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Drawing on a qualitative approach, this paper examines wood fuel producers' insight on the environmental effects of their activities in the forest area of the Kintampo North Municipality. Tape-recorded interviews were transcribed and analyzed thematically based on manual analysis. Results indicated that wood fuel producers have no option than to engage in the activities of charcoal production and fuelwood collection due to absolute poverty, unemployment, and the need for energy for cooking and heating. However, producers of wood fuel do not establish their plantations for wood fuel extraction; rather depend on the natural forest for their extraction. This resulted in environmental effects including deforestation, forest degradation, and loss of biodiversity. Since the current state of wood fuel extraction presents dire environmental consequences to the forest resources, we recommend Forestry Commission and the Municipal Assembly initiate tree planting exercises to make wood fuel a sustainable energy in Ghana. Poverty reduction programs such as Livelihood Empowerment against Poverty (LEAP) targeted at supporting inhabitants who want to engage in other forms of livelihood activities including shear butter processing to alleviate them from absolute poverty are strongly recommended. This will help reduce their over-dependence on the forest resources for survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gura-Ferda forest is part of the moist evergreen Afromontane forest in southwestern Ethiopia. Despite the fact that large sections of this forest have become increasingly disturbed and fragmented since 1984, there is no scientific data on the dynamics of woody species diversity and forest carbon pools. As a result, the research was carried out to assess and compare the diversity of woody species and carbon stock along natural forest to farmland conversion gradient. Data were collected from natural forest, forest-farm interface, and farmland that were previously forest land. For the inventory of woody species, 90 nested plots (20 m*20 m for natural forest and forest-farm interface; 50 m*100 m for farmland) were established. To collect litter and soil samples, three 1 m*1 m subplots were established. Shannon-Wiener diversity index is significantly higher (p <.05) in natural forests (H' = 2.72 ± 0.31) than in forest-farm interface (H' = 1.42 ± 0.49) and farmland (H' = 1.08 ± 0.57). Natural forest total carbon stocks were approximately 1.55 and 2.64 times higher than forest-farm interface and farmland, respectively. This study revealed that there was a substantial reduction in species diversity and carbon stocks along the conversion gradient of natural forest to farmland. The Natural Resource Management sector of the district should use management approaches to reduce the pressure on natural forest, which has resulted in a substantial decrease in species richness and carbon stocks along the natural forest to farmland conversion gradient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hill forest vegetation cover in the southeastern part of Bangladesh has been facing degradation and depletion over a few decades. The forest estimation and mapping of this country are well documented and mainly restricted to the mangrove extent. However, the monitoring of the hill forest vegetation of Bangladesh is limited till now. This study monitor and analyzes the forest vegetation cover changes using Landsat imagery from 1974 to 2020, specifically in Khagrachari and Rangamati hill district, Bangladesh. We preprocess the satellite imagery and then perform a decision tree classification algorithm based on the spectral indexes derived from the imagery. The initial assessment indicates the negative change of dense vegetation/forest vegetation cover (FVC) in most parts of the study area since 1974. Further results show that ~57.17%, ~39.3%, ~31.27%, and ~24.97% of the total area were classified as FVC type in 1989,1999, 2010 and 2020, respectively. Besides, this study briefly discusses how the change of FVC impacts the life of the local indigenous community living around the area. This preliminary investigation highlights deforestation over the ~46 years around the study area, which could be beneficial for planning to manage and conserve forest resources, and protect the local indigenous community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economic analyses of forest management options can help landowners make informed decisions. However, landowners make decisions in complex and nuanced ways that transcend economics. The history and legal status of their land, their emotional connections to it, their access to knowledge and capital, and their broader objectives are vital elements in their decision-making processes. We present case studies of four Black landowners in Georgia through a combination of economic analyses that compare their current revenue with potential increased revenue through active forest management and qualitative interviews that provide context for past management decisions and insights into why active forest management may – or may – not prove to be their ultimate goal. Together these two types of analysis present a range of goals and management options that consider both economic and non-economic valuations of forested lands, which can inform extension and outreach strategies for increasing engagement of Black landowners in sustainable forestry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a wide range of potential factors directly and indirectly influencing the decision of households participating in Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) programs. These potential factors can be grouped into characteristics of household heads, household characteristics, awareness of households on REDD+ program, and REDD+ policies factors. In this study, a survey conducted of 250 households (including 125 households participating and 125 non-participants in REDD+ program) in Ban Cam commune, Bao Thang district, Lao Cai province (150 households); and in Muong Phang commune, Dien Bien district, Dien Bien province (100 households), Vietnam. Binary logistic regression was used to identify key factors that significantly affect the decisions of households participating in REDD+ programs in the study area. Six key factors influencing household participation in REDD+ programs in the study area were identified, namely ethnicity, forestland area, educational level of household head, concern about forest degradation, equal distribution of government payment, and understanding of benefit on REDD+. The findings of this research provide implications for solution development, with the aim being to encourage participation of local households in REDD+ programs in the study area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dry tropical forests in arid lands cover large areas in Brazil, but few studies report the total biomass stock showing the importance of height measurements, in addition to applying and comparing local and pan-tropical models. Here, we use a biomass data set of 500 trees and shrubs, covering 15 species harvested in a management plan in the state of Pernambuco, in Brazil. We seek to develop local models and compare them with the equations traditionally applied to dry forests – showing the importance of tree height measurements. Due to the non-linear relationships with the independent variables of the tree, we used a nonlinear least squares modeling technique when adjusting models, we adopted the cross-validation procedure. In summary, our above-ground biomass data set is best represented by the Schumacher-Hall equation: exp [3.5336 + 1.9126 × log (D) + 1.2438 × log (Ht)], which shows that height measurements are essential to estimate accurately biomass. The biggest prediction errors observed when testing pan-tropical models in our data demonstrated the importance of developing new local models and indicated that careful considerations should be made if generic "pan-tropical" models without height measurements are planned for application in dry forests in Brazil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forestry sequestrates carbon from the atmosphere and stores it in living tree biomass, dead organic matter (DOM) and wood-based products. A part of the sequestration might be "additional", i.e., increased sequestration compared to the business as usual forestry. This study developed a methodology for calculating the additional part of the carbon sequestration of Finnish forestry. Additionality was defined to be equal to increasing the carbon stocks beyond a reference level, which was equal to the carbon socks of current Finnish forestry. Models were developed for calculating the reference carbon stocks of living tree biomass, DOM and wood-based products, using site fertility and temperature sum as predictors. New models were also developed for initializing the carbon stocks of DOM and wood-based products. These models were used in simulations that predict the future changes of the carbon stocks in a given forest management scenario. The model system developed in this study makes it possible to calculate the future carbon stocks and additional carbon sequestration of any Finnish forest area in alternative forest management scenarios. The use of the system was demonstrated in three case study forests for two different management scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined and analyzed the contribution of forestry sector on the Nigerian economy and the factors affecting the contribution of forestry Sector on the Economy in Nigeria. Data was sourced from National Bureau of Statistics and the Central Bank of Nigeria for the period of 1970–2015. The data collected was analyzed using unit root test and multiple regression analysis. The study found that population, crop production, oil sector, and forestry sector have significant positive impact on economy while inflation has significant adverse effect on the economy. The study further found that rural and urban population, permanent cropland and net forest depletion are the main factors affecting sustainable forestry contribution significantly and negatively. Therefore, the main factors affecting forestry sector contribution to the national economy were rapid human population growth in both rural and urban areas, arable land, permanent cropland, and net forest depletion. It was based on these that we recommended that the present practice of accepting forestry as public venture is not ideal. The private firms and industries that derived their raw materials from the forest should be made to pay back some of their considerable profits to forest regeneration programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is mandated to lead in the sustainable management of the country's natural resources. The continuous migration in forest and forest lands (FFL) and succeeding forest cover loss resulted in tenure reforms, with bundles of rights devolved to communities. Bundle of rights refers to a specific set of privilege granted to an individual or group of people, to do certain things with land or property. It includes access, use, management, exclusion and alienation rights. This study documented the migration trend and mode of land acquisition, extent of individual/collective rights, impact of secure tenure on livelihood and forest conservation, and how property rights in Community-Based Forest Management (CBFM) areas improved. Migration happened in three important periods, with migrants wanting to secure better livelihood. The issuance of tenure instruments legitimized claims, allowed tenure holders to use, manage, and exclude others from accessing and using resources. While the 'bundle of rights' is within the terms and conditions of the DENR, the tenure reform is still a better option than any other programs implemented in the past. Lessons learned may be used as basis in further improving the provisions of the CBFM program in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A commitment to sustainability is often demonstrated through both management plans and the implementation of practices. We applied content analysis to a sample of state forest management plans from the United States to examine the terms associated with sustainability, and to assess explicit demonstrations of a commitment to sustainable forestry. We expected that the language employed would signal an interpretation of terms associated with forest sustainability. We queried the plans for a list of terms associated with sustainability and analyzed the textual context. Eight categories and 11 subcategories were developed to code the plans for the presence/absence of statements associated with dimensions of sustainability. Our results show that the three dimensions of sustainability are addressed in these forest management plans. Further, certain terms generally associated with sustainability did not appear in the text of the forest management plans sampled. Both, procedural and prescriptive measures seem valid to ensure compliance with management requirements. Differences between regions regarding the use of terms and the emphasis given to each sustainability consideration are evident. Our findings suggest that forest management plans may lack some discursive components that might be important in aiding public understanding of forest management planning to evidence demonstrations of forest sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diversifying land use of monoculture forestry plantations in land restitution projects in South Africa is critical in achieving a multipurpose production system. The objective of this study was to investigate potential land use options desired by land claimant beneficiaries. A random sampling technique was used to select 351 and 170 beneficiary households in Livubu and Tzaneen communities in Limpopo Province, respectively. Data were collected using household questionnaires and focus group discussions. Descriptive analysis, Chi-square test, Binary logistic regression and Friedman test were used to analyze the data. The study revealed that over 80% of the beneficiaries desired to diversify land use in both study communities and the potential land use options were found to be linked directly with socio-economic factors. There was a significant difference among the potential land-use options for both Livubu (p <.001) and Tzaneen (p <.001) communities. The predominant desired land-use option was agriculture and the least was animal grazing. Due to the poverty of the communities, it is necessary to identify and evaluate the best land-use options for implementation. Additionally, the government should build the capacity, skills and knowledge of beneficiaries on how to diversify land uses to accommodate their socio-economic needs, as articulated in the Agroforestry Strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]