Of Communities, Forests and Sustainable Development Simmathiri - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

“Of Communities, Forests and Sustainable Development”

Simmathiri Appanah FAO (retired), Bangkok Second Dr. Somsak Sukwong Public Lecture

A sense of where may go!

• Industrial/modern capitalism distorting

markets, preventing sustainable management

• f natural resources.
• Snapshot of Community Forestry, and how the

communities have been short-changed.

• Can landscape approaches (sustainable land

management) open new vistas for Community Forestry?

Sustainable management

• f natural

resources Key to social equity & environmental security The way modern capitalism operates may be the problem and is also the solution!

Natural resources

Biotic

• Forests, animals, parts

made from them, and fossil fuels (coal and oil)

Abiotic (non-living)

• Land, water, air, solar,

metals…

• Fig. 1-3, p. 8

Air Air purification Climate control Water Water purification Waste treatment Nonrenewable minerals iron, sand) Oil Soil Soil renewal Nonrenewable energy (fossil fuels) Solar capital Land Food production Nutrient recycling Life (biodiversity) Population control Pest control Renewable energy (sun, wind, water flows) UV protection (ozone layer) Natural resources Natural services

NATURAL CAPITAL

Natural Capital = Natural Resources + Natural Services

ECONOMY TO FUNCTION WELL

Composition of World Wealth

Modern industrial capitalism:

• Based on natural

capital

• Treated as god-

given, free

• Rate of decline

proportional to well-being (GDP)

Human well being and political economy

Total Ecological Footprint (million hectares) and Share of Global Ecological Capacity (%) United States European Union China India Japan 2,810 (25%) 2,160 (19%) 2,050 (18%) 780 (7%) 540 (5%) Number of Earths United States European Union China India Japan 4.7 9.7 1.6 0.8 4.8 Per Capita Ecological Footprint (hectares per person)

Ecological footprint Earth's ecological capacity Projected footprint

Water filtration: we don’t pay for the service?

Water regulation = $$??

Storm protection = $billions??

“In some cases, it is not a clear cut case of rich world vs poor: chicken and eggs provide cheap protein, but their discharges are met by society at large”

52% rest of world 27% tropical 21% temperate /boreal 75% rest of world 11% tropical 14% temperate /boreal

2000 years

Forest cover (as % of earth’s surface)

8000 years 2015 years

BORNEO

DEFORESTATION IN BORNEO Current deforestation rate could eliminate Indonesia’s forests in just 20 years

• Example
• If a country cuts down 1

million acres of forest

• We see positive on

income side from timber sales

• Only depreciation

accounted is in chain saws and trucks

• What about the loss of

natural services

• Situations like this lead to

undervaluing natural resources

$17 million loss $1 million loss $5 million gain 12 species lost

Decision-Making

Forests

Biodiversity Soil and Water conservation Ecosystem Health And Productivity The carbon cycle Industry and Trade Social Benefits

Neglecting natures capital – drawing it down, not replenishing it!

But assigning an acceptable fiscal value to ecological services remain a challenge? How do you charge for oxygen produced by plants?

Non-converted Shrimp farm

• Fishery $420
• Timber & NT $823
• Protection $34,453
• # $35,696
• Shrimp $8,340
• Pollution -$951
• Restoration -$5,656
• # $1,733

Mangroves: Value of ecosystem per hectare

Estimated annual global economic values of some ecological services provided by forests compared to the raw materials they produce (in billions of dollars).

Let us now enter the world of Community Forestry

• Industrial forestry

benefitted the rich

• Wealth did not trickle

down to the poor

• Forests continued to

disappear

• Poverty increased

across the region

• Last resort by landless

How is it that people living in or in proximity to some of the most valuable forest resources live in poverty?

• Colonial era – forests

consolidated under state control

• Forest dwellers/villagers

disenfranchised

• This policing and control

still perpetuated

Historical neglect!

Progress made to reverse past

• errors. But what progress?
• Highly degraded

forests

• CFs, Leasehold

forests, Taungya cultivation…

• Poverty alleviation

needs more than NTFPs

Forest ownership survey - Asia

90% 10% 0% 0% 0% Public Private Community/Group

• wned

Owned by indigenous or tribal people Other types of ownership

• public and private are the only significant categories
• more significant information from detailed
• wnership categories.

Forest ownership structure in Europe 25

63% 13% 24%

private forests communal forests

• ther public

forests

What more can be done?

• Ownership, tenure and

access rights

• Enterprises and

engaging in trade

• Financing instruments
• Social networks
• Mainstreaming CF into

Forest Departments work

Perhaps it’s not enough!

What more can be done?

Landscape approach to SLM – stepping beyond Community Forestry!

Landscape approach

Advantages:

• Communities with

indigenous knowledge – render expertise beyond CF

• Deal with wider concerns of

biodiversity, climate change and sustainable livelihoods

• Ecosystem approach that

takes into account and interacts with the surrounding

Landscape approach: It has to be meaningful to the participants, economically, culturally and spiritually!

Thank you for your attention!