Part 2: Thematic papers
2.1 Major outcomes of the Pucallpa and Samarinda workshops on secondary
forests in tropical America and Asia
By Unna Chokkalingam, Wil de Jong and Cesar Sabogal (CIFOR)
The two workshops
The workshop Tropical secondary forests in Latin America was held in Pucallpa, Peru, in June 1997. It was organized by the Amazon Cooperation Treaty (TCA) in collaboration with the Central American Commission on Forests (CCAB), FAO, CIFOR, GTZ, and EC-LNV. There were 60 participants representing 18 countries as well as FAO, UNDP, CIFOR, ICRAF and CATIE.
Publications/proceedings of the Pucallpa workshop
- Policy Brief: The Pucallpa proposal for the sustainable development of secondary forests in Tropical America (1997).
- CIFOR/GTZ/Ministerio de Cooperación Técnica del Reino de los Países Bajos/IKC/TAC/CCAB-AP, 1997. Memorias del Taller Internacional Sobre el Estado Actual y Potencial del Manejo y Desarrollo del Bosque Secundario Tropical en América Latina, Pucallpa, Peru, 2-26 de junio de 1997.
- The CIFOR/GTZ/IKC workshop Tropical secondary forests in Asia: reality and perspectives was held in Samarinda, Indonesia, April 2000.
Forty participants representing 11 countries as well as FAO, IUCN, SEAMEO SEARCA, TROPENBOS, APAFRI and ICRAF attended the workshop.
Publications/proceedings of the Samarinda workshop:
- Policy Brief: Towards sustainable management and development of tropical secondary forests in Asia: The Samarinda Proposal for Action.
- Chokkalingam, U., Smith, J., De Jong W., and Sabogal C. (Guest Editors). 2001. Secondary forests in Asia; their diversity, importance and role in future environmental management. Forest Research Institute of Malaysia and the Centre for International Forestry Research. Journal of Tropical Forest Science; Volume 13(4). pp. 834.
The following key issues were identified in the two events and were considered to influence the proper management of secondary forests:
Status and importance of secondary
forests
- There is a growing importance and dependence on this resource.
- Secondary forests are an integral part of landscape and land use systems.
- They are very diverse
- There are marked differences in secondary forests among countries and in many of the factors influence their establishment and growth.
Policies, knowledge, experience
- The existing policy focus on secondary forest is inadequate.
- Secondary forests are usually viewed as degraded land and prone to conversion.
- Inadequate availability of data, knowledge and expertise on the resource.
- There may exist some local management knowledge.
Socio-economic and institutional
constraints
- Land tenure insecurity and conflicts.
- Low attention to local needs and environmental benefits.
- Increasing degradation pressures.
- Inadequate cost-benefit sharing and transfer payment mechanisms.
- Limited market development.
- Excluded from existing mechanisms of collaboration and financing.
Key recommendations
- Enhance policy focus on secondary forests.
- Integrate secondary forests into land use plans and clarify tenure.
- Increase knowledge and awareness of all aspects of the resource.
- Develop management strategies based on local needs and knowledge - participatory approach.
- Ensure equitable cost-benefit sharing and compensation to local people.
- Recognize more varied management objectives for secondary forests.
- Strengthen local R and D and administrative structures for SF management.
- Identify financing mechanisms interested in the resource.
- Develop markets/micro-enterprises for SF products.
The Samarinda vision
The Samarinda workshop hoped that all tropical secondary forests would be integrated into land use systems at the landscape scale, and be managed and developed sustainably and equitably for a range of goods and services.