Discussion papers from the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development
The Social dynamics of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon: an overview
Antonio Carlos Diegues. 1992.
Discussion paper No. 36. Geneva, UNRISD.
This paper presents a preliminary assessment of the social origins and impact (social, environmental and economic) of deforestation in the Amazon region of Brazil and suggests ideas regarding practical alternatives to deforestation. The author emphasizes structural and macroeconomic factors in analysing the causes of deforestation. Structural factors include the unequal distribution of land in prevailing land tenure systems and the expansion of cash crops (commercial agriculture). Macroeconomic factors include unemployment, inflation and external debt.
It is noteworthy that this paper starts from a basic assumption that deforestation, i.e. the conversion of forest land to other uses, is inherently bad. Not mentioned is the question of whether, from a long-term socio-economic-environmental viewpoint, the best sustainable use of the Amazon might involve conversion of some forest land to other uses.
The paper argues that the chief responsibility for most of the deforestation in the region lies with the Brazilian Government, particularly its strategies promoting and providing incentives for the establishment of large-scale agricultural and cattle-raising schemes as well as mining and hydroelectric projects in the Amazon region. Of note is recent evidence suggesting that, with the removal of many of these incentives at the beginning of the decade, the rate of deforestation has decreased significantly.
The paper also discusses the concept of "neo-extractivism" which has evolved from movements designed to benefit forest-based populations. This resource management system seeks to protect the forest and provide secure, sustainable forest-based employment for the different groups of people who are dependent on the forests. However, the complicated local, national and international interactions suggest that there are no simple solutions to the challenge of deforestation in the Amazon.
The paper concludes with an appendix on the technical, forestry and agroforestry alternatives to combat deforestation. More research at the local level is called for to tap indigenous knowledge more fully in the search for solutions to the problem of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon.
Greening at the grassroots: people's participation in sustainable development.
Jessica M. Vivian. 1991.
Discussion paper No. 22. Geneva, UNRISD.
This paper reports on issues raised in the preliminary stages of the UNRISD programme for sustainable development through people's participation in resource management. This programme explores the dynamics of local-level initiatives concerned with environmental degradation; examines and analyses sustainable traditional resource management practices; and investigates the factors that facilitate or constrain community participation in externally initiated resource management projects. The author of the paper is the coordinator of this research programme.
The paper focuses on local-level environmental problems in developing countries and the means by which steps can be taken to alleviate them. It opens with a discussion of the need for an approach to environmental issues based on the full involvement of communities in defining problems and formulating solutions and incorporating their perceptions of their own needs, concerns and abilities. It is argued that a more thorough understanding of the ways in which people have traditionally managed their resources, together with an increased recognition of the ways in which they react to unsustainable resource exploitation, can contribute to the establishment of a more productive approach to sustainable development.
It is observed that social mechanisms which maintain sustainable levels of resource use within a given society are often not readily perceptible to outsiders. The question of the ability of traditional resource management systems to adapt and remain viable in the face of pressures from within and outside the system is addressed, and it is argued that generalizations regarding the future of such systems are inappropriate. In particular, the paper notes how often unjustified preconceptions that all common property resource management systems are inherently unsustainable are resulting in policies designed to weaken or even eliminate such systems. In addition, the paper provides examples suggesting the inappropriateness of assuming an inevitable linear relationship between population growth and environmental degradation.
The paper also discusses the types of collective action undertaken by communities that see their livelihood threatened because they have been deprived of their traditional means of resource management or because of unsustainable resource exploitation on the part of outsiders. The paper closes with a brief discussion of the apparent links between poverty and environmental degradation in the developing world, arguing that, although poverty clearly aggravates processes of degradation in certain cases, an analysis claiming a simple link between these two is incomplete without the inclusion of the concept of empowerment, i.e. control of the resource in question.
Copies of these publications may be obtained from the UNRISD, Reference Centre, Palais des Nations, 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland.
New publications from the Oxford Forestry Institute
Patterns of farmer tree growing in eastern Africa: a socioeconomic analysis. Katherine Warner.
1993. Oxford Forestry Institute and International Center for Research in Agroforestry, Tropical Forestry Papers No. 27. Oxford, UK, Oxford Forestry Institute.
This study explores factors influencing farmer decisions in tree management, by examining patterns of tree growing by farmers in different agro-ecological, land use and economic conditions across eastern Africa. Countries covered include Burundi, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, the United Republic of Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The study is based on information derived from existing material and ongoing research, which has been analysed within a framework based on that developed by the International Centre for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF) in Nairobi for the Agroforestry Research Networks for Africa (AFRENA) studies.
Wherever possible, the effects of the following factors were distinguished: tenure and rights; agricultural and livestock management practices; dependence on forest products; availability of supplies from existing tree stocks; commoditization of tree products, size of markets, access to markets, etc.; factor availability and cost; cultural and attitudinal factors; sustainability, stability and risk management; and government and other outside interventions. The study disclosed a wide diversity of tree-growing practices, within an overall pattern of increased planting as natural woody vegetation decreases, as land uses emerge within which trees can be protected from livestock and fire and as access to markets, the availability of inputs and the limited potential profitability of alternatives favour the adoption of trees as a farm crop.
Local management of trees and woodland resources in Zimbabwe: a tenurial niche approach. Louise Fortmann & Calvin Nhira. 1992. Oxford Forestry Institute
Occasional Papers No. 43. Oxford, UK, Oxford Forestry Institute. This study of forest and woodland management in the rural areas of Zimbabwe begins from two relatively new conceptual starting points: the social forest and tenurial niche. The social forest is a concept encompassing the more traditional view of forests, taking into consideration all trees used by local people regardless of their location, density, species or size.
The tenurial niche takes a more fine-grained look at property relations, allowing for the consideration of the complexities that tree tenure introduces to tenure in general. Using key informant interviews, a literature review and rapid rural appraisal, this study examines the prevalence of four management mechanisms (sacred controls, pragmatic controls, the civil contract and new institutions and rules) across various tenurial niches and suggests strategies for improving management and reducing conflict in each niche. Copies of these publications and further information may be obtained by contacting: The Chief Librarian, Oxford Forestry Institute, South Parks Rd. Oxford OX1 3RB, UK.
IIASA study sounds alarm bells for the forest resources of the former USSR
The forest resources of the former European USSR. S.
Nilsson, O. Sallnäs, M. Hugosson and A. Shvidenko. 1992. London, Parthenon Publishing Group Ltd.
Air pollution, poor planning and, above all, wasteful handling have sharply reduced the potential wood harvest in the European regions of the former USSR and are likely to reduce it even further in the future perhaps by more than 20 percent. Instead of exporting wood, the region could be importing it within 20 years. On the other hand, the potentially sustainable wood supply in the region could increase in the long term by as much as 25 percent, given better management, better infrastructure and less air pollution.
These are the major conclusions of a four-year study conducted by the Forest Resources Project of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) in collaboration with the Russian Research Centre for Forest Resources and other institutes in the former USSR. Much of the data used in the study has not previously been published.
The study produced the most detailed, consistent and precise database on forest resources ever developed in the former USSR. The principal goals of the study were to analyse the state of the region's forest resources, assess the effects of air pollution on them and estimate wood harvests assuming sustainable management over the next century.
If current conditions prevail, the study suggests that the average annual sustainable harvest in the region will probably decline to about 200 million m³, i.e. 55 million m³ less than it is now.
In some areas, the sustainable wood supply would be less than half the current industrial capacity, forcing significant structural changes in forest industry. The study projects that, by the year 2005, the demand for industrial wood products in the region will increase by 10 to 30 percent, depending on economic growth, to reach 155 to 190 million m³ per year. Therefore, economic growth could force the region to begin importing wood.
The study identifies a number of urgent needs:
· to implement new forest policies and legislation based on sustainable principles supporting more intensive and careful forest management in all aspects of silviculture;· to educate and retrain local managers;
· to curtail wasteful management of wood resources immediately;
· to identify practical strategies for reducing emissions of air pollutants, particularly SO2, NOX and heavy metals;
· to develop new strategies for improving all aspects of infrastructure, including transportation and communication links;
· to upgrade forest industry, both in terms of physical structures and management, to western standards.
It is noteworthy that the study dealt mainly with the sustainable management and production of wood and the effects of air pollution. It did not address the environmental role and non-wood benefits of the forest ecosystems of the former European USSR, nor the important role that these forests may have in regulating global climate.
Outstanding publications programme on forestry research
The Forestry Research Support for the Asia and the Pacific Region (FORSPA) is aimed at strengthening national research capabilities; promoting technology transfer (from laboratory to land); enhancing collective self-reliance through networking; increasing access to up-to-date and comprehensive information services; and providing opportunities to forge links with global forestry research (particularly with the newly established Centre for International Forestry Research). The strength of the project lies in its strong networking approach among forest research institutes, universities and other organizations engaged in forestry-related work in Asia and the Pacific. The FAO-executed project is funded by the Asian Development Bank and the United Nations Development Programme, with a total of US$2 million over the period 1 992-1 994.
In the first year of the project, FORSPA has screened 183 research proposals and funded 27, covering broad thematic areas of relevance to-the region. It has organized a series of seminars and workshops on innovative research subjects of topical interest both within the region and at a global level. During the same period, FORSPA has published 22 documents covering policies, strategies and programmes to promote forestry research. Publications include: Forestry research in the Asia Pacific region; Forestry policy research issues; How to organize forestry research with scarce resources; Directory of forestry researchers in the Asia-Pacific region; Teak in Asia; Role of rubber-wood in forestry: the Malaysian experience; and a series of papers describing national forestry research efforts. The project also produces INFORSPA, a quarterly newsletter aimed at strengthening networking among research institutes in the region and in spotlighting areas of research interest A complete list of FORSPA publications as well as copies of individual documents may be obtained by writing to FORSPA, c/o FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Maliwan Mansion, Phra Atit Road, Bangkok 10200, Thailand.
Sadly, a key personality in the formulation and execution of the FORSPA project, Dr Y.S. Rao, was killed in March 1993 in Bombay, India, only days after organizing an International Seminar on Forest Research Management. The outstanding analytical, managerial and prolific writing skills of Dr Rao, as well as his personal and intellectual sparkle, will be sorely missed.
