Regreening the Bare Hills (eBook)

Preface 6
Contents 12
Abbreviations 22
Chapter 1: Deforestation and Its Consequences in the Asia-Pacific Region 24
Introduction 24
Forests of the Asia-Pacific Region 25
Box 1.1Natural Forests with Limited Species Diversity 28
Deforestation Rates 30
Box 1.2Definitions of Deforestation 30
The New Landscapes 33
General Assessment of Degraded Lands 33
Undisturbed or Human-Dominated Lands 35
Mosaic lands 35
Frontier Forests 36
Grasslands 37
Box 1.3Definitions of Degradation 34
Estimates of the Area of ‘Degraded’ Land Potentially Available for Reforestation 39
Assessing the Extent of Biodiversity Losses 40
Predicting Future Extinctions 40
Monitoring Actual Species Losses Following Deforestation 42
Consequences of Deforestation and Biodiversity Loss 45
Deforestation and Greenhouse Gases 46
Deforestation and Watersheds 47
Is the Present Protected Area Network Able to Protect Regional Biodiversity? 50
Threats to Asian Protected Areas 51
Logging and Agricultural Clearing 51
Gathering and Hunting 52
Lack of Commitment By Governments 52
Size and Boundaries 53
Protected Areas in the Pacific 53
Box 1.4Making Protected Areas Contribute to Development Needs 54
Box 1.5A Pacific Conservation Reserve 55
Conclusions 56
References 57
Chapter 2: Forest and Land Degradation in the Asia-Pacific Region 63
Introduction 63
Natural Disturbances 64
Human Uses of Forests 66
Hunting and Gathering 66
Shifting Cultivation 67
Sedentary Agriculture 70
Box 2.1 Errors in rice planting dates lead to food shortages 72
Logging 73
Environmental Determinants of Deforestation 76
The Socio-Economic Context – a Short History of Deforestation in China and Japan 77
China 77
Japan 81
Deforestation and Degradation in the Asia-Pacific Region 83
The Rise in Abandoned Former Agricultural Lands 84
Populations and Deforestation 84
Causes of Deforestation 86
Seven Forest and Land Degradation Case Studies 86
Lessons Emerging from These Case Studies About the Causes of Forest and Land Degradation 100
Thresholds and Forest Transitions 103
Box 2.2 The forest transition at a local level in Northern Luzon, Philippines 105
Conclusions 106
References 107
Chapter 3: Reforestation, Conservation and Livelihoods 114
Introduction 114
Defining and Assessing Rural Poverty 116
Natural Forests and Livelihoods 117
Biodiversity Conservation or Livelihood Improvements? 121
Reforestation to Enhance Livelihoods and to Foster Biodiversity Conservation 124
Types of Reforestation 127
Plantations of Pulpwood and Commodity Grade Timbers 127
Plantations of High-Value Timbers Grown on Longer Rotations 129
Multi-Species Plantations of High-Value Species 130
Ecological Restoration or Environmental Plantings 131
Natural Regeneration 131
Some Qualifications 132
Environmental Conditions Will Constrain Silvicultural Choices 132
Not All Smallholders May Be Willing or Able to Engage in Reforestation 133
The Most Appropriate Silvicultural Systems Are Complex and Many Are Still Being Developed 134
These Options May Vary with Time 134
There May Be Other Silvicultural Options 134
There Must Be Trade-Offs Between Production and Biodiversity Conservation 135
Box 3.1 Forest Restoration in Northern Thailand by Villagers Lacking Formal Land Tenure 132
The Role of Land Tenure 136
Land Tenure and Reforestation 138
Box 3.2 Land Tenure and Reforestation by Smallholders in Vietnam 140
Community Forestry 141
Community Forestry Within Existing Natural Forests 141
Community Forestry on Cleared or Degraded Lands 144
Box 3.3 Community Forestry in the Philippines 145
Box 3.4 Community Reforestation on New Georgia Island, Solomon Islands 147
Community or Private Reforestation? 148
Conclusions 149
References 150
Chapter 4: Different Types of Reforestation 156
Introduction 156
A Conceptual Model of Degradation and Forest Restoration 157
Box 4.1Some Definitions 162
Choosing Between Ecological Restoration, Plantation Monocultures and Rehabilitation 159
Advantages and Disadvantages of Ecological Restoration 160
Advantages and Disadvantages of Plantation Monocultures 165
Advantages and Disadvantages of Rehabilitation Plantings 166
Degradation and Resilience 166
Resilience in Social-Ecological Systems 168
Building Resilience During Reforestation 170
Box 4.3The Hazards of Single Markets 172
Some Problems for Those Seeking to Design Resilient Forms of Reforestation 171
What Sort of Resilience – Specific or More General? 171
How Much Diversity is Needed in Plantations to Generate (Sufficient) Resilience? 172
How to Encourage the Development of Resilient Forms of Reforestation? 173
Might It Be Easier to Enhance Resilience at a Landscape Scale Rather Than at a Particular Site? 173
Conclusion 174
Box 4.2Attributes of Restored Ecosystems (Society for Ecological Restoration International 2004) 164
References 174
Chapter 5: Natural Regeneration and Secondary Forests 177
Introduction 177
Defining Secondary Forests 178
Natural Forest Regeneration at Disturbed Sites 180
Sources of Plant Colonists 181
Seed Stored in Topsoil 181
Seedlings Remaining on Forest Floor 181
Stumps, Rhizomes and Roots 182
Seed Dispersed into the Site from Outside 183
The Landscape Context and Its Influence on Seed Dispersal 184
The Fate of New Seedlings Colonizing After a Disturbance 186
Types of Secondary Forest Successions 188
Box 5.1Secondary Forests Arising After Successive Wildfires in Borneo 193
Ecosystem Services Provided by Secondary Forests 194
Secondary Forests as Habitats for Old-Growth Forest Species 194
Watershed Protection and Hydrological Flows 196
Carbon Sequestration 197
Using Natural Succession to Overcome Degradation 198
Protecting the Site from Further Disturbances 198
Removing Weeds and Pests 204
Soil Constraints 205
Source of Colonists Nearby 205
Box 5.2Natural Regeneration When Fires are Excluded 201
Accelerating Successional Development 205
Managing Established Secondary Forests 208
Increasing Timber Productivity in Existing Forests 208
Modifying the Composition of Secondary Forests 209
Box 5.3Requirements for Enrichment Planting in Timber Production Forests 210
Box 5.4Enrichment Planting in Secondary Dipterocarp Forest, Sabah 214
Box 5.5Maintaining Secondary Forests in the Face of Land Clearing Threats 215
Using Secondary Forests to Create Agroforests 216
Types of Agroforests 216
Conditions Favouring the Development of Agroforests 218
The Uncertain Future of Agroforests 220
Conclusions 222
References 223
Chapter 6: Monocultural Plantings 230
Introduction 230
Reasons for Establishing Plantations 231
Private Industrial Growers 231
State Forestry Agencies 232
Smallholders and Community Forestry Groups 232
Special Purpose Groups 233
Implementing Reforestation on Degraded Lands 233
The Particular Case of Mine Site Rehabilitation 240
The Standard Plantation Model 243
Box 6.1Why plantations sometimes fail? 247
Limitations of This Standard Model 247
The Hazards of Monocultures 249
Species Choices 252
Fast Growing or Slow Growing Species? 253
Sources of Information on Species Choices 255
Biogeographic Distribution and Knowledge of Silvicultural Attributes 255
Traditional Knowledge and Farmer Preferences 256
Box 6.2The best species to plant 257
Evidence from experimental field trials 257
Box 6.3 Hazards of long-term silviculture experimentation 261
Evidence from Markets 259
Problems Needing Resolution Before Using a Wider Range of Species in Reforestation Programs 261
How to Get Seeds and High Quality Seedlings? 261
Do Some Species Need Early Shade? 263
What Are the Preferred Sites of Different Species? 264
What Are Appropriate Pruning and Thinning Schedules? 264
What Are the Growth Rates? 267
What Are Appropriate Rotation Lengths? 269
How Should Natural Regeneration Beneath the Plantation Canopy be Managed? 270
Monoculture Plantations, Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services 272
Biodiversity 272
Watershed Protection 273
Water Flows 274
Box 6.4The reversibility of hydrological changes 276
Carbon Sequestration and Storage 277
Conclusions 280
References 281
Chapter 7: Mixed-Species Plantings 287
Introduction 287
Some Potential Advantages of Mixed Species Plantations 288
Enhanced Production in Multi-Species Plantations 289
Improved Nutrition 295
Reduced Damage from Pests and Diseases 297
Financial Benefits 298
Ameliorating Site Conditions at Cleared or Degraded Sites 299
Species Functional Types 300
Designs for Mixed-Species Plantations 302
Cash Crop Grown Beneath a Timber Plantation 302
Uneven Aged Plantations Involving Only Trees 305
Even-Aged Plantation Using Species Grown Togetheron Short and Long Rotations 311
Even-Aged Plantation with All Species Grown Togetherin a Single Long Rotation 315
Identifying Ecologically Complementary Species 323
Some Management Issues 327
The Number and Type of Species to Use 327
Thinning 328
Rotation Length 330
Mixtures at a Landscape Scale – a Mosaic of Monocultures 331
Providing Ecosystem Services 332
Biodiversity 333
Soil Protection and Hydrological Flows 335
Carbon Sequestration 335
Conclusions 336
References 337
Chapter 8: Ecological Restoration 342
Introduction 342
Re-Assembling Forest Ecosystems 343
Filters 344
Interactions Between Species 345
Putting Theory into Practice 347
Box 8.1An Apparently Successful Forest Restoration Program 346
Examples of Ecological Restoration of Tropical Forests 349
Case Study 1: Hong Kong 349
Case Study 2: Amazonia, Brazil 350
Case Study 3: North Queensland, Australia 351
Case Study 4: Chiang Mai, Thailand 352
Case Study 5: Khao Phaeng Ma, Thailand 353
Some Tentative Principles Governing the Ways in Which Forest Ecosystems Might Be Restored 355
In Practice 357
Nurse Tree Method 357
Framework Species Method 358
Maximum Diversity Method 359
Direct Seeding 361
Limitations on the Use of Direct Seeding 363
The Social Context 367
Monitoring and Adaptive Management 368
Box 8.2 Attributes of Restored Ecosystems (After SER 2004) 369
Conclusion 372
References 372
Chapter 9: Plantation Finances 376
Introduction 376
Markets for Forest Products – Examples from Vietnam 377
Fuelwood in Vietnam 378
Sawn Timber and Poles in Vietnam 379
Pulpwood in Vietnam 382
Forest Product Markets Elsewhere in the Asia–Pacific Region 382
Box 9.1The Lao PDR Teak boom 384
Market Chains 386
Financial Models of Different Plantation Designs 388
A Vietnam Case Study 389
The Financial Profitability of Tree-Growing Elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific Region 392
Reforestation Businesses 393
Payments for Ecosystem Services 394
Role of PES in Enhancing Conservation Outcomes 395
Box 9.2Establishing the Price of Ecological Services Through Conservation Auctions 398
The Role of PES in Improving Livelihoods and Reducing Poverty 399
Making PES Schemes Work 400
The Carbon Market 401
Increasing the Incomes Received by Tree-Growers 403
Conclusions 406
References 407
Chapter 10: Reforestation and Farmers 410
Introduction 410
Farmers and the Farming Environment 411
Typologies of Farmers Based on Behaviour 411
A Typology of Farmers Based on Resource Limitations 413
A Typology of Farmers Based in Their Interest in Reforestation 414
Making Reforestation Attractive to Farmers 417
The Transition Away from Traditional Forms of Silviculture 420
Box 10.1The Evolution of Silvicultural Knowledge in South Western China 422
Reforestation Following Government Assistance 423
Smallholder Reforestation in Vietnam 424
Smallholder Reforestation in the Philippines 427
Smallholder Reforestation in Indonesia 430
Papua New Guinea 432
Solomon Islands 434
Australia 436
Lao PDR 437
Reforestation with Assistance from Private Timber Companies 438
Reforestation with Assistance from Non Government Organisations 440
Are Partnerships Enough? The Role of Incentives 440
Building Socially Resilient Forms of Reforestation 442
Learning Networks for Reforestation 444
Monitoring and Evaluating Progress 447
Box 10.2Transforming Social-Ecological Systems 443
Judging Success from a Farmer Perspective 448
Conclusions 449
References 450
Chapter 11: Reforestation at a Landscape Scale 455
Introduction 455
The Nature of Landscape Mosaics 456
Box 11.1Definition of Landscapes 457
Ecological Processes in Evolving Landscapes 458
Biodiversity 459
Hydrology, Sedimentation and Watershed Protectionin Landscape Mosaics 460
Building Resilience at the Landscape Scale 461
How Much Reforestation? 463
How Much Reforestation is Needed to Improve Biodiversity Conservation? 463
How Does Increasing Reforestation Area Affect Hydrologyand Watershed Protection? 464
How Much Reforestation is Needed to GenerateSocio-Economic Benefits? 465
Where to Undertake Reforestation 466
Where to Reforest to Improve Biodiversity Conservation? 466
Where to Reforest to Improving Ecosystem Functioning? 469
Where to Reforest to Improve Livelihoods? 470
What Types of Reforestation at Particular Locations? 471
Planning Forest Landscape Restoration 472
Top-Down or Bottom-Up Planning? 473
Steps in Planning Reforestation at a Landscape Scale 475
Stage 1: Develop a Landscape View of the Problem 475
Stage 2: Group Engagement 478
Stage 3: Identify Possibilities 479
Stage 4: Decision-Making and Priority Setting 480
Stage 5: Monitoring and Adaptive Management 482
Box 11.2Forest Landscape Restoration as Part of a Larger Land Use Planning Program in Fiji 476
Box 11.3Evaluating Alternative Reforestation Scenarios 481
Approaches and Decision-Support Tools for Forest Landscape Restoration 484
Visualisation 484
Scenario Analysis 487
Simple Models 488
Role Playing Games 490
Cost Effectiveness 491
Market-Based Instruments 492
Conclusion 494
References 495
Chapter 12: Developing Institutional Support for Large-Scale Reforestation 499
Introduction 499
The Future Context? 500
Population Growth and the Need for Greater Food Production 500
Urbanisation 500
A Rising Middle Class and Rising Environmental Concerns 502
New Markets for Forest Products and Ecosystem Services 502
Climate Change 503
Undertaking Reforestation in the Future 505
The Role of Markets 506
The Role of Governments 507
Box 12.1Losing Knowledge 510
The Role of Plantation Timber Companies 511
The Role of Non-Government Organisations 512
The Role of Households and Communities 512
New Institutional Settings to Encourage Reforestation 513
A System of Cooperative Advisory Groups 514
Problems in Implementing Change 517
Box 12.2Consultative Principles 518
Revisiting Resilience 519
Conclusions 522
References 523
Chapter 13: The Way Forward 526
Introduction 526
Alternative Visions of the Future 529
Scenario 1: A Gloomy Outcome 530
Scenario 2: A Modest Improvement 530
Scenario 3: A Conservational Outcome 531
Some Things We Still Need to Know 532
Ten Ecological Questions 533
Ten Socio-Economic Questions 534
Finally 536
References 537
Glossary 539
Index 544