Showing papers by "Adrian C. Newton published in 2006"

A global overview of the conservation status of tropical dry forests

Abstract: Aim To analyse the conservation status of tropical dry forests at the global scale, by combining a newly developed global distribution map with spatial data describing different threats, and to identify the relative exposure of different forest areas to such threats. Location Global assessment. Methods We present a new global distribution map of tropical dry forest derived from the recently developed MODIS Vegetation Continuous Fields (VCF) product, which depicts percentage tree cover at a resolution of 500 m, combined with previously defined maps of biomes. This distribution map was overlaid with spatial data to estimate the exposure of tropical dry forests to a number of different threats: climate change, habitat fragmentation, fire, human population density and conversion to cropland. The extent of tropical dry forest currently protected was estimated by overlaying the forest map with a global data set of the distribution of protected areas. Results It is estimated that 1,048,700 km 2 of tropical dry forest remains, distributed throughout the three tropical regions. More than half of the forest area (54.2%) is located within South America, the remaining area being almost equally divided between North and Central America, Africa and Eurasia, with a relatively small proportion (3.8%) occurring within Australasia and Southeast Asia. Overall, c. 97% of the remaining area of tropical dry forest is at risk from one or more of the threats considered, with highest percentages recorded for Eurasia. The relative exposure to different threats differed between regions: while climate change is relatively significant in the Americas, habitat fragmentation and fire affect a higher proportion of African forests, whereas agricultural conversion and human population density are most influential in Eurasia. Evidence suggests that c. 300,000 km 2 of tropical dry forest now coincide with some form of protected area, with 71.8% of this total being located within South America. Main conclusions Virtually all of the tropical dry forests that remain are currently exposed to a variety of different threats, largely resulting from human activity. Taking their high biodiversity value into consideration, this indicates that tropical dry forests should be accorded high conservation priority. The results presented here could be used to identify which forest areas should be accorded highest priority for conservation action. In particular, the expansion of the global protected area network, particularly in Mesoamerica, should be given urgent consideration.

Commercialization of non-timber forest products: factors influencing success. Lessons learned from Mexico and Bolivia and policy implications for decision-makers

Abstract: This publication arising from a research project, funded by the UK?s Department for International Development through its Forestry Research Programme, has examined the key factors that influence successful NTFP commercialization. This collaborative venture between UK institutions and project partners in Bolivia and Mexico provides a deeper understanding of how marketing networks are structured, and how NTFP commercialisation can contribute to poverty reduction, gender equality, improved resource access and sustainable use. Results of the research indicate that successful NTFP commercialisation can reduce poverty, and can provide women with a greater sense of self-confidence and improved status within the household and the community. However, there remains a need to help the rural poor overcome the various challenges that constrain successful NTFP commercialization, including securing a sustainable resource supply, accessing key market information and developing strategies to overcome inequitable power dynamics and barriers to market entry. This publication summarizes the results of the project, in a way that should provide direct support to decision-making. Our hope is that the findings, recommendations and outputs of this work will help policy makers direct interventions and target resources to help meet the United Nations Millennium Development Goals of poverty alleviation, food security and environmental sustainability.

Impacts of Community-based Conservation on Local Communities in the Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal

Abstract: Approaches to the management of protected areas that involve the participation of local communities are now being widely promoted. However, the impacts of such community-based conservation initiatives on local communities remain poorly defined. This research examines the socio-economic impacts of community-based conservation within the Annapurna Conservation Area (ACA), Nepal, through semi-structured interviews and a questionnaire survey with local residents, situated both within and outside the protected area. Results indicate that local communities have received a number of benefits from conservation, including improvements in access to forest resources, improved basic infrastructure such as drinking water, trails and bridges, and improvements in health, sanitation and social services. However, relatively few people (14.9%) within ACA receive direct financial income from tourism. Local communities also experience a number of costs of being involved in conservation, the most significant of which is increased crop damage by wildlife. Eighty-four percent of respondents within ACA have experienced problems of crop damage, accounting for 6% (rice) to 23% (maize) of total production. Depredation of livestock by wildlife is also experienced; mean losses per household being the equivalent of £3.9 (Rs. 479.70) each year. However, 66% of respondents within ACA reported that they had never experienced this problem. These results indicate that the socio-economic benefits of community-based approaches to conservation can outweigh the costs, even though the latter are significant. However, a participatory approach to management of problematic animal species will need to be developed within ACA, if conflicts between local communities and protected area management are to be avoided in future.

Use of a Bayesian Belief Network to Predict the Impacts of Commercializing Non-timber Forest Products on Livelihoods

Abstract: Commercialization of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) has been widely promoted as a means of sustainably developing tropical forest resources, in a way that promotes forest conservation while supporting rural livelihoods. However, in practice, NTFP commercialization has often failed to deliver the expected benefits. Progress in analyzing the causes of such failure has been hindered by the lack of a suitable framework for the analysis of NTFP case studies, and by the lack of predictive theory. We address these needs by developing a probabilistic model based on a livelihood framework, enabling the impact of NTFP commercialization on livelihoods to be predicted. The framework considers five types of capital asset needed to support livelihoods: natural, human, social, physical, and financial. Commercialization of NTFPs is represented in the model as the conversion of one form of capital asset into another, which is influenced by a variety of socio-economic, environmental, and political factors. Impacts on livelihoods are determined by the availability of the five types of assets following commercialization. The model, implemented as a Bayesian Belief Network, was tested using data from participatory research into 19 NTFP case studies undertaken in Mexico and Bolivia. The model provides a novel tool for diagnosing the causes of success and failure in NTFP commercialization, and can be used to explore the potential impacts of policy options and other interventions on livelihoods. The potential value of this approach for the development of NTFP theory is discussed.

Spatial Patchiness of Litter, Nutrients and Macroinvertebrates during Secondary Succession in a Tropical Montane Cloud Forest in Mexico

Abstract: We test the hypothesis that secondary succession in Tropical Montane Cloud Forest (TMCF) in Mexico is accompanied by an increase in the spatial structuring of litter resources, soil nutrient concentrations and the soil macroinvertebrate community at a within-plot scale (5–25 m). This increased spatial structuring is expected because secondary succession in these forests is associated with an increase in the diversity of trees that dominate the canopy. If each tree species generates a particular soil environment under its canopy, then under a diverse tree community, soil properties will be spatially very heterogeneous. Tree censuses and grid sampling were performed in four successional stages of a secondary chronosequence of TMCF. Variography was used to analyse spatial patterns in continuous variables such as nutrient concentrations, while Spatial Analysis by Distance Indices (SADIE) was applied to determine patchiness in the distribution of soil macroinvertebrate taxa. Secondary succession was found to be accompanied by the predicted increase in the spatial structuring of litter resources and the macroinvertebrate community at the within-plot scale. Spatial patterns in the macroinvertebrate community only became evident for all taxa in the oldest forest (100 years old). Patches with low Ca and Mg concentrations in early successional soils were associated with patches where pine litter was most abundant while those with low P concentrations in late successional stages were associated with patches where oak litter was most abundant. Results suggest that anthropogenic disturbance aboveground promotes a more homogeneous resource environment in the surface soil, which compared to older forests, sustains a less diverse and less spatially structured macroinvertebrate community.

Commercialisation of Non-Timber Forest Products: What Determines Success?

Abstract: Commercialisation of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) has been widely promoted as an approach to rural development in tropical forest areas. However, donor investments in the development of NTFP resources have often failed to deliver the expected benefits in terms of poverty alleviation and improved conservation of natural resources. This briefing paper discusses different conceptions of what constitutes successful commercialisation and examines the key factors that influence the outcome of NTFP commercialisation initiatives.

Variation across environments in patterns of water uptake and endosperm modification in barley varieties and variety mixtures

Abstract: The malting barley varieties Chalice, Chariot, Optic and Prisma and all four three-component mixtures derived from them were grown at three sites in eastern Scotland in 2000. Following harvest, malting samples were obtained for each trial entry from grain retained by a 2.5 mm sieve. Water uptake during the steeping phase of malting was determined on all samples at two of the sites. Of the varieties, Chariot was shown to have more extensive and also, at one site, more even hydration than the other varieties, whereas the mixtures were generally similar to the other three varieties in water uptake. Malt samples were tested for cell wall modification using a fluorescence method that assessed individual grains, so enabling both homogeneity and extent of modification to be calculated. There were significant differences between genotypes and between sites, with Chariot and Chalice showing poor modification at one site, which led to reduced levels of hot water extract. The variety Prisma had a lower level of predicted spirit yield at another site, possibly owing to over-modification, and Optic was the only variety to give consistently high spirit yield at all three sites, despite considerable variations in levels of modification. The mixtures had better consistency in their malting results than the varieties, with the exception of Optic, and also performed well at sites where modification was sub-optimal. Differences in spirit yield were greater between sites than between varieties, indicating that genotypic constitution may not always be a reliable predictor of phenotypic expression of malting quality.