Common property forestry bibliography
Common forest resource management: annotated bibliography of Asia, Africa and Latin America. 1993. FAO Community Forestry Note No. 11 Rome, FAO.
This study introduces some of the literature on common property forestry management from Asia, Africa and Latin America. Regional issue analyses and reviews of both published and unpublished sources have been prepared by authors in each of the three regions. Each of the authors analyses the local systems of common property forestry management and the role of externally sponsored assistance, particularly through projects. Key issues highlighted include systems of tree and land tenure, the general erosion of traditional rights, the reactions of right holders to change and measures taken to assert old rights or establish new ones. Rather than examining the same issues across regions, the regional chapters work to focus on the key issues for each geographic zone. As a result, the same issues are not always confronted for all places.
In total, 363 references are annotated - 132 for Asia, 111 for Africa and 120 for Latin America. FAO recognizes that this certainly does not represent an exhaustive list, but the decision was taken to publish in order to present information known to date and to identify gaps in the knowledge on this important topic.
Perhaps the most important outcome of this compilation of the literature is the invitation to re-examine the conditions under which systems of collective management of natural resources are efficient and hold development potential. A belief in the viability and utility of local, collective natural resource management regimes is evident throughout this work.
New publications from TFAP
Enhancing people's participation in the TFAP 1993. Rome, FAO.
People's participation brings to a programme the full contributions of local knowledge, skills and resources, resulting in more effective, efficient and sustainable initiatives. It promotes an increased local awareness of problems and opportunities and the acquisition of new skills, giving impulse to the organization for socioeconomic initiatives and self-reliance. It is, in fact, at the root of a non-paternalistic, mature society where people are the crafters of their own development and the caretakers of their own environment.
This publication offers guidance for the enhancement of people's participation in the preparation and implementation of National Forestry Action Plans (NFAPs). It proposes a definition of participation in NFAPs and outlines specific aspects and activities in which people can take part. It provides working definitions and examples of relevant social actors, processes and concepts. The core of the publication is a menu of options to enhance people's participation in the main phases and results of the NFAPs. The options are described and often complemented by brief examples. The publication concludes by providing suggestions on how to integrate options into coherent strategic lines.
The publication could be of particular value as a supporting document for workshops aimed at developing strategies to involve people fully in the various phases of NFAP preparation, revision and implementation.
Monitoring national forest action plans.
1993. Rome, FAO. This document is intended to assist national managers, including National Forestry Action Plan (NFAP) coordinators, senior national forestry staff and midlevel managers, to: assess critically the monitoring needs of their forestry development programme; improve existing monitoring systems and expand them where necessary; and make better use of monitoring information so as to manage programmes and projects more efficiently and effectively.
It is intended to be sufficiently comprehensive to define the major elements of a monitoring system clearly, while leaving the technical details to managers and their staff. Users will decide what their data needs are and what information can be economically collected and applied, given their circumstances. The document stresses that data should be collected with a clear purpose, that collected information should be objective and readily applicable to the needs of a particular national forestry programme and that information be presented to management in a timely manner and usable form.
The publication consists of an introduction; chapters on Periodic national review of the NFAP, Elements of NFAP implementation monitoring and Considerations for information collection and delivery; and a conclusion.
TFAP Operational Principles: training notes. 1993. Rome, FAO.
The Tropical Forests Action Programme (TFAP) is guided by a set of general principles which are presented in the TFAP Operations Principles, published in November 1991. These principles are broad guidelines for the TFAP approach and provide a framework for the preparation, implementation and updating of National Forestry Action Plans (NFAPs). How these general principles are applied depends on the specific situation prevailing in each country.
To assist people involved in the TFAP process in more than 90 countries, the TFAP Coordinating Unit (through an Italian trust fund project) planned a series of regional workshops to train national coordinators and other team members and partners in using the Operational Principles. Four regional workshops were held between November 1992 and June 1993: in Thailand for the Asia and Pacific region; in the United Republic of Tanzania and Cameroon for the African region; and in Jamaica for the Caribbean region. The material presented in this document was initially gathered for the workshops. It is also, however, a product of the workshops, as the original material was enriched with contributions from workshop participants through discussions and the sharing of experiences.
The training notes are intended as a tool for self-documentation, self-learning and for orientation in the NFAP process. They have a modular structure: each section corresponds to a specific macro phase of the TFAP process. The document begins with a methodological guide to the proper use of the notes themselves, followed by seven practical sections and a concluding series of annexes.
The training notes are meant to be a dynamic working document: in fact, they are produced in a spiral binder which will permit updating and enrichment with personal notes and information from various sources. Comments from readers and users are solicited by the TFAP Coordinating Unit, Forestry Department, FAO, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 00100 Rome, Italy.
Institutional incentives in community forestry
A framework for analyzing institutional incentives in community forestry 1992. FAO Community Forestry Note No. 10. Rome, FAO
This document clarifies selected institutional aspects of Sahelian forestry and, on the basis of an analysis of four forestry projects initiated over the past two decades in the Niger, develops a framework for the analysis of community forestry activities.
The analytic technique involves the use of a four-part model covering:
· attributes of woodstock (trees and woody biomass) goods and services and the technologies used to control, exploit and maintain them; the communities that control and use them; and the rules and institutions for their governance and management;· incentives for different classes of actors; patterns of interaction that result when individuals alone or in groups, given the incentives they face, select and implement strategies to obtain the woodstock goods and services they desire; and
· outcomes, i.e. the impact of interaction patterns on woodstock sustainability, on equity and efficiency of production and distribution of goods and services and on the viability of woodstock institutions.
Two major points emerge from this institutional approach to the understanding of incentives in community forestry. First, there is a need for careful attention to the diverse economic characteristics of trees in community forestry efforts. These characteristics (what the author calls "the attributes of goods and services) have significant implications for the types of organizations that are appropriate to manage them.
Second, it is important to understand how different forest tenure, management and use rules, in conjunction with the nature of specific resources, create incentives or disincentives in specific situations that encourage or discourage popular participation in the conservation and sustainable use of these resources. Conscious efforts to design activities with these considerations in mind will improve chances of success.
Tree farming
Trees and tree farming 1992. P.K. Thampan, ed. Gandhi Nagar (Kerala). India, Peekay Tree crops Development Foundation.
Trees and tree farming presents a wealth of information on the socioeconomic and ecological aspects of tree farming. Divided into 18 chapters, each written by an Indian or Sri Lankan expert in their respective areas of specialization, the book covers a wide ground and discusses many useful topics.
For example, the role of trees in augmenting people's food and nutrition security and in protecting the environment is presented for the benefit of a wide spectrum of readers. Agroforestry applications for maximizing farm-level income and employment in addition to reclaiming problem soils for productive use receive extensive coverage. The controversial topic of tree-induced allelopathy (one species of plant causing harm to others) in agroforestry specifically with reference to eucalypts - is highlighted to stimulate research interest in the topic. Soil fertility aspects of tree farming covering biological inputs are described in detail. Medicinally important tree species as well as tree spices and unexploited fruit-trees with a promising economic value are presented in separate chapters. In response to the growing interest in the problem of pollution associated with plant protection chemicals, the potential offered by trees and micro-organisms for biocontrol are considered. The treatment of genetic improvement of tree components and the large-scale production of quality planting material provides informative and stimulating reading.
Although they primarily focus on India and Sri Lanka, the authors of the individual chapters deliberately include references and examples drawn from across the globe, giving Trees and tree farming a wider geographical perspective. The book should be of value to a wide readership including professionals and students in agriculture and forestry.
The publisher, the Peekay Tree Crops Development Foundation, is a non-profit organization which was registered in India in 1991. One of the foundation's primary objectives is to disseminate information on tree-based farming systems and their influence on soil health, the environment and human welfare through publications (including a monthly newsletter, Tree Word) and appropriate extension training materials. This is the second book to be published by the foundation (Organics in soil health and crop production was published in 1993).
Understanding dieback of trees and forests
Decline and dieback of trees and forests: a global overview. 1994. FAO Forestry Paper No. 120. Rome, FAO.
The periodic occurrence of loss of tree vigour, branch dieback and tree mortality for reasons unknown or difficult to determine is a phenomenon that has frustrated resource managers and intrigued scientists for many years. Referred to as dieback or "decline", it has become a subject of intensified interest as forest scientists attempt to achieve a better understanding of the dynamics of forest ecosystems. There is also great concern on the part of the general public and the scientific community that many instances of decline or dieback may be the result of human activities.
Most cases of decline have been reported from Europe, North America, Australia and the Pacific region. However, decline is by no means restricted to these regions. There are reports of trees and forests affected by decline throughout the world. While the symptoms of decline may be strikingly similar, they can be the result of many different factors, often interacting in a complex manner.
The frequency of occurrence, pattern and intensity of decline or dieback may adversely affect the sustainable flow of goods and services from forests and influence forest management. Declines may also serve as indicators of forest response to climate change, an issue that is currently in the forefront of scientific and public interest. It is important that foresters, ecologists, biologists and scientists from related disciplines understand the mechanism and factors involved in declines so that appropriate forest monitoring and management systems can be implemented.
Accordingly, this paper provides an overview of declines and diebacks of trees and forests in a global context. Case histories of decline and dieback events, their symptoms, causal factors and impacts on forests are described from Europe, North America, Africa, Asia and the Pacific and Latin America. The role of both human and natural factors in declines and diebacks is discussed while strategies and tactics to reduce the impact of these factors on sustainable forest management are presented. The paper is designed for use by foresters, forest scientists, policy analysts and decision-makers.
