Tag: livelihoods


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  • The impact of swidden decline on livelihoods and ecosystem services in Southeast Asia: A review of the evidence from 1990 to 2015

The impact of swidden decline on livelihoods and ecosystem services in Southeast Asia: A review of the evidence from 1990 to 2015

22 December, 2016

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Authors: Dressler, W.H.; Wilson, D.; Clendenning, J.; Cramb, R.; Keenan, R.J.; Mahanty, S.; Bruun, T.B.; Mertz, O.; Lasco, R.D.

Global economic change and policy interventions are driving transitions from long-fallow swidden (LFS) systems to alternative land uses in Southeast Asia’s uplands. This study presents a systematic review of how these transitions impact upon livelihoods and ecosystem services in the region. Over 17 000 studies published between 1950 and 2015 were narrowed, based on relevance and quality, to 93 studies for further analysis. Our analysis of land-use transitions from swidden to intensified cropping systems showed several outcomes: more households had increased overall income, but these benefits came at significant cost such as reductions of customary practice, socio-economic wellbeing, livelihood options, and staple yields. Examining the effects of transitions on soil properties revealed negative impacts on soil organic carbon, cation-exchange capacity, and aboveground carbon. Taken together, the proximate and underlying drivers of the transitions from LFS to alternative land uses, especially intensified perennial and annual cash cropping, led to significant declines in pre-existing livelihood security and the ecosystem services supporting this security. Our results suggest that policies imposing land-use transitions on upland farmers so as to improve livelihoods and environments have been misguided; in the context of varied land uses, swidden agriculture can support livelihoods and ecosystem services that will help buffer the impacts of climate change in Southeast Asia.

 

Pages: 20p.

Publication Year: 2016

ISSN: 0044-7447

Source: Ambio, CIFOR’s library

DOI: 10.1007/s13280-016-0836-z

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  • Using indigenous knowledge to link hyper-temporal land cover mapping with land use in the Venezuelan Amazon: “The Forest Pulse”

Using indigenous knowledge to link hyper-temporal land cover mapping with land use in the Venezuelan Amazon: “The Forest Pulse”

15 December, 2016

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Authors: Olivero, J.; Ferri, F.; Acevedo, P.; Lobo, J.M.; Fa, J.E.; Farfán, M.A.; Romero, D.; Blanco, G.; Real, R.

Remote sensing and traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) can be combined to advance conservation of remote tropical regions, e.g. Amazonia, where intensive in situ surveys are often not possible. Integrating TEK into monitoring and management of these areas allows for community participation, as well as for offering novel insights into sustainable resource use. In this study, we developed a 250-m-resolution land-cover map of the western Guyana Shield (Venezuela) based on remote sensing, and used TEK to validate its relevance for indigenous livelihoods and land uses. We first employed a hyper-temporal remotely sensed vegetation index to derive a land classification system. During a 1,300-km, 8-day fluvial expedition in roadless areas in the Amazonas State (Venezuela), we visited six indigenous communities who provided geo-referenced data on hunting, fishing and farming activities. We overlaid these TEK data onto the land classification map, to link land classes with indigenous use. Several classes were significantly connected with agriculture, fishing, overall hunting, and more specifically the hunting of primates, red brocket deer, black agouti, and white-lipped peccary. We then characterized land classes using greenness and topo-hydrological information, and proposed 12 land-cover types, grouped into five main landscapes: 1) water bodies; 2) open lands/forest edges; 3) evergreen forests; 4) submontane semideciduous forests, and 5) cloud forests. Our results show that TEK-based approaches can serve as a basis for validating the livelihood relevance of landscapes in high-value conservation areas, which can form the basis for furthering the management of natural resources in these regions

Publication Year: 2016

ISSN: 0034-7744

Source: Revista de Biología Tropical 64(4): 1661-1682

DOI: 10.15517/rbt.v64i4.21886

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  • Implementation of CITES for bushmeat species and its impacts on local livelihoods in Colombia

Implementation of CITES for bushmeat species and its impacts on local livelihoods in Colombia

06 December, 2016

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Authors: Juanita, G.; Sebastian, R.; Van Vliet, N.

Key messages

  • In 2016, the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) and the Secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) developed a handbook to guide parties in the rapid evaluation of bushmeat trade across their borders, to rapidly assess the impacts on local livelihoods of CITES regulations for bushmeat species, and to identify relevant mitigation measures.
  • Between January and June 2016, CIFOR, in coordination with the CITES focal points for Colombia, applied the handbook to Colombia. This involved a systematic review of available literature; consultations with national and regional authorities; semi-structured interviews with experts; field visits; and regional workshops with stakeholders of the bushmeat trade, local authorities and experts.
  • In Colombia, bushmeat trade operates across boundaries of neighboring countries, in places where geography does not allow for proper institutional control. The transboundary trade occurs in a few specific sites across four main trade routes: three of them in the Amazon and one in the Caribbean.
  • The bushmeat species most commonly traded across Colombian borders are listed in the CITES Appendices: paca, agouti, peccaries and turtles; therefore, the application of CITES could generate negative impacts on the livelihoods of people who depend on this trade.
  • Participants of workshops said that despite the development of alternatives, bushmeat trade will continue given the small costs of hunting compared to any other domestic meat production. Also, they pointed out that bushmeat consumption is rooted in local cultures, creating a potential barrier for any alternative activity to replace bushmeat use.
  • CITES needs to differentiate transboundary trade at local scale between communities of neighboring countries (as in Colombia) from the luxury international trade occurring at larger scales (e.g. from Central Africa to Europe, or from West Africa to the United States) to measure the impacts of CITES regulations on local livelihoods.

Series: CIFOR Infobrief no. 149

Publisher: Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), Bogor, Indonesia

Publication Year: 2016

DOI: 10.17528/cifor/006201

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  • Use and trade of bushmeat in Colombia: Relevance to rural livelihoods

Use and trade of bushmeat in Colombia: Relevance to rural livelihoods

24 November, 2016

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Authors: Gómez, J.; Van Vliet, N.; Restrepo, S.; Daza, E.; Moreno, J.; Cruz-Antia, D.; Nasi, R.

Key points

  • Except for the Andean region, bushmeat trade chains are a reality in all regions of Colombia. These chains are usually short and respond to local trade dynamics.
  • In the Caribbean region, bushmeat trade chains cross different administrative boundaries, thus routes operate at greater distances.
  • Bushmeat continues to play an important role in the local livelihoods of many communities in Colombia.
  • The level of dependency on bushmeat increases in rural areas that are located far from urban settlements, because of the difficultly in accessing other proteins and the lack of alternative productive activities.
  • Bushmeat consumption in Colombia is also associated with deep-rooted local cultural traditions.
  • The widespread existence of bushmeat trade chains in the different regions of Colombia, despite being illegal, highlights the need to review current legal frameworks.
  • Simplifying the requirements for the legal trade of surplus meat from non protected and resilient species by rural communities may be the way forward. However, there is a need to improve the capacities to monitor the use of wild meat and agree on the local governance that should be responsible for ensuring/controlling for sustainable use.

Series: CIFOR Infobrief no. 159

Pages: 4p.

Publisher: Bogor, Indonesia, Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR)

Publication Year: 2016

DOI: 10.17528/cifor/006275

also in Spanish

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  • Local knowledge on the role of trees to enhance livelihoods and ecosystem services in Ho Ho Sub-watershed, north-central Viet Nam

Local knowledge on the role of trees to enhance livelihoods and ecosystem services in Ho Ho Sub-watershed, north-central Viet Nam

08 November, 2016

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Authors:Bac Viet Dam, Rachmat Mulia and Delia Catacutan

Understanding how local people view and value the role of trees in enhancing livelihoods and environmental quality is the key to increasing resilience in agricultural landscapes through tree planting. In the Ho Ho sub-watershed, north-central Viet Nam, which is highly exposed to climate change and variability, we investigated local knowledge on the role of trees that involved people upstream and downstream in the sub-watershed. The respondents were requested to identify the different roles of tree-based and annual crop systems in their landscape to livelihood and the environment, and then to rank these roles to reveal the primary function of each landuse system. We found that local knowledge on the roles of each landuse type, both in upstream and downstream communes, was influenced by the household land holding size and the actual contribution to household income as well. This, for example, explains the higher appreciation of acacia than agarwood in terms of livelihood and environmental functions. In the sub-watershed, the average land holding size per household for acacia plantation was 1.3 ha, while agarwood trees were planted in homegardens with a delayed harvesting time (15 years after planting compared to 7 years for acacia). Different responsibilities in agricultural activities between males and females in the family, contributed to contrasting responses between the male and female groups on the role of tree-based and annual crop systems in household income. Men regarded annual crops as a more important source of income than trees, whereas women asserted the opposite. In the sampled households, financial management and private consumption provision were two tasks mostly handled by women, and this likely explains the gender sensitivity. We conclude that local people in the upstream and downstream communes of the sub-watershed recognised well the important roles of trees to livelihood and environmental quality, but in actual implementation, they always prioritised livelihood over environmental issues, especially in relation to tree planting on their own land. Environmental issues were only an option considered for unallocated areas such as protection forest, or for allocated lands not suitable for planting due to physical barriers such as high elevation or steep slopes.
Published 2015 by World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) Southeast Asia Regional Program in Hanoi, Vietnam
Working paper 218

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  • Beyond protected areas: Landscape approaches to reconcile conservation and development

Beyond protected areas: Landscape approaches to reconcile conservation and development

04 November, 2016

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  • Indonesia’s forest conversion moratorium assessed with an agent-based model of Land-Use Change and Ecosystem Services (LUCES)

Indonesia’s forest conversion moratorium assessed with an agent-based model of Land-Use Change and Ecosystem Services (LUCES)

24 October, 2016

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Authors: Aritta Suwarno, Meine van Noordwijk, Hans-Peter Weikard, Desi Suyamto

The Indonesian government recently confirmed its Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) to mitigate global climate change. A forest moratorium policy that protects forest and peatland is a significant part of the INDCs; however, its effectiveness is unclear in the face of complex land-use and land-cover change. This study aims to assess the dynamics of land-use change and ecosystem service supply as a function of local decision-making. We developed an agent-based model, Land-Use Change and Ecosystem Services (LUCES), and used it to explore the possible effects of the forest moratorium policy on the land-use decisions of private companies and communities. Our simulations for two districts in Central Kalimantan show that the current implementation of the forest moratorium policy is not effective in reducing forest conversion and carbon emissions. This is because companies continue to invest in converting secondary forest on mineral soils and the moratorium does not affect community decision-making. A policy that combines a forest moratorium with livelihood support and increases farm-gate prices of forest and agroforestry products could increase the local communities’ benefits from conservation. Forest and agroforestry areas that are profitable and competitive are more likely to be conserved and reduce potential carbon emission by about 36 %. The results for the two districts, with different pressures on local resources, suggest that appropriate additional measures require local fine-tuning. The LUCES model could be an ex ante tool to facilitate such fine-tuning and help the Indonesian government achieve its INDC goals as part of a wider sustainable development policy.

Published at Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change

Open AccessArticle

First Online: 14 August 2016
DOI: 10.1007/s11027-016-9721-0

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