Decentralization, forests and livelihoods: Theory and narrative

Published Date
August–October 2007, Vol.17(3):338–348, doi:10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2007.01.002

Author 
Luca Tacconi ^,

Asia Pacific School of Economics and Government, Crawford Building, Ellery Crescent, The Australian National University, ACT 0200, Australia
Received 12 April 2006. Revised 13 December 2006. Accepted 3 January 2007. Available online 30 August 2007. 

Abstract

This paper discusses the theory of decentralized forest management, the associated narrative and the underlying hypotheses. That discussion informs the assessment of whether decentralization can lead to forest conservation. The paper argues that the ideal model of democratic decentralization described in the literature is unlikely to be implemented given the governance constraints present in many tropical forest countries. Even if that model could be implemented, it is shown that decentralization cannot be expected to necessarily lead to forest conservation. The policies required to complement the current decentralization model are discussed, including financial incentives and monitoring and evaluation mechanisms.

Keywords

Democratic decentralization

Forest policy

Tropical forests

Poverty

Livelihoods

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 Table 1

Table 1.

• ⁎ 
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Politics of scale and community-based forest management in southern Malawi

Published Date
July 2009, Vol.40(4):686–699, doi:10.1016/j.geoforum.2009.05.007

Themed Issue: The ‘view from nowhere’? Spatial politics and cultural significance of high-resolution satellite imagery

Author 

Leo Charles Zulu 

Michigan State University, Department of Geography, 103 Geography Building, East Lansing, MI 48823, USA
Received 28 August 2008. Revised 18 May 2009. Available online 30 June 2009. 

Abstract

This article uses insights from theory on the social production of scale and multiple social and natural science methods to interrogate village-scale community-based forest management (CBFM) in southern Malawi, focusing on boundary demarcation, rule formulation and scaling, and dynamics of external facilitation. Examination of political agendas of those who pursued, gained from, or protested particular scalar CBFM arrangements uncovered otherwise hidden scalar politics, whose outcomes impeded more than they advanced CBFM goals. I argue that clarifying the scalar politics and configuration of forest governance arrangements can lead to a more nuanced understanding of CBFM challenges and create new opportunities for addressing them. Containerized, single-level CBFM institutions mismatched interacting social, ecological and institutional scalar configurations and relations, and confounded CBFM. Unequal international-donor/national and national/community scalar relations were as important as intra-community dynamics in explaining performance of CBFM. They constructed CBFM on a shaky foundation that put institutional and personal agendas and short-term goals over long-term socioecological sustainability. The politics of rescaling forest rules from village to (broader) Traditional Authority level alienated them from communities and undermined enforcement. Diverse motivations behind a scale-related strategy that separated usufruct from territorial rights in allocating forests mostly undermined socioecological CBFM goals. While scale is not the key or only explanation of CBFM performance, negotiated scaling offered a proactive way to anticipate scale-related conflicts in particular settings, and for communities to create institutional forms that minimize such conflicts at local or intermediate scale levels. Findings support strong, well-resourced states and caution against donor-driven quick fixes.

Keywords

Community-based natural resources management (CNRM)

Community-based forest management (CBFM)

Decentralization

Institutions

Malawi

Political ecology

Politics of scale

Scale

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Table 1.

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 Table 2

Table 2.

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Community-based forest management within the context of institutional decentralization in Honduras

Published Date
April 2005, Vol.33(4):639–655, doi:10.1016/j.worlddev.2004.11.002

Author 
Anja Nygren

University of Helsinki, Finland
Accepted 24 November 2004. Available online 13 March 2005. 

Summary

Many developing countries are increasingly shifting responsibility for natural resource management from central to local government authorities. This essay analyzes a case study toward decentralized forest governance and community-based forest management in the municipality of Lepaterique, Honduras, with a special focus on the multiplicity of actors and goals, and the complexity of institutions involved in natural resource management. The study emphasizes that institutional democratization and political accountability of forest authorities and community representatives to local populations are essential if decentralized forest governance is to succeed in integrating the potentially conflicting resource interests and in achieving a more equitable distribution of powers and benefits.

Key words

Honduras

Central America

decentralization

community forestry

actors

institutions

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 Table 1

Table 1.

 Table 2

Table 2.

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Exploring management strategies for community-based forests using multi-agent systems: A case study in Palawan, Philippines

Published Date
August 2009, Vol.90(11):3607–3615, doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2009.06.016

Author 

Paolo C. Campo ^a

Guillermo A. Mendoza ^b,,

Philippe Guizol ^c

Teodoro R. Villanueva ^d

François Bousquet ^e

^Author 

• aUniversité de Paris X, Nanterre, Paris, France
• bDepartment of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois, 1102 S. Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
• cCentre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement, (CIRAD) and Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), Bogor, Indonesia
• dUniversity of the Philippines Los Baños, College of Forestry and Natural Resources, College, Laguna, Philippines
• eCentre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement, CIRAD-Baillarguet Campus, Montpellier, France

Received 23 October 2008. Revised 8 June 2009. Accepted 21 June 2009. Available online 28 July 2009.

Abstract

This paper describes the experiences and lessons learned in applying a multi-agent systems (MAS) model to study the dynamics and complex interactions among stakeholders in the management of community-based forests. The MAS model is developed using the companion modelling (ComMod) approach, which allows for a collaborative development of the model between the stakeholders and researchers. This approach involves the development and application of role-playing games (RPGs) and computer simulation as learning tools and to validate the model. Inferences are drawn from the learning and negotiation processes that the stakeholders and researchers underwent in the collaborative development of the MAS model. These processes ultimately led to the development of a collaborative resource management plan. The approach and the MAS model were applied to a case study involving a community-based forest managed by three villages in the island of Palawan, Philippines.

Keywords

Community-based forest management

Multi-agent systems

Participatory management

Companion modeling

Role-playing games

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• ☆
  Earlier version of this paper was presented at the International Union of Forestry Research Organization (IUFRO) Conference on “Improving the Triple Bottom Line of Smallholder Forestry” held at Ormoc City, Leyte, Philippines on June 17–21, 2007. Paper was partially funded by the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (CIRAD), and the University of Illinois.

• ∗ 
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Renewable Energy and Energy Security in the PhilippinesA

Published Date
2014, Vol.52:480–486, doi:10.1016/j.egypro.2014.07.101
2013 International Conference on Alternative Energy in Developing Countries and Emerging Economies (2013 AEDCEE)
Open Access, Creative Commons license

Author 
Sahara Piang Brahim 

Energy Studies Institute, National University of Singapore, (Singapore)
Available online 25 August 2014. 

Abstract

This paper focused on the importance of renewable energy to Philippine energy security and sustainability agenda. It examined the status of renewable energy in the Philippines and discussed the opportunities and challenges in the further development and deployment of renewable energy. This research relied on secondary data from the Philippine Department of Energy, ASEAN Centre for Energy, World Bank, and APEC Secretariat. Relevant informative journalistic reports were also consulted. Among the major findings are: (1) renewable energy will account for an increasingly significant share of the Philippine energy mix for power generation in the foreseeable future and (2) fossil fuels, oil in particular, however, will remain the dominant energy source. Whether or not the Philippine government will achieve its renewable energy targets largely depends on how efficient and fast it will be in addressing the related issues. This study builds on the existing knowledge base on Philippine renewable energy.

Keywords

energy policy

energy security

renewable energy

the Philippines

---

References

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• ☆
  Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the Organizing Committee of 2013 AEDCEE.

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