) belonging to large and small/medium size enterprises (SME), 58% and 42% of total planted area, respectively.
However, native forests, mainly second growth forests, are a potential development focus that could be of special value when State-promoted silviculture treatments allow quality wood supply to forest industry. While large enterprises planted forests development and associated industrial development have been both of high technological level, mainly from the silviculture and genetics point of view, SME have a slower technology adoption, their planted forest yields are 30% lower, and they are facing the need to increase value added to move from sawn wood to more valuable products. For facing SME’s new challenges, trade associations and public-private alliances have been built up to deal with workforce and SME personnel training on matters such as silvicultural technologies, forest products diversifi cation and added value incorporation, goal achievements which demand improved technology programs, stronger SME association, and appropriated legal framework and public policies.
Not just smallholders: the underlying drivers of deforestation in Nicaragua’s Bosawas Biosphere Reserve. Hansen, L., Innes, J. (University of British Columbia, Canada; hansen.lisa.c@gmail.com; john.innes@ubc.ca).
Having suffi cient agricultural production whilst maintaining forest area and biodiversity is a global conundrum. In protected area landscapes experiencing high forest loss and degradation via the advance of agricultural frontiers, indeed these problems are quite pressing. Agricultural solutions to deforestation problems (i.e. land sharing and land sparing theory) might help to preserve the remaining forest, however, solutions to slow the advancement of the agricultural frontiers by rural smallholders must consider not only the proximate, but also the underlying drivers of deforestation which include complex interactions of social, environmental, economic, political, cultural and technical processes and events that underpin the modes and rates of agricultural expansion/
deforestation. We present the results of a mixed method research approach using spatial analyses, historical literature review, focus groups and key informant interviews designed to identify the underlying events and processes responsible for deforestation in the Bosawas Biosphere Reserve in the municipality of Siuna, Nicaragua. The landscape encompases both a closed and open frontier, with different settlement histories, periods of deforestation and land uses. As such we present historical deforestation drivers by early settlers and present day push and pull factors of migration by thousands of peasants who now settle in illegal areas of the reserve and a national park.
The role of southern Brazilian traditional community forests (faxinais) in Atlantic Forest conservation. Moro, R. (Ponta Grossa State University, Brazil; moro.uepg@gmail.com), Pereira, T. (Federal University of Paraná, Brazil; tkpereira@live.com), Machado, N. (Secretaria da Agricultura e do Abastecimento do Paraná, Brazil; neurimachado@seab.pr.gov.br), Comin, M.
(Federal University of Paraná, Brazil; comin.marcel@gmail.com).
Faxinal is a traditional land organization form of production critically threatened by agribusiness. It consists of the collective animal pasture within the Araucaria forest understory and low impact forestry management. These community forests compound some of the last preserved areas of the Atlantic Forest in the South Brazil Highlands, deserving the status of ARESUR (Área especial de uso regulamentado) – a controversial conservation unit not yet completely recognized that rewards the land owners for their commitment in preservation. Some researchers argue that these efforts are useless because this way of life does not protect forest integrity. In order to evaluate the importance of this agrosystem we have performed a phytosociological survey in four typical faxinais. We identifi ed 69 families and 123 species with and average density of 1,789 ind/ha. The most representative families were Myrtaceae, Lauraceae, Salicaceae, Aquifoliaceae, and Sapindaceae. The Shannon’s index ranged from 2.92 to 3.27, and medium Pielou evenness was 0.80. Casearia species (C. decandra, C. ineaquilatera, C. obliqua, and C. sylvestris),
Campomanesia xanthocarpa, Cinnamodendron dinisii, Podocarpus lambertii, Eugenia plurifl ora, Ilex paraguariensis, and Myrcia hatschbachii had the higher importance values. The results showed that efforts to preserve the faxinais community forests are consistent to the conservation strategies for the Atlantic Forest resilience.
Strengthening sustainable forest management in the Colombian Amazon through in situ wood processing. Polanco, C.
(Universidad Distrital Francisco José de Caldas, Colombia; cpolanco@udistrital.edu.co), Pacheco, M. (WWF Colombia, Colombia; mpacheco@wwf.org.co), Otavo, E. (Corpoamazonia, Colombia; eotavo@corpoamazonia.gov.co).
The Amazonian forests account for over 70% of the forest cover of Colombia. Traditionally forest harvesting processes have been limited to very few woody species (10 out of the total of 300) including outstanding woods as Cedrela odorata, Cariniana decandra, Scleronema praecox, and Manilkara bidentata. The traditional system is to process the timber using a chainsaw without adding value, and at the discretion of the sawyers, to supply the regional and national market in a manner that is largely ineffi -cient and illegal, as these practices generate volume losses close to 80% of the standing timber. With funds from the European Community, the “Amazonia Viva” project began work to implement a sustainable forest management plan, previously developed by Corpoamazonia. This study evaluated the feasibility of wood processing center, which could improve the income of the surrounding communities, grouped into two associations, which are strengthening their management level through the project, besides contributing to sustainable forest management sustainable. Among the results discussed are various confi gurations of machinery, technical feasibility for in situ wood processing, the social benefi ts of the alternatives and the overall profi tability of the project.
New roles of indigenous peoples as productive actors linked to the forest sector of Bolivia. Rivera Coria, W. (National Federation of Municipal Governments of Bolivia, Bolivia; riveraw@gmail.com).
Since the time of colonialism, indigenous peoples, originally farming people, have undergone processes of adaptation and transculturation, although many have managed to preserve their traditional culture, organization and production methods, which are now protected by international agreements. Bolivia is probably the country which has best succeeded in internalizing the corpus of indigenous rights in its legislation, although these peoples still live in a state of poverty on subsistence level despite
being a population group the majority of which has strong ties to forests. By means of the so-called “Revolución Productiva Agropecuaria” (agricultural production revolution) that has been going on for some time, the government promotes unprecedented reforms designed to converting these peoples into productive actors. The present paper measures the approaches of these reforms by means of inductive analysis. It looks at their contents and compares legislation and public policies, making reference to the main socioeconomic and historic aspects and indicators related to exploitation and conservation of forests in Bolivia. The paper identifi es to which extent the weakness of the existing institutional framework, the lack of mandatory character of the forest and environmental regulations in force and, the inadequate harmonization of the set of rules that underlies these reforms may constitute a risk for forest sustainability in the country.