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Forests, Water and LivelihoodsForests, Water and LivelihoodsForests, Water and LivelihoodsForests, Water and LivelihoodsForests, Water and Livelihoods

No 45-46 Winter 2005/06

Organisation- Insititutions- Programmes

ETFRN News 45 - 46 /06

Dear readers,

As 2005 is ending, we are finishing yet another double issue of the ETFRN News,dealing with the multi-faceted theme of forests and water. The United Kingdom’sDepartment for International Development’s Forestry Research Programme (DFID-FRP) commissioned this issue, and provided most of the funding, in order to widelydisseminate the results of recent research, publications and debate on the linksbetween forests and water. Meine van Noordwijk of ICRAF generously provided histime as guest editor as an in-kind contribution. It was a pleasure to work with him.Patience Mayaki, a student from Nigeria on an Erasmus mundus scholarship, spentsome of her internship with Wageningen University with the ETFRN CoordinationUnit working on the publication announcements. We enjoyed her cheerful andcommitted presence. Erika van Duijl put more time into this issue than anyone else:she did most of the editing and correspondence with authors, while Blanca Mendezassisted her with the layout. Finally, the ETFRN Coordination Unit would not havesurvived, and this issue would therefore not have been published without the supportfrom Tropenbos International. I extend my warmest thanks to everyone, including allthe authors, who contributed to this publication.

Finally, very best wishes for 2006!

Kindest regards,

Willemine Brinkman, ETFRN coordinator

This publication is an output from a project partially funded by the United KingdomDepartment for International Development (DFID), for the benefit of developingcountries. The views expressed are not necessarily those of DFID. ZF0210 - ForestryResearch Programme.

ETFRN Coordination Unitc/o Tropenbos InternationalPO Box 232, 6700 AE WageningenThe NetherlandsPhone: + 31 317 495516Fax: + 31 317 495521E-mail: [email protected]://www.etfrn.org/

Editors: Willemine Brinkman, Erika van DuijlGuest editorfor this issue: Meine van NoordwijkEditorial assistance: Patience MayakiCover photograph: Patrick EvansLayout: Blanca Méndez

Printing: Drukkerij Modern, Bennekom,The Netherlands

1ETFRN News 45 - 46/06

Organisation- Institutions- Programmes

Editorial

Forest, Water and Livelihoods, Meine van Noordwijk

Perception gaps around forest and water and multistakeholders negotiations

From the mountain to the tap: an introduction, John PalmerUncertainties in the hydrology of tropical reforestation: beyond “From the mountain

to the tap” Nick Chappell and Mike BonellQuestioning long-held beliefs about forests and floods

Thomas Enters and Patrick DurstForests and Flashfloods, Peter WalpoleLinkages between forests and water: a review of research evidence in Vietnam

Vu Tan Phuong & Jinke van DamNot seeing the trees for the forest? From eviction to negotiation in

Sumberjaya, Indonesia, Bruno Verbist, Meine van Noordwijk, FahmuddinAgus, Widianto, Rudi HartoWidodo and Pratiknyo Purnomosidhi

Basin management in northern Thailand: emerging lessons, David Thomas

Highlights in Forest Hydrology

Modelling tropical forest watersheds: setting realistic goalsNick Chappell

Dead leaves in the litter layer rather than live trees control water infiltrationKurniatun Hairiah

Tree phenology as determination of the net effect of trees on regional water balanceCatherine W.Muthuri

Drinking water protection in forested karstic headwatersRoland Koeck, Barbara Magagna and Eduard Hochbichler

Atmospheric deposition of nutrients to the Northwest Amazonian forestsP. Tellez, C.Tobon and J. Sevink

Livelihood issues and payments for environmental services

Are the upland poor benefiting from environmental service reward schemes?R.A. Hope, I.T. Porras M. Miranda, C. Agarwal and J.M. Amezaga

Action-learning in practice: fair deals for watershed services, Ivan BondPayments for watershed services and lessons learned from community

based natural resource management (CBNRM), Ivan BondPaying for environmental services in China: lessons learned from a promising

approach, Horst WeyerhauserManaging forested watershed functions and services for the benefits for the poor

Daniel Murdiyarso and Ulrik Ilstedt

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Rapid hydrological appraisal (RHA) of potential for environmental service rewards:procedure and application in Lake Singkarak (West Sumatra, Indonesia)Meine van Noordwijk

Forests, flowers or flamingos: what drives the water balances of Lake Nakuru, Kenya?Brent Swallow

Fostering watershed governance in Visayas, PhilippinesRowena Soriaga

Landscape water management in the Mediterranean: experience of the WASAMEDproject, Bogliotti, N. Lamaddalena and A. Scardigno

Case studies, including peat swamp forest and riperian forests

Global change, urbanization and natural resource management in western Mexico,Peter Gerritsen, C. Ortiz, J-C. Bolay, S.Hostettler, L.M. Martinez, E.Santana,

S.Graf and S. GarciaFarms or forests: conservation of the Panamanian watershed, a Bulada sub-basin

study, Eric FloresPromoting integrated water resources management practices in the Volta Basin:

involving local communities in restoration of river banks, Elke Verbeeten,Olumide Akinsola, Kwame Odame-Ababio and Ludovic Tapsoba

Management strategies for forests and watersheds in the upper Yangtze river basin,Sichuan, ChinaOlavi Luukkanen and Ping Zhou

Integrated ecosystem and water resources management of the upper Mekong Riverbasin in Yunnan, China, Wim Douven and Peter van der Meer

Flood forests and community fisheries on the Tonle Sap Great Lake, Cambodia,Patrick Evans

Sustainable Management of fish resources in the Yahuarcaca wetlands, ColombianAmazon, Edgar Prieto and Santiago Duque

Peat swamp forests of South-East Asia – Do they have a future?Jack Rieley and S.E. Page

Water management of peatlands in the Air Hitam Laut river basin in Indonesia,Henk Wösten

Community based planning and action for sustainable peat swamp forest management in Indonesia, Jolanda van den Berg



EDITORIAL

FOREST, WATER AND LIVELIHOODS

By Meine van Noordwijk

Forest and water issues have hit the newsheadlines over the past months. “Downwith Trees” became one of the slogans afterthe release of the DFID report “From theMountain to the Tap” and the FAO/CIFORpublication “Forests and Floods”. Theexcitement may be brought back to thesimple observations that trees use waterand that heavy rainfall causes floods.

The balance of public perceptions isswinging back and forth – from exaggeratedexpectations of what trees and reforestationcan achieve (actively promoted as part of a‘conservation’ agenda) and from falseattribution of any downstream problem withwater flows to the ‘deforestation’ activitiesby upland land users, we may go to the otherextreme of ignoring the positive values ofmaintaining forested landscapes and well-buffered river systems with riparian forestsand wetlands. Beyond the probablynecessary shock effect of ‘debunkingmyths’, we get valid concerns over notthrowing away baby trees with the bathwater.In this newsletter the different positions inthis public debate are reflected.

The ‘forest and water’ debate is full of validobservations that are used to makegeneralizations at the wrong level, ignoringthe effects of scale on many of the ‘truths’.“Not seeing the forest for the trees” is a wellrecognized problem, but “not seeing the

landscape for the forests” is equallyproblematic: the water flows at landscapescale are influenced by the patchwork ofland cover plus the drainage system, indirect response to the spatial and temporalpattern of rainfall and conditioned bygeology, slopes and subsurface flowconditions. However, it is boring if floodingcan only be blamed on heavy rainfall andnot on logging or deforestation.

Paragraph 23 of the Millennium Declarationcalls “To intensify our collective effortsfor the management, conservation andsustainable development of all types offorests.” Because clean water is essentialfor meeting health-related MilleniumDevelopment Goals, and Goal 7 (‘Ensureenvironmental sustainability’) clearly linksenvironment and poverty issues; themanagement of upper water catchmentsdeserves full attention. Poverty in the moreremote upper catchments can besubstantial, and part of the poverty is linkedto existing rules and perceptions about whatland use is and what is not compatible withthe environmental service functions.Equitable systems for capture anddistribution of benefit (values) resulting fromgood upstream forest and landmanagement need to start from an analysisof critical thresholds in the forest –agroforestry – agriculture continuum.

The articles in this newsletter are groupedunder four headings:1 Perception gaps around forest and water,

and multistakeholder negotiations2 Highlights in forest hydrology3 Livelihood issues and payments for

environmental services4 Case studies, including the special cases

of peat swamp forests and riparianforests interacting with fish production

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Section 1 starts with a summary of DFID’ssynthesis ‘From the mountain to the tap’ byJohn Palmer and a ‘rebuttal’ by NickChappell, who lists the arguments for a re-valuation of what reforestation can achievefor water flows on the longer run. Morenuances in the debate and distinctionsbetween areas where water demandexceeds the supply (and additional wateruse by trees is a problem) and wetter zones(where supply exceeds demand) is needed.For the wetter part of the world, however, the‘floods’ issue is important. Thomas Entersand Patrick Durst summarize the evidencethat changes in forest cover matter less thanwe have all been taught at school. PeterWalpole reflects on the issue from aPhilippines perspective; Vu Tan Phuongreviews the evidence for Vietnam. BrunoVerbist and colleagues describe how theperception of ‘essential’ forests lead toconflicts in the past and how data on actualriver flows help to negotiate agreements.David Thomas describes how measurementand evidence is starting to play a role in basinmanagement in northern Thailand, replacinga ‘forest’ centered dialogue.

The second group of articles provides somehighlights of current hydrology: NickChappell reviews modelling approaches,Kurniatun Hairiah and colleagues describethe importance of the litter layer as primarycontrol over water flows and CatherineMuthuri explains how the phenology of thetree determines the net effect on storm andbase flows. Roland Koeck and colleaguesdescribe the special importance oflimestone soils and the influence of treecover on snowmelt that influences ‘regularityof flow’. The approach may be transferableto the tropics, the conclusions as suchdefinitely not… Water and nutrients interact

in many ways: rainfall brings nutrientsalong, while water outflows lead to transfersof nutrients downstream. Tellez andcolleagues provide fresh data on nutrientloading of rainfall in the Amazone, and itssources.

The third block of articles describes currentthinking and progress on various forms of‘payments for environmental services’related to forests and water. Bob Hopereviews lessons from Costa Rica, Ivan Bondgives an overview of lessons learnt in theIIED network; Horst Weyerhauser relates thechallenges faced by the ‘sloping landrehabilitation’ program in China, that wasinitiated after the Yangtze floods. DanielMurdiyarso and Ulrik Ilstedt focus on the roleof forests in the provision of drinking water.In a contribution from the RUPES programthe emphasis is on the various steps thatare needed to bridge the differentperceptions, illustrated with the case of LakeSingkarak. Brent Swallow describes the‘forests, flowers or flamingo’ choices thatare only now beginning to be understood inKenya. Rowena Sorriaga reviewswatershed governance in the Philippinesand Bogliotti the re-focus on ‘demand’issues in the Mediterranean region, as thereisn’t much that can be done about ‘supply’.

The ‘case studies’ group provides furtherlocal context for the issues. Peter Gerritsendescribes the Ayuquila watershed in Mexico,Eric Flores discusses reforestation inPanama, Elke Verbeeten analyzes thesituation in Burkina Faso, Olavi Luukkanenand Ping Zhou the Yangtze river and WimDouven the Mekong river in Yunnan close toits origin. Further downstream, the Mekongriver feeds the Tonle Sap in Cambodja,where the primary concern is, however, overthe disappearance of floodplain forests and



its effects on fisheries, as described byPatrick Evans. Forest roles in sustaining fishis also the focus in Colombia. One stepfurther into wetlands, three articles describethe peat swamp forests as special case:Jack Rieley provides an overview, HenkWösten describes the situation in Berbak(Sumatra) and Jolanda van den Bergprovides a socio-economic context for theapproaches to conserve such wetlandforests while enhancing livelihoods.

Throughout this newsletter pleas are madeto go back to the collection and interpretationof data. The public debate on forests andwater in many countries is highly chargedwith expectations of public benefits of forestsand attributions of blame to upland farmersusing the landscape that are not based onanalysis of facts and measurements. Thereis a need for ‘new hydrology’, but also forapproaches that facilitate multi-stakeholdernegotiations on what combinations ofrestrictions and ‘rewards’ will lead to thecontinued provision of water flows ofdesirable quality together with land use thatallows ‘uplanders’ to make a living. Therewill certainly be an important role for forestsand trees in this respect, once we get the‘myth-perceptions’ sorted out.

Beyond these articles, the newslettercontains information on recent publicationsand upcoming events in the usual way.Happy reading.

Contact information:Meine van NoordwijkWorld Agroforestry CentreICRAF-SE Asia, BogorIndonesia

E-mail: [email protected]

By John Palmer

“FROM THE MOUNTAIN TO THETAP”, AN INTRODUCTION

Every day we read, watch and listen toreports of environmental, human andeconomic disasters, which appear to havebeen caused by uncontrolled deforestationand unsupervised forest degradation.Floods and landslides, sedimentation ofirrigation systems and silting of hydropowerdam reservoirs are often attributed to thefelling of trees. But is such simpleassociation correct?

Some national agencies, with internationalco-funding, are spending immense sumsof money on tree planting, soil and waterconservation structures and alliedmeasures, in the belief that they areattracting rainfall and/or facilitating rechargeof groundwater. These huge schemes arefound especially in the watersheddevelopment programmes in states of Indiaand in the “environmental forestry”programmes of China. Many other countrieshave smaller schemes, but are impelled bythe same belief, which originated in theeighteenth and nineteenth centuries whenthere was limited understanding of globalweather patterns, cycles and variation.

The advent of improved instrumentation anddata-logging, plus much more powerfulcomputer modelling and geographicinformation systems, now enables thesebeliefs to be tested. Process hydrologyenables the components of the water cycle,from atmosphere through vegetation to soiland streams, and back to the atmosphere,

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to be studied in linked modules. Thelimitations of the previous “black box”approach, with measured input (rain) andoutput (streamflow) but only limitedquantification of what happened to waterbetween precipitation and river flow, havebeen substantially overcome.

The Forestry Research Programme of theUK Department for InternationalDevelopment has designed a cluster ofrelated projects to make use of the improvedinstrumentation, better mathematicalmodelling and powerful geographicinformation systems to produce morereliable prediction of the associationbetween vegetation (including forests) anddry season streamflows.

The various strands of biophysical andsocio-economic research resulted into aseries of lessons:1 In arid and semi-arid catchments, there

is no scientific evidence to support theview that forests increase or stabilisewater flow.

2 Modelling based on “green water” datais an efficient and usable means ofpredicting the impact of land-use changeon water flow. (green water = waterleaving the catchment throughevaporation)

3 Soil degradation can cause localisedflooding during rainy periods, andreduced dry season flows.

4 Uncertainty surrounding hydrologicalprocesses within and beneath the soilmakes it difficult to quantify the amountof water provided by a specific landmanager upstream to a specific wateruser downstream.

5 Integrated land and water resourcesmanagement can only be achieved ifgovernance is holistic and evidence-

based.6 Water alone cannot pull people out of

poverty.7 Market mechanisms linking land

management and watershed servicesdo not tend to address rural poverty.

8 Small-scale irrigated agriculture isunlikely to reach the majority of the ruralpoor.

9 What rural people want and what policymakers think they want are notnecessarily the same thing.

10 Pro-poor benefits should not be an after-thought.

The policy implications of these lessonsare:1 If water shortages are a problem in dry

countries, impose limits on forestplantations, especially of fast-growingevergreen species.

2 Implement “green water” instruments(based on data from plant transpiration)to control levels of evaporation fromupland vegetation.

3 If upland forests are cleared forcultivation, provide farmers withguidelines of best agricultural practice.

4 Any market mechanism or tax systemlinking land management to quantifiedstreamflow should ensure that scientificvalidation is possible at the scale of theoperation.

5 Use decision support systems toassess the impact of alternative landmanagement options on waterresources, and alternative land-use andwater management and policy optionson different social groups.

6 Ensure policy instruments are equitablein terms of livelihood benefits, not justwater allocation.

7 Ensure that any proposed marketmechanism is adequately pro-poor.



8 Consider improvements in rain-fedfarming (crop breeding, rainwaterharvesting, mulching, conservationtillage, market access, capacitybuilding) in preference to furtherinvestments in rural small-scaleirrigation schemes.

9 Use negotiation support systemtechniques such as choice experimentsto ascertain stakeholder preferences forpolicy agreements.

10 Tailor employment programmes todovetail with other livelihood activities ofthe people which they are intended toattract.

This booklet summarises the information,some of it conflicting, which has contributedto the ten lessons. The research findingswill be a disappointment to someenthusiastic promoters of schemes forpayments for environmental services, whichare one of the most promising avenues forputting reliable amounts of cash into thehands of upstream land managers.Unfortunately, it seems just now that modelsfor reliable prediction of dry seasonstreamflows in relation to the managementof catchment vegetation upstream will notroutinely support local payments for waterservices. This is because there may be toomany uncertainties about the ways in whichwater moves through the soil and rock inany but fully leakproof catchments. Sopayment schemes may need to be operatedon regional or national scales in order toavoid complex litigation at local scale.

The broad topic of the Forestry and LowFlows cluster is advancing with fastinteractions between research and theshaping of policy. For example, by the timeof publication, the debate on allocation ofthe benefits of water in South Africa will have

moved forward significantly. Thesedevelopments are affecting the livelihoodsof literally tens of millions of people.

The potential implications of the researchsummarised in this booklet are immense,as they contradict some current tree-planting policies and environmental beliefs.Unless there is urgent action now, thelooming water crisis will aggravate, andleave the most vulnerable, the rural andurban poor populations, ever moredisadvantaged.

Contact information:John PalmerManagerDFID Forestry Research Programme (FRP)June 2005


The summary above is an adapted version of theforeword of the FRP publication: “From theMountain to the Tap: how land use and watermanagement can work for the rural poor” byBecky Hayward (2005). Please see the section“Publications” of this issue (p. 112) for moreinformation about this booklet.

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By Nick A Chappell and Mike Bonell

UNCERTAINTIES IN THEHYDROLOGY OF TROPICALREFORESTATION: BEYOND “FROMTHE MOUNTAIN TO THE TAP”1

Large areas formerly covered by tropicalforests have been cleared and remain inan unproductive, environmentallyunsustainable or degraded state2. Therecent synthesis ‘From the mountain to thetap’ and follow-on publicity suggests thatreforestation of such areas would have anoverriding negative impact on people andthe environment. ‘From the mountain to thetap’ is focussed on relatively dry areas andon the effects on volume flow of water andon relatively short time frames. In contrast,we would suggest that recent researchfindings within meteorology, hydrology andecology indicate the longer term impact oftropical forestation to be more likely positive,to strongly depend on climatic conditionsand certainly to be much more complex thancommonly presented in current debate.

Not seeing the soil for the trees3

Ecological findings clearly show that byplanting trees in degraded tropical areas,soil biodiversity is increased, which itselfimproves the soil physical properties therebyencouraging further biodiversityimprovements4. This soil structuralimprovement also reduces infiltration-excess overland flow5. This is particularlyimportant on steep slopes which have thepotential to generate high rates of overlandflow6. In such areas soil improvementarising from tree planting and growth mighthave the potential to reduce peakflows of

streams during floods. Moreover, thereduction of overland flow certainly slowsgully development7. This soil conservationbenefit is further aided by avoiding the soiltillage normally associated with agriculture8,and by adding a more protective vegetationcanopy in comparison to some croppingsystems9. The abstraction of subsurfacewater by trees with the resultant drying ofsoil and upper layers of regolith can alsoreduce the likelihood of landslides,particularly where the drift geology isshallow10,11. This positive surface dryingeffect is in addition to the beneficial effect oftree roots on soil shear strength12. Theoverall result of a more stabilised terrain isclearly seen beneath forests planted onformerly degraded terrain in south-easternUSA or central Japan.

Reduced sediment load of riversOnce reforestation activities are complete,rivers draining from these areas showsmaller sediment loads when comparedto areas undergoing regular agriculturaltillage or urban development13. Critically,where plantation management excludespesticide use or downstream processingchemicals, then rivers are cleaned of thepesticide residues and industrialcontaminants associated with formeragricultural or industrial activities14.

Water budget effects of plantationforestryMost catchment studies in the humid tropicsshow that newly established tropicalplantations evaporate more water directlyto the atmosphere in comparison to non-forest vegetation15,16. There are, however, fivecritical issues that mean these findingscannot be simply extrapolated across thehumid tropics. These issues are:

• Reduced impact when on deep aquifers



• Reduced impact with forest maturation

• Comparable water demand to the climaxforest vegetation

• Reduced impact at large scales due toage mosaic and lower intensity of change

• Reduced impact at large scales due toclimate feedbacks

The first issue is important given that almostall of these tropical evaporation studieshave been undertaken within smallcatchments on non-aquifer rocks. Wheremajor aquifers are present, water canpercolate to great depths of perhaps 100 to200 m before returning to the surface togenerate streamflow. Where this is the case,then the water is soon beyond the depththat trees roots can extract the water tosupport transpiration. As a consequencedifferences between trees and moreshallow rooted vegetation would be muchless17. Water budget studies on tropicalaquifers are needed.

The second issue arises because mosttropical studies examining the effect ofafforestation on the water budget areundertaken over only the first few years afterplanting18. During the initial phase of treegrowth, water use can be very high, but astrees mature, their water demand falls. Forexample, eucalyptus, a tree with one of thehighest water uses during the initial phaseof growth, had a lower water use incomparison to non-forest vegetation whenmature19. More tropical water budget studiesare needed that follow plantationdevelopment to maturation.

Where plantations have been establishedin areas formally supporting a climaxvegetation of natural tropical forest, wateryields of the mature plantations are often

similar or only slightly greater than thenatural forest20,21. This third issue ispertinent to the ideas of environmentalsustainability, where the goal might be tominimize the environmental differencesbetween the modified land-use and thenatural, climax vegetation.

The fourth issue relates to the scale ofinvestigation of most water budget studiesin the tropics. In this region there are fewsuch studies undertaken on largewatersheds perhaps 1000 km2 in area. Ifthe limited large scale data is examined,then it does indicate that the effect ofplantation development on water yield at thisscale is insignificant when compared withthe natural cycles in the riverflow or evapo-transpiration caused by climaticvariations22. In part, the forest effect is smallbecause of the considerable range of standage seen at this scale and the lowerintensity of land-use change23.

The effect of scale on climate feedbacksalso adds uncertainty to our extrapolationsfrom small-scale, tropical water budgetstudies. When water budgets are examinedat very large scales of perhaps 10,000 km2

or larger, the effect of changing vegetationcover on evapotranspiration can significantlyaffect the regional production of rainfall. Thishas been shown in recent simulations ofGlobal Climate Models24,25. Large-scaledeforestation of the West African forestregion may have led to reducing rainfall26.The implication being that extensiveforestation of such areas (once mature)would enhance soil-water, groundwater andriverflow through intensification of thehydrological cycle. Several studies note thatthe scale dependence of the forest – rainfallgeneration phenomena is partly related tothe increasing heterogeneity of the land

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cover27.

The last hydrological benefit of plantationsthat we would like to highlight relates againto changes to the soil. Extensive and markedreductions in the soil permeability followingindustrial development, land degradation orsome forms of agriculture could significantlyreduce the infiltration and subsequentrecharge of deeper strata, in comparison topermeable forest soils28,29. Where thesesoils overlie deep aquifers, then theenhancement of recharge by plantationdevelopment could be greater than the shortterm reductions in recharge due to a slightlygreater transpiration. There are earlyindications that this effect is observed in theWestern Ghats region of India. More aquiferrecharge studies throughout the tropics arerequired to fully evaluate the sometimescompeting effects of plantations on soil andcanopy processes.

We would acknowledge that exceptions canbe found to the beneficial effect of forestationcited here30. The lack of long-term and large-scale analyses of the hydrological impactof tropical forestation should, however,make scientists at least, more cautiousabout portraying tropical forestation aseither wholly negative or wholly positive.

Contact information:Dr Nick A Chappell,Lancaster Environment Centre,Lancaster University,Lancaster LA1 4YQUK


Dr Mike Bonell,UNESCO Division of Water Sciences,1 Rue Miollis

73732 Paris Cedex 15France


1 NR-International (2005), From the Mountain tothe Tap, http://www.frp.uk.com2 Gisladottir and Stocking, 2005, Land Degrad.Develop., 16: 99-1123 Bruijnzeel, L. A., 2004. Agriculture, Ecosystems& Environment 104, 185-228.4 Bardgett et al., 2001 Ecosystems 4: 421-4295 Hairsine et al., 1992 Austr. J. Soil Res., 30: 249-2646 Zaslavsky and Sinai, 1981J. Hydraul. Div., 107:37-527 Gardner and Gerrard, 2005 Int. J. Sustain. Dev.World Ecol., 9: 59-738 Kimaro et al., 2005 Soil & Till. Res., 81: 97-1089 Nearing et al., 2005 Catena 61: 131-15410 Ramsay, 1987 IAHS 167: 239-25011 Keppeler et al., 1994. in Effects of Human-Induced Changes on Hydrologic Systems12 O’Loughlin and Watson 1981 NZ J. For. Sci., 11:183-18513 Ismail, 1997 IAHS 245: 91-10014 McClain, 2004 Ecohydrology, CABI15 McNaughton and Jarvis, 1983, in Water deficitsand plant growth16 Bruijnzeel 1990, UNESCO; Scott et al., 2004, inForests, Water and People in the Humid Tropics17 cf. Table 35 Kirby et al., 1991 Institute ofHydrology Report 10918 Bruijnzeel, 1990, UNESCO19 Vertessy et al. 2003, Australian Forestry 66: 55-6120 Table 4 in Bruijnzeel, 1990 UNESCO21 Scott et al., 2004 in Forests, Water and Peoplein the Humid Tropics22 Chappell & Tych, Adv. in Wat. Resour., in sub;Chappell et al., For. Ecol. Manage., in prep23 Vertessy et al., 2003, Australian Forestry 66: 55-6124 Costa, 2004 in Forests, Water and People in theHumid Tropics25 Voldoire and Royer, 2004 Climate Dynamics22: 857-87424 Zheng et al., 1999 Science 286: 1537-1540

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By Thomas Enters and Patrick B. Durst

QUESTIONING LONG-HELD BELIEFSABOUT FORESTS AND FLOODS

25 Baidya et al., 2003 J. Geophys. Res., 108: 885428 FAO, 1999 Poverty alleviation and food securityin Asia: land resources29 Bonell, 2004 in Forests, Water and People inthe Humid Tropics30 Bonell and Bruijnzeel, 2004 Forests, Water andPeople in the Humid Tropics; Chappell, 2005,Suiri Kagaku 48: 32-46

The driving force behind manyenvironmental policies are powerfulassumptions about the links betweenforests and water, particularly flooding. Eachyear, devastating floods affect the personaland economic fortunes of millions ofpeople. Each catastrophic flood isaccompanied by heart-wrenching imagesof shocked individuals sitting on rooftops,awaiting rescue or the receding oframpaging flood waters. Sympatheticpeople from all walks of life cannot help butto be moved by the stark scenes ofdesperation. Conscientious policy makersand politicians leap to identify and remedythe perceived causes of the devastation.Upland farmers and loggers – especially indeveloping countries – are typically blamedfor clearing and degrading forests, whichare widely believed to protect against suchcalamities.

In many people’s minds, the use and abuseof forests in watersheds represents themain cause of massive lowland floods. Thecausal link between deforestation or forestdegradation in the uplands and floods in

the lowlands seems intuitive to many.Unfortunately, the reality of hydrologicalsystems is far from simple and hardevidence of the link is sparse.

Hydrological systems are, in fact, extremelycomplex and it is difficult to disentangle theimpacts of land use from naturalphenomena. Although several scientificstudies have been conducted on therelationship between forests and floods, thelimited – sometimes also contradictory –results have often been used to makesweeping generalizations that areinappropriate, misleading, or patentlywrong.

Little distinction is made between what weknow and what we think we know, whichgreatly contributes to a general confusionon the issue. Much of this confusion has along history and relates to the so-called“sponge theory”, which appears to havebeen developed by European foresters atthe end of the 19th century and rapidlyspread to other continents.

According to this popular line of thinking,forests act as a sponge soaking up waterduring rainy spells and releasing it evenlyduring dry periods. The simplicity of thetheory makes it intuitively appealing.Unfortunately, the popular theory fails thetest of close scientific scrutiny. While forestsoils usually have higher water infiltrationand storage capacities than non-forestsoils, it should be recognized that deepsoils in general have higher water storagecapacities than shallow soils irrespectiveof vegetative cover. Equally important is thatmuch of the rain that falls on forests areasis consumed – quite extravagantly, in fact –by trees and does not serve to increase low,dry-season riverflows.

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This is not to say that forests are notbeneficial in hydrological terms. As early as1905, Gifford Pinchot, the “father of forestry”in America, described the “good influence”of forests in reducing the severity of floods.On a small scale – up to 500 km2 – thepresence of forests can indeed affect peakriverflows and thus floods (Table 1).However, even in smaller basins, the extentto which forests can absorb excess waterduring heavy rainfall depends greatly onforest type and management, and evenmore importantly, on the underlyinggeological and antecedent rainfallconditions. In Pinchot’s own words rainwater “which falls after the forest floor issaturated runs into the streams almost asfast as it would over bare ground.” In largeriver basins, the positive effects of forestsin reducing catastrophic floods arenegligible.

How about the notion that flood frequencieshave increased? Floods have occurredthroughout the world long beforedeforestation was a problem. For example,Hofer and Messerli (1997) unearthedrecords of eight major floods in Bangladeshbetween 1870 and 1922, and concludedthat “there is absolutely no statisticalevidence that the frequency of major floodinghas increased over the last 120 years.” InChina, the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers havebroken their banks, causing huge loss oflife and changing the face of the landscapefor centuries. And in Bangkok the floods of1983, which inundated parts of the city forfour months, were comparable to events in1795 and 1831 (Terwiel, 1989), when three-fourths of Thailand was still covered byforests.

Similarly, there is no clear evidence that the

Table 1. The spatial dimension of land-use effects

Impact Basin size [km2]

0.1 1 10 100 1,000 10,000 100,000

Average flow X X X X - - -

Peak flow X X X X - - -

Base flow X X X X - - -

Groudwater recharge X X X X - - -

Sediment load X X X X - - -

Nutrients X X X X X - -

Legend: x = Observable impact; - = no observable impactAdapted from Kiersch (2000).

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intensities of floods have increased inmodern times. Damage from floods, on theother hand, is greater than ever before dueto economic growth, skyrocketinginvestment in floodplain infrastructure, agrowing floodplain population, and the factthat many people and institutions haveforgotten or discarded traditionalapproaches for coping with rivers and floods.New infrastructure development hasexpanded rapidly into flood-prone areas thatused to be avoided, and urban sprawl hastransformed formerly vegetated land intoimpermeable surfaces.

The science on the causes of floods andthe effects of forests and good watershedmanagement on floods admits uncertainty,imprecision and complexity. FAO and CIFOR(2005) have recently explored this issue andthe scientific evidence linking floods andforests. The newly published review –entitled Forests and floods: drowning infiction or thriving on facts? – reveals thatmuch of the perceived wisdom cannot besubstantiated by science. It is often littlemore than myth or is patently incorrect. Inthe case of massive floods, such“conventional wisdom” has often leddecision makers to implement misguidedpolicies that over-emphasize reforestationand logging bans at the expense of moreholistic watershed and river-basinmanagement.

Forests and floods distinguishes fact fromfiction and recommends alternativeapproaches for effective watershed andfloodplain management. It should appealto everyone with an interest in escaping thequagmire of stale and dated paradigms.Ultimately, Forests and floods aims to betterinform policy makers, developmentagencies and the media, and thus

constructively contribute to the developmentof sound watershed and river-basinmanagement.

ReferencesFAO and CIFOR. 2005. Forests and floods –

Drowning in fiction or thriving on facts?RAP Publication 2005/03 and ForestPerspectives 2. Food and AgricultureOrganization of the United Nations,Bangkok, and Center for InternationalForestry Research, Bogor.

Hofer, T. and Messerli, B. 1997. Floods inBangladesh: process understanding anddevelopment strategies. Institute ofGeography, University of Berne, Berne.

Kiersch, B. 2000. Land use impacts on waterresources: a literature review. DiscussionPaper No. 1. Prepared for the Land-waterlinkages in rural watersheds electronicWorkshop 18 September to 27 October2000. Food and Agriculture Organizationof the United Nations, Rome.

Terwiel, B.J. 1989. Through traveller’s eyes:an approach to early nineteenth centuryThai history. Editions Duang Kamol,Bangkok.

Thomas Enters is National ForestProgramme Facilitator with the Food andAgriculture Organization of the UnitedNations (FAO), Regional Office for Asia andthe Pacific, Bangkok, Thailand


Patrick B. Durst is Senior Forestry Officerwith the FAO Regional Office for Asia andthe Pacific

E-mail: [email protected]).

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FORESTS AND FLASHFLOODS

By Peter Walpole

For more information about the publication“Forests and Floods – Drowning in fiction orthriving on facts?” (FAO and CIFOR, 2005),please see the section of publications, page13 in this newsletter.

In November 2004 a major flood in EasternLuzon, Philippines turned into a disasterwith over 1,500 deaths and destruction ofagriculture, fisheries, property andinfrastructure worth over PhP 6 billion. Thepublic debate focused on the notion thatlogging was the main cause of theselosses of lives and livelihoods. Localgovernments and politicians, riding themedia blitz, believed that the disaster wasdue to upland farmers logging forsubsistence needs and to influential traderswho had ways to move logs along thePacific coast. The debate revisited theissues raised after the Ormoc disaster onLeyte (Visayas, Philippines) 15 years ago.

In Asia, many disasters resulting fromlandslides and flashfloods are similarlyblamed on logging. Urban societyincreasingly identifies illegal logging as themain culprit. Many environmental advocatesuse these disasters to leverage greatergovernment action to curb logging. The Thaigovernment responded to the widespreadflooding in 1989 with a total log ban,increased area for conservation forests, andtightened control over upland communityresource use. While action must be takenagainst the high loss of forest cover in Asia,

this will not prevent such disasters. Whatshould be addressed is the socialvulnerability of people living in (potential)flood plains and preparedness for “rare” butrealistic flooding events (e.g. once-in-50-year rainfall episodes). These reoccurring“natural” events will be devastating if thereis no focused action.

A recent study in the Philippines showedthat 50% of the rainfall events are moreintense than the current infiltration capacityof the soil. Overland flow of water causeserosion of bare soil. Flood waters carry awaymaterial from landslides and everythingalong channel sides and in flood plains –trees, debris, logs, soil, rocks andsettlements. Major events clean up the riverbeds and sweep away the residue of fiftyyears of small events, depositing it in floodzones as alluvial fans, sand banks and inriver mouths creating deltas. Logginggenerally exposes forest areas, even whenthere is no bare soil, as canopy gaps andlogging residues make remainingvegetation more vulnerable, creatingpotential flood debris and increasing thepotential for landslides, there being lesshold on the soil. But with once-in-50-yearrainfall events, there are major landslideseven in primary forest.

The biggest problem with blaming illegallogging for disasters is that it divertsattention from addressing the security ofpeople in high-risk areas. These peoplehave to be relocated to lands not threatened,which requires money and a level of socialredistribution of land. Governments tend toavoid such action and would rather blamepoor people who will not be arrested forlogging than responsibly tackle relocation.

National programs addressing illegal

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logging will not prevent climatic or geologicalevents from becoming disasters. Focussingon logging keeps the society away from takingappropriate action, such as reviewing orstrengthening policies on land reallocationand development of major floodinfrastructure. As a result local communitiesreturn to live in high risk areas, infrastructurethat overrestricts river flows is not altered,and plantations are still being developed inflood plains. Furthermore, ‘unnatural rains’are still being viewed as an act of God andnot accepted as a normal returning event andpolitical will and effective policies are stilllacking for land identification for relocation.Fifteen years after the Ormoc disaster, theselessons have yet to be internalized byPhilippine society.

In the region, the impact of the climate needsto be understood at three different levels toformulate an appropriate response.

Global Climate ChangeAlthough deforestation does add toatmospheric carbon and increase in soiltemperature, it does not affect significantlylocal rainfall amounts in an archipelago likethe Philippines where the surroundingocean determines the climate. Globalclimate change, however, may influencerainfall dynamics, as the world hasobserved with a high frequency and intensityof Niño events in the ‘90’s. Sequesteringcarbon as an immediate action, plantationsand reforestation are the primary responsesin creating new ‘forest’. Any forestry activitythat locks up carbon and improvesprocessing and recycling of wood preventingits return to the environment as carbonwould contribute to carbon sequestration.

Late or Early RainsIn the Philippines during El Niño and the

Southern Oscillation (ENSO), the wetseason is delayed if not lost, followed by anextended rainy season in the next year.ENSO increases stress on ecologicalservices, livelihoods & biodiversity. Lesswater is available in the form needed, whenneeded. Deforestation exacerbates theseeffects by increasing surface water flow (asagainst subsurface flow), decreasingaquifer infiltration, and increasingmicroclimate temperature. In this context,logging natural forests has the greatestnegative impact on water management. Theautomatic policy response in thePhilippines appears to be reforestation withalien fast-growing species, sometimesincluding the planting of fruit trees toaugment local livelihood and to reducecutting reforested areas. The bestresponse, however, would be assistingnatural regeneration of forests, but this hasbeen insufficiently explored. Socialprograms must focus on developinglivelihood options addressing the economicneeds of the poor.

Exceptional Rainfall EventA climate event is an “exceptional rainfallevent”, usually where two or more typhoonsoccur in an area within one week, bringing30% to 60% of the annual rainfall. Suchrainfall can liquefy and destabilize soildeeper than 10 meters (maximum forestroot depth) – especially where a good soilstructure allows for easy infiltration of water.The Philippines needs to recognize thatthese events reshape the fluvial landscapeand therefore they should calculate whenand where these events may occur. Thegovernment needs to recognize that floodzones are nutrient-rich and very temptingfor farming communities to claim, and forsquatters to settle on.

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LINKAGESBETWEEN FORESTS ANDWATER: A REVIEW OF RESEARCHEVIDENCE IN VIETNAM

By Vu Tan Phuong and Jinke van Dam

Actions neededSimply put, different problems need differentresponses. While many are deeplycommitted to saving Philippine forests, theresponse to each geological and climaticevent should focus on the primary problem.

Changes have to be made firmly andstrategically with a whole new generationof programs that seal the past constitutionaland policy changes with a greaterunderstanding of social vulnerability. It willbe difficult to rectify decades ofmarginalizing landless either in the uplandswith no connectivity to markets or basicservices, or those concentrated in disaster-prone urban flood zones and hillsides.

Government data are generally outdatedand insufficiently accurate for the criticalanalysis that is needed for disaster relatedland management. The awareness andcapacity for critical integration in governanceas a whole is missing – especially at thelocal level. Local government, along withdirect participation of the people on the landis fundamental in sustaining any lastingchange. Illegal logging is an issue forbiodiversity conservation, ecologicalservices, sustainable livelihood anddisaster management but to very differentdegrees. A whole new approach to disastermanagement in relation to the environmentand society has to be established.

Contact information:Peter WalpoleEnvironmental Science for Social Change1/F Manila Observatory Building, AteneoUniversity CampusLoyola Heights, Quezon CityThe Philippines

Phone: 63-2-926-0452Fax. 63-2-426-5958

In Vietnam forests still cover 36% of the country,mainly in the hills and mountains. Theforested areas in the upland watershed arevery important, as they supply freshwater foragriculture, industry and hydropower. Landcover in these areas plays an important rolein controlling floods. The destruction of upperwatershed forests is often seen as the causeof increased erosion, sedimentation as wellas floods. However, evidence from studiesin Vietnam, as elsewhere, indicates that therole of forests may differ from common publicperceptions.

We will briefly review data from Vietnam onthe effects of forests on three watershedfunctions: (i) Total annual water yield; (ii)Regulation of seasonal water flows; and (iii)Flood prevention. This paper is an output ofthe research project “Upland – lowlandinteraction in forest hydrology and benefitsreceived from watershed forests”, which isimplemented by Forest Science InstituteVietnam (FSIV) and ITC Enschede (theNetherlands) and supported by TropenbosInternational Vietnam. The project, whichstarted in 2004, aims at formulatingrecommendations for watershedmanagement based on elaborate review ofexisting data on the relationships betweenforests and water.

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Forests increase annual water yield?The general assumption is that total watersupply, or river flow, to areas downstreamfrom forested areas is higher than fromalternative land use areas. Total river flow isdependent on the balance of a large numberof hydrological factors. In theory, forests maybe associated with a greater capture ofatmospheric moisture, especially wherecloud forests are involved. Natural forestsusually maintain high infiltration rates andwater storage capacity of the soil whichreduces river flow in the early part of the rainyseason before the whole landscapebecomes saturated with water.

Various studies in Vietnam showed a lowerannual water yield when forest areas werecompared with areas under agricultural cropswith the same rainfall regime (Nguyen NgocLung & Vo Dai Hai 1996; Thai Phien & NguyenTu Siem 1994). One study, for example,indicated that run-off under forests was 2.5 -27 times smaller than run-off underagricultural crops (Thai Phien & Tran DucToan 1998). Another study showed that run-off from natural forests was 3.5 to 7 timesless than the run-off measured in plantations(Vo Dai Hai 1996; Bui Nganh et al 1984).

In forested areas run-off is believed to belower because the forest canopy interceptsrainfall. Under Vietnamese rainfall regimes,broad-leaved natural forest can intercept 15-19% of rainfall. For regenerated naturalforests interception may be only 7.5% forand for bamboo forests about 5% (NguyenNgoc Lung & Vo Dai Hai 1996). However, itmust be noted that the ability of the forestcanopy to intercept rainfall depends stronglyon the daily amount of rainfall and on therain-intensity, complicating the interpretationof short term studies (Vo Dai Hai 1996).As a next step in the hydrological cycle, the

effects of land cover on infiltration primarilyinfluence the time course of run off; it alsoinfluences annual water yield by supportingdry-season water use by vegetation. One ofthe studies indicating lower run-off inforested areas measured the highest infiltra-tion rate under a natural forest with threestoreys. In this case, the infiltration rate wasabout 16.8 mm per minute, as compared toabout 10.2 mm per minute in forests restoredafter shifting cultivation and about 2.1 mmper minute for bush and grass land. (HoangNiem 1994; Vu Van Tuan 2003).

Few of these studies have establishedannual water yield by integration over dailyflow rates across the year and there may beconfusion over the time scale of effects.

Forests regulate seasonal water flows?Many people believe that water flow underforest cover is regulated seasonally: -compared to non forested areas, forestedareas have an increased water flow duringdry seasons and a decreased flow duringwet seasons. In Vietnam the popular beliefis that forests do regulate seasonal flows(Do Dinh Sam et al 2002) Many peopleliving in a watershed area of Vietnammentioned that “the forest can store waterin the rainy season, while the dry seasonbecomes more severe if the forest isdestroyed” (FSIV & IIED 2002).

So far, research available on the impact offorest on seasonal water flows is limited. InVietnam the debate is ongoing and researchoutcomes can be contradictory. Hydrologicalstudies conducted in the basin of areas of 4- 125 km2 revealed that the dry flow index ofthe forested basin is bigger than that of thenon-forested area (Vu Van Tuan 2003).Research in the Da River showed that with a20% decrease of forest cover, the rainy

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season flow increased from 20 to 40%. (VuVan Tuan & Pham Thi Huong Lan 2004). Onthe other hand, research in Mu Cang Chaiwatershed showed that when the forest coverwas reduced to 20%, the rainy season flowdecreased by 15%. One might conclude thatforest is one of several factors affecting theprocess of water flow and that the influencesof forests on seasonal flows depends on thesite and the alternative land use that iscompared to forest.

Forests reduce floods?In recent years floods have been severe andthey appear to be more frequent. Defores-tation is often believed to be the main cause.Generally people assume that forestscontribute to reducing floods, since forestcover can regulate water flow and reducethe surface run-off. However, in Vietnamsome views suggested that flooding maybe linked more to weather conditions thanto the existence of forests (FSIV & IIED2002). Floods are considered to be a naturalphenomenon, in which rivers discharge anyexcess water arising from occasional largerainfall events. The effect of land cover onthe relation between rainfall and floods isexpected to vary with the degree ofsaturation of the landscape, as higherinfiltration rates are not effective in reducingsurface flows if the subsoil cannot store anymore water.

However, so far there has been limitedevidence to substantiate these theories: thetheories are still subject to an ongoingdebate. In Vietnam, an important question inthis debate is posed by Ministry of Agricultureand Rural Development (MARD). MARDwould like to get a better insight in how muchthe forest cover in specific watershed areascontributes to control flooding.Research in Vietnam conducted in the Da

River showed that about 78% of dischargefrom the Da River happened from June toOctober each year, and that regardless ofchanging land use, large floods occur every8-9 years and very large floods every 23 years(Institute of Hydrology and Meteorology 1998).

For small-scale catchments, there isevidence that forest cover does indeedcontribute to reducing volumes of floodwaterdownstream. For the largest, most damagingfloods there appears to be no scientificevidence for a connection with deforestation(Tran Thuc & Huynh Thi Lan Huong 2003; VuVan Tuan & Pham Thi Huong Lan 2004).Inthis context factors as climate (rainfall andrain intensity), terrain and geography areconsiderably more important.

ConclusionsBased on these reviews, it can be said therehas been not enough hydrological evidencein Vietnam to fully understand the linkagesbetween forests and water. It is quite clearthat forests do not increase annual wateryield; usually forests reduce run-off,especially when the forests are in naturalcondition. However the role of forests inregulating seasonal water flow andcontrolling floods is still not certain, as it isvery site specific. The occurrence of floodsis more related to weather conditions,terrain and geography than forest cover.Therefore more research would be neededfor a better understanding of these debates.

ReferencesBui Nganh,Vu Van Me, Nguyen Danh Mo.

1984. Research on erosion underdifferent vegetation types in the North ofVietnam. Scientific report. Forest ScienceInstitute of Vietnam, Hanoi, Vietnam.

Do Dinh Sam, Ngo Dinh Que and Vu Tan

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Phuong. 2002. Links between land useand watershed protection in Vietnam.Paper prepared for the workshop: Linksbetween land use and watershedprotection, Hanoi, May 2002, FSIV and IIED.

Forest Science Institute of Vietnam (FSIV) andInternational Institute for Environment andDevelopment (IIED). 2002. Do forestsprotect watersheds? FSIV, Hanoi, Vietnam.

Hoang Niem. 1994. Effects of forests on waterrun-off. Meteorology and HydrologicalNewsletter, No. 7 (403)

Institute of Hydrology and Meteorology. 1998.Selection of reports on assessment ofimpacts of Hoa Binh reservoir onenvironment. Hanoi.

Nguyen Ngoc Lung, Vo Dai Hai. 1996.Preliminary results of research onwatershed protection effects of somevegetation types and the main principlesof protection forest establishment.Agriculture publishing house, Hanoi.

Thai Phien, Nguyen Tu Siem.1994.Sustainable cultivation on sloping land inVietnam. Agriculture publishing house,Hanoi.

Thai Phien, Tran Duc Toan. 1998. Runoff anderosion on slope areas under differentcultivation systems. Summary of scientificreports. Assessment of impacts of HoaBinh reservoir on environment.Hanoi.

Tran Thuc, Huynh Thi Lan Huong. 2003.Computation and evaluation of impacts ofland uses changes on waterflows in TraKhuc River. In second workshopproceedings, Volume II: Hydrology andEnvironment, Institute of Meteorology and

Hydrology, Hanoi, Vietnam.

Vo Dai Hai,1996. Research on structuraltypes of forest for rational watershedprotection in Vietnam. Ph.D Thesis. ForestScience Institute of Vietnam, Hanoi,Vietnam.

Vu Van Tuan. 2003. Using experimentalmethod to evaluate impacts of forests onsome hydrological features. In secondworkshop proceedings, Volume II:Hydrology and Environment, Institute ofMeteorology and Hydrology, Hanoi,Vietnam.

Vu Van Tuan, Pham Thi Huong Lan. 2004.Application of modeling to evaluate effectsof forests on hydrological features in smallbasin areas, Meteorology andhydrological newsletter, No. 8 (524)/2004).

Further information:Mr Vu Tan PhuongActing DirectorResearch Centre for Forest Ecology andEnvironment (RCFEE)Dong Ngac – Tu Liem – HanoiVietnam

Phone:+844 755 0801Fax: +844 838 9722E-mail: [email protected]: http://www.fsiv.org.vn

Ms. Jinke van DamTropenbos International Vietnam6/1 Doan Huu Trung, HueVietnam

E-mail: [email protected]: http://www.tropenbos.org

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NOT SEEING THE TREES FOR THEFOREST? FROM EVICTION TONEGOTIATION IN SUMBERJAYA,LAMPUNG, SUMATRA, INDONESIA.

By Bruno Verbist, Meine van Noordwijk,Fahmuddin Agus, Widianto, RudiHartoWidodo, and Pratiknyo Purnomosidh

Land use change, especially deforestation,is often blamed for the loss of watershedfunctions and still leads to much conflict.The association of ‘forest’ and ‘water’ isstrong in the public perception. All too often,environmental arguments are used as ‘astick to beat the dog’, without a good insightinto what makes a landscape - and itsvarious elements - function properly inproviding environmental services.Sumberjaya, a large caldera of about 40.000ha in the southern part of the Bukit Barisanmountain range of Sumatra, Indonesia, hasseen a lot of conflict and it may representpossible future trajectories for many otherwatersheds in Southeast Asia.

In 1998, before ICRAF started working inSumberjaya, the local government and itsforestry department depicted the followingproblems and context: “Uncontrolleddeforestation and conversion to coffee onthe slopes have led to a tremendousincrease of erosion and reduction ofdischarge of the Way Besai River. Thisnegatively impacts operation of the newlyconstructed Way Besai hydro-power dam.Water availability for irrigated paddy ricedownstream was reduced.”

The Forestry Department was worriedabout the rapid expansion of coffee in the

seventies, and its visible erosion. Protectingwatershed functions was the main purposeto delineate “Protection Forest” in 1990. Theenforcement of forest boundaries led to theeviction of thousands of farmers between1991 and 1996. Evicted farmers wereresettled on the infertile acid lowlandpeneplain or converted swamp forest ofnortheast Lampung. After the politicalchange of 1998, farmers needing a livingreturned to the area, often under silentapproval of the local government thatneeded income and was interested ineconomic development …

Integrated researchResponding to the problems described bythe local government, ICRAF and partnersaimed to develop a ‘negotiation supportsystem’ combining a reconciliatorynegotiation process with a toolbox that couldclarify the likely consequences of plausibleland use change. To do this properly, theright questions had to be asked first. Manypreconceptions and myths existed as somequestions had not been raised before.These included the following 5 points, theresults of which are summarised below.

1 How did current land tenure arrangementsdevelop?Forest areas indicated on a Dutch map of1939 were almost identical to areasdelineated as protection forest in 1990.However, after independence large partsof the State Forest were abolished byPresident Sukarno and in the 1950iesmany war veterans obtained official landtitles and started growing coffee on theselands. After 1965, the ‘New Order’government did not recognize these landtitles as ‘legal’ as they had other priorities,which led to the logging of most ofSumatra’s forests.

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2 What land use sequence appears afterdeforestation?Deforestation in Sumberjaya was rapid,responding to peaks in global coffeeprices. However, since the late 1980ies a‘re-treeing’ phase started whereby farmersconverted much of the monoculture coffeestands into mixed shade coffee systems.Ironically, coffee farms on private land nowhave a higher tree cover than the contested‘forest lands’. Insecure land tenure of theforest lands discourages farmers frominvesting in tree planting.

3 Did river discharge decrease over theyears?A time series of daily rainfall and dischargedata showed that although on averagerainfall remained constant over the years,the average discharge increased.Reduced evapo-transpiration of coffeegardens compared to forest is the likelycause. Perhaps coffee farmers shouldreceive a reward, because with the landunder coffee the hydropower scheme canoperate more days per year at full capacitythan if the watershed would be under forestcover!

4 Did low flows decrease over the yearsdue to land use change?A real decrease of low flows in the WayBesai in the dry season did occur; however,the number of years with a prolonged dryseason also decreased. An increase of ElNiño years (1976 vs. 1991, 1994 and 1997)induced the perception that dry seasonflows were reduced by local land usechange rather than by global climatechange.

5 Under what land use types and practices iserosion problematic?Erosion under various landuse types(forest, bare soil, coffee with differentdegrees of tree cover) was measured on80 plots in two locations between 2001 and

2005. Near the area where the ForestryDepartment carried out erosion researchin the 1980ies erosion rates between 4 tonha-1 year-1 (forest) and 30 ton ha-1 year-1

(bare soil) were confirmed. However 6 kmcloser to the outflow, erosion rates rangedbetween 0.1 (forest) and 4 ton ha-1 year-1

(bare soil) under the same treatments.Thus, even bare soil plots yielded lesssediment than forest plots in another area!In coffee gardens the erosion rates werein between those of bare soil and forest,depending on soil cover. Erosion was thehighest in coffee gardens of 3 years oldand then gradually declined as litter layersestablished soil cover. Discharge, turbidityand sediment concentrationmeasurements in the Way Besai and itstributaries in 2005 showed largedifferences between catchments and thusconfirmed the plot level research results.The old crater landscape has a highdiversity of geological substrates. Evenunder dense forest cover some pristineheadwaters can turn quite turbid. Researchnow focuses on the importance of roadsand foot paths, and riparian filter vegetationas well as the geological background ofthe soils.

Future challengesCollaborative research helped debunksome of the past myths. “Negotiation” hasreplaced “eviction” as key word. In 2000, aCommunity Forestry program was set upallowing farmers to obtain land tenure inreturn for protecting the remaining forest andplanting trees in their coffee farmers. A WaterForum has been established to facilitatecommunication between the variousstakeholders, such as farmer communities,government agencies, and NGO’s.

However, translating these research results

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By David Thomas

BASIN MANAGEMENT IN NORTHERNTHAILAND: EMERGING LESSONS

into policy action takes time. It remains to beseen to what extent agencies can reinventthemselves and move from mere executorsof blue prints into a mode of askingquestions, looking for answers and solutions,distinguishing between symptoms andcauses. Replacing the generic ‘forest’concept by a set of quantifiable indicators ofwatershed functions will help, but this willrequire public support. The pool of trainedpeople and the tool box with tested andrelatively cheap methods to assess, forinstance, water quality and erosion isexpanding. Collaborative research betweennational and international institutes improvesthe prospects of correctly assessing the localcontext and opening doors to policymakers.

AcknowledgementsThis research was possible thanks tocollaboration with staff and students of localuniversities (University of Brawijaya(UNIBRAW), University of Lampung (UNILA),Bogor Agricultural University (IPB) and theCenter for Soil and Agroclimatic Research(CSAR). ACIAR financed most of thehydrological research.

Full address of authors:Bruno Verbist, Meine van Noordwijk, RudiHartoWidodo, and Pratiknyo PurnomosidhiWorld Agroforestry Centre- South East Asia(ICRAF-SEA)PO Box 161, Bogor, 16001Indonesia

Phone: +62 251 625 415Fax: +62 251 625 416E-mail: [email protected]

Fahmuddin AgusCenter for Soil and Agroclimatic Research(CSAR)

Jalan Juanda 98, Bogor 16123Indonesia

WidiantoSoil Science DepartmentFaculty of Agriculture, Brawijaya UniversityJl.Veteran No.1, Malang 65145Indonesia

Bruno VerbistInstitute for Land and Water ManagementFaculty of Bioscience EngineeringKatholieke Universiteit Leuven,Celestijnenlaan 200 E3001 HeverleeBelgiumPhone: +32 16 329734

In the discussion on deforestation,reforestation and forest conversion in thetropics water always plays a prominent role.By contrast, the European water frameworkdirective gives guidance on how the qualityof surface water should be managed,without explicit reference to forests or trees.In northern Thailand similar ideas are nowemerging, after many decades of a forest-biased public debate.

The EU Water Framework Directive has thefollowing key aims:

• water management based on river basins

• expanding the scope of water protection toall waters, surface waters and groundwater

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• getting citizens involved more closely

• achieving “good status” for all waters by aset deadline

• “combined approach” of emission limitvalues and quality standards

• getting the prices right

• streamlining legislation

The directive specifies a single system ofwater management: River basinmanagement. This was seen as the bestmodel, rather than according toadministrative or political boundaries.Initiatives in Maas, Schelde and Rhine riverbasins served as positive examples of thisapproach.

Lessons for river basin organizationsA review of the major lessons for river basinorganization (RBO) that can be learned frominternational experience lead to thefollowing conclusions:

Absence of a “blueprint” for RBOsScope of Integrated Water ResourceManagementThere is a growing amount of evidence thatRBOs with relatively wide mandates arebetter able to attract and hold interest ofmajor stakeholders, who feel they areinvolved with work that is relevant to theirneeds, especially in basins where there aremultiple major problems.

Subsidiarity and decentralizationSubsidiarity is based on the key propositionthat, especially in complex managementsystems, decisions are best made at themost local level where they are possibleand viable. A corollary is that where localdecisions are not possible or viable, theyshould be raised to the next higher level in

the hierarchy, where the same principlesare then applied. When decisions are madeat their most appropriate levels, this favorsefficiency, equity and accountability.

Stakeholder representation and rolesRBOs employing integrated water resourcemanagement principles clearly functionbest when the full range of stakeholders isrepresented and actively participating.

InformationVirtually all studies and assessments ofexperience agree on the need for highquality and openly accessible information.In some societies, this can be provided froma substantial range of sources with whichthe RBO can develop an alliance orcollaboration. In many others, however,information and data are scarce and oftenof dubious quality, gaps are wide, expertiseis low or highly concentrated in particularagencies or stakeholder groups, and publicinformation access is not a cultural norm.

Coalitions and alliancesIncreasingly, RBOs face a situation wherethey are expected to respond to broadermandates, but in a more decentralizedmanner. Experience confirms that, under theright conditions, this can increasestakeholder participation, accountability,efficiency and equity. But those ‘rightconditions’ include needs for more capacity,tools, information, and other resources atlocal levels of distributed systems wheresuch things are often scarce.

Application in the Ping river basin:confusion and uncertaintyIn reviewing the current status of theapplication of these concepts in the Pingriver basin we noticed an overall state ofconfusion and uncertainty felt by most

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stakeholders – including governmentagencies – about the directions of the PingRiver basin program and the status of thevarious committees, working groups,networks and initiatives that have beenformed and are under development. This isresulting in a general feeling of tension thatis usually somewhere on a continuum thatruns from apprehension to frustration, thatappears at all levels from the Ping RiverBasin to local communities. Stakeholdersat different levels asked “Why is there a needfor this project?” This is usually followed by,“Why doesn’t the government just providesome of the funds they have promised forseveral years, and let us get started withactivities we have already planned?”

Especially in the Upper Ping, there is nowconsiderable confusion about the apparentcontinuing expansion of the mandate of riverbasin and sub-basin organizations andplanning. The first round of committees andplanning seemed to be focused quitedirectly on water resources. Then the secondround of planning seemed to shift much ofthe focus to forest conservation, land use,agricultural chemicals and trash. Now thisnew project wants to add public health andpoverty cum livelihood issues. Most localcommunities appear to have few problemsabout seeing how these issues areimportant, linked, and affect their lives, butthey feel a need to get some clarity anddefinition so that they can do what is requiredand get on with their activities and their liveswithout spending so much time planningand re-planning. For government agencies,concern is even stronger because of thelingering questions about who is or will bethe “owner” or “patron” of this program (andits budgets), and how are they supposed toact vis-à-vis other agencies.And at a more specific level, there is also

quite considerable confusion about theroles and status of the various existinglevels of committees and working groups,as well as the plans they have alreadydeveloped. A number of people havestepped forward to assume leadershiproles, and some are beginning to wonder ifthey have been wasting their time, or ifpeople at higher levels are for some reasonnot pleased with their performance.Perhaps even worse, some are wonderingif the continuing lack of action in receivingsupport for the plans and projects they haveworked to help articulate and develop willdamage their credibility and social standingwithin their communities.

Problem identification by governmentofficials naturally tends to be viewed throughthe lens of the mandate of their agency,whereas much local problem identificationhas been broader but unsystematic andoften occurs too late to consider preventativemeasures. Empirical data-based analysishas generally been extremely rare, andunquestioned popularized general theoriesbacked by emotional arguments are stillfeatured prominently at most publicdiscussions. Various interpretations of‘Forest’ play a prominent role in thesediscussions. Issues often tend to be viewedas simply good or bad, rather than asinvolving situations where there are trade-offs that must be made between the benefitsand costs accruing to different groups.Assessments of such trade-offs, however,would also often require information, data,and analytical tools that are frequently notavailable to or accessible by local leadersand communities.

That being said, more quiet progresstoward more dispassionate and reasonedanalysis is being made in various sub-

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MODELLING TROPICAL FORESTWATERSHEDS: SETTING REALISTICGOALS

By Nick A Chappell

basins. Local leadership, sometimesassisted by staff from government agenciesor academic or civil society institutions, oftenfeatures prominently in these cases.

The type of progress we have seen in somesub-basins also demonstrates localprogress toward development of a“negotiation mindset” that will be requiredto effectively develop and implementsolutions to many, if not most problems.There are usually costs and benefitsassociated with all potential solutions to aproblem, and their distribution is frequentlynot even or balanced across the range ofstakeholders involved. Thus, in order toachieve sufficient participation, thisdistribution of costs and benefits needs tobe negotiated among concernedstakeholders. A negotiation mindset shiftsemphasis from a focus on ‘winning’ or‘losing’ to seeking an outcome whereinconcerned stakeholders (at all levels) incurvarious costs and benefits that are mutuallyperceived as equitably distributed, as theyjointly seek a ‘best possible’ outcome.

Further information:David ThomasICRAF THAILANDPO Box 267, CMU Post Office,Chiang Mai 50202Thailand

Fax: +66 5335 7908E-mail: [email protected]

For more information on the Europeanwater framework directive, please visit: http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/environment/water/water-framework/index_en.html

Some rainforest watersheds in the tropicsare natural buffers for water resources andecology; others provide forest products, whichsustain local livelihoods. The movement ofwaters containing chemicals and sedimentsneeds to be known to underpin sound forestmanagement practices; and watershedmodelling is a key element in this learningprocess (Chappell et al., 2004b). We do,however, need to be realistic about what wecan learn from these modelling results.

Forest hydrologists typically address one offour objectives when they model tropicalrainforest watersheds. First, modelling canbe used to test the consistency of existingtheory and explore individual hydrologicalmechanisms in a systems context,addressing issues generic to the globalhydrological community. These issuesinclude how hydrological behaviour changeswith watershed size, or how hydrauliccharacteristics can be measured over field-scales. Secondly, modelling can also showthe relative importance of particular controlson hydrological behaviour within a particularsetting; for example, the difference betweenwatersheds with different rainfall regimes(e.g., cyclonic vs. non-cyclonic) or subsurfacestorage (e.g., aquifer vs. non-aquifergeology); these results can be used to helpdefine simple conceptual models ofwatershed behaviour. Thirdly, models can beused to illustrate the impacts on hydrology ofchanges in land cover and/or rainfall regime.

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Fourthly, modelling allows specificmanagement questions to be addressedrobustly; for example, how to define the widthof stream buffer zones or roadside corridors.These four objectives have been addressedusing a diverse (or bewildering?) range ofwatershed modelling approaches, each withtheir own advantages and limits.

Models can be ‘static’ being based on a long-term average behaviour; for example, theRevised Universal Soil Loss Equation(RUSLE) or NCYCLE model predict annualfluxes of sediment and nitrogen. Alternativelythey can trace a daily (or shorter time-step)‘dynamic’ being based on time-seriesmeasurements of frequently sampledvariables such as rainfall, streamflow,transpiration or groundwater level. One mightfurther classify dynamic watershed modelsin to: (i) physics-based, distributed models,(ii) conceptual, semi-distributed models, (iii)black box models, and (iv) data-basedmechanistic (DBM) models.

Physics-based, distributed models arebased on solving well-establishedhydrological ‘laws’ (e.g, Darcy, Chezy,Penman) while maintaining mass balanceof water (and energy), and have modelstructures which allow measurements ofdistributed terrain characteristics to beutilised. Examples of these models includethe Système Hydrologique Européen (SHE)model and IHDM. Given a local knowledgeof the how terrain characteristics change withforest management (compaction, soilmobilization, etc) it is easy to see how suchinformation can be incorporated within suchmodels to simulate hydrological change.While computing power and the desire tomake predictions of land-use change impacthave increased over the past 20 years, wehave become increasing aware that the

terrain characteristics needed for our modelsare different to those we can measure. Forexample, any physics-based watershedsimulation of rainfall-runoff response,nutrient export or erosion, demandsmeasurements of ground permeabilityrepresentative of lumps of the watershedperhaps 100x100 m in surface area. Ourmeasurements on soil and weathered rock,in contrast, only include one hundredth of this,and are not readily related to the larger scalebecause of non-linearities in the hydrologicalsystem. Where fracture zones, natural soilpipes and gully systems are present thisproblem is magnified further (Chappell et al.,1998, 2004a). One might argue that the mainsuccess of these models is that they showthe severe limitations of the data-sets ofterrain characteristics available for watershedsimulation.

Conceptual, semi-distributed models havemuch simpler model structures incomparison to physics-based models. Thismeans that they simulate hydrologicaldynamics much more quickly than physics-based models and require less field data asinput. These models have simple structuresbecause they make prior assumptions aboutthe dominant mechanisms operating andthe nature of patterns of terraincharacteristics. These models tend to besemi-distributed, in that the spatialdistribution some terrain characteristics isincorporated (e.g., topography), while othercharacteristics are lumped in one or twodimensions (e.g., a single permeability profileor a two-layer subsurface model). Widelyused examples of such models areTOPMODEL, BROOK, MAGIC, WEPP andHEC-HMS. The relative simplicity of suchmodels has allowed them to be used to showthe sensitivity of streamflow (or erosion orhydrochemistry) predictions to particular

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controls (e.g., topographic shape) and datalimitations. A key constraint on belief in theresults of these models surrounds how wellthe model parameters (e.g., modeltransmissivity) and model structures (e.g.,whether there is one dominant fast and slowrunoff pathway) relate to the true field data.Rather than simply assuming, for example,that one dominant fast and slow runoffpathway is present, perhaps we should seeif the relationship between monitored rainfalland streamflow data has two identifiablecomponents?

Black box models are invariability statisticalmodels which are used to obtain the mostefficient hydrological predictions (outputs)from one or more inputs, notably rainfall orupstream flows. The primary aim of many ofthese models has been to forecast riverbehaviour during storm events to predictover-bank flows (floods). A good example ofsuch models is the Unit Hydrograph model.Fully black box models do not consider thehydrological mechanisms forming therainfall-riverflow relationship. This meansthat while they give some of the best (leastuncertain) short-term predictions ofhydrological behaviour, there is no basis toalter the internal workings of the model torepresent land-use or management effects.

Data-based mechanistic (DBM) modelscontrast with conceptual models (and indeedwith physics-based models) in that in thatthey do not make prior assumptions aboutthe hydrological mechanisms or pathways(e.g., the presence of one fast and one slowrunoff pathway) operating in a particularwatershed. Instead, the DBM techniqueinvolves fitting a wide range of mathematicalrelationships (notably transfer functions) towatershed rainfall, streamflow, and otherdata. Some of these relationships or models

are statistically valid; these are thenassessed for their consistency with thehydrological mechanisms observed tooperate within the simulated watershed. Thisapproach, therefore, seeks to obtain a modelwhich is statistically sound, is consistent withthe local hydrology and has the least numberof model parameters (Chappell et al., 1999,2004b). The latter objective constrains theuncertainty in the predictions of, for example,streamflow, stream sediment delivery orstream chemistry in comparison to physics-based and (most) conceptual models.Secondly, the DBM modelling technique,produces possible water pathways andwatershed characteristics (e.g., residencetimes) that allow tropical hydrologists to thinkabout new ideas, rather than constrainthemselves to the role of certain pathways(e.g., overland flow) or characteristicsobserved at other sites in the tropics or evenin temperate climates. It, therefore, helpsfocus new monitoring needs, an importantissue given the cost of hydrometric and waterquality equipment demanded by today’sscientists. Lastly, and perhaps mostimportantly, DBM more than any othertechnique, reinforces the importance ofhaving good streamflow, rainfall, streamchemistry, etc. data on which to drawinferences after simulation. Within the tropicsthere are few data-series from case studysites (e.g., Babinda, Bukit Berembun, BukitTarek, Danum, La Cuenca, M’bé, Owena,Reserva Ducke) that allow us to generalisethe natural behaviour of rainforestwatersheds or quantify the impact of specificland management operations (Chappell etal., 2004b). In contrast, many other modellingapproaches make very unrealistic predictionsif compared with the limited number researchobservations that are available; sometimesgiving the false impression that we fullyunderstand the controls on tropical

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hydrological mechanisms (Chappell andSherlock, 2005) and how they change withland disturbance. While DBM model userarely falls into this trap, DBM models do havetheir own limitations. Critically, to studydifferences between locations ormanagement practices, case study datamust be available to undertake DBMsimulations. Thus where there are no casestudies available covering a particularcombination of location and managementattributes, it is difficult and perhaps unrealisticto construct a DBM modelling scenario.

While the latest modelling technologies needto be more extensively applied to all globalregions, perhaps a larger issue limitingapplication of hydrological science to forestmanagement problems is the lack of casestudy data for tropical forests. In tropical forestregions we still lack watershed-scale dataon, for example, the hydrological value ofsustainable forestry, a classification ofrainfall-runoff response across tropicalregions, robust simulation of nutrientdynamics, and many more issues. Withoutthese case study data from protected andmanaged tropical forests, quantifying thoseenvironmental impacts that threaten people’slivelihoods or local environment lackscredibility. Some modelling approaches CANbe used to identify and justify data needed byscientists from academic institutions acrossthe tropics (and the wider global hydrologicalcommunity). This is a realistic goal, whilecomplex distributed simulations in datasparse environments that purport to showclear results and solutions may not be.

Five of our papers illustrating these issuesare listed below. The UNESCO review text ofBonell and Bruijnzeel (2004) Forests, Waterand People in the Humid Tropics (CambridgeUniversity Press) contains further discussion

of modelling tropical forest watersheds.

Chappell, N.A., Franks, S.W., and Larenus, J.1998. Multi-scale permeability estimationin a tropical catchment. HydrologicalProcesses, 12, 1507-1523.

Chappell, N.A., McKenna, P., Bidin, K.,Douglas, I., and Walsh, R.P.D. 1999.Parsimonious modelling of water andsuspended-sediment flux from nested-catchments affected by selective tropicalforestry. Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc. Lond. B,, 354,1831-1846.

Chappell, N.A., Bidin, K., Sherlock, M.D., andLancaster, J.W. 2004a. Parsimoniousspatial representation of tropical soilswithin dynamic, rainfall-runoff models. InForests, Water and People in the HumidTropics, Bonell M. and Bruijnzeel, L.A.(Eds), Cambridge University Press,Cambridge. p 756-769.

Chappell, Tych, W., Yusop, Z. N.A. Rahim, andKasran, B. 2004b. Spatially-significanteffects of selective tropical forestry on water,nutrient and sediment flows: a modelling-supported review. In Forests, Water andPeople in the Humid Tropics, Bonell M. andBruijnzeel, L.A. (Eds), CambridgeUniversity Press, Cambridge. p 513-532.

Chappell, N.A., and Sherlock, M.D. 2005.Contrasting flow pathways within tropicalforest slopes of Ultisol soil. Earth SurfaceProcesses and Landforms, 30, 735-753.

For more information, contact:Dr Nick A ChappellLancaster Environment CentreLancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YQUnited Kingdom

E-mail: [email protected]: http://www.es.lancs.ac.uk/people/nickc

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DEAD LEAVES IN THE LITTERLAYER RATHER THAN LIVE TREESCONTROL WATER INFILTRATION

By Kurniatun Hairiah

In the discussion on ‘forest and water’ therole of trees tends to focus on theaboveground canopies (that intercept waterand use it for transpiration) or on the roots(that take up water from shallow or deeplayers of the soil). An important part of trees,however, influences the flows of water bycovering the soil (and protecting the soilsurface from slash impacts) and by feedingthe soil biota that enhance or maintain soilporosity, allowing water to infiltrate into thesoil. From this perspective dead leaves maybe the most important part of a tree; forestsare not unique in providing litter, but theyusually provide more, and more diverse,litter than other vegetation.

Forest conversion to coffee-basedagroforestry leads to suddendisappearance of the litter layer and adecrease in the rate of litter fall, reducingfood for ecosystem engineers such asearthworms. With time, however, a new litterlayer is created potentially returning toforest-like conditions at the soil surface. Aspart of a broader analysis of watershedfunctions (see Verbist et al., this issue) ourresearch quantified litter thickness,earthworm populations and soilmacroporosity in response to land usechange in the Sumberjaya benchmark area(West Lampung, Indonesia). We compared:(a) remnant forest (control); (b) multistratashaded coffee with fruit and timber trees,as well as nitrogen-fixing shade trees; (c)

shaded coffee (nitrogen-fixing shade trees,but less than 5 tree species per plot); and(d) sun coffee (‘monoculture’) with coffeeforming more than 80% of total stem basalarea. Plots were selected with tree ages of7 - 10 years in three slope classes: (a) flat(0-10°), (b) medium (10-30°) and (c) steep(> 30°). The mean standing necromass was6.1, 4.5, 3.8 and 3.0 Mg ha-1 for forest, shadecoffee and sun coffee, respectively, withoutsignificant influences of slope. Fine, partlydecomposed litter was 33-40% of totalnecromass, coarse leaf litter 14-16%, andtwigs and branches comprised theremaining 43-52%. Soil organic carboncontent (Corg) was highest in the forest. Thelargest annual litter input was found in theremnant forest (14 Mg ha-1 year-1), followedby multistrata, shaded and monoculturecoffee systems, i.e., 9.8, 6.6 and 4.0 Mg ha-

1 yr-1, respectively. The population density ofearthworms in the forest was 50% lowerthan in multistrata coffee gardens (150individuals per m2), but its biomass (31 gm-2) was twice that in the multistrata coffeegardens. The lowest population density ofearthworms was found in the shade coffeesystem (150 individuals per m2) with abiomass of 7 g m-2. A simple modelsuggests that the standing litter in thevarious land use systems is consistent withmeasured litter inputs and decay rates, butthat the soil organic matter content andmacroporosity of the shade and multistratasystems are less than predicted. Therecovery of a surface litter layer in sun coffeesystems can provide protection fromerosion with time, but will not be sufficientto restore macroporosity at the level of forestsoils, leading to hydrologic alterations thatfavor overland flow.

Further information:Kurniatun Hairiah

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TREE PHENOLOGY ASDETERMINANT OF THE NET EFFECTOF TREES ON REGIONAL WATERBALANCE

By Catherine W. Muthuri

Brawijaya UniversityFaculty of AgricultureJl Veteran, Malang 65145Indonesia.

E-mail: [email protected] [email protected].

accompanied by rapid clearance of naturalforests to provide land for cultivation, supplytimber products and meet basic communityneeds for commodities such as charcoal.This problem is particularly acute in the NaroMoru area west of Mount Kenya, whereimmigration has led to rapid changes in landuse and increased demand for water. Havingoriginated from high potential areas wherewater is not limiting, immigrant farmers lackknowledge of water conservation techniques.Small-scale mixed farming is thepredominant form of land use, with 70% ofthe plots being between 0.25 and 1.6 ha; insuch dry environments, these plots are toosmall to support a family at a sustainablelevel. Maize production in the area is water-limited, resulting in frequent crop failure.Another potential concern is the introductionof tree species such as grevillea by migrantsmall-scale farmers as boundary markers.Boundary plantings increase tree cover, fuelwood supplies and infiltration, protect againststrong winds and reduce runoff. However,the increased tree cover generatescompetition for water between trees andcrops such as maize in areas where waterresources are already insufficient to meet theneeds for livestock and humanconsumption. Moreover, irrigated and rain-fed crop production is rapidly expanding, withmost of the irrigation supplies being obtainedby illegal abstraction from rivers, leading to aserious decline in stream flow. Experiencefrom South Africa shows that forestplantations characterised by evergreencanopies and deep root systems have a highpotential for reducing stream flow oncatchments compared to the short,seasonally dormant indigenous vegetation.

To test the hypothesis that the introduction ofdeciduous or semi-deciduous trees intoagroforestry systems may reduce demand

Two decades ago the ‘Eucalyptus’ debateemerged in India and other dry environmentswhere drought tolerant, fast growing treeshad been planted in a ‘regreening’ effort, butwere found to use water. The fact that treesuse water rather than generate it seems tostill be a little surprising to popular andgovernment audiences that are keen to havewin-win solutions through both the localproducts and services that trees provide andthrough the presumed ‘watershed services’that are generated for others. The shortfallsof the real effects of Eucalyptus weregenerally blamed on the fact that the tree isan ‘exotic’ in the places where it is planted –not on the fact that all trees tend to use morewater than shorter vegetation, the more sothe faster they grow. Recent research in Kenyasuggests that, apart from the growth rate, thephenology of the tree (evergreen ordeciduous) has additional effects.

Increasing population pressure in Kenya andconsequent shortages of arable land haveresulted in considerable migration to semi-arid low potential areas. This has been

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for limited water supplies, the WaNuLCAS(Water, Nutrient and Light Capture inAgroforestry Systems) model was used toassess the influence of tree leafingphenology on crop performance and soilwater balance. Modelling approaches areattractive because long-term studies ofagroforestry systems in semi-aridenvironments are relatively rare due to thesubstantial financial, labour and timeinvestments required. Three species withdiffering leafing phenologies were used;grevillea is evergreen, alnus is semi-deciduous and paulownia is deciduous.Elucidation of the leafing phenology of treesrelative to the prevailing climatic conditionsand growth periods of associated crops isessential for a full understanding of thefunctional aspects of agroforestry systems.The present study aimed to test thehypotheses that: 1) leafing phenologyinfluences the water requirements of trees,the severity of competition for water betweentrees and crops, and hence crop growth andyield; and 2) the use of deciduous trees willgreatly reduce demand for water in water-limited environments. The objectives wereto evaluate the effect of differing leafingphenologies (i.e. evergreen, semi-deciduousor deciduous) on the soil water balance andtree and crop growth using newly developedtree leafing phenology routine in WaNuLCAS.

Three agroforestry species, grevillea(Grevillea robusta), alnus (Alnus acuminata)and paulownia (Paulownia fortunei),respectively providing evergreen, semi-deciduous and deciduous leafingphenologies, were intercropped with maize.WaNuLCAS simulations showed thataltering leafing phenology from evergreenthrough semi-deciduous to deciduousdecreased water uptake and interceptionlosses by the trees, but increased crop water

uptake, drainage and soil evaporationrates for systems containing all three treespecies. Drainage was 17% greater in thedeciduous paulownia system than in theevergreen grevillea, while evaporation was14% greater in the former. Simulated wateruptake and biomass accumulation bygrevillea were more than double thecorresponding values for paulownia, whilecrop water uptake in the grevillea andpaulownia systems was reduced by 6% and0.2% respectively relative to sole maize. Thesimulations imply that water use bypaulownia was lower than for grevillea andsuggest that leafing phenology is a keyattribute affecting water use by trees. Weexpect that high water use during the rainyseason can reduce peak flow of streams asit increases the water storage opportunitiesin the soil, while dry season water use bytrees will tend to reduce dry season flows,except where dry season flows depend onwater resources beyond the reach of treeroots.

ReferenceMuthuri, C.W., Ong, C.K., Black, C.R., Mati,

B.M., Ngumi, V.W. and van Noordwijk, M2004. Modelling the effects of leafingphenology on growth and water use byselected agroforestry tree species insemi-arid Kenya. Land Use and WaterResources Research 4 (2004) 1–11 (http://www.luwrr.com)

For more information:Catherine W. MuthuriBotany Department, Jomo Kenyatta Universityof Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT)PO Box 62000Nairobi, Kenya


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DRINKING WATER PROTECTION INFORESTED KARSTIC HEADWATERS

By Roland Koeck, Barbara Magagna, andEduard Hochbichler

Limestone or karstic areas are special. Theytend to easily infiltrate water into aquifers.Up to 25 % percent of the global populationare supplied with drinking water from karstwater resources. The City of Vienna, forexample, receives about 95 % percent of itsdrinking water supply from karstic springsin the northeastern Limestone Alps ofAustria. Karst areas also provide drinkingwater in the tropics.

However, karstic areas are known for theirvulnerable environment. Vegetation cover inthe upland is considered to be critical for asustainable supply of high quality drinkingwater and a balanced spring discharge.Forests on these soils require specialattention, both because of the high levels ofbiodiversity associated with these soils andbecause of their hydrology. In the course ofthe KATER II project (Karst water researchII, funded by the ERDF), the water protectionfunctionality of forests was studied underthe influence of silvicultural practices. Theapproach used may also be relevant fortropical conditions, but one part of theconclusions also refers to snow melt as acritical process. General statements in thepublic debate on the gradual release ofwater from forests may be at least partlylinked to such effects which are restrictedto the temperate zone.

MethodologyHydrotopes are defined as areas with

relatively similar forest-hydrologicalconditions. A GIS-supported system for thewater protection area of the City of Vienna(32.500 ha) covers three informationclasses [a] geology and soils, [b] vegetationcover, [c] elevation and relief parameters.The potential natural tree speciescomposition of each forest site could thusbe determined. This can be compared tothe actual tree species composition, crowncover percentage, structure of the foreststands, and vegetation cover on soil level,soil type and humus type. For eachhydrotope, a silvicultural optimisationpotential was analysed regarding the waterprotection functionality of the forest stand.The optimisation potential was based onforest hydrological knowledge based oninternational scientific publications andforest hydrological research activitiescarried out within the water protection zoneof the City of Vienna. The local researchactivities compared different representativeforest types on similar sites. In the courseof these inquiries, a natural spruce-fir-beech stand was compared with ahomogeneous spruce plantation and aclear-cut area (caused by wind blow-down)within the montane zone. In the subalpinezone, a krummholz stand (Pinus mugo) wascompared with alpine pasture (subalpinegrassland). On all of these sites, soilmoisture, soil temperature, air temperature,air humidity, gross precipitation, crownthroughfall, stemflow and snow cover weremeasured beside additional parameters.The silvicultural optimisation potentialregarding water protection functionality ofgiven forest stands was used as an integralpart of a spatial decision support system,which applies to the whole water protectionheadwaters possessed by the municipalityof Vienna.

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First results and discussionIn the course of the local research activities,krummholz vegetation (Pinus mugo) provedto be an effective trap for snow in early winter,which could be related to the highinterception capacity of pine needles forsnow. The snow cover induced by thisprocess led to a thermal isolation of the soillayers beneath krummholz vegetation,which prevented the soils in general fromfreezing, while on subalpine pasture areasthe soils were frozen during all the winterseasons measured. During the snowablation period in spring time, the meltingwater on krummholz areas could thereforeeasily percolate into the soil horizons, thuspreventing or mitigating surface runoff onthese areas. On areas of subalpinepastures, snow cover lasted longer in springtime than in krummholz areas.

Soil temperature beneath krummholzvegetation was significantly lower duringsummer season than on open alpinepasture areas. This could provide better waterstorage conditions during humid weatherperiods. These observations could not becompared with international research datadue to lack of studies in this field.

In subalpine spruce forest communities, anatural structure (tree clusters mixed withsmall openings) improved the snow storagecapacity of these forest stands comparedwith homogenous stands or schematicopened stands.

In the montane area mixed spruce-fir-beechstands appeared to have a higherpercentage of net precipitation thanhomogeneous spruce forests. This can beattributed to the additional input ofprecipitation water to the soils from beechstemflow. In all seasons measured, the

mixed stand with beech also had a highersoil moisture content than the spruce standand the clear-cut area. Beech treesobviously have the capacity to take up nitratefrom seepage water. This was reflected inlower nitrate concentrations in seepagewater beneath the mixed stand thanbeneath the spruce stand. The results ofthe measurements in the montane zonewere consistent with data published invarious international hydrological studies.

The hydrotope system integrates localresearch data and international foresthydrological research data. In the montanezone and within the area of natural spruce-fir-beech forests communities, silviculturaloptimisation of forest stands shouldguarantee, that the tree species compositionincludes a high percentage of broad-leafedtrees such as beech or maple. Silviculturalmeasures should be carried out on smallareas, removing only up to 20 % of the treesof a stand and should also provide morestructure for forest stands. Clear-cuts arealready forbidden in the water protectionzone possessed by the City of Vienna dueto their disastrous effects on foresthydrology.

The subalpine spruce forest communitiesmay be optimised by creating a morenatural structure, with clusters and smallopenings, in artificial homogeneousstands. This can substantially increase thesnow storage capacity during the winterseason, thus contributing to a morebalanced spring discharge throughout theyear. In the subalpine zone, krummholz canprevent soil erosion on vulnerable sites, butit should be mixed with alpine pastures inorder to combine positive effects onhydrology of both vegetation classes.

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ATMOSPHERIC DEPOSITION OFNUTRIENTS TO THE NORTHWESTAMAZONIAN FORESTS

By P. Téllez, C. Tobón and J. Sevink

ConclusionsThe hydrology of forests in the humid alpinearea of Austria is multidimensional and hasto be studied as such. By stratifying theheadwaters in hydrotope areas, foresthydrological research output can be relatedto the specific natural forest communities.Organising of all hydrotope information in aGIS, will create a basis for a spatial decisionsupport system. Refined silviculturalmeasures can further improve thefunctionality of forests regarding waterprotection, in addition to existing guidelinesfor an optimal water protection forestry.

A reference list and more detailedpublications can be ordered from theauthors:

Roland Koeck and Eduard HochbichlerUniversity of Natural Resources and AppliedLife Sciences, ViennaDepartment of Forest and Soil Sciences –Institute of SilviculturePeter Jordanstr. 821190 - ViennaAustria

E-mail: [email protected] [email protected]

Barbara MagagnaUniversity of Natural Resources and AppliedLife Sciences, ViennaDepartment of Landscape, Spatial andInfrastructure Sciences,Institute of Landscape Development,Recreation and Conservation PlanningPeter Jordanstr. 821190 – ViennaAustria


Water outflows from forests are linked tonutrient outflows by leaching and sedimenttransport, but similarly, the inflow processis partially linked through the nutrientconcentration of rainfall (‘wet deposition’),complementing ‘dry deposition’. There is,however, little data available for ‘baseline’conditions of natural forests. Atmosphericdeposition is a major source of nutrientreplenishment for the Amazonian rain forest,since it grows in nutrient poor soils, with alow capacity to supply and retain nutrients,so that the vegetation has developedspecific nutrient-conserving mechanisms tosurvive, among them the capacity to retainatmospheric nutrient inputs. Forestconversion by slash and burn may increasethe nutrient loading of rainfall and may thusmodify forest conditions at considerabledistance. As part of a hydrological andnutrient cycling research in undisturbedforest ecosystems in ColombianAmazonian, we studied the nutrient inputsin rainfall in two sites, to analyse and providequantitative data of atmospheric nutrientinputs and to characterize the spatial andtemporal variability of rainfall solute fluxesto the ecosystems.

Study area and methodsThe research sites were located in theMiddle Caquetá area, Colombia (latitude 0°37’ - 1o 24’ S and longitude 72o 23’ W - 70o

43’ W). Four landscape units can bedistinguished: the alluvial plain of the river

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of SO4, 30.5 kg of Cl, 24.3 kg of NO3 + 7 kgof NH4 and 1.15 Ortho-P. The pH mean valuewas 5.04, which lies in the range (4.7 to5.7) of published Amazonian data. Hightemporal variability was found for most ofthe solutes, except for Ca, Na and Cl ions,which were relatively constant.

High Dissolved Organic carbon fluxes werepresent in the rainwater, according with highamount in the atmospheric boundary layerover the Amazon Basin. The dissolvedorganic carbon (DOC) concentrationsranged from 120 µmolc l-1 to 775 µmolc l-1 ,with a mean value of 360.4 µmolc l-1 and avariation coefficient of 43%.

Correlations between solute concentrationsand rainfall amounts were not significantfor any solute, indicating that the dilutioneffect is unimportant. Temporal variability ofsolute fluxes depends on temporal rainfallpatterns and the differences of the volumeweighted mean concentration with otherlocations in the Amazon basin wereexplained by systematic differences inrainfall distribution patterns.

Samples were collected as bulkprecipitation and the funnels were exposedto the atmosphere for a period before rain,thus dry deposition also contributed to themeasured concentrations. However, therewas no statistically significant correlationbetween antecedent dry period and thesolute concentrations, and we interpret thisas suggesting that dry deposition does notplay an important role in the chemicalcomposition of rainfall in the areas. Wetdeposition was the main factor explainingthe rainfall composition.

Analysis of the possible sources fornutrients showed that first 3 axes account

Caquetá (Andean), its upland terraces (lowand high terraces); the Tertiary sedimentaryplain, with non to slightly consolidated,horizontally bedded clays and sands, whichpartly are of marine origin; and isolated unitsof hills and plateaus in Palaeozoic hardrocks (mostly quartzitic sandstone). Thevegetation is a mature forest classified asbelonging to the group of umbrophillous(i.e. shade loving) tropical forest. In theresearch plots the vegetation is composedby a large number of species and typical fora mature forest for the western part of theAmazon basin. Some differences invegetation among landscape units, like thetotal standing biomass, species diversityand tree density occur.

Water samples were collected at twocontrasting forest ecosystems during onehydrological year: the Tertiary sedimentaryplain and the high terrace of the riverCaquetá. A total of 34 and 30 water sampleswere collected and analysed from eachecosystem, respectively, during the periodbetween January 1995 to August 1997, todetermine their inorganic ion concentration(Ca, Mg, K, Na, NH4, H, Fe, Mn, Cl, NO3, orthoP , SO4 ) and dissolved organic carbon.Sources of nutrients were also determined.

Results and interpretationResults indicated that there were nostatistically significant differences in rainfallcomposition among landscapes. Duringthe studied period, the sum of anionconcentrations ranges from 24.0 µmolc l-1

to 134.7 µmolc l-1 and concentration cationicsum range from 23.7 µmolc l-1 to 111.9µmolc l-1. The SO4 ion occurred in the highestconcentration in the rainfall followed indescending order by Cl, Na, H, NH4, K, Ca,NO3, Mg, Si, Fe, ortho P and Mn ions. Annualdeposition per ha was found to be 53.3 kg

36 ETFRN News 45 - 46/06


ARE THE UPLAND POORBENEFITING FROMENVIRONMENTAL SERVICEREWARD SCHEMES?

By Hope, R.A., Porras, I.T., Miranda, M.,Agarwal, C., and Amezaga, J.M.

for 70.1 (43.8 + 16.5 + 9.8) % of the variabilityof solutes in rainfall. These axes likely reflectthe 3 main nutrient sources by thecombination of1 biomass burning and natural biogenetic

emissions, which explains the presenceof NH4, NO3, Ortho P andCl;

2 a marine source, which mainly explainsthe presence of Na, Cl and Mg;

3 a combination from biogenetic plantemissions and soil dust particulates,explaining the presence of SO4, H, DOC,Si, Fe, Mn.

Biogenetic and human induced emissions,including biomass burning, were the mainsource of solutes in this study area.

For more information, please contact:Conrado TobónC. TobónUniversidad Nacional de Colombia, sedeMedellin.Calle 64 x Cra 65.Bloque 20, of. 208,MedellinColombia

Fax: +57 4 4309018E-mail: [email protected]

P. TéllezTropenbos International (FundaciónTropenbos Colombia)Cra. 21, No. 39-35BogotáColombia

J. SevinkIBED University of AmsterdamNieuwe Achtergracht 1661018 WV AmsterdamThe Netherlands

Payments for Environmental Services (PES)schemes are considered a potentialinstrument to mitigate environment anddevelopment challenges faced in manytropical countries. A strong appeal of PES isthe opportunity to develop new and often localfinancing arrangements to contribute tobiodiversity, climate change, resourcemanagement and/or poverty reduction goals.Underlining the PES approach is the role thatforests, and changing forest trends, play inenvironmental integrity, economic growth andsocial development, particularly for poor,forest-dependent people. Findings fromresearch in the Arenal area of northern CostaRica contributes to improved understandingof the socio-economic opportunities andoutcomes from PES. This work informs thedevelopment of a Negotiation SupportSystem that will be tested in India to evaluatethe replicability of more generic guidelines,methods and approaches for PES design.

PES and forestsWhile forest benefits have beenacknowledged in terms of world heritage, eco-tourism and, more latterly, carbon fixationvalues, there has been growing interest inforest-based water services. One exampleis the Arenal catchment in the northern Tilaranrange of Costa Rica, which is a tropicalmontane cloud forest zone with cascadingbenefits from water services to national

37ETFRN News 45 - 46/06


hydro-electric power production, irrigation, awetland and an important estuary fishery. TheGovernment of Costa Rica has longrecognised the ecological (and increasingeconomic) benefits of forests throughinnovative legislation to conserve its naturalresources. This includes the 1996 ForestryLaw, which introduce the first PES programmeby recognising forest land use benefits for 1)Landscape beauty; 2) Carbon fixation; 3)Biodiversity; and 4) Watershed (or catchment)services.

However, the effectiveness of the Costa RicaPES programme is questioned by at leastthree issues:1 biophysical evidence of forest land use

impacts on increased water flowscompared to agricultural conversion (e.g.pasture);

2 economic valuation that accurately anddefensibly estimates forest land use valuewith downstream water demand;

3 social opportunities and outcomes of thePES programme, particularly for the uplandrural poor.

In relation to issue 1), a sister project led bythe Free University of Amsterdam hasconducted detailed hydrological experimentsin the study area and will report later this year.While the economic valuation study waits tobe informed by the hydrological study, detailsof the socio-economic findings are presentedhere.

PES and rural povertyOne aim of the PES programme is to reducerural poverty by:1 support and outreach for small and

medium farmers and landowners, and2 providing income and employment

generation in rural areas.

Poor people tend to be found in rural areasin most developing countries. The socialimpacts of the PES programme in Costa Ricaoffer lessons for wider replicability anddesign. Key findings from the socio-economic study include:1 Perceptions and beliefs of local people are

that cloud forests (and lower altitudeforests) increase and regulate water flows,and protect water quality;

2 Awareness, adoption and support of thePES programme by local people areconstrained by little local presence ofprogramme implementers and insufficientprogramme funds to meet demand;

3 Local people have significant reservationsabout entering into a land contract with thegovernment, particularly a fear of losingtheir land;

4 Increasing bureaucracy and qualificationcriteria leads to high transaction costs -this fall hardest on poorer people and thoseliving far from towns;

5 Experimental scenario analysis indicateslarge land owners (> 10 hectares) with landtitles are more likely to be able to and willingto commit to the programme;

6 Respondent ratings to scenario analysisof payment levels indicate higher amountswill not necessarily result in higherparticipation. This is partly due to highopportunity costs from alternative landuses, particularly livestock or coffee;

7 The programme does not benefit peoplewithout land.

Lessons and policy implicationsFour lessons emerge from the socio-economic study:

Lesson 1. Secure land rights are often criticalto benefiting from PES schemes.The poor and marginalised often have no oruncertain land claims in developing

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countries. This weakens necessaryinstitutional arrangements betweendownstream payments to upstream serviceproviders. Examples illustrate here, and inother places, opportunistic elite groupsforcibly and/or unfairly appropriating uplandareas when land values increase as in thecase of a new PES scheme.

Policy implication: if land tenure prevents PESbenefits reaching poor groups, moreintegrative mechanisms should beconsidered such as wholesaling servicesfrom a community/zone and increasingcommunity capacity through education withtangible benefits linked to improved accessto credit and market support centres.

Lesson 2. PES will change land useincentives: scenario analysis should beincluded in a design phase.One methodological advance in the studywas the use of a stated choice method(Conjoint Analysis) to explore experimentalscenarios of alternative compensationmechanisms (financial and other), whichrevealed that land owners were lessinfluenced by cash than broadermechanisms, such as road improvements.

Policy implication: understanding land-decision making processes of farmers inhighly variable tropical climates will benefitfrom careful pre-project design. Stated choicemethods provide a flexible and rigorousapproach to evaluating alternative scenariosin an objective, inclusive and comparativeframework.

Lesson 3. Lack of trust may undermine agood PES scheme.A clear message from qualitative studiesrevealed significant and wide-spread distrustof entering into any land contract with the

government. While this may not matter forlocal institutional arrangements under areward framework, it presents a challengefor more regulatory approaches that arepremised on small-holders entering intolegal contracts with government.

Policy implication: PES scheme shouldattempt to build community capacity orawareness to reduce participantmisunderstandings or prejudices againstscheme adoption. Financial rewards are onlyone potential constraint to reaching marginalfarmers, others include trust, transactioncosts, opportunity cost of land andinformation.

Lesson 4: Be realistic about poverty reductionimpacts.There may not be a close relationshipbetween important environmental servicesand poor groups. If poverty goals are ‘bolted-on’ to attract wider donor funding povertyimpacts may be limited.

Policy implication: PES schemes with aspecific poverty reduction goal may includeactivities to directly reach the poor andlandless. This may include initiatives suchas 1) labour-based land management/rehabilitation or 2) promote organic coffeefarming as a high-value, labour-intensive landuse that benefits the rural poor.

Future researchIt is noted that these lessons are notnecessarily representative of the widernational, regional or international context. Tobetter understand the replicability of thelessons and applicability of methods,research is being conducted at the Bhojwetlands, India, linked to IIED’s Markets forWatershed Services programme. ANegotiation Support System will be

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ACTION-LEARNING IN PRACTICE:FAIR DEALS FOR WATERSHEDSERVICES

By Ivan Bond

developed to better understand and providenew tools and approaches for PES schemesin relation to:1 Applying stated choice methods to evaluate

land use decision-making processesacross experimental scenarios;

2 Economic valuation methods forenvironmental services;

3 Guidelines for institutional arrangementsfor environmental service incentivemechanisms.

AcknowledgementThis publication is an output from a researchproject funded by the United KingdomDepartment of International Development(DFID) for the benefit of developing countries.The views expressed here are not necessarilythose of DFID. (R8174 – Forestry ResearchProgramme).

Project documents (available on request)Hope, R A, Porras, I. and Miranda, M. (2005)

Can payments for environmental servicescontribute to poverty reduction? Alivelihoods analysis from Arenal, CostaRica. Unpublished project report.

Hope, R.A. and Agarwal, C. (2005) Negotiatingsocio-economic opportunities from upperwatershed environmental services – thecase of the Bhoj wetlands, Madhya Pradesh,India. Project Briefing Note 1, May 2005.University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK.

Porras, I. and Hope, R.A. (2005) Using StatedChoice Methods in the design of Paymentsfor Environmental Services Schemes.Unpublished project report.

Porras, I. and Miranda, M. (2005) Landscapes,memories and water - Narratives,perceptions and policy-making on land andwater in Monteverde, Costa Rica.Unpublished project report.

For more information, please contactRobert Hope ([email protected])

Hope, R.A. and J.M. Amezaga,Centre for Land Use and Water ResourcesResearch, University of NewcastleUK

I.T. PorrasEnvironmental Economics Programme,International Institute for Environment andDevelopmentUK

M. MirandaCentro Internacional de Politica EconomicaUniversidad NacionalCosta Rica

C. AgarwalWinrock International India (Delhi)

Payments to farmers to maintain orenhance watershed services are attractingincreasing attention as mechanism that canaddress poverty as well as resourcemanagement problems. From the limitedexperience to date, the payments forwatershed services (PWS) tend to be madeby governments to larger farmers withsecure land title. The International Institutefor Environment and Development (IIED) isworking with 6 partner organisations inseven countries on a project to facilitate pro-poor PWS.

40 ETFRN News 45 - 46/06


The purpose of the project is to “increaseunderstanding of the potential role of marketmechanisms in promoting the provision ofwatershed services for improving livelihoodsin developing countries”. The project hasthree outputs, these are:

• Action learning processes for thedevelopment of equitable marketmechanisms for watershed servicessupported in five countries (India,Indonesia, Jamaica, South Africa and St.Lucia).

• Diagnostic plans and preparednessestablished in two further countries (Boliviaand China) wishing to adopt marketmechanisms for watershed protection

• Knowledge of market mechanismsimproved through networking,development of guidance anddissemination with other countries andinstitutions.

The project started in October 2003 and isdue to finish in September 2006. The projectis being funded by the U.K. Government’sDepartment for International Development(DFID) and coordinated by the InternationalInstitute for Environment and Development(IIED). In each country, IIED is in a partnershipwith locally based organisations. Theapproaches adopted by the teams arebroadly similar, but adapted to suit localconditions and opportunities, they include:

• Facilitating payments for watershedservices in at least one selected site. Thesites are extremely diverse in allcharacteristics. They range from micro-catchments in India to major watershedsuch as the Brantas River in Indonesia. Inthe larger watersheds, project partners areusing pilot sites to test their innovations.

• Supporting the facilitation activities with aseries of studies on landuse – hydrologyrelationships and livelihoods at all theproject sites. These studies provideimportant baseline information for theresearch teams, serve to quantify the coreproblems and assist with developingoptions.

• Forming and facilitating “learning groups”to reflect on the lessons learned from thesite level activities. Typically the learninggroups are comprised of a range ofinterested stakeholders from government,civil society and where possible privatesector partners.

• Conducting other relevant research,analysis and documentation. To supportboth the site level facilitation and thediscussions of the learning groups, theresearch teams have identified key issuesand problems that need to be addressed.

Through the activities of the project, two PWSlike relationships have been established. Ata micro-site in India (Kuhan Khas and OachKalan Villages, Himachel Pradesh) anagreement over abandoned lands andgazing access has been developed. Thisagreement is largely based on the exchangeof materials and labour. In the CidanauWatershed, a state industrial conglomerateKTI has agreed to pay a farmers groupUS$17,500 per annum for three years. InSouth Africa a complex set of options andpartnerships are developing in the Ge-SelatiRiver, Limpopo Province that involvecommercial and communal farmers,protected area managers, the working forwater programme (WfW) and miningcompanies.

Although the work at the sites is on-going,three cross cutting lessons are beginning

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to emerge from the project. These are:PWS and rural livelihoods: The relationshipbetween poor people and the environmentis important, complex and often site orresource specific. Further there are multipledrivers of poverty which very often extendbeyond the immediate bio-physicalenvironment in which poor people might live.The main livelihoods based lessonsemerging from the project sites are thatindirect benefits of PWS are likely to be moreimportant than the direct economic impacts.Particularly in the Bolivian and Indonesianpilot sites, the development of PWS likemechanisms has empowered farmers andfarmers groups with the confidence toengage and achieve better arrangement inother aspects of their lives.

The role of Government: Payments forWatershed Services do not take place inpolitical or legal vacuums, but are shaped inpart by prevailing legislative andadministrative frameworks. The extent towhich this happens depends on the natureand scope government on the one hand, andon the scale of the PWS scheme on the other.From the project sites, it appears thatgovernments are relatively happy forstakeholders to look at local level solutionsat the micro-sites (India and Bolivia). At themacro-level, there is however a tendency forgovernments to become both the facilitatorand buyer of services (ie China). FacilitatingPWS at the intermediate scale andreconciling the differences betweenstakeholders without a clear legal frameworkis greatest challenge.

Implementing PWS and transaction costs:Although paying for watershed protectionservices seems to be a simple concept, thereis considerable complexity in implementingsuch schemes. Among the many

implementation issues to consider the issueof transaction costs stands out. In the short-term these can be met by outside agenciessuch as donors, long-term this isunsustainable. Transaction costs are highbecause of the uncertainties surrounding thelanduse – water relationships. Developingtrust amongst the stakeholders, has in casesallowed them overlook the some of theuncertainty. Secondly, adopting an adaptiveapproach to landuse – water relationshipsreduces the need for detailed understandingof the systems before a PWS relationship isdeveloped. It also creates opportunities forgreater emphasis to be placed on monitoringespecially participatory monitoring.

Further information on the project can befound at: http://www.iied.org.forestry/research /projects/water.html; alternativelycontact Ivan Bond at: [email protected]

By Ivan Bond

PAYMENTS FOR WATERSHEDSERVICES AND LESSONS LEARNEDFROM COMMUNITY BASEDNATURAL RESOURCEMANAGEMENT (CBNRM)

It is now widely recognised that naturallandscapes produce a range of‘environmental services’ including carbonsequestration, the maintenance of waterquality and biodiversity (Landell Mills andPorras, 2002). Indeed, the absence of anyremuneration or compensation for theseservices is generally considered to be acontributing factor to landuse change.However, disruption to environmental

42 ETFRN News 45 - 46/06


services has tangible impacts, particularlyon watershed services that can result inadditional costs to consumers, for examplethrough the changes in water quality. As aresult there is increasing interest ingenerating payments for environmentalservices as an incentive mechanism for landmanagement. Typically, downstreamconsumers of watershed services areexpected to compensate upstream landmanagers, for either maintaining indigenousvegetation or implementing specific farmingpractices or on-farm conservation activities.Payments for environmental services can bepublicly or privately funded. There arehowever many more examples of publiclyfunded or mixed (private and public)initiatives.

Poverty-environment linkages are highlycomplex and often site specific.Theoretically, pro-poor payments forenvironmental services can make direct andindirect contributions to the livelihoods ofrural people. This potential win-win situationhas led to a number of projects facilitatingthe development of pro-poor payments forenvironmental services. Examples of twocurrent, multi country projects that both deallargely with watershed services are IIED’s“Developing Markets for WatershedProtection Services and ImprovedLivelihoods” and ICRAF’s “RewardingUpland Poor for Environmental Services”.

Community based natural resourcemanagement in southern AfricaAcross southern Africa, colonial authoritiesexpropriated both land and naturalresources from indigenous farmers. Ratherthan protecting wildlife, this approach led toa situation where wildlife outside ofprotected areas had no value and waswidely perceived to be a pest (Child, 2004).

Cautious governments eventually returnedcontrol of wildlife to large-scale commercialfarmers, with the result that in the semi-aridrangelands of Namibia, South Africa, andZimbabwe, wildlife evolved into asubstantial and significant landuse (op. cit.).The majority of poor farmers in southernAfrica live on communal or common poollands, often located in areas of marginalagricultural potential. Since the 1980s manyof the governments in the region have beenexperimenting with a range of communitybased natural resource management(CBNRM) programmes. Although theseprogrammes pre-date the current interestin payments for environmental services theyshare many common features. Critically,both PES initiatives and the wildlife basedCBNRM programmes in southern Africa areprimarily associated with changing theeconomic incentives for landuse.

CBNRM’s financial/economic focuspotentially provides valuable lessons for thedevelopment of PES particularly on the landuse impact of direct and indirect paymentsto farmers. The scale of some of thesepayments has been significant. For examplein Zimbabwe under the Communal AreasManagement Programme for IndigenousResources (CAMPFIRE), 110 communitiesearned about US$8 million between 1989and 1999. This translated into a medianbenefit per household of between US$2.20and US$5.80 annually.

There are potentially many lessons andexperiences to be shared between PES andCBNRM practioners. Three of these include:1 Process: The overwhelming lesson

emerging from the CBNRM experience isthat desired change is a continuousprocess in which flexibility and localadaptability are crucial. Although the

43ETFRN News 45 - 46/06


desired change and the accompanyingincentives to achieve this might appear verylogical, changing landuse patternsespecially amongst poor risk-aversefarmers will always take time. Equallychallenging is nurturing the necessarychanges within national and localgovernments, which allow rural farmers tobenefit directly from relatively intangiblecommodities such as environmentalservices or wildlife.

The implications for supporters andfacilitators of the payments forenvironmental services is that changes inlanduse will not be achieved in under theshort time horizons (three to four years) ofthe typical donor funded project. Changesin land use are a process and to beeffective, PWS will need to be maintainedover an extended period of time. Facilitatorsshould avoid blue-print approaches andshould encourage flexibility and diversity.

2 Level of incentives: Typically, communitieswith sufficient wildlife and wildlife habitathave competitively tendered the user rights(tourism or hunting) to these resources toprivate sector partners. Prices and incomeare therefore market based. Localauthorities recognising a ready source ofincome have tended to heavily tax thesebenefits, with the result that less than 50%may actually accrue to the landholders.However, even if the benefits were nottaxed, the direct and indirect benefits areseldom a sufficient incentive for farmers tosubstantially alter landuse. Consequentlyfarmers and importantly immigrants,continue to use land for settlement andagro-pastoral activities.

The important lesson for PWS initiatives isthat changes in landuse will only take place

if there are considerable net benefits to theland manager. PWS facilitators need to beaware that farmers will incur both directand indirect costs as result of landusechange. Further, when land and otherresources are scare farmers will allocatetheir land in order to maximise their neteconomic benefit.

3 Policy and legislation: Most of the CBNRMprogrammes in southern Africa onlydeveloped once a supportive legislativepolicy environment was in place. Generallythis was a compromise that did not transfersufficient control to communities withwildlife. Two important lessons have beenlearned over the last 10 to 15 years. Firstly,substantial policy change is oftenopportunistic and is then followed by a longperiod of policy inertia or at worst a processof re-centralisation. Secondly, even thoughpolicy and legislation were changed therewas often considerable resistance to thechanges from national land localgovernment bureaucrats.

Currently most PWS initiatives are in a pilotphase, working in very unclear legal andpolicy environments. The challenges ofdeveloping any tangible initiatives under thiskind of a framework are significant. It alsosuggests that if and when there is anopportunity to change policy and legislation,it must be fully exploited. Publicly fundedPES initiatives can play a role in developingpolicy and providing a model that potentialprivate sector investors can follow.

ConclusionPayments for watershed services are anattempt to compensate farmers and landmanagers for the services that they canprovide by maintaining indigenousvegetation, re-forestation or the adoption of

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By Horst Weyerhauser

PAYING FOR ENVIRONMENTALSERVICES IN CHINA: LESSONSLEARNED FROM A PROMISINGAPPROACH

specified tillage techniques. However, todate the most successful PWS initiativesappear to have been in countries withrelatively small numbers of farmerscharacterised by secure land tenure (CostaRica, New York City, USA,). This mirrors theadoption of wildlife as a landuse in southernAfrica where initially it was the large-scalecommercial farmers who substantiallychanged their landuse management as aresult of the incentives offered.

In many cases PWS initiatives are juststarting. The similarities between CBNRMand PWS process and the underlyingassumptions suggest that there areimportant lessons and experiences thatneed to be exchanged. The PWS communityneeds to look closely at the CBNRMexperience of long-term financial transfersto small-scale farmers and the resultantchanges in landuse. Conversely, theCBNRM community, especially in southernAfrica should consider some of the ideasemerging from PWS (such as contingency)that may serve to strengthen their own long-term initiatives.

ReferencesChild, B.A., 2004. Principles, Practice and

Results of CBNRM in Southern Africa. In:Lyman, M.W., Child, B. (Eds), NaturalResources as Community Assets: Lessonsfrom Two Continents. Sand CountyFoundation, Madison, Wisconsin, pp. 19-50.

Landell Mills N and Porras I.T. (2002) “SilverBullet or Fool’s Gold? A global review ofmarkets for forest environmental services andtheir impacts on the poor.” Instruments forsustainable private forestry series.International Institute for Environment andDevelopment, London, U.K.

Ivan Bond: [email protected]

China’s mountains house the headwatersof many of its greater and lesser rivers; theyare also home to a majority of its chronicallypoor. Here the tension between watershedconservation and poverty alleviation isprobably more acute than almost anywherein the world.

This divide between upland conservationand development priorities was aggravatedfollowing China’s shift from a centrallyplanned to a more market-oriented,decentralized economy in 1978. The costsand benefits of maintaining environmentalservices provided by upland forests –floodprevention, erosion control, and waterquality in particular– had traditionally beenborne by and accrued to a centralized state,but state withdrawal broke the direct linkbetween producers and beneficiaries. Withdeclining government support and withoutincentives for households, businesses, andlocal government to conserve, deforestationin the uplands became widespread.

The notion of paying and charging for specificenvironmental services emerged in thiscontext. To cope with declining revenues andworsening deforestation, local officials inQingcheng Mountain –a tourist attraction inSichuan Province– designed a system wherepart of ticket proceeds were used to pay forforest protection. Forests quickly recovered,and the scheme inspired an official dialogue

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approach. Realizing this promise will requireadequate time and resource commitments,but also high-level willingness to experiment,facilitate open and honest dialogue about theresults and improve upon them. As part ofthis learning process, China’s State ForestAdministration, the Regional DevelopmentResearch Center and the World AgroforestryCentre (ICRAF) examined payment schemesfor environmental services in Anhui, Guizhou,Sichuan and Yunnan Provinces, andidentified several principles and practicesthat could improve their design and operationthroughout China.

Design: Function, Financing, and Scale• Reasonable incentives are key to

maintaining environmental services overthe longer term. Upland farmers will onlychange their land use practices over themedium to longer term if they expect tobenefit from the change. The continuedineffectiveness of logging quota in Chinashows how command-and-controlapproaches can drive innovation in legalcircumvention rather than long-termchanges in land use.

• Payment schemes require adequatefunding to ensure adequate levels ofenvironmental services. Paying for forestand watershed protection requiressufficient long-term funding to cover thecosts of planting high-quality trees andmaintaining them, as well as theopportunity costs of different forms offorestry vis-à-vis other land uses. Wherefinancing is inadequate or not linked tospecific quality indicators, farmers oftenrevert to agriculture or plant low-quality treeswith poor economic and ecological returns.

• Clear objectives and evaluationprocedures can help allocate scarcefinancial resources. China’s large-scale,

on payments for environmental services from1989 and continuing throughout the early andmid-1990s.

Severe flooding on the Yangtze and SongRivers in 1998 accelerated the Chinesegovernment’s growing recognition of thebenefits provided by upland forests, as wellas of the difficulties in using regulatoryapproaches to control the behaviour ofresource-dependent smallholder farmers.Government then developed public paymentschemes to compensate farmers’investments in forest restoration andprotection. China’s revised Forest Law(1998) and Water Law (2002) formallyrecognized the importance of compensatingenvironmental service provision.

Most payment schemes for environmentalservices in China have been publiclyfinanced. Large-scale, central governmentinitiatives are best represented by two forestconservation programmes: the SlopingLand Conversion or “Grain for Green”Programme (SLCP), which pays farmers toconvert their marginal farmland to forest;and the Forest Ecosystem CompensationProgramme (FECP), which compensatesfarmers for reforesting and protectingforests. Provincial and local schemes covera wide range of institutional innovations,such as electricity and water consumptionfees dedicated to forest conservation, anddirect payments to upstream farmers fromdownstream hydropower facilities. Aslimitations in public funding becomeincreasingly apparent, private paymentschemes will increase.

China’s comparatively dense uplandpopulations make watershed conservationdifficult, but payments for environmentalservices are a particularly promising

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governments should continue to play acentral, facilitating role. Government iscurrently the core actor in China’s paymentschemes for environmental services, andits role will become more important asmore private payment schemes emerge.In lieu of a stronger, independent legalsystem, Government agencies and localgovernments play an irreplaceable rolein facilitating fairer negotiations andeffective contracts between producers andbeneficiaries.

More information:Horst Weyerhauser,World Agroforestry Centre, ICRAF-Chinac/o Kunming Institute of Botany, ChineseAcademy of SciencesHeilongtan, 650204, Kunming, YunnanPR China

E-mail: [email protected]: http://cmes.kib.ac.cn

By Daniel Murdiyarso and Ulrik Ilstedt

MANAGING FORESTED WATERSHEDFUNCTIONS AND SERVICES FOR THEBENEFITS OF THE POOR

national payment programmes inparticular demonstrate how the lack of clear,measurable objectives and means toevaluate progress can lead to programmedrift and unintended uses of funds.National and provincial programmestypically have been paying to restore forestcover on the assumption that forests willbe beneficial, rather than to rewardmeasurable environmental services. Theprimary criterion of programmeperformance has been forest cover;payments have hardly been linked with theprovision of actual environmental services.

Operation: Governance and Institutions• Ensuring stakeholder participation from

the beginning can improve acceptabilityand lower transaction costs. Despiteincreased overall stakeholderparticipation, the still limited participationby both local governments and residentsin the design of payment schemes hasimpaired their willingness to provide andwillingness to pay. Greater inclusivenesscan improve programme design,strengthen linkages between producersand beneficiaries, lower enforcementcosts and improve results.

• Transparency in revenue use andvaluation methods is key to gaining publicacceptance and maintaining the qualityof environmental services. For both publicand public-private initiatives, transparencyin deciding how payments are calculatedand how they are to be used can bolsterpublic support and improve the linksbetween payments and environmentalservice provision. Standardized, rapidmeans of measuring and valuingenvironmental services in China shouldbe developed.

• Government agencies and local

Watersheds need to be managed to provideenvironmental flows, defined as flows ofwater regime in the rivers maintaining theecosystems and their services. This flow isinfluenced by land-use decisions made bystakeholders at various levels. Whenscientific information is lacking, orconfusing, there is a pressure to imposepublic perceptions of the impacts of land-use on environmental flows. Often the

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community-science-policy dialogues.The challengesWe are challenged by the basic human needof proper quality water, faced with manytradeoffs, for example with respect toagriculture, conservation, hydropower andindustrial uses, and this without sacrificingthe poor who suffer the most. It is also anopportunity to promote conservation with a“human face” through a better understandingof ecosystem functions and biophysicalcharacteristics of forested watersheds.

Research activities should be designed toscrutinize the myths behind publicperceptions and to generate sufficientknowledge and understanding for policyinterventions. An option would be to seekmechanisms of payment for environmentalservices (PES), while facilitating theinvolvement of communities living in theconservation areas. The mechanismsshould be context-dependent and the non-participating landless dwellers could be thelooser (Wunder, 2005).

Besides biophysical assessment of waterregimes and ecosystem services, in-depthunderstanding of institutional processes andregulatory frameworks governing waterresource and watershed management isrequired. Land-use decisions should ideallyreflect the environmental, social andeconomic sustainability of the ecosystems.The interests of investors (donors) andpartners are, of course, already part of theoverall design. In addition, the breadth andwealth of the regions and ecosystemsshould be equally represented to be able torealize the goals of sustaining and enhancingforest ecosystems and watershed functions,increasing their resilience and ability toprovide environmental goods and services.The information should be shared and

perceptions become myths which shouldbe tested against scientific evidencecombined with improved communication.

In some circumstances forests mightimprove water yields and quality (Calder,2003). The circumstances could be natural,man-made or combinations of both thatrequire detailed valuation at various spatialand temporal scales. This is particularlyimportant if public policy-making is to bescientifically sound and if, at the same time,science is to be policy relevant. Newresearch findings need an appropriateplatform for effective communication withthe end-users (Bruijnzeel et al., 2004)

The rural poor are often dependent ondegraded conservation areas in the uplandregions for their livelihoods. Conflicts overland-use often persist and cascade todownstream water users, and the rural poorin the uplands become perfect culprits forany detrimental changes on waterresources. Upstream-downstreamlinkages, therefore, should be understoodwithin the context of sharing the benefits ofenvironmental goods provided by thefunctioning watershed services.Conservation activities should includebenefits for the poor. The biggest challengeis bringing the most marginalized group ofpeople and their institutions into policy(research) and practical decision-making.Exclusion from the process commonlylimits their access to benefits.

This article attempts to outline thechallenges for the forest and water researchagenda at CIFOR within the context ofalleviating rural poverty. It is intended to bepro-poor conservation, which is understoodas optimizing conservation and livelihoodbenefits. This requires improving

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perspectives but should make room touncover upstream-downstream linkages.

• Mechanisms for payment transfer?

Restricting the upland poor’s access tonatural resources is no longer appropriateunless alternatives for their livelihoodsare provided. Likewise, direct paymentsare not always appropriate, especially ina situation where the custodies or landhusbandries are not clearly defined. Thebenefits may not be enjoyed by theappropriate groups. The needs to deviseand test the transfer of reward or paymentmechanisms are obvious.

A field testAs “Forest and Water” is a new researchtheme at CIFOR, we have kept the spirit of“a center without wall”, and are concentratingon small, but targeted, studies carried outin cooperation with partners and students.We aim at building networks between policymakers, researchers and practitionersinside and outside the developing world.

A field test was established in Cicatihwatershed (ca. 53,000 ha) in West Java, anarea with an annual rainfall of almost 3,000mm. The watershed is densely populated(more than 500 inhabitants/km2) and thecompetition for water use in high due todomestic, agriculture and industrialdemands. During the first year of the fieldtest, our understanding of the effects of landcover change, including reduction of forestcover, on water yields was improved.However, the “agreed” environmental flowshave (could) not yet been determinedwithout having consulted a wide range ofstakeholders. This gap of understandingwill be identified in the second year and a“tool” to narrow the gap will be devised asour understanding of stakeholders’ views

communicated across stakeholders.Eventually the bargaining power of theupland community where conservation areahas been determined will be enhanced(Murdiyarso, 2005).

Key research questionsThe following questions may be raised toguide and integrate research activities:

• How do the “forested” upland regionsdetermine environmental flows?

The fundamental biophysical researchapproach would naturally attempt toquantify basic understanding ofwatershed functions characterized bywater regimes in terms of yields andquality and their spatial and temporaldistributions. Here also development anduse of appropriate indicators can play animportant role. Promoting “community-based monitoring” of key indicators mayimprove scientific understanding andcommunication between stakeholders.

• How do different stakeholders value these“flows”?

Further, socio-economic assessmentwould certainly help understanding howhuman institutions are directly andindirectly influencing water regimes.Social capital such as people’s trust andparticipation in ecosystems managementis an invaluable asset to be incorporatedin the planning and implementationphases.

• What are appropriate policy responsesregarding watershed functions?

Therefore, integrating biophysical andsocio-politico-economic properties wouldeventually enhance policy responses interms of public environmental anddevelopment policy-making. Such policywould not confine to narrow-minded

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RAPID HYDROLOGICAL APPRAISAL(RHA) OF POTENTIAL FORENVIRONMENTAL SERVICEREWARDS: procedure and applicationin Lake Singkarak, West Sumatra,Indonesia

By Meine van Noordwijk

on the flows is improved.

The policy response is likely to be governedby national law on Water ResourceManagement but local government will playa very important role as far as taxation andfinancial mechanisms are concerned.These issues which are related to the lasttwo questions are scheduled for futureresearch.

ReferencesBruijnzeel, L.A., Bonell, M, and Gilmour, D.A.

2005. Forest-Water-People in the HumidTropics: An emerging view. CambridgeUniversity Press, Cambridge.

Calder, IR. 2003. Forests and Water -Closing the gap between public andscience perceptions. Stockholm WaterSymposium.

Murdiyarso, D. 2005. Water resourcemanagement policy responses to landcover change in South East Asia riverbasins. In: L.A. Bruijnzeel, M. Bonell, andD.A. Gilmour (eds.), Forest-Water-Peoplein the Humid Tropics: An emerging view.Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.pp: 121-133.

Wunder, S. 2005. Payment forenvironmental services: Some nuts andbolts. CIFOR Occasional Paper No. 42.CIFOR, Bogor.

Contact:Daniel Murdiyarso and Ulrik IlstedtCenter for International Forestry Research(CIFOR)Jl. CIFOR, Situgede, Sindang Barang, BogorIndonesia

Email: [email protected]

Forest protection as part of watershedmanagement is often (still) considered toprovide downstream benefits that may wellexceed the local benefits. Especially wherehydro-electricity schemes derive substantialeconomic benefits from the continued flowof water, the concept of payments forwatershed protection services has becomepopular. However, as other articles in thisnewsletter highlight, there is no sharedopinion between scientists, farmers andpolicy makers about what these services are,how they depend on the condition of thelandscape (and the amount of forest that ispart of it) and how payments or rewards canbe made transparent (linking reward todelivery) and robust (surviving paradigmshifts)1. To bridge the ‘perception’ and‘communication’ gaps that are likely to existin the way the local ‘forest and water’ debatehas developed, a form of ‘rapid appraisal’ isneeded to judge how far apart the potentialpartners in a rewards mechanism are, andto help develop a mechanism that istransparent and robust.

A recent report2 presents results of such a‘rapid appraisal’ during a 6-months periodof the hydrological situation in the SingkarakBasin in West Sumatera (Indonesia) in thecontext of the development of payments forenvironmental services (ES) that are aimed

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at rewarding the upland poor for protectionand/or rehabilitation of watershed functions.Lake Singkarak is one of six ‘actionresearch’ sites of the RUPES network3.

The local government unit (Nagari) ofPaningahan, almost coinciding with themost forested of the lakesidesubcatchments has become an actionresearch site for the RUPES project. Themain ‘issue’ is the relationship between thehydro-elec-tricity project (HEPP, PLTASingkarak), the fluctuations in the level ofthe lake, the water quality in the lake andthe land cover of the catchment areas thatcontribute water to the lake. Currentpayments made by the PLTA to the localgovernment can, in part, be seen as rewardsfor maintaining or improving environmentalservices.

The appraisal (with a focus on cost-effectiveness) was based on fivecomponents:

• Search of the literature and web-basedresources on the area and initial‘scoping’ meeting with key stakeholders,

• Spatial analysis of the landscape basedon remotely sensed imagery andavailable maps and digital data,

• Exploration of local ecological knowledgeof the landscape, water movement andconsequences of land use options,

• Discussions with a wide range ofstakeholders and policy makers onissues of land use and hydrologicalfunctions,

• Modeling of the water balance and wateruse in the landscape to explore scenariosof plausible land cover change and theirlikely impacts on key performanceindicators with the GenRiver model.

The major land cover types in the SingkarakBasin are rice fields (17%), agriculturalcrops (15%) and forest (15%). Rice fieldsoccur in the lowland area, below 1000 masl and with slopes of < 30%.

The main conclusions of the consultationsare that there is broad agreement on‘objectives’ such as the need to maintain aclean lake, productive landscapes on hillsand irrigated plains that meet theexpectations of the high population densityas well as produce electricity for theprovinces of West Sumatera and Riau.

There is a widely held perception that thecurrent landscape is not meeting all theseexpectations: the PLTA is not able to provideas much electricity as was expected, thefluctuations in the level of the lake are aconcern to the people surrounding the lake,the water quality of the lake is a concern,the population of the endemic fish (ikanbilih) is declining and previous efforts torehabilitate the Imperata grassland (alangalang) in the area have not been verysuccessful.

Much of the debate is focused on proposedsolutions and especially on the relativemerits of ‘reforestation’ and the variousalternative ways to achieve ‘land rehabilita-tion’. While for many policy makersreforestation, either using the local Pinusmer-kusii or other fast growing tree speciesis the main approach, villagers in Paning-gahan are convinced that streams dry up inthe dry season after reforestation with pinetrees, while the natural forest is providingregular stream flows. The water balancemodel with the default parameter values forPine tree confirmed a higher water use bycanopy interception and transpirationcompared to more open land-scapes, but

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no substan-tial difference with natural forest.Impacts of land cover via soil properties mayneed to be further tested. Furtherhydrological distinctions between the lime-stone and granite parts of the landscapeare needed as well

Overall the water balance model suggestedthat the possible performance of the PLTAis only mildly influenced by land cover withinthe range of scenarios tested. Comparedto the current land use mosaic an increaseof 5% or a decrease of 5% of the maximumelectricity production can be expected, whilethe variation between ‘wet’ and ‘dry’ yearsof the 1991-2002 period is much larger.Details of PLTA lake management matter alot. A change in mean annual rainfall underthe influence of global climate change willhave a strong effect on PLTA performance.Declining water quality in the lake leadingto weed infestation will offset any gains inwater supply that could result from ‘landdegradation’. Reforestation with fastgrowing evergreen trees will have a mildlynegative effect on water usable by the PLTA.

A basic assumption for ‘payments forenvironmental services’ is that the supplyof these services does depend on activitiesof those ‘rewarded’. For the PLTA thisassumption is not supported by muchevidence… Payments made by the PLTAmay have various types of rationale:

• Compensation for damage caused by theHEPP project, to the farmers along theOmbilin river whose waterwheel irrigationsystems are disturbed and to farmerswith rice fields surrounding the lakeaffected by increased flooding

• Shared responsibility for maintaining thewater quality in the lake as the HEPPproject modified outflow rates and

increases debris accumulation

• Payments of tax to local government

• Goodwill enhancing payments to the localcommunity

• Payments for environmental servicesconditional to the delivery of theseservices.

At this stage the evidence for the lastcomponent is relatively weak, and almostabsent for the scale level of avoideddegradation in a single nagari. Efforts of alllake-side nagari’s will be needed to dealwith the issues of lake water quality, whilerehabilitating the other inflows to the lakeneed at least equal attention.

Further information:Meine van Noordwijk,World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) SouthEast Asia.


Notes:1 Agus, F., Farida and Van Noordwijk, M. (Eds),2004. Hydrological Impacts of Forest,Agroforestry and Upland Cropping as a Basis forRewarding Environ-mental Service Providers inIndonesia. Proceedings of a workshop in Padang/Singkarak, West Sumatra, Indonesia. 25-28February 2004. ICRAF-SEA, Bogor, Indonesia2 Farida, Kevin Jeanes, Dian Kurniasari, AtiekWidayati, Andree Ekadinata, Danan PrasetyoHadi, Laxman Joshi, Desi Suyamto and Meine vanNoordwijk, 2005. Rapid Hydrological Appraisal(RHA) of Singkarak Lake in the context ofRewarding Upland Poor for EnvironmentalServices (RUPES). ICRAF Southeast Asia,Working paper 2005.3 The RUPES (‘Rewarding Upland Poor for theEnvironmental Services they provide’) consortiumin which ICRAF, IFAD, IUCN, CIFOR, CI, FF, WWFand other international partners work together

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FORESTS, FLOWERS ORFLAMINGOS: what drives the waterbalance of Lake Nakuru, Kenya?

By Brent Swallow

with national partners in (currently) Indonesia,Philippines, Vietnam, China, Thailand, India andNepal is supporting a network of ‘action researchsites’ and ‘national policy review’ activities tofacilitate such mechanisms. Specific attention isgiven to ‘pro-poor’ forms of ES rewardmechanisms. Benefits to poor people can comeboth through the way rewards are channeledand the positive environmental impacts of thedecisions they support. http://www.icraf.org/sea/networks/rupes

Lake Nakuru is a very shallow alkaline lakelocated in Kenya’s rift valley, with a surfacearea of 44 km2 and an average depth of 2.5meters. The Lake is fed by one permanentriver (Ngosur) and four seasonal rivers(Njoro, Nderit, Makalia and Lamudhiak),with a total catchment area of 1,800 km2.The flamingos that give Lake Nakuru itsdistinctive pink shoreline are a majorbiodiversity and tourism resource for Kenya,with over 300,000 local and foreign holidaymakers visiting the site each year. Acompleted fenced national park of 90 km2

surrounds Lake Nakuru, providing a habitatto a number of threatened species, includingthe Black Rhino. Since 1990 the lake hasbeen designated a Ramsar wetland ofinternational importance. However, the lakeis threatened by inflows from a number ofpollutants and the level of the lake fluctuates:when it is low the flamingos moveelsewhere, leading to less tourists. Onepossible cause of the degradation of thelake waters is the largescale conversion of

forest lands in the catchment, particularly inthe eastern Mau forest that forms theheadwaters of the Njoro River. The RiverNjoro flows over 60 kilometres from theeastern slopes of the eastern Mau forest toLake Nakuru. Its catchment measuresapproximately 280 km2 and has a populationof over 300,000 people, including 30,000who live in Njoro town and 240,000 who livein Nakuru town, including Egerton Universityand a growing horticultural industry. Giventhe general debate on ‘forest and water’,the recent forest conversion in the Mau forestis held responsible for, or expected to resultin, a loss of flamingo-based income.Should the park pay for forest conservation?

Land use and forest cover have alsochanged dramatically in this catchment. Ithas been estimated that between 1969 and2004, the percentage of cultivated land inthe upper catchment area increased from13% to 70%, while a corresponding fall inwoodland and grassland cover of 87% to30%. Major changes in hydrology have beennoted: the Njoro River has becomeseasonal instead of permanent and majorboreholes have dried up. Annual rainfall inthe 1980’s and 1990’s has been about 10%below the preceding decades, with shifts inthe monthly pattern. Water abstraction forflower production is increasing around LakeNakuru, as the export industry has exploitedall water and land resources accessible atthe nearby Lake Naivasha.

Nakuru is an ‘endorheic’ system, as thereis no outflow from the lake and in the longrun all rainfall is lost by evapotranspirationin the catchment area. The lake is only atemporary storage, bridging betweenrelatively wet and relatively dry periods.Increased demand for water in the middlereaches of the streams and forest-

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SUMAWA-CRSP project at EgertonUniversity: Dr. Francis Lelo and Dr. MainaGichaba, Egerton University, Nakuru,Kenya. http://www.sumawa.org.

Ramsar Wetlands Database:http://www.wetlands.org/RDB/Ramsar_Dir/Kenya/ke001D02.htm

LakeNet Directory of World Lakes:h t t p : / / w w w . w o r l d l a k e s . o r g /lakedetails.asp?lakeid=8383

dependent people in the upper reach in theMau forest will directly influence the level ofthe lake.

No consistent water balance has beenconstructed that accounts for variations ininflow to the lake and the resulting lakelevels, flamingo numbers and touristincome. The SUMAWA-CRSP (SustainableManagement of Watersheds CollaborativeResearch Support Project, co-led byEgerton University and the University ofWyoming) was initiated in 2002 to addressthis situation in the Njoro catchment,especially to demonstrate improved andintegrated management of water andenvironmental resources in the Njorocatchment through local participation andaction supported by scientific informationand analysis. To date the project hasprovided scientific analyses but has notbeen able yet to move beyond differencesin perceptions between stakeholders ofpossible solutions. The team at EgertonUniversity and the World Agroforestry Centre(ICRAF) hope to start a new project oncommunication and perception gaps. A‘rapid hydrological appraisal’ (see article onLake Singkarak, Indonesia) is expected toclarify the various perceptions and to helpobtain a shared understanding of the roleof forests, rainfall and flower production inthe provision of water to the lake and itsflamingos.

Further information:Brent SwallowWorld Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF),PO Box 30677Nairobi,Kenya


FOSTERING WATERSHEDGOVERNANCE IN VISAYAS,PHILIPPINES

By Rowena Soriaga

The Philippines was one of the first nationsin Asia to enact policies decentralizingmanagement authority over some naturalresources to local governments. The LocalGovernment Code of 1991 authorizesmunicipal governments to develop land useplans and levy fines to protect and manageresources. Also, community forestmanagement has been adopted as anational strategy for sustainable forestmanagement.

Water is a resource that needs to bemanaged by natural rather than politicalunits. Unlike in many mainland countries,the watersheds on the islands in thePhilippines do not face national boundaryissues. Especially in the Visayas islands(central Philippines) the small sizes ofwatersheds allow local people to observetheir watershed from the mountains to the

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coast, perceive it as a possible unit ofmanagement and discuss concerns andoptions for its resource base. Municipalgovernments have started to develop landuse plans and enact ordinances for naturalresource management, but much shouldstill be done to harmonize plans andpolicies within and between municipalitiesas well as with national initiatives.

The Visayas region includes six mainislands covering 5.6 million hectaresadministered by 16 provincial governments.The Visayas have a porous, predominantlylimestone base with occasional volcanicintrusions, so the soils are poorly suited towetland rice and have limited waterretention and capacity for sedentarycultivation. Poor soils, lack of available water,and steep slopes in many parts of theVisayas have made it necessary for peopleto grow a dryland crop as their staple. Theeastern islands, Samar and Leyte, aregreatly affected by typhoons and lack of adry season, and have the highest forestcover. The central islands, Bohol and Cebu,under Vitex parviflora forests in pastcenturies, have much lower rainfall and adry season. The western islands, Panayand Negros, have a long dry season andlarge grassland areas, sugar plantationsand commercial crops. Visayas is themajor region for mangrove and nipa palms(Nipa fruticans) in the Philippines, and hasextensive coral reefs.

There are several watershed studies andmanagement initiatives in the Philippines,but often the sites selected are in‘proclaimed’ watersheds, areas seen bygovernment as critical to the nationalinterest –where the watershed has majorinfrastructure downstream. ‘Local’watersheds –that do not necessarily figure

in the national development agenda, but arecritical to local sustainability– have hardlybeen studied.

Maasin and Carood are two typical degradedwatersheds in the Visayas. Maasin (6 378ha, parts of three mucicipalities) on PanayIsland is the headwaters of the Tigum-Aganan watershed, with Iloilo City at the Jaroriver mouth. Government proclaimed it as acritical watershed in 1923, put up aperimeter fence and got people to vacatethe area. In contrast, Carood –the fifthlargest watershed on Bohol Island, 20 472ha in six municipalities–, is not known as awatershed. It is not seen to have anyimportant resource that can be shared witha larger population in society, being mainlyagricultural without major economicactivities, with coastal fishing towns alongCogtong Bay near the river mouth.

After centuries of centralized naturalresource management, the transition tostakeholder engagement in Maasin andCarood presents several major challenges:1 The term ‘watershed’ evokes fear and

insecurity in upland dwellers becausegovernment has traditionally used it inproclamations restricting resource accessto an area by social exclusion andcommunity displacement. Both Maasinand Carood have gone through a longhistory of conflict and resistance if notrebellion in parallel with town developmentand trade since the 1800s. Communitiesin such places have experienced tenureinsecurity, dislocation, impoverishment andlandscape degradation for generations.Many people and some local governmentsbelieved that an area cannot be called awatershed unless declared as such by theforest department.The communities noware the intended beneficiaries of the

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national policy on CBFM.2 Marginal upland areas belong to the

lowest-income municipalities in thePhilippines, inadequately reached by basiceducation, health and water services. It isdifficult for local governments with suchlimited resources to look beyond theiradministrative boundaries and economicconsiderations when planning land use.

3 Reforestation has been the automaticresponse to enhancing watershedfunctions, but it remained unclear whetherreforestation of barren areas was forproduction or for conservation. Agroforestryand natural regeneration have yet to figuremore broadly in management discussions.With the policies on decentralization andcommunity forest management in place,the main issues are no longer rights andtenure security (except for areas with tenureoverlaps) but rather implementationresponsibilities and managementcapacities.

These are some of the challenges beingworked out by stakeholders in Carood andMaasin. Carood has an informal workinggroup composed of mayors, planningofficers, agriculturists, local legislators,academics, village heads, people’sorganizations, provincial government andline agency representatives. They have beengetting together for the past four years andrecently sought formal recognition from theprovincial governor. Maasin has a federationof upland farmers who found new vitality intheir management when a CBFMAgreement was awarded to them in 2002.

Important changes are taking place in theway people perceive their responsibilitiesand roles in resource management.Dealing with governance in a watershedcontext is helping stakeholders situate

concerns over their resource base withinland-water relations. With the increasingsense that declining ecological servicessomehow impact on local livelihoodscomes a greater recognition of the need tofind ways to stabilize local environmentswithin available human and financialresources. This is providing the basis for abroader appreciation of how policydecisions, program actions andmanagement practices impact on land useand the local economy. The working groupand the federation are serving as amechanism for broadening participation,improving transparency, and fosteringaccountability beyond administrativeboundaries. The plight of people in remoteupper catchments becomes more easilyunderstood in political centers, often locateddownstream, when it is linked with waterand livelihood. This growing understandingis enabling communities to take action andengage local governments in pooling andmanaging their resources to reverse thedecline of their watersheds. Fosteringwatershed governance holds promise ofde-politicizing land use decisions andimproving harmony among land use plansin a way that contributes to the improvementof ecological services.

The stories of Carood and Maasin havebeen captured in Communities inWatershed Governance in Visayas ,produced as part of the publication serieson Community Forest Management Trendsin Southeast Asia supported by the EUTropical Forest Budget Line. The networkreport illustrates how meaningfulinteractions between concernedcommunities and local governments canfoster watershed governance for terrestrialand aquatic resource use and protection.

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LANDSCAPE WATER MANAGEMENTIN THE MEDITERRANEAN:EXPERIENCE OF THE WASAMEDPROJECT

By C. Bogliotti, N. Lamaddalena, and A.Scardigno

Contact information:Rowena SoriagaAsia Forest Network2/F Gallares Main Bldg. Galler CourtTagbilaran City 6300, BoholPhilippines

E-mail: [email protected]: http://www.asiaforestnetwork.org

In Mediterranean landscapes water is ascarce resource which requires carefulmanagement of supply and demand. TheWASAMED (Water Saving in MediterraneanAgriculture) project funded by the EU hasexplored options of managing water in aridand semi-arid area conditions. TheMediterranean basin is a very complexsystem due to its high diversity(environmental, economic and societal)throughout the Northern and Southernregions and the Middle-East countries.Water scarcity is a very complex issue, whichis presently at the forefront of discussionson global sustainability and food security.The current pattern of water resourcesmanagement in the Southern Mediterraneanregion is not sustainable and isdramatically affecting all dimensions of life.All this is a constraint for the futuredevelopment of the entire basin and forEurope. During the last decades researchand policies in the water sector have been

very much oriented to the supply side inexploring new water resources to meet theincreasing demand, in assessing waterrelated natural hazards (drought and floods)and in monitoring water quality to protectthe functional and structural characteristicsof the ecosystem. Less research and policyanalysis has addressed the demand sideof integrated and sustainable managementof the limited water resources, and theconcepts of efficiency and performance inwater management. However, theMediterranean heritage includesconsiderable knowledge on the use ofproductive landscapes with limited waterresources. There is not much that trees andforests can do to increase supply of water,so the key is in adjusting demand.

Water saving is an important watermanagement option in scarce resourceconditions. Although the concept of “watersaving” is also extended to the civil andindustrial sectors, in the Mediterraneancontext the management of limited waterresources is strictly related to agriculture.The latter is considered to be the majorcause of pressure on quality and quantity ofnatural water bodies. In relation toagricultural water management, existingresearch and experience provideinformation on local small- to medium-scaleprojects and assessment of different watersaving opportunities such as: to improvewater efficiency through agronomy,physiology, plant breeding and soilmanagement; to ameliorate irrigationsystem performance; to provide incentivesfor use of unconventional water sourcesthrough experimentation on the re-use ofrecycled urban water, saline water,groundwater, drainage water and runoffwater; to promote participatory approachesand socio-economic analysis.

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Regardless of the type of water savingpathways, there is a clear need for moreintegrated efforts in water saving. TheMediterranean domain has few rivers andvery few cross-border ones, but there stillare cross-border issues in watermanagement. Supported by nationalinstitutions and both regional andinternational organizations an integratedwater resources management should focuson the following points: establishment andapplication of water management policiescoherent with the emerging need ofensuring sustainable development;developing coherent national policies andregional strategies; improving public andprivate awareness and the efficiency ofpublic administration at the local and centrallevel; overseeing the promotion andenforcement of national legislation andguidelines for practices; appraising watersaving actions from the point of view of thepublic health, socio-economics,environment; setting new and morecoherent water pricing mechanisms. Theparticipation of key stakeholders andappropriate incentive or income generatingwater saving is necessary to ensure thesustainability of the regional watermanagement. Unfortunately, watermanagement interventions (research,policies, methodologies, information, etc.)are fragmented in the Mediterranean, dueto the difficulties of networking andcommunication among partners of thedifferent countries.

WASAMED

The WASAMED project incorporates allthese issues in its various work packagesand intends to constitute a tool and acontribution to reduce pressure on naturalwaters through an improved and

sustainable balance between waterdemand and water supply. It is a practicalMediterranean dialogue aiming to identifyand share common objectives,approaches and strategies to integrate,technical and non-technical water savingoptions. The Network is built on a wideparticipatory base. It has a relevant criticalmass of partners in terms of “category”,“profile” and “provenience” (20 researchinstitutions, 11 decision-policy makinginstitutions, 11 end-users) for a total of 42Partners coming from 16 MediterraneanCountries (Algeria, Cyprus, Egypt, Germany,Greece, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Malta,Morocco, Palestine, Portugal, Spain,Tunisia, Turkey, Syria) (see also http://wasamed.iamb.it for the efforts of intra-discipline and intra-sector integration).Further, it is worth mentioning that theidentification of alternative water savingoptions/strategies is pursued under thewide range of agro-climatic, technical andsocio-economic conditions prevailing in theMediterranean Region and in the context ofdifferent long-term socio-economic andclimatic scenarios. Social, economical andenvironmental “costs” and “benefits” of suchwater saving options/strategies areevaluated in order to shape them out intopolicy guidelines. WASAMED is expected togive strong visibility to the work done withinthe Region (capitalizing on the existingknowledge); to build a comprehensivereference framework to address watersaving under the different perspectives(…physical, biological, social, economical,environmental, …); to account for theaspects of scale (spatial and temporal); toreconcile the “site-specific” and “regional”dimensions of “water saving”; to handle“complexity”.

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Other News

GLOBAL CHANGE, URBANIZATIONAND NATURAL RESOURCEMANAGEMENT IN WESTERNMEXICO

By Gerritsen, P.R.W., C. Ortiz, J.-C. Bolay, S.Hostettler, L. M. Martinez, E. Santana, S. Grafand S. Garcia

First resultsDuring the workshops held so far, aninteresting effort has been made by allpartners to reach a consensus on goalsand indicators to be used to assess thecontributions that the different technical andnon-technical water saving strategies andoptions can give to enhance the generalobjective of a sustainable water saving inMediterranean agriculture. Wasamedpartners agree that widespread adoptionof participatory irrigation management, animprovement in the irrigation systemperformance and a spreading of nonconventional water use can exercise aneffective positive impact on sustainablewater saving through: the reduction ofconflict on resources; the improvement inthe stakeholders’ participation and localempowerment and awareness; theimprovement of resource productivity; theintroduction of more transparentmechanism of cost benefit sharing. At thesame time some of these factors, such asthe identification of a new model ofgovernance and the adoption of new waterpricing policies, are considered as morecritical issues for achieving a sustainablewater saving in Mediterranean agriculture.The key to landscape scale watermanagement is thus on the demand side,adjusting to and accepting the uncertaintiesof supply.

For more information, contact:Alessandra ScardignoCIHEAM-IAM.BMediterranean Agronomic Institute of BariVia Ceglie, 970010 VALENZANO (BARI)Italy


Studying the local effects of global changehas become increasingly relevant as theworld’s socio-environmental problemscontinue to grow. Moreover, the need for amulti-disciplinary perspective has becomegenerally accepted.

In October 2002, a transdisciplinaryresearch project was initiated to understandand develop strategies to mitigate theeffects of global change on the livelihoods ofpeople living in the Ayuquila watershed inwestern Mexico. This project was acollaboration between the Department ofEcology and Natural Resources-IMECBIO ofthe University of Guadalajara, Mexico and theLaboratory of Urban Sociology of the FederalInstitute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL),Switzerland. It is part of the research activitieson social practices and empowerment inurban societies of the international researchprogram of the Swiss National Centre ofCompetence in Research - North South(NCCR North-South). In Mexico, it is part of alocal initiative to implement a sustainableregional development approach in theAyuquila watershed that has been on-goingfor over a decade (Martínez et al., 2002).

The project contributes to the local initiativeby implementing applied sociological andecological action research, focussing on

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Other News

urbanization and natural resourcemanagement. The project is innovative as itis explicitly developing an integrated rural-urban research approach focusing on theperceptions and strategies of local actorstowards urbanization and natural resourcemanagement.

Urbanization, Natural Resources andWatershed ManagementWith the process of urbanization, we refer tothe very rapid growth of urban settlements indeveloping countries with its spatial,material, social, ecological and economicimpact (Bolay, et al., 2000). This impactconsists of unplanned extension of builtterritories, fragmentation of spaces followingsocial characteristics, informality ofeconomic activities, a lack of basicinfrastructure and service distribution, and,more generally, changing social practices.In turn, this may lead to a reconfiguration ofrural-urban interactions with their economic,ecological, political and social dimensions(Tacoli, 1998). The overall effects of thesechanges in rural and urban use andmanagement of natural resources within agiven institutional context is of special interestin the Ayuquila watershed. Since the early1990s, attempts were made to conserve theecosytem, by involving, amongst others, bothintermediate cities and rural communitieswithin the watershed; a multi-levelstakeholder approach was consideredessential. The ongoing analysis of variousdecision-making platforms on naturalresource management is of particularinterest, as they appear to play a key role inthe development and implementation ofsustainable regional developmentstrategies.

The Ayuquila WatershedThe Ayuquila watershed is one of the 43

most important watersheds in Mexico,because of its biodiversity, drinking waterproduction, irrigation surface and thepresence of the Sierra de ManantlánBiosphere Reserve (IMECBIO, 2000).

The watershed is home to several medium-sized towns and a large number of ruralcommunities. In addition to water demandsof irrigated agriculture, the towns alsorequire increasing amounts of water, andthey are responsible for increasing waterpollution due to the absence of watertreatment plants. This trend strongly affectsthe surrounding rural communities whodepend directly on the natural resourcebase. This constitutes one of the mostobvious negative urban-rural interactions inthe study area. On the other hand, the townsprovide economic opportunities, bettereducation and health services.

Rural areas represent a cultural richness,due to both the presence of indigenousgroups and rural communities each withtheir own traditions and the isolated anddispersed nature of many settlements. Ingeneral, conditions of poverty andmarginalization prevail in rural areas. Maizecultivation continues to be important, butmarket prices have been low during the lastdecades. Other important crops includesugarcane, chili peppers, agaves (for themezcal and tequila production), andtomatoes. Except for sugarcane, the cropsare mainly grown for export. Cattle breedinghas become more important since the1970s and is considered today as one ofthe more important driving force of land-usechange in the watershed (ibid.).

State of the ArtThe current research project has producednew information contributing to a better

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FARMS OR FOREST: CONSERVATIONOF THE PANAMANIAN WATERSHED,A BULADA SUB-BASIN STUDY

By Eric E. Flores De G.

understanding of rural-urban interactions inthe context of global change. Mitigationstrategies will be developed in order tostrengthen the ongoing watershed andnatural resource management activities atthe regional and municipal level.

So far, results suggest that globalization is avery advanced process in the study area,profoundly affecting urban and rural livelihoodstrategies and urban-rural interactions.Nonetheless, a number of new strategiescan be identified to counteract the negativeeffects of globalization. Organic agricultureplays a key role in most of these newstrategies. Despite the influence ofglobalization, the region is veryheterogeneous regarding the differentlivelihood strategies. Broadly speaking, themunicipalities can be divided into threegroups according to the degree ofurbanization: predominantly urbanised,intermediate and marginalisedmunicipalities. Information on the types oflivelihoods and the municipalities arevaluable inputs for the design of newstrategies for regional sustainabledevelopment. However, these strategies willonly become relevant, when they are acceptedinto the on-going action agenda of the localAyuquila watershed initiative.

ReferencesBolay, J.-C., Y. Pedrazzini , and A. Rabinovich

(2000). Quel sens au “développementdurable dans l’urbanisation du tiers-monde? In Développements etcoopération. Les annales de la rechercheurbaine n° 86, Paris.

IMECBIO (Instituto Manantlán de Ecología yConservación de la Biodiversidad)(2000b).Programa de desarrollo regionalsustentable, región Manantlán, México.Mexico-City: SEMARNAP, INE.

Martínez R., L.M., E. Santana C. and S. Graf.M. (2002) Una visión del manejo integradode cuencas. Curso Manejo Integrado deEcosistemas. Colegio de Posgraduados.Montecillos, Mexico. 25 Febrero – 1 Marzo.

Tacoli, C. (1998). Bridging the divide: rural-urban interactions and livelihoodstrategies. Gatekeeper Series no. 77.

For further Information:Dr. Peter R.W. GerritsenDepartment of Ecology and NaturalResources (DERN) – IMECBIOUniversity of GuadalajaraP.O. Box 6448900 Autlán, Jalisco,Mexico


The Panama Canal represents hugeeconomic interests, but every ship thatpasses through the locks costs water. Thewater supply to the canal in dry periods canno longer keep up with increased demandfor transport.

One of the main priorities of PanamanianEnvironmental Law (ANAM, 1998) is theprotection, conservation and managementof upland watersheds. The goal is tomaintain the natural water resources forfuture generations. To fulfill this goal,

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management plans have to be developedbased on an assessment of the natural,socio-economic and cultural features ofeach watershed. Important is theparticipation of all stakeholders (e.g. publicinstitutions, local watershed committees)in the surveys and plan development.The present study focuses not only on thewater resources but also on the locallivelihoods values. This approach shouldbe considered when big reforestation plansare addressed to prevent lack of watersupply in different basins, like in thePanama Canal Watershed. Dredging coststhat result from the continous inflow ofsediment are an issue that justifies activemanagement of the agricultural landscape.

Study siteBased on this framework, an assessmentwas conducted of the Bulaba river sub-basin (BSB), located at 8° 32´ N, 81° 06´ W.The Bulaba River is part of the Santa MariaRiver Watershed, which is one of the mostimportant watersheds in Central Panama.There are two types of climates: ‘tropicalmoist’ and ‘highlands temperate very moist’.The sub-basin is located within theTalamanca Forest Eco-region, a regionconsidered to be a global hot spot forbiodiversity (ANAM 2000; Angehr, G.O 1998).The BSB contributes the highest volume ofwater per square kilometer to the SantaMaria River Watershed. According to UNDP-Panama (2002), the human developmentindex for this area is one of the lowest in thecountry. Most of this area is part of the SantaFe National Park (MEF, 2001). The park wascreated mainly to maintain the remainingforests and for the conservation of waterresources. The settlement in this regiondated from 1558, when Spanish colonistsfounded the Santa Fe village for theexploitation of gold mines.

Materials and methodsWe compiled meteorological data, historicdocuments, maps, aerial photos, census,etc. A field survey designed for biodiversitysurveys (Sheil et al. 2000) was adapted to afocus on watershed functions, local use ofnatural resources and legal aspects of landtenure. Maps on the delimitation of the sub-basin, hydrographic features, forest cover,relief, roads, villages, life zones, soils,administrative division were generatedusing Arc View GIS v3.2.

ResultsThe subbasin (total area 85 km2) has 2principal rivers and 23 streams with a totallength of 95 km. The mean flow rate is 8.09m3/s, which corresponds with 8.2 mm/dayor 3000 mm/year. In long dry periods,associated with ENSO events, flow isconsiderably less. While the maximumaltitude is 1518 m above sea level (SaroHill), 26% of the sub-basin has elevationsbetween 600-750 m, with 72% of the territoryon very steep slopes (15-40%). Forest coveris virtually restricted to the Santa Fe NationalPark which covers 66 % of the sub-basin.There are 3 villages inside the Park limits.Between 1992 and 2000 mature forestdecreased by 4% (342 ha). In 1982 forestcover still represented 71% and shrubs/pasture 28% of the land area. In 2000, therewere 18 villages with on average 582inhabitants; this population was stable for2004. Since 1980 population increased inthe north-east side of the BSB, mostly byinflux of migrants. Smallholder agricultureis the principal source of income (corn,cassava, coffee and fruit trees). The majority(65%) of people consulted used steepslopes to cultivate. The main local soilmanagement used is a fallow-crop rotationwith slash and burn land clearing (withoutsoil tillage) and a three year fallow period.

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PROMOTING INTEGRATED WATERRESOURCES MANAGEMENTPRACTICES IN THE VOLTA RIVERBASIN: INVOLVING LOCALCOMMUNITIES IN RESTORATION OFRIVER BANKS

By Elke Verbeeten, Olumide Akinsola,Kwame Odame-Ababio and LudovicTapsoba

Discussion and recommendationsDuring ENSO episodes, water flowdecrease dramatically. Infiltration is the keyto a future integrated water resourcemanagement. Most of the local farmers uselimited soil management practices. At 7villages, it is urgent to develop soil and waterconservation programs for the coffee andcitrus culture. Creating local conservationcommitees in these villages is desirable.The expectation is that by targetedinterventions in the sub-basin, erosion inthe existing ‘hot spots’ can be reduced. Thisway, local livelihoods can be maintainedinstead carrying out big reforestationprograms only. The savings on dredgingcost justify a considerable public investmentin support for local soil conservation.

AcknowledgementsThis study was financed by APRODEC(NGO) with the collaboration of CATHALAC(Water Center for the Humid Tropics of LatinAmerica and the Caribbean) and the supportof the National University of Panama(Veraguas Regional branch). Specialthanks to Mr. Edgar Toribio (localenvironmentalist in Santa Fe), Dr. LuitgardSchuwedenman (University of Göettingen).

ReferencesANAM. 1998. General Law on Environment.

Panama.

ANAM. 2000. National Biodiversity Strategy.Panama.

Angehr, G.O. 1998. Directory of Important BirdAreas in Panama. Panama. 56p.

MEF. 2001. Executive Decree number 147,December 11 2001, by means of it iscreated the Santa Fe National Park in SantaFe district, Veraguas province. Panama.

Sheil Douglas et al. 2002. Exploringbiological diversity, environment and localpeople´s perspectives in forestlandscapes. Center for InternacionalForestry Research (CIFOR), Indonesia

UNDP-Panama. 2002. National Inform onHuman Development. Panama.

Contact:Eric E. Flores De G.Associated researcher CATHALAC, GITEC,President, Environmental Activist, Consultant


The West African Volta River Basin remainsone of the main transboundarywatercourses in Africa without aninternational treaty. The countries BurkinaFaso and Ghana depend on the water fromthe Volta Basin for electricity production,irrigation and municipal water supply. In thepast years, the number of hydraulic andirrigation infrastructures has increasedsignificantly. Since the late 1990s, there hasbeen a growing debate in the basin onseveral issues including the magnitude and

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pressure on existing water resources; alarge hydraulic infrastructure in theupstream; and local authorities andcommunities willing to cooperate.

Characteristics of the sub-basinThe above criteria informed the selection ofa transboundary sub-basin of the WhiteVolta River Basin, called the Nakambe inBurkina Faso. The selected sub-basin onthe Burkina side extends from the Bagrédam southwards to Bitou and Zabrétowards the Ghanaian border.

Since the existence of the Bagré dam smallirrigated areas have been developed alongthe river banks of the Nakambe. Often theseirrigation practices are very inefficient andtend to accelerate erosion andsedimentation in many parts of the river andflood plains. Increased erosion andsedimentation reduce infiltration andimpede the recharge of the groundwaterlevel. Recurrent bush fires also contributeto erosion through destruction of thevegetative cover.

Increased usage of chemical fertiliser andpesticides in agriculture aggravates thisproblem and also contributes to waterpollution. As areas near the river banks areincreasingly used for agriculture, the impactof the level of chemicals in the river on waterfor agriculture and domestic usedownstream is becoming a point of concern.Since water is becoming a scarce resource,access to water is becoming an importantpotential conflict. In addition, duringexceptional raining periods, extensiveflooding occurs resulting in loss offarmlands (especially near the river banks),animals and sometimes human lives.Therefore, immediate actions are requiredto stop these negative developments.

causes of water deficits affecting the lowerreaches of the river system and resulting insevere shortages downstream. Also waterpollution, proliferation of aquatic weeds andhigh incidence of water-related diseasesare issues of concern in the basin.

The IUCN (World Conservation Union) andGlobal Water Partnership (GWP), togetherwith Ghana’s Water ResourcesCommission (WRC), Burkina Faso’sDirection Generale de l’Inventaire desRessources Hydrauliques (DGIRH) andlocal partners have initiated a project toimprove water governance in the Volta RiverBasin. The project activities include: (a)developing a decision-support knowledgebase comprising water managementoptions, (b) developing and implementingmulti-stakeholder pilot Integrated WaterResources Management (IWRM)interventions together, resulting in a betterunderstanding of the basin water resourcesand trans-border problems, and (c)promoting policy and institutional change.

Pilot interventionsThe pilot interventions aim to promoteIWRM water policies and co-operationbetween the two countries. The proposedinterventions should also reduce tensionsbetween the two countries and differentcommunities.

Pilot interventions envisaged will: (a)contribute to institutional support andcapacity building for DGIRH and WRC; (b)establish a stakeholder forum at the levelof the targeted transboundary sub-basin;and (c) implement river bank restoration andre-vegetation to decrease erosion andsiltation rates of the river channels. Theselection of the pilot sub-basin was basedon the following criteria: a high or increasing

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carried out to inform local communities,identify their problems and needs, and topropose solutions and work out action plans.Village committees were formed toimplement these activities.

A dialogue has been initiated betweenrelevant technical experts, local governmentinstitution representatives, water usersassociations, farmers groups, womengroups and community organizations. In thisinitial phase, the project aims to gain thetrust of the communities including allstakeholder groups in the community. Thestakeholders will be identified andrepresented to the committees so that theirinterests, which may include multiple usesof the buffer zones, are taken into accountby river basin decision makers. Thestakeholder’s consultative forum will act asa platform to disseminate information ondifferent issues affecting the communitiesin the White Volta sub-basin.

Issues for reconsideration during projectimplementationA major issue is developing activities thatwill respect stakeholders’ opinions andneeds and at the same time reduce erosionand not increase water consumption.Stakeholders may very well understand thelocal situation, but to what extent are theyaware of the implications of their actions forcommunities downstream? Therefore, agood information flow is important,especially concerning erosion and wateruse of certain types of land use.

A species of economic interest may not bethe best species to prevent erosion. Toreduce erosion, species allowingreasonable undergrowth are preferred.Equally, economically interesting speciesmight not have the most economic water

Restoration of the riverbanks is an activitywhich requires commitment from bothcountries. In Burkina, it is forbidden by law(Code de l’Environnement 1997) to cultivatewithin a zone of 500 meter along the riverbanks. The law is often not enforced: peopledo cultivate these lands. The buffer zonesshould be restored to reduce siltation andpollution downstream. When people moveout of this zone with potential for erosion, itwould have the added benefit of diminishingthe chances of river blindness infection.

Proposed activitiesIn order to proceed with the restoration ofthe buffer zones, the proposed areas willbe delineated. Agricultural activities shouldbe moved out of these zones. Thegovernment will be encouraged to re-allocate new land to farmers ascompensation for the loss of land.

It is envisaged that these buffer zones willbe replanted with local arboriculture trees,improving the livelihoods of the localcommunities. To be successful, treespecies will be selected through aparticipatory approach with the localcommunities. While some communitiesmay prefer fruit trees of economic interest,others may consider firewood species moreimportant. For firewood, species such asDetarium microcarpum and Combretumspecies will be considered.

The overall success and participation of thelocal communities of the Nakambe willdepend on how well-informed thecommunities are about the need for riverbank protection. For example, they need tobe aware of the relationship between thesiltation upstream and the flow of the riverdownstream. Rapid rural appraisals are

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MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES FORFORESTS AND WATERSHEDS INTHE UPPER YANGTZE RIVER BASIN,SICHUAN, CHINA

By Olavi Luukkanen and Ping Zhou

balance, because of deep rooting orinefficient water uptake. This calls forscientific input to assist stakeholders in theselection of the most favourable speciesand activities, respecting the livelihoods ofcommunities both upstream asdownstream.

Other risks include the willingness ofriparian states and communities tocooperate. Without the cooperation of localcommunities the restoration of the riverbanks will be a very difficult, if not animpossible task: hence the consultation ofall stakeholders is of utmost importance.

For more information, please contact:

Project Coordinator,Volta Water Governance Project (PAGEV),IUCN-BRAO01 BP Ouagadougou 01,Burkina FasoPhone: +226 50334023; 50307047

The effects of forests on hydrology havebeen debated internationally for about 80years. The “sponge theory”, “filtration theory”and “pump theory” described the effects aspositive or negative. Although there is nofinal answer to settle the debate so far,forests certainly have the ability to enhancewater quality, moderate peak flows andsequester carbon dioxide. Undoubtedly, theforests also play an important role inreducing soil erosion in mountainouswatersheds.

The Yangtze River, the largest river in Chinaand the third largest in the world, is a cruciallifeline that secures the sustainable socio-economic development of the nation. TheYangtze River basin provides 40% of thefresh water resources in China and meetsthe needs of over 400 million people.However, the Yangtze basin ecosystemshave been damaged due to increasedpopulation, unsustainable and irrationaldevelopment activities, natural disasters,and forest mismanagement.

The upper Yangtze River watershed, whichhas a drainage area of 1.04×106 km2, is anecologically and environmentally fragile area.The watershed is facing manyenvironmental problems such asdeforestation, land and soil degradation,earthquakes, soil erosion, mud- andlandslides, flood, and growing desertification

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farmland to forest and grass in the upperYangtze River”, which is known as “grainfor Green”, to enhance forest ecosystemrestoration.

As part of Finnish-Chinese scientificcooperation, a project was launched in2004, entitled “Trees for the Yangtze River:Watershed management and ecosystemrehabilitation in Sichuan Province, China(WAMEC)”. The Viikki Tropical ResourcesInstitute (VITRI) at the University of Helsinkiand the Chengdu Institute of Biology (CIB)are the lead implementers. The overall aimof the project is to analyze the processes ofland degradation and rehabilitation alongthe Min River, in an important sub-watershedof the Yangtze River basin near Chengdu inSichuan. The study area covers about23,000 km2 and extends to 6,000 melevation.

The following research activities are relatedto forests in this watershed:

• To analyze the effect of forest cover on soilerosion and sediment load;

• To determine the soil erosion rate asaffected by slope and aspect, vegetationtype, and soil type, using spatial data;

• To study the hydrological and other soilfactors that are critical in determining thesuccess of reforestation;

• To describe the indigenous woody plantspecies composition and itssuccessional development as affected byland-use history in forest ecosystems withvarying degrees of disturbance;

• To analyze tree species adaptation andperformance during the process ofwatershed rehabilitation usingphysiological, anatomical andmorphological markers in trees;

of the surrounding mountainous areas. Theforest cover has decreased dramatically inthe last 50 years. The frequency of floodshas increased, and the catastrophic YangtzeRiver flood in 1998 damaged thousands ofhouses. Large areas in the watershed havebecome degraded and drier.

It is known that only little soil erosion willoccur, when the vegetation cover is over80%. Watershed management especiallycal ls for forest restorat ion orrehabilitation to improve soil stability. Themanagement of forest ecosystems of theYangtze River basin has drawnwidespread attention from the Chinesegovernment, river basin authorities, aswel l as domest ic and internat ionalorganizations and institutions.

Since 1989, the Chinese central and localgovernments have provided financial andpol icy support to soi l and waterconservat ion and forest ecosystemrestoration in this region: large-scale soilconservation works took place as part ofthe “State key soil and water conservationproject in the upper Yangtze River basin”.Secondly, an ecological programme –“Conservation forest in the upper andmiddle reaches of the Yangtze River” –was launched in 1989, to protect theheadwaters and to rehabilitate disturbedhabitats. However, from 1990 to 1998, thenatural forest area in the upper YangtzeRiver watershed continued to decrease,despite a repeated emphasis onsustainable development. Then in thewake of the 1998 floods, the policy wasredirected towards rehabi l i tat ion ofdegraded forest ecosystems andimposing a ban on logging of naturalforests. In 2000, the Chinese governmentlaunched a programme “Returning the

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• Recommendations for soil and waterconservation and forest rehabilitation.

It can be concluded that large-scalereforestation in severely degraded areasis an option for achieving sustainablewatershed management. However, theregeneration potential of the existingnatural woody vegetation should also befully utilized. The present joint activitiesof Finnish and Chinese forest ecologists,economists and social scientists areexpected to provide comprehensivemanagement tools regarding trees inwatershed conservat ion andmanagement, for applications in theYangtze River basin and elsewhere.

For more information, contact:

Olavi LuukkanenViikki Tropical Resources InstituteUniversity of HelsinkiP.O.Box 27FIN-00014, HelsinkiFinland

Phone: +358 9 19158643Fax: +358 9 58646

E-mail addres: [email protected]: http://www.honeybee.helsinki.fi/mmeko/vitri

• To study the root system of nitrogen-fixingplants for their potential in reducing soilloss and mudslides and restoring thevegetation in critical zones;

• To study the involvement of localcommunities, community-basedorganisations, NGOs and schools inawareness-raising and participatorywatershed management andconservation, in order to achieveimproved management guidelines andrecommendations.

Preliminary results on the following issuesare available:

• Vegetation dynamics from 1970s to 2004,indicating changes in different vegetationclasses such as forests, shrubs,agriculture crops and herbaceous plants;

• Selection of woody plant species forrehabilitation purposes: a total of 83 treeand shrub species were selected fordifferent types of degraded watersheds,including five ecological zones rangingfrom 1300m to 5700m altitude, and threedifferent soil types;

• Mapping: a digital map was developed,indicating priority areas for quickrestoration, i.e. areas covered by shrubsand adjacent to the existing forests, andthus showing a high potential for forestsrestoration. The map also specifies themost difficult areas for vegetationrestoration, i.e. areas with lowprecipitation as a limiting factor.

• Successional dynamics of natural andplanted tree stands and the potential rolesof degraded natural forests and treeplantations for watershed rehabilitation;

• Quantification of soil erosion loss underdifferent vegetation cover, precipitation,soil erodibility, and slope and aspect; and

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INTEGRATED ECOSYSTEM ANDWATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENTOF THE UPPER-MEKONG RIVERBASIN IN YUNNAN, CHINA

By Wim Douven and Peter van der Meer

Department and State Forestry Authority(China).

Two catchments in the Upper-Mekong(Fengqing and Xiaojie catchment) wereselected as study areas. They were selectedfor their location, near to each other, andsimilar natural characteristics. Bothcatchments are representative for a largerregion of the Lancangjiang Basin as wellas for other basins in this region. In bothcatchments, soil degradation is a problemas much of the original forest was clearedduring the 1950’s and 60’s and most of theland-area, often including very steep slopes,was turned into agricultural land . Despitethese similarities, one of the twocatchments, Xiaojie, had very turbid (muddy)waters, while the other (Fengqing), whichhas a large nature reserve, had muchclearer water.

The objectives of the project were:1 To clarify the causes of observed

differences in the interactions betweenwater and environmental resources andtheir management between bothcatchments;

2 To recommend management measuresfor both catchments and assess theireffects on water-soil-ecosystemsconditions;

3 To develop an integral framework forintegrated watershed management as amanagement tool in both catchments.

The project used a systems analysisapproach. In this approach water resources,forest and agricultural ecosystems, soilerosion, landslides and watershedmanagement aspects were linked throughcausal diagrams, map analysis andscenario analysis. This analysis was fedby data collected on the various aspects at

The ecosystems of the Upper Mekong areunder increasing pressure due to rapidland use changes and unsustainable landuse practices. This pressure affects boththe hydrological and ecological state of theUpper Mekong system through soil erosion,landslides, increased sediment loads,habitat fragmentation, and species loss.This has adverse consequences for thewater flow regulation and ecosystemsfunctions of the region, affecting both localand downstream transboundary areas. Thedifferent government departments ofYunnan Province are seeking to remedy thissituation by developing integratedapproaches to water and ecosystemmanagement.

The project ‘Integrated Ecosystem andWater Resources Management of theLancang (Upper-Mekong) River Basin - apilot research in Fengqing and XiaojieCatchments’ was initiated mid 2003 tosupport Yunnan Province in this effort. This18 month project was carried out by aninterdisciplinary partnership of Chinese andDutch institutes. The following instituteswere involved: Yunnan University, South-West Forestry College, Yunnan Geo-environmental Monitoring Centre, YunnanBureau of Hydrology and Water Resources,UNESCO-IHE, Alterra - Wageningen UR andITC. The project was funded by Partners forWater (The Netherlands), Yunnan Forestry

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both the plot and the catchment scale.

Key findingsDegradation was a problem in bothcatchments. In view of the deforestationsince 1950, human factors play a major role.Some degradation was also observed onabandoned terraces built for agriculture.Overall, degradation in Xiaojie is a largerproblem than in Fengqing, which confirmsthe initial observation that the water inXiaojie is more turbid. The main reasonsare variations in land use and in geology.Land use, i.e. the presence of the naturereserves is the main cause for betterecosystems functioning in Fengqing, andis a contributing factor to differences inerosion and landslides between the twocatchments. The other main factor isgeology, and especially the distribution offaults, which are more prevalent in Xiaojiethan in Fengqing.

Sediment load in the main streams wasinfluenced by the occurrence of gully/surfaceerosion and landslides, and by thepresence of forested areas. Slope terracingand rainwater harvesting facilities provedeffective in conserving soil and water.Surface erosion measurements showed astrong relation between plantcharacteristics, slope, and rill-erosion. Puretea gardens experienced substantial rillerosion, but this was reduced when tea wasinterplanted with Alnus sp. trees. Multipleregression analysis suggested that up to99% of the variation in rill erosion could beexplained by slope, basal area, canopycover, and leaf area index (LAI). However,additional and more detailedmeasurements are required to verify this.

Gully erosion in the catchment with morenature reserves (Fengqing) was less severe

than in the Xiaojie catchment which had alower percentage of land area under forestand dense vegetation.

Preliminary data suggest that steep slopesmay be partly stabilised by underground rootsystems in forested areas. The root systemchanges the underground hydrologicalcharacteristics, and plant cover reduces thesurface erosion. This is expected to resultin fewer and less severe landslides onslopes covered by natural forests. In general,woody plants seemed to have more effecton reducing landslides than herbaceousplants. However, more data are needed toconfirm this.

Practical guidelines for improved water andenvironmental resources managementwere developed. The guidelines specificallyfocussed on water resources, soil erosion,landslides, ecosystems and integratedwatershed management.

The different counties managing bothcatchments recognized the water-soil-ecosystem problems and areimplementing several measures includingreforestation programmes. However, thelack of an integral watershed managementplan for the two catchments results in a lackof synergy between the various measuresimplemented.

The project proposed a managementprocedure to develop and assessintegrated watershed managementstrategies (and measures) to localmanagement and stakeholders to supportthe first steps of such an integrationprocess.

Lessons learnedProject partners with different disciplinary

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multiple objectives such as flood prevention,erosion control, protection of wildlife habitat,agricultural production and provision ofrecreation.

Watershed management is not solely theresponsibility of government agencies andconservancy districts, but also of thecommunities. Institutional andorganisational structures in the Upper-Mekong region should be established tofacilitate cooperation between differentsectors while involving relevantstakeholders. Public and politicalawareness raising and capacity buildingprogrammes should support this.

In the project we studied two smallercatchments in the Upper-Mekong.Implementation of recommendations at thisscale will not only have positive effects atthe local scale but also at a larger(international) scale in terms of waterquantity and sediment-load in downstreamareas. Another way to reach basin wideimpacts is to study the possibilities andlimitations of up-scaling locally developedknowledge and recommendations from theproject to other similar regions.

AcknowledgmentsWe would like to to acknowledge the projectteam of Upper Mekong project: Chen Qibo,Dang Chenglin, Guo You’an, Rudi Hessel,Peng Mingchun, Ruben Vargas Franco,Wang Chongyun, Wu Liqun, Zhang Honbing,Zhong Minchuan and Yangxiao Zhou

Contact:Dr. Wim DouvenUNESCO-IHE Institute for Water EducationDepartment of Environmental ResourcesWestvest 7

backgrounds worked together to develop anintegrated systems understanding of thewatersheds. This approach proved to beessential for the realistic assessment ofpresent and proposed managementmeasures.

Government representatives from the countyand provincial level were closely involved inthe project. They provided valuable input interms of local knowledge on resource uses,management measures and stakeholderviews. Involving government officers alsoraised their awareness on the importanceof integrated management of land and waterresources and helped create ownership ofthe results. Hopefully, this will contribute tosuccessful implementation of the projectresults.

Several of the conservation measuresproposed were already being applied inboth catchments. Terracing is a frequentlyused traditional technology, and whenproperly executed it can be very effective. Anature reserve was established, and itprovided improved biodiversity as well asgood protection against erosion andlandslides. A biogas programme was alsoeffective in protecting forests, as the biogaswas used instead of firewood. The studyshowed that these measures had a positiveeffect on water-soil-ecosystem conditions.A number of new actions with proven impactin similar regions were proposed in additionto existing measures.

Recommendations for the future policiesand best practiceManagement of the Upper-Mekongwatershed was traditionally oriented alongsectoral lines. Watershed managementshould recognize the multitude of functionswatersheds provide and the need to meet

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By Patrick T. Evans

FLOOD FORESTS AND COMMUNITYFISHERIES ON THE TONLE SAPGREAT LAKE, CAMBODIA

the lake from June until October. During aperiod of 4 months the depth of the lakeincreases by some 9 meters and thesurface area expands fivefold to cover some1.25 million ha. As the water rises, millionsof fish migrate back into the lake and ontothe extensive floodplain, which provideshabitat and food for some 140 fish species.This unique flood cycle and associated floodforest vegetation have resulted in what isconsidered to be the 4th most productivefreshwater fisheries in the world.

Maintenance of the flood forest vegetationis considered essential to ensure theproductivity of the fisheries. In the early1990’s, rapid clearing of forests foragriculture expansion and fuelwoodcollection resulted in the Government ofCambodia seeking outside assistance tohelp protect the flood forests and thefisheries of the Tonle Sap Great Lake. TheGovernment of Belgium agreed to providethe financial support with the Food andAgriculture Organization of the UnitedNations (FAO) providing technicalassistance.

The project “Participatory natural resourcemanagement in the Tonle Sap region” wasinitiated in January 1995. The early yearsfocused on understanding the needs andopportunities of the fishing communitieslocated within the province of Siem Reapon the north shore of the Great Lake. Theproject was extended into a second andsubsequent third phase with an overallproject objective: “To establish responsible,productive, and sustainable managementof forest and fishery resources by localcommunities to meet local needs and tostimulate local development within theprovince of Siem Reap”. Implementedthrough government counterpart staff of the

2611 AX DelftThe Netherlands

Phone: +31 15 2151712Fax: +31 15 2122921E-mail: [email protected]

Peter van der MeerAlterra – Wageningen University andResearch Centre


Cambodia continues to struggle with povertyand food insecurity after decades of warfareand civil unrest. Peace finally came in 1998,however poverty and corruption continue tolimit opportunities for the majority of thecountry’s 12 million inhabitants. Anestimated 80% of the population is stilldependent on agriculture and/or access toforest and fish resources to provide theirlivelihoods.

Nestled in the heart of Cambodia is theTonle Sap Great Lake. Unique in the world,this amazing body of water drains to anaverage depth of only 1 meter in the dryseason with a surface area of some250,000 hectares. However with the onsetof the monsoon, the rising Mekong Rivercauses the river that drains the Tonle Sapto stop flowing and to reverse flow back into

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provincial departments of forestry, fisheriesand environment, the staff went to thevillages as facilitators to assist local peoplewith protection and responsiblemanagement of the natural resources uponwhich their livelihoods depended. By late2000, the project had 7 community fisheriesorganizations established for the protectionand management of some 10,000 ha offlood forest fisheries resources.

An overriding constraint at the time was acommercial fishing concession systemestablished in colonial times, whichallocated the most productive fishinggrounds to private operators. This “fishinglot” system provided 80% of the dry seasonlakeshore to only 18 men – and a total ofsome 240 men controlled nearly 1 millionhectares of prime fishing grounds aroundthe lake and rivers. The system wasexploitative of the resources and rife withcorruption. With the advent of peace in 1998and start of community fisheries on the lake,fishermen felt secure enough to speak outagainst the injustices of the “fishing lot”system. As reported conflicts betweenfishermen and fishing lot operatorsincreased, the Prime Minister paid a visit toSiem Reap in October of 2000. Having beenbriefed about community fisherydevelopment within the province, he agreedto the release of some 8,000 ha fromcommercial fishing lots for communityprotection and management. This initialoffering opened the door and sparked afisheries reform process which, driven byfishing communities, swept the country andresulted by mid 2001 in the release of some536,000 ha from commercial fishing lotsfor local community management. Thiswas an unprecedented event in the transferof management responsibility frompowerful individuals to local communities

in the name of poverty reduction and foodsecurity.

The project was well positioned to respondto the need of community facilitation toensure responsible protection andmanagement of the fisheries resources.Between the years 2001 and 2004, theproject assisted 116 villages of some100,000 people to establish protection andmanagement for 108,000 ha of flood forest,open lake, and associated brush fields /grass lands. The villages have noworganized themselves into 15 communityfisheries organizations – each of which hasby-laws, rules / regulations andmanagement plans to ensure effectivemanagement.

As community fisheries took off in SiemReap province, numerous NGOs initiatedactivities with communities in otherprovinces around the Great Lake. However,an over-riding concern has been lack oflegislation. A community fisheries sub-decree was drafted in 2001 and hasundergone numerous revisions. A newFisheries Law was drafted in 1999, whichhas since been revised to accommodatecommunity fisheries. Both the newFisheries Law and sub-decree are awaitingapproval.

The project served as a pilot project for thegovernment in development of bothcommunity fisheries on the Great Lake andcommunity forestry in the uplandcommunities. When the project came to anend on 30 April 2005, some 108,000 hawere under community fisheriesmanagement and some 20,000 ha undercommunity forestry management. Recentemphasis has been on income generationthrough resource productivity enhancement

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By Edgar F. Prieto and Santiago R. Duque

SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OFFISH RESOURCES IN THEYAHUARCACA WETLANDS,COLOMBIAN AMAZON

and effective management. Uplandcommunities are now harvesting andselling wooden poles to fishingcommunities who are now sellingincreasing quantities of fish from improvedmanagement. Protection of the flood foresthas been the central issue for the fishingcommunities along with control ofdestructive fishing practices as well asprotection and management of fishsanctuaries in deep-water areas to providerefuge to brood stock during the dry season.Recently, the Government of Cambodia hastaken a 10 million dollar loan from the AsianDevelopment Bank to support and expandcommunity fisheries around the Tonle SapGreat Lake. This new program hastechnical support from FAO and has initiatedactivities as the Belgium funded projectcame to a close. Both government staff andlocal communities are establishing newcollaborative relationships for the long-termprotection and sustainable management ofthe Tonle Sap with improved livelihoods forfishing communities being the centraltheme.

Contact information:Patrick T. EvansE-mail: [email protected]

Fish diversity and local managementfollowing the rhythm of inundationRiverine forests are an important habitat forfish: the forests provide the fish with foodand they serve as safe breeding grounds.In the Yahuarcaca floodplains of theColombian Amazon, the presence of fish issubject to seasonal changes in the waterlevel.

Understanding local fishermen´sperceptions of seasonal changes in thefunctions of forests and water related to fishdiversity is important for developing a soundnatural resource management plan.

The Yahuarcaca floodplain, located near thecity of Leticia in south Colombia, is one ofthe most important wetland ecosystems inthe Colombian Amazon given its multiplefunctions. The lakes in the Yahuarcacafloodplain originated from remnants offormer meanders (oxbow lakes) of theAmazon River, and serve as a source ofdrinking water for the city of Leticia. The areais important for tourism, but also popularas a place for people to settle. Moreover,the riverine forests are of vital importance tothe indigenous people living in the area: theysupply fish for local consumption and smallscale commercialization at the local market.

Tropenbos International Colombia, incollaboration with the National University of

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Colombia and the University of Sevilla(Spain), initiated an integrated study toincrease the understanding of theecosystem as a basis for a sustainablemanagement plan for the Yahuarcacafloodplains.

The project gathered technical informationon aquatic ecology, ichthyology, fish speciescomposition, nutritional and reproductivecharacteristics of the fish species, as wellas on population dynamics of some of theoccurring species and on fisheries. One ofthe most ambitious challenges for theproject was to design a managementsystem that would include natural resourcesuse, without compromising on conservationobjectives.

Given the fishing activities and many othertypes of use of the Yahuarcaca lakes, theproject required an interdisciplinaryapproach. In addition to biological andecological studies, the project includedanthropology and participatory research bythe local communities. In collaboration withthe local fishermen, a monitoring systemwas set up which included registering thefish caught for consumption and monthlysampling of the chemical composition ofthe water, phytoplankton and presence offish species.

Two members of the of the local La Playacommunity were part of the research teamas co-investigators: they were in charge ofrecovering historical and traditionalinformation about the area and the fishspecies, based on testimonies from localwise men and experienced fishermen. Asthey both had a talent for drawing, they wereasked to illustrate the functioning of thelakes in relation to the seasonal flooding,in order to demonstrate the seasonal

changes in the lakes and on the higher drylands. This resulted in a series of fourposters and a booklet, which formed thebasis for discussions about the currentsituation in the Yahuarcaca region, and forintegrated analysis and thinking aboutpossible solutions. In fact, the postersproved to be useful tools for both facilitatingdialogue and environmental education.

The research and exchange of informationbetween the project and local people led toa better understanding of the dynamics ofthe Yahuarcaca wetland system. This isessential to the ongoing process of definingsustainable management and conservationof the fish resources. The approachdeveloped by the project, encouraging localpeople to clarify and register localknowledge by drawing has potential forfurther use. It may be developed as aneducational tool, to strengthen localknowledge and awareness, and to recoverand record traditions of indigenouscommunities in the Amazon region.

Below, the four illustrations depictingseasonal changes of the YahuarcacaLakes are introduced. For a reproductionof the drawings, please refer to 76 -77

Seasonal changes: water, forests and fishThe forest is very important for theindigenous people and for to the fish; duringthe period of rising, high and descendingwaters, the forests offer the fish shelter andfood. The seasonal changes in waterleveland presence of fish species are illustratedby the drawings made by Jezus DámazoYoni and Abraham Ipuchima.

Descending waters (May - July)As the water level decreases the trees

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become “sad” as their leaves becomeyellowish. Many fish species migrate to theAmazon River: thus this is not a goodseason for fishing.

However, there is some good news for thefishermen. In June, the icy winds (‘friaje’)coming from Brazil brings in cold weather,which forces the fish to the surface tobreathe, making it easy for the fishermen tocatch them with arrows.

Low waters (August – September)The water levels are the lowest during themonths August and September. The treesare cut off (stand separate) from the waterand the swamp vegetation; grass andthorny bushes start to grow. The fish are abit thin and hide under the swampyvegetation, making fishing difficult. In thisseason, the number of fish species is thelowest. Consequently, fishing usually givespoor results. Mainly nets are used forfishing.

Rising waters (October – December)From October onwards, trees such as the‘espino’ (a thorny tree) and the wild cherrystart to grow leaves. Several fish speciesstart to return to the lakes. Many fish lay eggsin this period. Though it is possible to catchfish, the catch is just enough to feed thefamily. Fishing is done with fibre and silknets in all lakes.

High waters (January – April)During high water levels, most trees havefruits or flowers. Many other fish speciesare returning to the lakes. Catching fish iseasy: fishermen use hooks, fibre nets andarrows. In April and May, at the end of thehigh waters, fishing is even better. The‘Mijano’ (reproductive migration of fish)begins in from the rivers of Brazil towards

the origins of the Amazon in the months Apriland May. During these months, fishermenmainly use fibre nets for fishing. Therichness in fish species is the highest inthis period. Since fish is abundant, part ofthe catch is sold at the market in Leticia.


Edgar F. Prieto PiraquiveUniversidad Nacional Experimental de losLlanos Occidentales Ezequiel ZamoraE-mail: [email protected]

Santiago R. DuqueUniversidad Nacional de Colombia – SedeAmazoníaE-mail: [email protected]

Carlos RodríguezTropenbos International - ColombiaE-mail: [email protected]

Project team members: Ángela BolívarGarcía, Bernardo Corrales Gómez, EnriqueCarrizosa, Silvia Lopez Casas, JesusDámazo Yoni, Abraham Ipuchima, CarlosGranado-Lorencio

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PEAT SWAMP FORESTS OFSOUTH-EAST ASIA – DO THEY HAVEA FUTURE?

By Jack Rieley & S.E. Page

It is seven years since research commencedon the EU INCO funded projects on tropicalpeatlands in Southeast Asia. The first of theseEUTROP (Natural Resource Functions,Biodiversity and Sustainable Management ofTropical Peatland) provided baselinescientific and socio-economic data on thisimportant natural resource. This wasfollowed by STRAPEAT (Strategies forImplementing Sustainable Management ofTropical Peatland) that focussed onstakeholder integration and produced vitaldocumentation on ‘Wise Use of TropicalPeatland’. These two projects have beencompleted and succeeded byRESTORPEAT, the key objectives of whichare to:1 Coordinate international activities that

address global and regional issues ofrestoration, carbon balance, watermanagement, biodiversity conservationand poverty alleviation related tosustainable management of tropicalpeatswamp forest and peatland.

2 Facilitate access to existing knowledgeand expertise and conduct targettedresearch on restoration of tropical peatswamp forest to promote sustainablelivelihoods of local people.

3 Provide a scientific and technologicalframework for knowledge transfer andhuman capacity development related torestoration of peat swamp forest andtropical peatland to the benefit of the ECand DCs.

As a result of our work to date with 14partners in the EU and Southeast Asia wenow know much about this important butthreatened ecosystem. Unfortunately, overthe past 15 years, tropical peatlands havebecome a target for natural resourceexploitation and inappropriate, major landuse change.

Natural resource functions, products andvaluesTropical peatlands are composed of anumber of physical, biological and chemicalcomponents, including organic soils, water,nutrients and plant and animal species.Processes that operate between and withinthese components allow peatlands toperform certain functions (e.g. carbonsequestration and storage) and generateproducts (e.g. forest resources). Tropicalpeat swamp forests are important habitatsfor endangered and rare wildlife andreservoirs of specialised biodiversity andgenetic resources. Their unique, rainwater-fed hydrology and large water-storagecapacity gives them an important role in thewater cycle through their detention, retentionand supply functions. They are also one ofthe last remaining wildernesses on thisplanet.

Biodiversity and Forest ResourcesSeveral studies have highlighted the rolethat tropical peat swamp forests play inproviding habitats for endangered,threatened and vulnerable species ofplants, birds, fish, invertebrates, mammalsand reptiles. Of particular conservationimportance is the large population of orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) within the peatswamp forests of Kalimantan. Peat swampforests yield many important products suchas timber and bark and secondary, non-timber products.

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HydrologyIn tropical, ombrogenous peatlands, as inboreal and temperate bogs, there is aperched, often domed, rainwater-fed watertable that remains close to the surfacethroughout the year. The surface peat layer(acrotelm) has an oscillating water table anda high hydraulic conductivity that facilitatesrapid sub-surface flow towards the edge ofthe dome. The bulk of a tropical peat deposit(the catotelm) has more or less constantwater content, a considerably lowerhydraulic conductivity and, because of thelarge volume of many tropical peatlands, avery substantial water storage capacity.

CarbonTropical peatlands are one of the largestcarbon stores on this planet. Oncedisturbed and drained, some of this carbonis released to the atmosphere as carbondioxide, which contributes to thegreenhouse effect. If maintained in theirnatural state, the peat swamps of SoutheastAsia would continue to act as carbon sinks.The carbon accumulation rate of tropicalpeat exceeds the range of values attributedto temperate and boreal peats by a factor ofbetween 3 and 6, indicating that tropicalpeatlands have played a more importantrole in this respect than is indicated by theirarea.

Livelihoods of local peoplePeat swamp forest in Central Kalimantan(Indonesian Borneo) has been used byindigenous peoples for generations tosatisfy some of their subsistencerequirements. This has included gatheringfood, timber, firewood and medicinal plants,hunting, fishing, and shifting agriculture. Inrecent times some of these have becomeimportant as major sources of cash incometo satisfy the market economy requirements

of both indigenous and migrantcommunities. This increased andcontinuous utilisation is threatening the veryexistence of the natural resources of thepeat swamp forests.

Sector uses and impacts

AgricultureLarge areas of tropical peatlands have beenconverted to agriculture, following forestclearance and drainage. Agriculturaldevelopment of thicker tropical peats,beyond tidal influence, has been largelyineffective, mostly because plannersconsider peatlands to be just another typeof land and do not to take into account thespecial physical and chemical propertiesof the peat soils. One of the largest projectsto attempt to convert tropical peatland toagricultural use was the one million hectareMega Rice Project in Central Kalimantan,which was brought to an early close in 1998,following a series of difficulties, not the leastof which was the failure to produce a ricecrop on the acidic, nutrient-deficient peatsoils.

Forestry and illegal loggingPeat swamp forests with their valuable treeshave been subjected to timber and non-timber exploitation. As species regenerationin peat swamp forest is slower than in otherforest types, both legal (controlled) andillegal (uncontrolled) logging practices havehad considerable impacts on both peatswamp forests and the peatlandenvironment. In Indonesia, illegal loggingthreatens the integrity and long-termhydrological stability of the peat swampforest ecosystem since timber extraction islargely by narrow, shallow canals that aredug into the peat. Law enforcement effortsare weak and sporadic at best and

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government policy is ineffective.

Land use changePeatland drainage can have a seriousimpact on water availability and quality. TheMega Rice Project, for example, led tosevere water shortage in the dry seasonand flooding in the wet season, while thewater in some of the channels became veryacidic and therefore unsuitable for domesticand agricultural use.

FireTropical peat swamp forest resources andnatural functions are being damagedseverely by fire and may be destroyed foreverwith potentially devastating consequenceslocally, regionally and globally. The failedMega Rice Project disrupted the peatswamp forest ecosystem over an area of atleast one million hectares and it becamefire prone. Eighty per cent of this landscapeburned in 1997 releasing about 0.15 billiontonnes of carbon to the atmosphere whilepeatland fires throughout Indonesia as awhole liberated 1-2.5 billion tonnes ofcarbon equal to 15-40% of the annualglobal carbon emissions from the burningof fossil fuels.

Global Implications

Contribution of Peatlands to Climate ChangeThe contribution of tropical peatlands toclimate change comes about as a result ofemission of several greenhouse gases,especially carbon dioxide and methane.These gases are released by naturalpeatlands but the amount is increasedgreatly when they are damaged ordegraded. If the surface dries out for part orall of the year, or is subjected to drainageand/or cultivation, the peatland undergoesaerobic oxidation at its surface with release

of carbon dioxide as a result ofdecomposition.

Impact of Climate Change on PeatlandsThe main impacts of future climate changeon tropical peatlands are likely to be throughchanges in temperature and waterresources that could bring aboutreplacement of some of the original peatswamp species by others, leading toalterations in their biodiversity and hydrology.Sea level rise may affect lowland tropicalpeatlands by replacing coastal freshwaterhabitats with saline or brackish ones orcausing enhanced flooding further inlandwith the extension of swamp and peatlandin the interior. Climate change may alsoaffect the peatland carbon sink and store,although the direction of this change isuncertain owing to various climate relatedcontributory factors, human interference andthe number of possible responses.

The future

Unfortunately, Governments of developingcountries in the tropics have higherpriorities than maintenance of the naturalresource functions of peatlands. It isessential, however, that future land use oftropical peatland takes fully into account theprinciples and practices of sustainabledevelopment and incorporates the ‘wiseuse’ approach. The wise use of tropicalpeatlands involves several elements,foremost amongst which is theidentification of the benefits and values thatthese wetlands can provide and the adverseenvironmental and human consequencesresulting from their disturbance. In this way,the role that tropical peatlands play inproviding goods and services to society canbe assessed properly and the scale andconsequences of various impacts forecast.

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Multiple resource use, involvingstakeholders, is more likely to safeguardthe range of functions, attributes andservices that forested peatlands can provideto a wide range of users than single sectorapproaches.

ReferencesMorrogh-Bernard, H., Husson, S., Page,

S.E. and Rieley, J.O. (2003) Populationstatus of the Bornean orang-utan (Pongopygmaeus) in the Sebangau peat swampforest, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia.Biological Conservation, 110: 141-152.

Page, S.E., Siegert, F., Rieley, J.O., Boehm,H-D.V., Jaya, A. and Limin, S.H. (2002) Theamount of carbon released from peat andforest fires in Indonesia during 1997.Nature, 420: 61-65.

Page, S.E., Wüst, R.A.J., Weiss, D., Rieley,J.O., Shotyk, W. and Limin, S.H. (2004) Arecord of Late Pleistocene and Holocenecarbon accumulation and climate changefrom an equatorial peat bog (Kalimantan,Indonesia): implications for past, presentand future carbon dynamics. Journal ofQuaternary Science, 19: 625-635.

Further information:J.O. RieleySchool of Geography,University of Nottingham, UK


S.E. PageDepartment of Geography,University of Leicester, UK


Further information on the outputs of the EUINCO Projects on tropical peatlands ofSoutheast Asia can be obtained from thefollowing web sites:- www.geog.nottingham.ac.uk/%7Erieley/eutrop/eutropmain.html- www.alterra-research.nl/pls/portal30/docs/folder/strapeat/strapeat/default.htm- www.restorpeat.alterra.wur.nl

By Henk Wösten

WATER MANAGEMENT OFPEATLANDS IN THE AIR HITAMLAUT RIVER BASIN IN INDONESIA

The Air Hitam Laut (meaning “black waterflowing to the sea”) river located in Jambiprovince, Sumatra, Indonesia, is a typicalriver for Southeast Asian lowland peatswamp forests. The river bisects BerbakNational Park, which was established as aRamsar site because it is typical for peatswamp forest habitats in Southeast Asia. Inthe early 1990s Berbak National Parkrepresented about 30% of the remainingrelatively undisturbed peat swamp forest inSumatra, but over the last decades the areawas increasingly affected by fires. In 1981/82 fires in Berbak were concentrated in peatswamp forest areas affected by coastalagricultural encroachments and illegallogging, but in 1992 and 1997/98 firesdestroyed over 16 000 ha of primary forestin the core zone of the park. Nowadays,tropical peat swamp forests are undertremendous pressure from agriculture andforestry. Hydrology is a key factor in theecology of this increasingly threatenedhabitat, and thus water (and water

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management) plays a key role inmaintaining its support functions. Thehydrology of the Air Hitam Laut river basinwas modelled with the existing SIMGRO(SIMulation of GROundwater flow andsurface water levels) model. Considerableeffort was spent on collecting required inputdata such as elevation of the river basin(DEM), groundwater levels and rainfall data.The calibrated and validated model wasused to evaluate possible consequencesof three realistic future scenarios:1 Expansion of oil palm plantation

upstream2 Expansion of agriculture downstream,

and3 Continuing fire damage.

Scenario 1: Expansion of oil palmplantation upstreamExpansion of oil palm plantations in theupstream area of the Air Hitam Laut riverbasin is ongoing and may eventually coverthe whole area. Under the current plantationpractice, oil palm cultivation requiresdrainage up to 70 cm depth, inducingsubsidence of the peat surface. The modelpredicts that the impact of 50 years ofdrainage and associated peat subsidencewill lower soil elevation inside the plantationby as much as 3-4 meters. Such subsidencewill result in reduced water flow towards theAir Hitam Laut River as the gradient towardsthe river will become too low. As aconsequence, the drainage direction in theplantation area will gradually shift fromdrainage towards the Air Hitam Laut Riverto drainage to the north towards the lower-lying Kumpeh River. In due course, thewhole upstream area may be decoupledfrom the Air Hitam Laut watershed andbecome part of the Kumpeh watershed.This would result in much less water forBerbak National Park. Decoupling of the

upstream area would also result in muchless river water for the downstream coastalagricultural area. Shortage of good qualitywater will seriously decrease agriculturalproduction in these coastal areas.

Scenario 2: Expansion of agriculture indownstream (coastal) areasAreas under agricultural use downstreamin the Air Hitam Laut river basin areexpanding due to population growth in thecoastal zone. An average subsidence overthe whole area of about 4.5 cm/year wouldresult in a total subsidence of more than 2meters after 50 years. The mineral subsoilin the agricultural area is found atapproximately 3 m above mean sea level.This would mean that peat in the agriculturalarea would have totally disappeared after50 years in about 1/3 of the area, whereas50% would have only a thin layer of peat left.The mineral subsoil is of marine origin andcontains pyrite. It is therefore very likely thatproblems related to the occurrence of theseacid sulphate soils, already encountered bythe local people, will only increase in thefuture. Decreased discharge rates of riverwater caused by expansion of oil palmplantations in the upstream area would alsoincrease the negative effects of salt seawater intruding the coastal agriculturalareas. Both effects would make agriculturalproduction in the coastal zone more difficult.

Scenario 3: Continuing fire damageFire damage in the Air Hitam Laut watershedis difficult to predict, but whatever fireprevention measures are taken, fires arelikely to occur in the future. Photo: M.J. SilviusTo demonstrate the impact of peat fires anew surface map (DEM) was constructed,simulating the situation following theburning of more large areas. To constructthis map, areas were selected that had a

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groundwater level deeper than 1 m belowsoil surface during the dry periods in the ElNiño year 1997. These areas wereconsidered to be fire-prone and most likelyto burn in a future dry year. The assumptionwas that fires would decrease the surfaceelevation of the affected areas by 1 meter.Combining these areas with the areasalready burnt resulted in a new surface map(DEM). This new DEM was used to calculategroundwater levels and flooding patterns.The impact on the hydrology, and moreimportantly on the area affected by flooding,showed that especially the deeply floodedareas with more than 1.5 m inundation willincrease by almost a factor 5. This wouldseriously hamper possibilities forrestoration of peat swamp forests.

Overall assessmentThe many human-induced land usechanges observed in the Air Hitam Laut riverbasin all caused a lowering of groundwaterlevels due to drainage. The negativeconsequences included increased soilsubsidence and fire susceptibility.Restoration and conservation of peatswamp forests in the Berbak National Parkwill require restoring the hydrologicalintegrity of the river basin with groundwaterlevels at or close to the soil surface.Sustainable development of agriculturealong the coast requires maintenance ofthe dynamic hydrological balance of the AirHitam Laut river basin. The envisaged land-use changes in the upper part of the AirHitam Laut river basin pose a huge andhitherto unknown threat to the downstreamhuman livelihoods and biodiversity. Thehydrological model has helped reveal thisthreat before it is too late to reverse it. Thisreversal will require conservation of the peatswamp forests in the upstream area andhalting further conversion to agricultural

systems requiring drainage. In addition,economic measures to improve thelivelihoods of local people and effective lawenforcement will be essential for restorationand conservation to be sustainable.

For references and further reading, pleasevisit:www.waterfoodecosystems.nl orwww.peat-portal.net

For further information, please contact:Henk Wösten (hydrological research)Alterra - Wageningen University andResearch CentreP.O. Box 476700 AA WageningenThe Netherlands

Phone: +31 317 474287E-mail: [email protected]: http://www.alterra.wur.nl

Ingrid Gevers (project management)International Agricultural Centre -Wageningen University and ResearchCentreP.O. Box 886700 AB WageningenThe Netherlands

Phone: +31 317 495378E-mail: [email protected]: http://www.iac.wur.nl

This project was generously supported bythe Netherlands government under thePartners for Water Programme. It wasimplemented as part of the project portfolioof the Water for food and Ecosystemsprogramme, which responded to the Dutchpledge at the World Water Forum held inThe Hague in 2001.

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COMMUNITY BASED PLANNINGAND ACTION FOR SUSTAINABLEPEAT SWAMP FORESTMANAGEMENT IN INDONESIA

By Jolanda van den Berg

Hitam Laut river and unsustainableexploitation of both wood and non wood forestresources in Berbak National Park. Thearticle by Wösten (p. 81) describes thehydrological scenario developmentcomponent of the project, indicating the realthreats to people’s livelihoods if forestdestruction continues. The AgriculturalEconomics Research Institute of theNetherlands (LEI) and national partnerorganisations defined and implemented asocio-economic project component to dealwith problems of uncontrolled forestexploitation. This component focused onfacilitating exchange of lessons learned andbest practices on peat swamp forestexploitation for local income and subsistenceand on identifying and developing alternativeincome sources to reduce the pressure onwood and non-wood forest products.

The project organised trainings, workshopsand study tours, involving all majorstakeholder groups. It conducted communitybased planning and action research in twopilot villages, to develop options for increasedcommunity involvement in the managementof Air Hitam Laut river basin and BerbakNational Park. Activities focused on identifyingand developing non-forest based sourcesof income, including promoting sustainablefarming practices, and on increasingawareness on the importance of peatswamp forest conservation among localcommunities. Prior to these activities amultidisciplinary team carried out adiagnostic study. By using rural rapidappraisals (RRA) methods, they collectedinformation, identified and becameacquainted with the stakeholders and startedconsultations with these stakeholders. Theteam consisted of researchers from JambiUniversity, staff of Berbak National Park, andrepresentatives of pilot village communities

Although local communities may pose athreat to peat swamp forests, they are alsodependant on the swamp forest resourcesfor their survival. Therefore, collaborating withlocal communities can provide an opportunityto learn about swamp forest management.

In 2002-2004 a project was implemented topromote the river basin and ecosystemapproach for sustainable management ofSouth-East Asian lowland peat swampforests. It was conducted as part of theNetherlands’ Programme Water for Food andEcosystems.

The project focused on the Air Hitam Lautriver basin located in Jambi province,Sumatra, Indonesia. A large part of the riverbisects the Berbak National Park that wasestablished in 1997 to protect the peatswamp forest for its ecological and socio-economic functions, habitat and itsbiodiversity. Around two thirds of the total areaof Berbak National Park consists of peatswamp (fresh water) forest. This type of forestis essential for the survival of localpopulations because it is a source of manyforest products and it regulates flood and flow,preventing salt water intrusion in coastalagricultural areas and supplying fresh waterfor both domestic use and irrigation. However,the remaining peat swamp forests arethreatened by the expansion of agriculturaland settlement areas downstream of the Air

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and PINSE (Pinang Sebatang), the partnerNGO working in the project area. LEI trainedteam members in using participatoryresearch tools to initiate the process ofdiagnostic research.

Community based planning and action inpracticeThe implementing NGO, PINSE, organisedvillage meetings to discuss the status of peatswamp forest in the region and theconstraints to local development. In both pilotvillages, PINSE assisted two communitygroups in preparing local development actionplans, overseeing the implementation ofactivities and negotiating sharingagreements, including defining participatingmembers, responsibilities and tasks. Foreach village, a community worker wasrecruited to support these communitygroups. The project included on-the-jobtraining for community workers and staffmembers of PINSE in basic concepts ofparticipatory approaches and participatorydevelopment planning at the community level.

In both villages, community groups identifiedand prioritized development opportunities toaddress their most important problemsduring a two-day planning workshop. Theyalso developed concrete and realistic plans.At subsequent meetings, the groupsreached a consensus, selecting chickenbreeding and coconut farming as focalactivities. They also developed detailedworking schedules. Leaders of thecommunity groups and PINSE staff signedfive years agreements on mutualcontributions to the implementation ofdevelopment activities. Working capital toimplement these activities was allocated tothe community groups under the conditionthat they would allocate abandoned(‘sleeping’) agricultural land, 2 hectares per

community group, for tree growing activities.The community groups received training ontree growing, seedling preparation andnursery development and management. Theparticipants selected the tree species to beplanted through consensus.

The project organised participatorymonitoring workshops at the village level, tolearn about the problems of community groupmembers related to the implementation ofthe focal activities and to formulate actions toaddress these problems. Project work plansand budgets were revised accordingly.

The project also organised study tours forrepresentatives of community groups to raiseawareness on threats to peat swamp forestsand to demonstrate good practices of peatland management. At the community level,hands-on trainings, for instance on waterlevel management, promoted sustainablefarming practices and facilitated exchangeof information and experience betweencommunity members, project researchersand community organizers. During theworkshops, representatives of the villages,researchers, and governmental andnongovernmental representativesdiscussed negative consequences ofcurrent land use and explored future optionsfor sustainable development.

Lessons learned• Community based planning and action

highlighted local livelihood issues andencouraged the participation of localcommunities in peat swamp forestmanagement. Preliminary observationsalso indicated that the approachempowered local communities byimproving their problem-solving capacityand building knowledge, skills andorganisational capacity. However, the

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process takes time.

• Working through community groups at thevillage level offers villagers an opportunityto communicate and learn from eachother and from other stakeholders,including project researchers, technicalexperts, forest officers and NGO field staff.However, understanding the diversitywithin community groups in terms ofgender, ethnicity and access to resourcesand decision-making is essential for thequality of project outcomes. For instance,landless people have probably notbenefited from project activities becauseland contribution was a principal conditionfor participating in tree farming activities.

• The experience and capabilities of thecommunity workers have a key influenceon the direction and outcomes of thedevelopment activities. Careful selection,support and training are thus essential.

• Identification of sustainable alternativeincome opportunities is easier said thandone in a context of poor infrastructurefacilities and low agricultural productionlevels caused by acid sulphate soils.Local communities consider livestockproduction and tree farming, usingspecies such as Durian (Duriozibethinus), Jelutung (Dyera spp./ Dyeraconsulata), and Pulai (Alstoniapneumatophora) as potential alternativeincome opportunities. Jelutungplantations, which are alreadycommercially managed in the area,require no or minimal drainage and thusoffer a key opportunity for achievingenvironmentally sustainabledevelopment.

Future actionsContinued external financial assistance willbe needed with an emphasis on trust funds

that enable community groups to competefor small grants or micro-credits toimplement their own specific developmentaction plans.

Key challenges to the future include:a Access to markets should be improved.

Development of successful marketingstrategies and closer partnershipsbetween community groups andcommercial companies is important fordeveloping agricultural, horticultural andforest products; this is indispensable forlong-term success. Companies shouldbe approached as they have easy accessto markets, capital, skills andtechnologies.

b Enhanced cooperation between local andregional levels and non-governmentaland governmental sectors is crucial forempowering communities in decision-making processes. This may be achievedby strengthening existing platforms in thefield of water resources management orestablishing new ones for integratedresource planning at the river basin level,giving particular attention to therepresentation of local communities.

For references and further reading, pleasevisit: http://www.waterfoodecosystems.nl

For further information, please contact:Ms Jolanda van den Berg (social economicresearch)Agricultural Economics Research Institute(LEI)P.O. Box 297032502 LS The HagueThe Netherlands

Phone: +31 70 3358165E-mail: [email protected]: http://www.lei.wur.nl

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Organisation- Institutions- ProgrammesInternet Features

By Dineke Romeijn

The FAO’s Water Resources, Developmentand Management Service provides a wealthof materials such as databases, trainingmaterial, software tools, documents andnews. http://www.fao.org/landandwater/aglw/index.stm

Interesting resources at FAO can also befound at: http://www.fao.org/ag/agl/aglw/wdeci.stm

Land-Water Linkages In Rural Watershedsis FAO’s programme on hydrological servicesin watershed management. http://www.fao.org/ag/agl/watershed/watershed/en/mainen/index.stm It contains reports andbackground information on forums andworkshops, such as the FAO E-workshop“Land-Water Linkages in Rural Watersheds”(held in 2000).

For the synthesis report of this workshop see:http://www.fao.org/ag/agl/watershed/watershed/papers/paperewk/pewrken/synthesis.pdf And for the case studies: http:// w w w . f a o . o r g / a g / a g l / w a t e r s h e d /watershed/en/caseten/indcaten.stm

“Land Use and Water Resources Research”is a free online journal on the water resource,ecological, economic, climate change, socio-economic, policy and sustainabledevelopment issues related to land use.http://www.luwrr.com/

Forest Trends, the Katoomba Group and theWorld Resources Institute have publishedtwo papers on innovative financialmechanisms for water services. The first,“Case Studies of Markets and InnovativeFinancial Mechanisms for Water Servicesfrom Forests” (2001) describes nine cases

from around the world selected to representvarious types of financial mechanisms invarious settings.http://www.forest-trends.org/documents/publications/casesWSofF.pdf

The second, “Developing markets for waterservices from forests” (2001), examines thecases presented in the first paper and distillscommon issues and lessons. http://www.forest-trends.org/documents/publications/Developing_Markets_for_Water_Services.pdf Both articles have beensummarized in a technical forestry brief:http://www.forest-trends.org/documents/publications/tech_briefs/1watershed.pdf

The UNESCO water portal offers informationon UNESCO water programmes as well asearchable database of water events, linksand news. http://www.unesco.org/water/

The Convention of the Protection and Use ofTransboundary Watercourses andInternational Lakes (Water Convention) of theUnited Nations Economic Commission forEurope has a website with much informationon past seminars and workshops completewith documents, as well as many otherdownloadable publications. http://www.unece.org/env/water/welcome.htmlAn interesting seminar e.g. is “The role ofecosystems as water suppliers”. http://www.unece.org/env/water/meetings/ecosystem/seminar.htm

“Developing markets for watershedprotection services and improved livelihoods”is a project of the International Institute forEnvironment and Development (IIED)Forestry and Land Use Programme. The sitefeatures project information anddownloadable publications.http://www.iied.org/NR/forestry/projects/

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water.html

The International Rainwater HarvestingAlliance (IRHA) was created during the WorldSummit for Sustainable Development(WSSD) in Johannesburg. Rain is oftenoverlooked as water supply option and it’sIRHA’s mission to raise awareness on- andstimulate the use of this resource. Theirwebsite offers information on activities aswell as a full text newsletter.http://www.irha-h2o.org/

The site of Asian Development Bank hasmany interesting reviews covering issuessuch as: water conflicts, water rights, riverbasin organizations, intregrated waterresources management, participation inwater management, and water and poverty.http: / /www.adb.org/Water /Pol icy/default.asp

The US Environmental Protection Agencyprovides free online training modules inwatershed management at:http://www.epa.gov/watertrain/

The World Resources Institute (WRI) EarthTrends provides access to databases andmaps on different subjects such as climate,marine ecosystems, biodiversity, forests andgrasslands and water resources.http://earthtrends.wri.org/

The Development Gateway offers a topicpage on water resources management withnews, events, publications, projects etc. http://topics.developmentgateway.org/water

The International Program of Trees, Water &People focusses on communityreforestation, forest conservation, watershedprotection and appropriate technologies inCentral America.

http://www.treeswaterpeople.org/

“Public-Private Partnerships for Water Supplyand Sanitation” is a Swiss initiative to supportthe Millennium Development Goals. On thewebsite you will find background informationon the initiative, electronic versions of theinstruments and references to othersupportive materials.http://www.partnershipsforwater.net

Other sites of interest:

• The International Water ManagementInstitute - http://www.iwmi.cgiar.org

• UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education- http://www.unesco-ihe.org

• IDRC, the Canadian InternationalDevelopment Research Centre, has adossier on Water: Local-LevelManagement - http://web.idrc.ca/en/ev-34476-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html

• The International Land Coalition - http://www.landcoalition.org/

• Water for Life is the website of the EU WaterInitiative - http://europa.eu.int/comm/research/water-initiative/index_en.html

• 4th World Water Forum, Mexico, 2006 -http://www.worldwaterforum.org

• World Water Week, Stockholm, August 21-27, 2005 http://www.worldwaterweek.org/

• SIWI : Stockholm International WaterInstitute especially the downloads &resources center http://www.siwi.org/

• The WBCSD’s Water Facts and Trends isa brief and informative overview of what’shappening to the world water supply - http://www.wbcsd.org/web/publications/Water_facts_and_trends.pdf

• ETFRN “Forests and water” topic pagehttp://www.etfrn.org/etfrn/topics/water/index.html

Internet Features

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Organisation- Institutions- ProgrammesFunding/Opportunities

THE INTERNATIONAL FOUNDATIONFOR SCIENCE (IFS): GRANTS FORYOUNG SCIENTISTS

Rothamsted International is a UK non-profitorganisation working for sustainableagricultural development in under-developed countries around the World. Theaim of the African Fellows programme is tosupport sustainable agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa by using innovative solutionsto achieve food security. Projects should aimto develop lasting partnerships and strategicalliances that will help build local scientificcapacity relevant to sustainable agriculturalproduction.

African scientists will carry out researchprojects in a partner European researchinstitute or university for periods of 4-12months. Fellowships are awarded on acompetitive basis in a two-stageassessment process. Research projectsneed to: (1) focus on solving an agriculturalproblem or constraint; (2) demonstrate aclear path from research to application; and(3) benefit African small-holder farmers andthe rural economy.

Examples of potential project areas includeintegrated crop/livestock management, cropnutrition, soil fertility, post-harvest technologyand alternative crops. The programmeCANNOT support field work in Africa andprojects on food processing will NOT befunded. Applicants will have experienceappropriate to that of a ‘mid-career’ scientist.MSc and PhD studies are outside the remitof the programme.

The next deadline for pre-proposal conceptnotes will be on 3 March 2006. Please notethat Pre-proposals can be submitted at any

time and will be considered in the followinground of submissions.

Applicants should obtain further details andguidelines from the RothamstedInternational website athttp://www.rothamsted-international.org/HTML/Fellowships/AFP_main_page.html

If you have any problems in downloading oraccessing any of these documents, then E-mail: [email protected] forassistance.

Contact:[email protected] forfurther advice and information on how toapply. Or write to:AFP Coordinator,Rothamsted International,Harpenden,Hertfordshire, AL5 2JQUK.

Source: SciDev.Net Weekly Update July2005.

IFS is a research council with internationaloperations and the mission to build thescientific capacity of developing countriesin sciences related to the sustainablemanagement of biological and waterresources.IFS believes that the interests ofboth science and development are bestserved by promoting and nurturing theresearch efforts of promising young sciencegraduates, who have the potential to

AFRICAN FELLOWS PROGRAMME(AFP), ROTHAMSTED INTERNATIONAL

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CPF SOURCEBOOK ON FUNDINGFOR SUSTAINABLE FORESTMANAGEMENT

The Collaborative Partnership on Forestshas set up the online CPF Sourcebook onFunding for Sustainable ForestManagement to help users efficiently locateglobal funding sources for sustainableforest management projects.

The sourcebook compiles information onfunding sources, policies and deliverymechanisms, with particular focus on

become leading scientists in their countries.Since 1974, they have provided support tomore than 3500 IFS Grantees in some 100developing countries in Africa, Asia and thePacific, and Latin America and theCaribbean.

Applications for IFS Research Grants arewelcome from young scientists indeveloping countries to do research on thesustainable management, use orconservation of biological or waterresources. This broad statement coversnatural science and social scienceresearch on agriculture, soils, animalproduction, food science, forestry,agroforestry, aquatic resources, naturalproducts, water resources, etc.

Applications are accepted all year and areto be made on an IFS Application Form. Formore information about eligibility criteria, theapplication procedure and applicationforms, please visit the website (www.ifs.se)or contact: International Foundation forScience (IFS), Karlavägen 108, SE-115 26Stockholm, Sweden.

projects in developing countries. Advice onwriting project proposals is presented aswell. The contents come from varioussources: donor agencies and countries,CPF members, international forest-relatedorganisations and instruments,development banks, private sources,regional processes, foundations andinternational non-governmentalorganisations.

A major component of the sourcebook is adatabase of funding sources, containinginformation on more than 600 funds: avaluable starting point in the search forfunding opportunities. The sourcebookalso provides a simple, moderated onlinediscussion forum where users can postqueries related to forestry funding, shareinformation, and network with other forestactors.

You can find the sourcebook at: http://www.fao.org/forestry/site/7148/en or youcan contact [email protected] formore information.

TFT JOURDAIN SCHOLARSHIPFUND

The Tropical Forest Trust’s goal is toincrease the area of sustainably managedforest in the tropics. In 2000, TFTestablished the Jourdain Scholarship Fundto increase the number of local forestersand policy makers in the tropics whounderstand the practice of sustainableforest management and who are committedto promoting it in their countries. TheJourdain Scholarship Fund allows tropicalforesters to study at leading international

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NETHERLANDS COMMITTEE FORIUCN SMALL GRANTS

The Netherlands Committee for IUCN hassmall grants available for conservationprojects, mainly in the tropics andimplemented by NGOs.

The funding programmes are based on theEcosystem Approach Principles that wereaccepted by the Convention on BiologicalDiversity (CBD).

Maximum amount available per project is85,000 Euro.

Tropical Rainforests Programme (TRP)The Tropical Rainforest Programme (TRP)supports projects in the field of conservationand sustainable management of tropicalrainforests, set up and implemented bynon-governmental, local organisations(NGOs). TRP is financed by the DutchMinistry of Foreign Affairs (DGIS) andcontributes to the implementation theTropical Rainforest Policy of the Dutchgovernment.

More information:http://www.nciucn.nl/english/funds/trp/english/fswhatistrp+.htm

Purchase of Nature ProgrammeThe Small grants for the Purchase of Nature(SPN) supports local nature conservationorganisations and finances strategicpurchase of biodiversity in tropical countries.SPN is financed by the NetherlandsPostcode Lottery. Deadline each year isAugust 1.

More information:h t tp : / /www.nc iucn.n l /eng l ish / funds/purchase/engels/fsindexpurchase+.htm

An overview of these and other funds arepresented at: http://www.nciucn.nl/english/funds/index.htm

Note that there are no open calls at themoment in any of the funds not mentionedhere. There may be more fundingopportunities later in 2006.

forestry departments, and on otherspecialist courses.

The fund is open to graduates with aBachelors or Masters degree in forestry thatare a citizen of one of the following countriesin Southeast Asia and the Congo BasinRegion: Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos,Malaysia, Vietnam, Cameroon, CentralAfrican Republic, Democratic Republic ofCongo, Gabon, Republic of Congo.

A candidate must have already beenaccepted on an appropriate Mastersprogram or other course. Appropiatecourses are: a) a Masters level forestrycourse or short-term training course/workshop; b) courses offered by adepartment or training centre withrecognized expertise; and c) courses thatfocuses on practical questions of forestmanagement and administration in tropicalcountries.

For more information and the applicationform: http://www.tropicalforesttrust.com/home/jourdain.htm Or contact:[email protected]

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Organisation- Institutions- ProgrammesJob Opportunities

JOHN ASPINALL FOUNDATION -COORDINATOR PROJET LESIO-LOUNA, CONGO

The John Aspinall Foundation has beenworking with national partners in theRepublic of Congo since 1986 for theconservation of the western gorilla inparticular, and of other endangered speciesin general.

JAF is seeking a Coordinator Projet Lesio-Louna who will be based in the Lesio-LounaReserve, Republic of Congo, and inBrazzaville, to co-ordinate the managementof the Lesio-Louna Reserve and the south-west Lefini annex, in partnership with theCongolese Reserve Manager and othermembers of the management team.

Tasks and responsibilities:

• Liaison with Congolese governmentofficials and with the John AspinallFoundation for the management of theLesio-Louna Reserve and other JAFactivities in Congo.

• Liaison with other NGOs in and out ofcountry.

• Liaison with local communities.

• Responsibility for the welfare of the gorillasunder the care of the project.

• Ensuring logistics, administration andpurchasing for the project.

• Report and grant writing.

Experience and skills required:

• Fluent in French and English. The ability tospeak Lingala would be a bonus but is notessential.

• Extensive overseas experience, and atleast 2 years at a management level.

• Work within the non-profit or NGO sector isof particular relevance.

• Experience within the conservation sectorwould be an advantage but is not essential.

• Ability to negotiate with governmentofficials.

• Computer literate with word and excelfluency the minimum. MapInfo or similarand Access an advantage.

• Fit and healthy and have the ability towithstand high temperatures and humidity.

• ·Ability to work under pressure for longhours in a less than secure environmentand to be able to work in isolated areas.

• Leadership skills, but also the ability to bea team member.

• Veterinary or medical backgroundadvantageous but not essential.

• Good report writing skills.

• Book keeping or basic accounting andoffice management skills.

Conditions: Salary will be negotiated withrelevant skills and experience being takeninto account One round-trip ticket back homeprovided per year BUPA medical insuranceprovided 70,000 FCFA in country weekly foodallowance.

For applications contact:Amos CouragePort LympneCT21 4PD, HytheUKE-mail: [email protected]

There is no deadline for applications,vacancy remains open until fulfilled.

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Organisation- Institutions- ProgrammesOther News

HYDROLOGICAL SCIENCES FORMANAGING WATER RESOURCES INTHE ASIAN DEVELOPING WORLD(International Conference)

An International Conference on“Hydrological Sciences for ManagingWater Resources in the Asian Developingworld” will take place in Guangzhou (China)between 8-10 June 2006. The meeting isorganised, amongst others, by theDepartment of Water Resources &Environment of Zhongshan University. Theconference will focus on: (1) Hydrologicalscience and engineering for solving waterproblems; (2) Management of waterenvironment; (3) Sustainable waterresources management. A few of thethemes that will be discussed are: floodsand other water-related hazards; humaninduced hydrological alternations;hydrological impacts of climate change;integrated watershed management; andwater management experiences ofdeveloping and developed countries.

Please see the website for furtherdetails:http://cwre.zsu.edu.cn/mwra/Or contact: Dr. TAO Jiang([email protected]) and Ms. YANG Yin([email protected]).

Department of Water ResourcesEnvironmentZhongshan UniversityGuangzhou 510275P. R. ChinaPhone: +86 20 8411 5902 (or 5903)Fax: +86 20 8411 4575

With thanks to Nick Chappell (LancasterUniversity, UK)

FOREST AND WATER IN ACHANGING ENVIRONMENT(International Conference)

An international conference on “Forest andWater in a Changing Environment” will takeplace in Beijing, China, between 8-10 August2006. The meeting is sponsored andorganised by the Chinese Academy ofForestry, Beijing Forestry University andUSDA Forest Service (Southern ResearchStation).

The following themes will be discussed: (1)basic and integrated forest hydrologicprocesses; (2) global change impacts oneco-hydrology from the local to regionalscale; (3) scaling eco-hydrology usingremote sensing, GIS and modelling; and(4) watershed restoration effects on waterquality and quantity.

Please follow the link below for moreinformation and registration: http://www.caf.ac.cn/fwce/fwce_e.cfm

(With thanks to Nick Chappell)

UNDP WATER GOVERNANCEFACILITY AT SIWI

The United Nations DevelopmentProgramme (UNDP) in collaboration withStockholm International Water Institute(SIWI) is launching a new programme – TheUNDP Water Governance Facility at SIWI(WGF) - to support developing countries toimprove water governance.

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“Prudent water management is crucial forreaching national development objectivesand for improving the livelihoods of poorpeople,” says Mr. Håkan Tropp, ProjectDirector for the UNDP Water GovernanceFacility at SIWI. “It is also a vital componentof actions to improve environmentalsustainability, by maintaining the integrityof ecosystems, and by bringing togetherstakeholders around a key resource thatcould either unite or divide societies.”

For individuals and organisations fromgovernments, civil society and otherstakeholders working with watergovernance related work in developingcountries, the UNDP Water GovernanceFacility at SIWI will provide strategic supportfor:

• Improved water governance to advancesocially equitable, environmentallysustainable and economically efficientmanagement of water resources, includingwater and sanitation services;

• Implementation of integrated waterresources management (IWRM) at local,national, and regional levels; and

• Achieving the MDGs and the WSSD targetsfor water supply and sanitation.

For more information and to access theservices of the UNDP Water GovernanceFacility at SIWI, please visit their website(www.watergovernance.org) or contact:

Håkan TroppProject Director, SIWIHantverkargatan 5SE-112 21 StockholmSweden

Phone: +46 8 522 139 74Fax: +46 8 522 139 61


Joakim HarlinWater Resources Specialist, EEG,BDPUnited Nations Development Programme304 East 45th Street, 9th FloorNew York, NY, 10017USAPhone : +1 (212) 906-5863Fax: +1 (212) 906-6973E-mail: [email protected]

BAMBOO TOUR INTEREST

In May 2005, INBAR organised a successfulBamboo Tour in Zhejiang, in collaborationwith ICRAF (http://218.249.14.230/news.asp?vpid=15). The succes of the tourresulted in an invitation for INBAR to conducta feasibility study on bamboo developmentfor East African countries.The Bamboo touralso introduced bamboo products andprocessing machines to participants,including several companies.

As INBAR frequently receives individualrequests to visit the bamboo sector in China,they are considering another tour in April-May 2006: these months are the best timeto see bamboo shooting. Therefore INBARwould like to have an indication of thenumber of people interested in participating.If you are interested, please contact Fu Jinheat [email protected]. If there are enoughparticipants, INBAR will organise the tour.Please note that all particpants should covertheir own costs.

Depending on the participants interests,topics to be covered may include:Bamboo weaving and handicrafts, Bamboo

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charcoal, Bamboo flooring, bamboo-basedpanel, concrete form, Bamboo curtain, mat,rug, Bamboo shoot processing, Bambooproducts and market, Bamboo plantation,Bamboo botanic garden, Bamboo forlandscape, Bamboo museum, andBamboo and giant panda habitat.

ICUC MOVES TO SRI LANKA

The International Center for UnderutilizedCrops (ICUC) and the International WaterManagement Institute (IWMI) are pleasedto announce the relocation of ICUC’sHeadquarters from the United Kingdom toSri Lanka, last April, 2005. The ICUC is nowco-located and hosted by IWMI at itsHeadquarters in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Established in 1992, the InternationalCenter for Underutilized Crops (ICUC) is anautonomous, nonprofit, scientific researchand training center. The Center focuses onincreasing the use of underutilized cropsfor food, medicinal and industrial products,and also for environmental conservation. Itprovides expertise and acts as acollaborative institute for tropical, sub-tropical and temperate crop development.The ICUC operates through regional officesand works in close collaboration withnational partners for sustainable technologydevelopment for products and marketing ofunderutilized crops.

The ICUC and IWMI will develop apartnership of mutual cooperation. Theglobal program of ICUC will continue to berun through its existing network in Africa,Asia, Europe and Latin America.

For more information on the ICUC Program,please contact Dr. Hannah Jaenicke,Director of ICUC at [email protected] orvisit the ICUC web site: www.icuc-iwmi.org/

International Centre for Underutilised Crops(ICUC)PO Box 2075, ColomboSri LankaPhone: +94 -11 2787404Fax: +94 - 11 2786854E-mail: [email protected]

ISNAR MOVES TO IFPRI

The International Service for NationalAgricultural Research (ISNAR) ceased itsoperations in The Hague, the Netherlandson March 31, 2004. The ISNAR Division atIFPRI, based in Addis Ababa, incorporatessome of the research responsibilities of theformer ISNAR. Research activities arebased on three broad strategic themes: (1)Institutional Change and InnovationSystems, (2) Organization andManagement of Agricultural Research, and(3) Agricultural Science and TechnologyPolicy.

Research involving a range of disciplinesis envisaged on these themes, incollaboration with stakeholders andpartners. This will include case studies,action research and syntheses that willdistill lessons for adding value to the trainingand capacity building activities of the ISNARDivision. The division will continue toprovide support to NARS and otheragricultural R&D institutions.

More information about ISNAR Division

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WOCAN: Women Organizing forChange in Agriculture & NRM

Other News

CMAD: Centre for MountainousAreas Development

activities can be found in the ISNARbrochure, which can be downloaded fromthe website: http://www.ifpri.org/divs/isnar.htm. The website also links to ISNAROutputs and to the Learning and CapacityStrengthening Program, which is managedby ISNAR.

For additional information, contact:Wilberforce Kisamba- MugerwaDirector, ISNAR [email protected]

ISNAR DivisionIFPFIP.O. Box 5689Addis Ababa, EthiopiaPhone: +251-1-46 32 15Fax: +251-1-46 29 27Email: [email protected]

Website: www.ifpri.org/divs/isnar.htm

For activities prior to April 2004, pleasevisit ISNAR’s archived website atwww.isnar.cgiar.org/index1.htm

The Centre for Mountainous AreasDevelopment (CMAD) is a recently foundedNGO located in central China.

CMAD aims to develop activities to alleviatepoverty in mountainous areas. Usingparticipatory methods, the organisationexplores ways to develop the economy andimprove income of the poor. Furthermore,CMAD works towards improving the overallfunctions and economic benefit of land

resources, as well as developing anecologically sound and sustainable naturalresource management system. In theseactivities, the protection of ethnic minorities’cultural heritage and cultural diversity arerespected. Watershed management,rehabilitation of mountainous areas, andexploring compensation mechanism forwatershed functions are also part of theiragenda. If you would like to know more aboutCMAD, or would like to co-operate with them,please contact Li Weichang (Director) orZhang Wanhua (Deputy Director).

(CMAD Headquarter)Zhang Wanhua, Deputy Director2#, Chezhan RoadHefeng County, Hubei Province, 445800P. R. ChinaPhone: +86-718-5294698Fax: +86-718-5282423E-mail: [email protected]

(CMAD Beijing Office)Li Weichang, DirectorChinese Academy of ForestryBeijing, 00091P. R. ChinaPhone: +86-10-62888530Fax: +86-10-62887192E-mail: [email protected]

A new global network WOCAN has beenformed for women professionals workingin agriculture and natural resourcemanagement to build an alliance of women(and men who support them) to support aprocess of change for gender equality in

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DISCCRS: Climate change networkfor recent PHD graduates

Other News

programs of governments, national andinternational agencies. A fundamentalprinciple of this network is that organizationsthemselves need to become gendersensitive in order to promote sustainabledevelopment for rural communities.

Since the WOCAN’s call for members onJanuary 1, 2005, over 260 women and menof 73 countries have applied, with thenumbers increasing daily. Of thoseaccepted, 67 members are from Africa, 75are from Asia, 5 are from the Pacific region,15 from Latin America, 9 from the MiddleEast, 27 from Europe, 40 from NorthAmerica, and 14 from internationalorganizations.

Members have offered their voluntarycontributions as trainers, consultants,researchers, fund raisers, proposal writers,hosts for meetings, time to act as focalpoints, sources of expertise on genderrelations in their countries, etc.If you qualify for membership, agree withour Guiding Principles, and would like tojoin us, please fill out the application formon our website: www.wocan.org.

Jeannette D. Gurung, PhD,Director, [email protected];[email protected]

The DISsertations initiative for theadvancement of Climate Change ReSearch(DISCCRS) provides interdisciplinarytraining for recent Ph.D. graduates

addressing climate change and its impacts.

DISCCRS (pronounced “discourse”) wasfounded in 2002 to meet the specificchallenges involved in building successfulinterdisciplinary careers dedicated tounderstanding climate change andmitigating impacts. New PhD scholars fromthe natural and social sciences,humanities, mathematics, engineering andother fields may participate. Graduates fromall countries are invited to join the DISCCRSProgram and apply to be a DISCCRSSymposium Fellow.

DISCCRS manages a public web page tointroduce graduates to the largercommunity and to provide resources forearly-career development. The websiteincludes information on information onDISCCRS symposia, dissertation abstractsof registered graduates, and career-development resources.Everyone who has registered their PhDdissertation with DISCCRS, receives theElectronic Newsletter weekly. Thenewsletter contains: updates on climate-change research; education and policyupdates; forum section; and job and otherannouncements of opportunities. Thenewsletter is archived on the web page forpublic use.

Furthermore, DISCCRS organisessymposia to bring together recent Ph.D.graduates across the spectrum of naturaland social sciences, humanities,mathematics and engineering. The goal isto help new professionals meet the specificchallenges involved in building successfulinterdisciplinary careers dedicated tounderstanding climate change andmitigating impacts.

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GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT NETWORK(GDN) JOURNAL SERVICES

Other News

CCB STANDARDS LAUNCHED

Please visit the web site for moreinformation at: http://aslo.org/phd.htmlOr contact:C. Susan WeilerWhitman CollegeWalla Walla, WA 99362USA

Phone: +1 509-527-5948Fax: +1 509-527-5961E-Mail: [email protected]

The Climate, Community and BiodiversityProject Design Standards (CCB Standards)were launched at the Carbon Expo by theClimate, Community and BiodiversityAlliance (CCBA) in May 2005. The CCBA isa global alliance of leading NGOs, researchinstitutions and companies, promotingintegrated solutions to land management.The CCBA has spearheaded thedevelopment of triple-benefit voluntarystandards to identify land managementprojects that simultaneously minimizeclimate change, support sustainabledevelopment and combat the loss ofbiodiversity.

The CCB Standards evaluate land-basedcarbon mitigation projects in the earlystages of development, and foster theintegration of best-practice and multiple-benefit approaches into project design. TheStandards: (a) Identify projects thatsimultaneously address climate change,support local communities and conservebiodiversity, (b) Promote excellence andinnovation in project design; and (c) Mitigaterisk for investors and increase fundingopportunities for project developers.

The CCB Standards will be beneficial toProject Developers, Project Investors andGovernments. The Chinese State ForestryAdministration, for example, announced inMay 2005, that it will use the CCB Standardsto guide the development of new CDMforestry projects in the Yunnan and Sichuanprovinces.

For more information or to download a copyof the Standards, visit: www.climate-standards.org

John O. NilesProject Manager, CCBAC/O Center for Environmental Leadershipin Business1919 M St, NW, Suite 600Washington DC 20036USA

Phone: 1-202-912-1438Fax: 1-202-912-1047Email: [email protected]

Source: Climate Change Info Mailing List (19May 2005); http://www.iisd.ca/email/climate-L.htm

Free Journal Access PortalGDN has teamed up with Project MUSE,one of the academic community’s primaryelectronic journals resources, to relaunchthe GDN Journal Access Portal. This portalenables social science researchers basedin developing or transitional countries toaccess a full-text online database of morethan 120 well-known social-science

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QUEEN’S AWARD FOR FORESTRY

Other News

journals, free of charge.

Eligible GDN-registered researchers candownload full-text articles at no cost tothemselves or their institution through theGDN Journals Access Portal. Journals inthe collection include Demography, WorldPolitics, The Journal of Democracy,Anthropological Quarterly, Technology andCulture, and several regional-studiesjournals.

The service is only available to GDNorganisation contacts in developing andtransition countries. This service is providedto research institutes and not individualresearchers.

Further details of journals services, eligibilityand how to register are given on thewebsite: www.gdnet.org/online_services/journals/And: www.gdnet.org/online _services/j o u r n a l s / g d n _ j o u r n a l _ s e r v i c e s /journal_access_portal/

GDN/BLDS Document Delivery ServiceThe Global Development Network (GDN)and the British Library of DevelopmentStudies (BLDS) have teamed up to offer aDocument Delivery Service to meet theinformation needs of research institutes inthe South.

The GDN/BLDS Document Delivery Serviceallows you to search the huge BLDS onlinecatalogue of development relatedresources from your desktop, then requestcopies of articles you and your researchcolleagues need at the click of a button. A‘real-life’ BLDS librarian will receive yourrequest, then photocopy or scan the articleor book chapter you need and will send it toyou via post or email. The costs of

delivering the documents are covered byGDN so you there are no costs to you.

BLDS holds Europe’s largest researchcollection on economic and social changein developing countries. It has over 1000journals, 4000 serials and over 80,000monographs concerned specifically withdevelopment. A particular strength of theBLDS collection is its extensive coverage ofSouthern publications, particularly fromAfrica and South and East Asia. Thecollection represents a unique source ofprimary information, including grey literature,much of which is not digitally available.

Find out more and sign up for this service atwww.gdnet.org/online_services/journals/journal_services/document_delivery/

The winner of the Queen’s Award for Forestry2005 is Dr Bentval Ravindra Prabhu ofCIFOR, Zimbabwe. Dr Ravi Prabhu waspresented with Award by Her Majesty QueenElizabeth II last February. The Queen’sAward for Forestry is presented every fouryears to an individual who has made anoutstanding contribution to understandingforests and their management.

Dr. Ravi Prabhu’s contributions to work onthe Criteria and Indicators of SustainableForest Management were outstanding. Hehas also been a pioneering champion ofmoving from a rule based approach of forestmanagement to an adaptive approach,

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Permanent forest plots: CTFS-AAnew site for Asia program

where forest management changes overtime as the objectives, context, and conditionof the forest change. Dr. Prabhu has a firmcommitment to and belief in transformingpublic sector forestry institutions into moredynamic, transparent and accountable,learning–based organisations.

Well known in international circles, he wasappointed to be a member of the task forceon environmental sustainable of the UnitedNation’s Millennium Project, established byKoffi Annan and led by Jeffrey Sachs.Although he has worked with industrialforestry, community forestry, and governmentbureaucracies, he is at his best when heworks on how to bring these different groupstogether. He is truly creative and is alwayslooking for new ‘out of the box’ ways to dothings, which often prove successful.

Dr. Prabhu has spent most of the last tenyears at the Center for International ForestryResearch (CIFOR), where he is widelyacknowledged to be one of the Center’sleading figures.

For further details contact [email protected] or call 01865 820935

Source: Commonwealth ForestryAssociation (CFA): press release

CTFS-AA “Tropical Forests of Asia: AGateway to Forest Science”, www.ctfs-aa.org was launched in January 2004 bythe Centre for Tropical Forest Science(CTFS)-Arnold Arboretum Asia Program.

CTFS works with national partners all overthe tropical world to build, maintain andanalyze large-scale permanent forest plots.Within each plot, every tree over onecentimeter in diameter is identifiedaccording to species and monitoredthrough time. CTFS is now monitoring morethan 3 million trees of 6000 species, at least10% of all known tropical tree species.CTFS-AA focuses on the plots in Asia and isco-sponsored by the Arnold Arboretum ofHarvard University. CTFS-AA has a regionalbase at the National Institute of Education(Nanyang Technological University) inSingapore.

The website will contain information aboutthe permanent plots in Asia, includingbackground information on the ForestReserve: history, lists of tree species andbird species. One of the highlights of thewebsite will be a regional flora of South andSoutheast Asia containing a searchabledatabase of plant descriptions, images, andmaps. Other website features will include apublication list and people database. As theweb site is still being developed, not all theoptions are available yet.

Web address: www.cfss-aa.org

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AJOL: African Journals OnLine EC Access and Benefit SharingPortal

Other News

AJOL, the African Journals OnLine(www.ajol.info) has moved to Africanmanagement. The National Inquiry ServicesCentre (NISC) South Africa has taken overthe management of African JournalsOnLine. Launched in 1998, the onlineaggregation of published African academicresearch was previously run by theInternational Network for the Availability ofScientific Publications (INASP) in the UnitedKingdom.

The website gives access to more than 200scholarly journals published out of Africa,and includes over 15,000 articles. AJOLprovides information about eachparticipating journal, including aims andscope, contact details and generalinformation. It also includes Tables ofContents and abstracts (where available),as well some full-text articles for allparticipating journals.

For more information, please contact:Margaret Crampton ([email protected])

AJOL19 Worcester St, PO Box 377Grahamstown, 6140,South Africa

Phone: +27 46 622 9698Fax: +27 46 622 9550E-mail: [email protected]: http: www.ajol.info

The European Commission EnvironmentDirectorate General is funding the project:“Development of the Access and BenefitSharing (ABS) Section of the EC BiodiversityClearing House”, implemented by theInternational Union for the Conservation ofNature (IUCN). The project aims to improvethe flows of information and to facilitatediscussions on the use of geneticresources among stakeholders in theEuropean Union

One of this project’s outputs is theestablishment of a web-based platformcontaining pertinent information on ABS inthe European Union, such as legislation,policies, best practices, voluntaryinstruments, etc. Moreover, the web-basedplatform (the “EC ABS Portal”) will host adiscussion forum where members canexchange views and experiences on variousissues related to the use of geneticresources.

The aim of this portal is to help the ECachieve the objectives of the Convention onBiological Diversity, especially the BonnGuidelines adopted at the 6th Conferenceof the Parties in The Hague in 2002. Itprovides access to up-to-date informationon EC policy and legislative measuresrelated to ABS as well as links to web pagesof international organizations active in thisfield. Furthermore, it includes details ofcontact points in all the Member States ofthe European Union and links to informationon ABS in the Member States. Stakeholderprofiles will be added in the near future, to

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allow visitors to assess if and how ABSissues would be of interest to them. It isenvisaged that a number of Europeanstakeholders will register on this portal andpost their policies, codes of conduct, andother relevant documents which relate to ABS.The portal aims to raise awareness and toallow stakeholders to present their work inthis field.

For more information and to become amember, please visit the website: http://abs.eea.eu.int/

CTA BRUSSELS WEBLOG

The Brussels office of the Technical Centrefor Agricultural and Rural Cooperation(CTA) now produces an online daily newsbulletin in French and English to keep CTAstaff and ACP- EU officials informed on thekey issues discussed and decided withinthe ACP-EU arena: http://brussels.cta.int

The objective of the CTA Brussels Weblogis to share the information produced by CTABrussels as well as information from othergroups on agricultural and ruraldevelopment with a wider audience,specially focusing on the ACP partners andbeneficiaries of CTA’s services andprogrammes.

The weblog is divided into three parts: (1) a“News” section, updated daily; (2)“Resources” section which includeinformation on the EU, the ACP group, jointACP-EU bodies and other organisations.This section also contains a calendar ofevents in Brussels; and (3) the

programmes and activities organised by theCTA Brussels office with the respectivedocuments.

Finally, there is also a possibility of a weeklyEmail alert by subscribing online. Wewelcome any contributions in form ofcomments, new information to be added orideas on how to improve this weblog.

Contact:Mrs Isolina BOTOHead, Brussels Branch Office CTA39, rue MontoyerB-1000 BrusselsBelgium

Phone: + 32-2- 513 74 362Fax + 32-2-511 38 68E-mail: [email protected]: http://brussels.cta.int

CIFOR’s MLA website upgraded

The Multidisciplinary LandscapeAssessment (MLA) improves ourknowledge of biodiversity and whatbiodiversity means to local people. An MLAapproach leads to better informed decisionson policy, land use and payments forbiodiversity services.

CIFOR efforts to increase the awareness ofthe importance of understanding localperceptions of biodiversity in collaborativeconservation initiatives have been boostedwith a major upgrade to CIFOR’s MLAWebsite. The updated version is availablein English, Spanish, French andIndonesian. New features include: an

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WETLAND FOR LIFEimproved database from Indonesia;downloadable datasets from Bolivia andCameroon; information on extensionmaterials from Kalimantan, presentinggrass-roots perspective of biodiversity; andreports on new projects (Vietnam, thePhilippines and Gabon).

MLA Website: www.cifor.cgiar.org/mla/_ref/home/index.htm

EASYPoL: on-line resourcematerials for policy making

EASYPoL is an on-line repository ofresource materials for policy making.EASYPoL materials are developed andmaintained by the Agricultural Policy SupportService of the Policy Assistance Division(TCA) of FAO. The purpose of EASYPoL wasto facilitate access for different stakeholdersto relevant resource materials for capacitybuilding in policy work in agriculture, ruraldevelopment and food security.

The materials are presented by topic, typeand training paths. EASYPoL targets allaudiences involved or interested in policymaking.

New materials are continuously beingdeveloped and added to the existingcollection. Please check the EASYPol newspage to see the new issues.We hope you find EASYPol a useful tool.Feedback and comments are welcome andshould be addressed to [email protected].

Website: www.fao.org/tc/easypol/

Wetland for Life: an online network ofnaturalists has been launched. Wetlandsfor life is a forum to bring conservationists,researchers, students, professionals andinterested persons together for sharing,discussing and generating ideas, issuesand experiences in the natural resourcemanagement sector. Please visithttp://groups.yahoo.com/group/wetlandfor membership.

Contact person:Gandhiv KafleInstitute of ForestryP. O. Box: 203Pokhara, NepalE-mail: [email protected]

GOOGLE SCHOLAR

Google Scholar enables you to searchspecifically for scholarly literature, includingpeer-reviewed papers, theses, books,preprints, abstracts and technical reportsfrom all broad areas of research. UseGoogle Scholar to find articles from a widevariety of academic publishers, professionalsocieties, preprint repositories anduniversities, as well as scholarly articlesavailable across the web.

See: http://scholar.google.com/

Source: Forest Information Update (FIU)

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APFORGEN

Other News

LIBERIA FOREST INITIATIVE (LFI):NEW WEBSITE

The Liberia Forest Initiative (LFI) is aninformal mechanism for coordination ofactivities amongst several national andmultilateral government and non-governmental organisations working onforestry in Liberia. The aim of the LFI is topromote sustainable forest managementby: (a) supporting the rehabilitation andreform of Liberia’s forestry sector; and (b)enhancing cooperation and coordination ofactivities in Liberia.

LFI support to Liberian forestry sectorreform is organised around three mainthemes: commercial forestry; communityforestry and conservation. In addition, theLFI works on cross-cutting issues, such as:governance and the rule of law;transparency and informationmanagement; policy development;legislation; capacity building; and security.

For anyone interested in forestry in Liberiaor forestry in post-conflict countries moregenerally, information and a comprehensivecollection of documents can be found onthe:

LFI website at: www.fao.org/forestry/site/lfi.

With thanks to Adrian Whiteman (FAO)[[email protected]]

The Asia Pacific Forest Genetic ResourcesProgramme (APFORGEN) aims to promotemore equitable, productive and sustainablemanagement of tropical forest geneticdiversity in the member countries in the AsiaPacific region.

The main activities of the Programme are:(1) Promoting the establishment andstrengthening of national programmes onforest genetic resources, (2) Locating forestgenetic diversity, (3) Developing andapplying appropriate conservation methodsand strategies, and (4) Increasing the levelof management and use of tropical forestgenetic diversity in the participatingcountries.

APFORGEN also facilitates regionalactivities, including information exchange,development of regional conservationstrategies and action plans, country-to-country technology transfer and exchangeof forest germplasm. The Programmefocuses on priority forest species identifiedby the participating countries. Lists of priorityspecies may be found on the APFORGENwebsite: http://www.apforgen.org

APFORGEN has currently published ninePriority Species Information Sheets on thewebsite, which can be easily and freelydownloaded. The sheets cover the followingspecies: Acacia mangium, Pinus merkusii,Shorea leprosula, Tectona grandis, Hopeaodorata, Azadirachta indica; Pterocarpusindicus; Dalbergia cochinchinensis, andEusideroxylon zwageri.

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Several publications, Country statusreports, regional status reports and theworkshop proceedings of the InceptionWorkshop held from 15-18 July 2003 inKuala Lumpur can also be downloadedfrom this site.

Please contact APFORGEN at:

APFORGEN Secretariatc/o APAFRI SecretariatFRIM, Kepong,52109 Kuala LumpurMalaysia

Phone:+60-3-62722516Fax: +60-3-62773249E-mail: [email protected]: www.apforgen.org

JOIN THE IUFRO ON-LINEDIRECTORY OF EXPERTS

International forestry faces an over-abundance of definitions and a shortage ofclear information about differences in useamong languages and regions. TheInternational Union of Forest ResearchOrganizations (IUFRO) has been addressingthese issues, as users of scientific andtechnical vocabulary, e.g., scientists, woodand forestry professionals, students,politicians, journalists, and translators, maybenefit from expert assistance on howparticular terms and definitions are usedlocally.

The IUFRO Working Group on “Trends inforest terminology” has developed aDirectory of Experts, which includes expertsin forest-related fields who are willing to

answer terminological questions. ThisDirectory is supported by IUFRO andmaintained by the Swiss Federal Institutefor Forest, Snow and Landscape ResearchWSL http://hermes.wsl.ch/didado/lterpw.searchfterms.

If you would like to pose a terminologyquestion to an expert, please visit the IUFROOn-line Directory of Experts at www.wsl.ch/forest/risks/iufro/. To join the Directory asan expert, please download the subscriptionform, fill it out and mail it to the Working Unitcoordinator ([email protected]).

240 experts in forest-related fields havenow joined our Directory. Together theyrepresent 42 languages and 395 fields ofexpertise. The searchable Directory isavailable via the Web, but the questions andanswers are exchanged on a person-to-person basis. Please feel free to use thisDirectory. Details about languages andfields of expertise are available at:w w w . w s l . c h / f o r e s t / r i s k s / i u f r o /directory_update.ehtml

We will gladly welcome you as a newmember of our Directory of Experts. Weneed experts in all languages and all forest-related disciplines!

For more information, please contact:Michèle Kaennel DobbertinSwiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow andLandscape Research WSL “Forest ecosystems and ecological risks”Zuercherstrasse 111CH-8903 BirmensdorfSwitzerland

Phone: +41 44 739 25 96Fax: +41 44 739 22 15E-mail: [email protected]

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Other News

THE GLOBAL FIRE MONITORINGCENTRE (GFMC)

The Global Fire Monitoring Centre (GFMC)was designed as an information andmonitoring facility, for national andinternational agencies involved in land-useplanning, fire and other disastermanagement, scientists, and policy makersto utilise in their planning and decisionmaking.

In many ecosystems fire is an essential,accepted and important element in naturalecosystem processes and sustainable andproductive traditional land-use systems.However, excessive use leads to ecologicaldestruction. Climate variability adds to theseverity of fire impacts. Projecteddemographic and climate changescenarios suggest that this situation willbecome more critical during the nextdecades. The state of fire science in mostvegetation types provides sufficientknowledge for decision support at fire policyand management levels. However, in manycountries this wealth of knowledge andexpertise is either not known or is not readilyaccessible or available for developing firepolicies and management. The GFMC wasestablished to fill this gap.

The GFMC provides a web-based, publiclyaccessible global portal for wildland firedocumentation, information and monitoring.The regularly updated national to globalwildland fire products of the GFMC aregenerated by a worldwide network ofcooperating institutions. The online andoffline products include:

• Early warning of fire danger and near-real

time monitoring of fire events;

• Interpretation, synthesis and archive ofglobal fire information;

• Support to develop long-term strategiesor policies for wildland fire management;

• Serving as advisory body to the UN system

• Emergency hotline and liaisoncapabilities.

The GFMC is an Activity of the UNInternational Strategy for Disaster Reduction(ISDR). For more information, visit thewebsite.

The Global Fire Monitoring Center (GFMC)Fire Ecology Research Groupc/o Freiburg UniversityP.O. Box79085 FreiburgGERMANY

Phone: +49 -761-808011Fax: +49 -761-808012E-mail: [email protected]: www.fire.uni-freiburg.de

EARTHWATCH: Tropical forestresearch

Results from tropical forest researchsponsored by the Earthwatch Institute arenow available on the internet. The website:w w w . e a r t h w a t c h . o r g / r e s u l t s /tropforests.html gives a concise overviewof three decades of Earthwatch resultscovering themes such as canopy research,forest fragmentation, sustainable forestuse, tropical forest restoration, andcreatures of the forest. The site also

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Other News

contains a full list of peer-reviewedpublications resulting from tropical forestresearch supported by Earthwatch Institute.Information on grants for scientists,educators, students and others is alsoprovided.

Earthwatch’s mission is to engage peopleworldwide in scientific field research andeducation to promote the understandingand action necessary for a sustainableenvironment. Earthwatch Institute hassupported over 100 scientists in thefrontiers of tropical forest research, with fieldgrants totalling more than $3.8 million,resulting in more than 200 peer-reviewedpublications. In addition, Earthwatch hasfacilitated more than 5,000 volunteers,including more than 500 teachers, 310African fellows, and 36 students to conductforest field research alongside bothdistinguished and innovative youngscientists.

Website: www.earthwatch.org/results/tropforests.html

CDM MANUAL FOR PROJECTDEVELOPERS AND POLICYMAKERS - 2005

The “CDM Manual for Project Developersand Policy Makers - 2005” is now availableon the website of Global EnvironmentCentre Foundation (GEC): http://gec.jp/gec/g e c . n s f / e n / P u b l i c a t i o n s -Reports_and_Related_Books-CDM-Manual-2005

The CDM Manual is the comprehensiveguide for the Clean DevelopmentMechanism (CDM), both for Annex 1countries and non-Annex 1 countries. TheCDM Manual includes the CDM-relatedrules and procedures about Normal SizeCDM, Small Scale CDM, and Sink CDM(Afforestation/Reforestation). The firstversion of the CDM Manual was publicisedon the occasion of COP10 held in 2004, inBuenos Aires, Argentine. The 2004 versionof the manual is also available online: http://gec.jp/gec/gec.nsf/en/Publications-Reports_and_Related_Books-CDM-Manual-2004. The updated 2005 versionwas released at COP11 and COP/MOP1 inMontreal, Canada, and it reflects thediscussion and decisions made by the CDMExecutive Board (CDM-EB) between COP10and CDM-EB20 (July 2005). GEC believesthat the updated CDM Manual is useful for awide range of stakeholders, especially CDMdevelopers and policy makers, to promotefurther CDM projects.

Another GEC publication is “CDMMethodologies Guidebook” (Naoki Matsuo,2004) which can be downloaded as pdf filecontaining the full text (11.6MB) or in parts(chapters: 1 to 5 MB pdf files) URL: http://gec.jp/gec/gec.nsf/en/Publications-R e p o r t s _ a n d _ R e l a t e d _ B o o k s -CDM_Meth_Guidebook

The Guidebook outlines the theoreticalbasis for CDM Methodologies, discussingissues such as baseline scenarios, mainelements of the baseline, the relationbetween methodology and Project DesignDocument (PDD), and monitoringmethodology, and much more. For thosewho are dazzled by CDM terms, theterminology pages at the end of thedocument can be very useful.

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Other News


Tomoya MOTODA (Mr.)Programme Officer, Research andCoordinationProject DivisionGlobal Environment Centre Foundation(GEC)2-110 Ryokuchi-koen, Tsurumi-kuOsaka 538-0036JAPAN

Phone: +81-6-6915-4121Fax: +81-6-6915-0181E-mail: [email protected]: www.gec.jp

PARTICIPATORY BIOLOGICALMONITORING

“Broadening Participation in BiologicalMonitoring: Guidelines for Scientists andManagers.” by David Pilz, Heidi L. Ballard,Eric T. Jones. (2005)

This publication is one of the outputs of aone year project and is intended to advanceparticipatory biological monitoring in forestmanagement. One of the project’s goalswas to synthesize the literature andstakeholder knowledge on participatorymonitoring and provide a tool (guidelines)that will help forest managers andscientists: 1) broaden participation to meetbiological monitoring needs whilemaintaining scientific standards, and 2)build positive long-term relationships withparticipants and their local communities.The guidelines are designed as a referencetool to work with any type of project whether

bottom-up or top-down, large or small,volunteer or small contractor. While orientedtoward natural resource managers andscientists in the U.S., the guidelines maybe useful to anyone interested inparticipatory processes and biologicalmonitoring.

The online version of this publication,published by the Institute for Culture andEcology (IFCAE), is available at:w w w . i f c a e . o r g / p r o j e c t s / n c s s f 3 /welcome.htm.

ONE PLANET, MANY PEOPLE

UNEP releases Atlas: “One Planet, ManyPeople: Atlas of our ChangingEnvironment” (2005)

“A picture is worth a thousand words”The UNEP Atlas provides visual evidenceof environmental changes taking placearound the world. This colorful andapproachable atlas contains photographs,satellite images, maps and narrativesproviding insights into the many wayspeople around the world have changed, andcontinue to change, the environment.

The United Nations EnvironmentProgramme (UNEP), in cooperation with theNational Aeronautics and SpaceAdministration (NASA), United StatesGeological Survey (USGS), and theUniversity of Maryland launched One Planet,Many People: Atlas of our ChangingEnvironment, in celebration of WorldEnvironment Day on June 3, 2005.

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Other News

ID21 NATURAL RESOURCESHIGHLIGHTS

The focus is on the status and trends overseveral decades, both in physical andhuman geography. The 334-pagehardbound atlas documents visualevidence of global environmental changesresulting from natural processes andhuman induced activities, includingchanges in land use, biological diversity, andclimate. The atlas provides, among others,a collection of spectacular “before and after”satellite image pairs on various themes for80 sites around the world.

You may access the Atlas on line at http://www.na.unep.net/ . Please note thatdownloading chapters from the websiterequires a reliable internet connection andsome patience, due to all the satelliteimages and photographs. But it is worth it:the pictures are impressive!

Paper copies may be purchased fromEarthprint at www.earthprint.com

UNEP, 2005Hardback ISBN: 92 807 2571 8Price: USD 150.00 + shipping costs (20USD for Europe; 30 USD to the rest of theWorld)

The Natural Resources Highlights is a newpublication from id21. id21 is a free servicethat communicates the latest UK-basedinternational development research todecision-makers and practitioners workingin developing countries. It aims to be part ofthe process of putting international

development policy into practice. Id 21 isone of the family of knowledge services fromIDS and enabled by the United Kingdom’sDepartment For International Development(DFID).

The Natural Resources Highlights are easyto read, offer practical policy solutions todevelopment problems and direct thereader to the original researchers andresearch reports. These highlights areproduced on six themes: water, forestry,agriculture, rural livelihoods, land andconservation. They will be published oncea year. Paper versions are available free topeople living in countries or regions withlimited internet access. PDF versions areavailable for free to all users. To accessthese documents, please visit:www.livelihoods.org/post/id21-postit.html

If you would like a free subscription to thepaper versions, please forward your contactdetails (including full postal address) to:id21Institute of Development StudiesUniversity of SussexBrighton, BN1 9REUK

Or email Tim Woods, editor id21([email protected])

For more information about id21 services,please visit: www.id21.org

Please note that the id21 issue on waterincludes an article on how protecting forestscan improve water management, withreference to payment schemes forenvironmental services. See:w w w . l i v e l i h o o d s . o r g / p o s t / D o c s /id21water.pdf

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Other News

The issue of forestry 2005 has severalarticles on how forestry can reduce poverty,with themes including forest products, forestmarkets, forest policies and the potentialrole of environmental services payments.

INFOSYLVA E-BULLETIN.

INFOSYLVA covers forestry news from FAOand the world. It is a new free electronicinformation service from FAO. Infosylvaincludes news from FAO as well as links toselected forestry-related news clippingsfrom newspapers and journals publishedaround the world and available online inEnglish, French or Spanish. The aim of thise-bulletin is to keep readers informed offorestry events reported by the media aroundthe world and to encourage discussion. Tosubscribe, please send an e-mail [email protected], the subjectshould be left blank, and the message textshould read: subscribe INFOSYLVA-L

The articles in the magazine pay specialattention to the wildlife of the rainforests,and are illustrated with beautiful pictures.The first issue covers topics such asorangutan rehabilitation work, elephantconservation, and birdwatching.

For subscriptions: online atwww.naturalert.org; or contact:

Sean WhytePO Box 3830,Bath BA13WX,UK.

Phone: +44 1225 444929,E-mail: [email protected]

RAINFORESTS: A NEW MAGAZINE

Rainforests is a quarterly magazinedisseminating information throughout theworld in the hope that a greaterunderstanding and appreciation ofrainforests will lead to their increasedprotection. The objective is to help otherorganisations and individuals raiseawareness on rainforests by publicising thework of the many conservation groupsthroughout the world.

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Organisation- Institutions- ProgrammesPublications

FORESTS, WATER AND PEOPLE INTHE HUMID TROPICS: past, presentand future hydrological research forintegrated land and water management.

M.Bonell and L.A.Bruijnzeel (eds.) 2005

This massive tome (2.8 kg, 275x215x42mm), resulting from the 2000 UNESCO-IHPand IUFRO workshop in Malaysia, withsome added chapters, is an up-to-date, richcompendium of papers: 9 on hydrologicalprocesses in undisturbed forests (332 pp);8 dealing with forest disturbance,conversion and recovery (186 pp); and 8describing methods for detecting andevaluating effects of land use change (166pp). In these three technical, central partsof the volume, specialists in a wide rangeof fields such as hydrology, meteorology,geomorphology, remote sensing, ecology,forestry, land use planning andmanagement, economics and socialsciences will find contributions in their ownfield and in other fields with relevance totheirs – many also providing broaderunderstanding and context for the others.

Current trends and perspectives on people-land use-water issues are discussed in thefirst 150 pp, and best managementpractices are discussed and “do not clear”warnings for specific types of natural landcover argued in the last part (69 pp). Thesefirst and last parts, about a quarter of thetotal, are aimed at a wider range of readersand deal with developments, issues,perplexities (such as the economicreasoning–resource conservationconundrum) and solutions in the web ofrelationships among the land and water, thenatural forests and the other, largely human-

induced, land cover types, the local peopleand the people and institutions elsewherewith an interest in the land or decision-making power over it.

A critical note: In part one as well as in theconclusion authors state that the maincauses of forest degradation areunplanned: due to the subsistence andenergy demands of rural populations, andthat the main causes of immediateconversion of forest to other land uses areplanned: government-driven programmes tostimulate resettlement, cattle ranching andpermanent agriculture and commercialplantations. These statements curiouslyignore another major cause of forestdegradation or disappearance: the large-scale, often illegal or semi-legal(unauthorized) timber extraction, bothselective and clear-felling, that has beentaking place in a number of tropical countrieswith and without government planning orpermission.

The extensive (20 pp), thoughtful conclusionlargely serves as an executive summary ofthe whole volume; to do justice to the wealthand variety of information and views a similarlength of text would have been needed for aproper review. The core conclusions relevantto local populations and local and nationalpolitical and economic decision-makers arein the last few pages: outstanding economicand institutional issues and concludingremarks on, inter alia, the prime importanceof increasing the involvement of localcommunities in the entire resourcemanagement decision-making process, theproposed establishment of regional (long-term) demonstration forests in which localpeople would have a major role, the needfor in-depth research and long-termmonitoring to clarify the widespread and

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FROM THE MOUNTAIN TO THE TAP:how land use and water managementcan work for the rural poor

societally important low-flow problem, andthe encouraging spread of a people-centred, bottom-up approach to the processfrom setting a research agenda to joint fieldtesting and evaluation by the land users.

A reader wishing to follow up some of theabundant references (after each paper) willneed a good university or national library,as will the prospective reader without aready US$ 300 in hand. A low-cost reprintwould significantly improve access to thisbook in many countries. A simple brochureon the basis of the 20-page conclusionmight also be useful for a much wider, lesstechnically oriented readership, includingdecision-makers in national and localgovernment and civil society.

Reviewed by Dr. Robert Brinkman

International hydrology series,Cambridge U.P. xvii + 925 pp. hb,ISBN 0521829534. £175 or US$300.

More information available on theCambridge University web site at:http://www.cambridge.org/uk/0521829534

Besides a description of the book, thewebsite includes the table of contents andan excerpt containing the introduction.

To order:Cambridge University PressThe Edinburgh BuildingShaftesbury RoadCB2 2RU CambridgeUK

Phone: + 44 1223 326050Fax: + 44 1223 326111E-mail: [email protected]

Becky Hayward (2005)

“Trees overvalued in water management”

This report is a summary of a series ofresearch projects commissioned by theTropical Forestry Research Programme(FRP) of the UK Department for InternationalDevelopment (DFID). It presents anoverview of research conducted by theCentre for Land Use and Water Resourcesat the University of Newcastle upon Tyne,and the Free University of Amsterdam withpartners in Colombia, Costa Rica, Germany,Grenada, India, South Africa, Sweden,Switzerland, Tanzania, the Netherlands, theUK and the US.

The potential implications of the resultsfrom this 4-year multi-country collaborationin Costa Rica, South Africa, Tanzania,Grenada and India are immense as theycontradict current tree-planting policies andenvironmental beliefs. Trees, if planted inwater scarce environments, may reduce dryseason flows and therefore worsen theliving conditions of the poor. The researchresults point to the need for water managersand policy makers to base decisions on treeplanting schemes on scientific evidenceappropriate for the site. Unless there isurgent action, the looming water crisis willaggravate, and leave the most vulnerable -the rural and urban poor populations - evermore disadvantaged (Source: FRP website)

The booklet is available as hard copy fromFRP through Katelijne Rothschild-van Look

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([email protected].) and a pdf versioncan be obtained at the FRP website:h t t p : / / w w w . f r p . u k . c o m / a s s e t s /Water_book.pdf

For further information on the research,please contact the project lead researchers,Ian Calder ([email protected]),Sampurno Bruijnzeel ([email protected]) RobHope ([email protected]),Ashvin Gosain ([email protected]).

More information about the forestry researchprogramme is available at http://www.frp.uk.com

ISBN 979-3361-64-6Full text available at:http://www.cifor.cgiar.org/publications/pdf_files/Books/BCIFOR0501.pdfor at the FAO website:http://www.fao.org/world/regional/rap/publication_browse_detail.asp?divisionID=64

To order a paper copy, please contact:Patrick Durst:Senior Forestry OfficerFAO Regional Office for Asia & the Pacific39 Phra Atit Rd, Bangkok 10200Thailand


FOREST AND FLOODS: drowning infiction or thriving on facts?

FAO and CIFOR (2005)

This booklet explores the scientific evidencelinking floods and forests. It reveals thatmuch of the public perception on the linksbetween the two cannot be substantiatedby science and is often little more than mythor is patently incorrect. Forests and floodsdistinguishes fact from fiction andrecommends alternative approaches foreffective watershed and floodplainmanagement. In this way, it constructivelycontributes to the development of soundwatershed and river-basin managementand improved flood-mitigation policies.

The article by Thomas Enters and PatrickDurst on page 11 refers to this paper.

RAP Publication 2005/3 and ForestPerspectives 2

BLUE REVOLUTION: integrated landand water resources management

I.R. Calder (Second edition September 2005)

In the first edition of The Blue Revolution,published in 1999, Ian Calder dispelledmuch of the mythology that has hinderedrational land use and water resourcedecision-making in the past. The BlueRevolution is an essential guide to recentbreakthroughs in water resourcemanagement.

The revolution essentially concerns theongoing major shift in the approaches andobjectives in the way land and water aremanaged. This book discusses newfindings on how land use impacts on waterresources; new approaches, methods,tools and concepts such as integratedwater resources management along with anew policy agenda informing water resourcemanagement strategies. This is illustrated

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with several case studies, highlighting thecomplexity of the processes. Therefore, itremains difficult to generalise about therelative impacts of different vegetation typesupon the catchment water balance. The bookfocuses on the role of forests in watermanagement: myths and motherstatements about the relation betweenforests and water are discussed.

This update to the Blue Revolution providesfurther evidence of the need to integrate landmanagement decision-making into theprocess of integrated water resourcesmanagement. It presents the key issuesinvolved in finding the balance between thecompeting demands for land and water: forfood and other forms of economicproduction, for sustaining livelihoods, andfor conservation, amenity, recreation and therequirements of the environment. It alsopresents means and methodologies toaddress these issues.

A new chapter, Policies, Power andPerversity, describes the perverseoutcomes that can result from present, oftenmyth-based, land and water policies whichdo not consider these land and waterinteractions. New research and casestudies involving Integrated Land and WaterResources Management concepts arepresented for the Panama Canalcatchments and in relation to afforestationproposals for the UK Midlands.

Order details:PB 22.95 ISBN: 1844072398HB 80.00 ISBN: 1844072401

Ordering online at:http://shop.earthscan.co.uk/ : the book islisted under category of water andresources.

The Asia Forest Network (AFN) is dedicatedto supporting the role of communities inprotection and sustainable use of Asia’sforests. AFN is comprised of a coalition ofplanners, policy makers, governmentforesters, scientists, researchers, andNGOs. One of AFN’s main activities isfacilitating exchange of information throughpublications.

The Research Network Reports include aseries called: Community ForestManagement Trends in Southeast Asia.This is a regional case study seriescovering five countries: Philippines, VietNam, Cambodia, Indonesia, and Thailand.

Below several recent AFN publicationsdealing with forests and water issues arepresented.

Communities for Watershed Protection-Mae Khan, Thailandby Chaleo Kanjan & Jessada Kaewchote(2004)

THE ASIA FOREST NETWORK -RECENT PUBLICATIONS

Earthscan / James & James8-12 Camden High StreetLondon NW1 0JHUK

Phone: +44 20 7387 8558Fax: + 44 20 7387 8998E-mail: [email protected]

For more information you may also contactthe author Ian Calder at:[email protected]

115ETFRN News 45 - 46/06


This paper summarizes recent experiencesin formally establishing community-basedforest management in the Mea KahanWatershed, Chiangmai. It examines thepractices among highland, upland andlowland communities in the Mae Wang sub-watershed. The publication explores howdifferent traditions of resourcemanagement could be integrated intoemerging local government naturalresource management planning strategies.A variety of tools and techniques utilized tofacilitate community decisions aredescribed.

Flood Forests, Fish, and Fishing Villages-Tonle Sap, Cambodiaby Kiran Paudyal and Patrick Evans

This study describes the experiences of theKompong Phluk, a community that hasbeen attempting to protect its flood forestsand fishing grounds for the past fifty years.It examines how the community hasformalized indigenous resourcemanagement systems.

The experiences are summarized by PatrickEvans on page 71.

Communities and Watershed Governance– Visayas, Philippinesby Sylvia Miclat, Rowena Soriaga and PeterWalpole.

A case study of two watersheds in theVisayas provides insights in how uplandand coastal communities are interactingwith local and national governments todevelop their own unique approach toresource use and conservation.

Rowena Soriaga presents a summary of

this paper on page 53.

Working paper series

Approaches to Controlling Illegal ForestActivities: Considerations from South EastAsia by Akiko Inoguchi, Rowena Soriagaand Peter Walpole (2005)

This paper reflects ten years experienceworking with local people andbureaucraties in South-East Asia. The firstsection describes illegal forest activities inSouth-East Asia: the different levels of illegalforest activities; the relation between povertyand illegal forest activities; and conditionsinvoking illegal forest activities. The secondpart discusses community forestmanagement as a critical approach tocontrol illegal forest activities. Further tasksthat should be addressed to enhance theeffectiveness of CFM are identified. The thirdsection criticises illegal logging beingblamed for natural disasters such as floods.Although illegal logging should be stopped,this does not prevent such disasters, unlessthey also address more critical problemswhat actually causes human disasters.

The paper concludes with discussing theEuropean Union’s approaches to addressillegal forest issues. The EU policy packageincludes the “FLEGT Action Plan” andfunding guidelines for the “Programme onTropical Forests and other Forest inDeveloping Countries. The AFN offersrecommendations to close the gaps seenin the current approaches of EU policiestowards illegal forest activities and therealities of forests, forest communities andthe forest sectors of South-East Asia.

Illegal ogging and disasters (part 3) is alsodiscussed by Peter Walpole on page 14.

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WATER: FORESTRY AND LAND USEPERSPECTIVES

Publications

Ordering Information:Publications from the Asia Forest Networkcan be downloaded at: http://www.asiaforestnetwork.org

For those interested in paper copies,please contact Ms Liezl Samonte-Bunda atthe Asia Forest Network.

Asia Forest NetworkAttn. Ms Liezl Samonte-Bunda2/F Gallares Main Bldg., Gallares SquareGraham Avenue / Maria Callas StreetTagbilaran City 6300, Bohol,Philippines

Tel: +63 38 501 8947Fax: +63 38 235 5800E-mail: [email protected]: http://www.asiaforestnetwork.org

N. Abdul Rahim (ed) (2004)

This document contains selected papersfrom the seminar organised by the ForestResearch Institute Malaysia (FRIM), theRegional Humid Tropics Hydrology andWater Resources Centre for Southeast Asiaand the Pacific (HTC-Malaysia), and theWorld Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) –Malaysia. The seminar was held in KualaLumpur, Malaysia in March-April 1999.

The first papers present an overview ofcurrent and future water needs (Johari &Rusnah); the impact of climatic phenomena

on water resources (Lim & Ooi), such assevere drought (Shaaban et al); and outlinevarious issues of mountain hydrology(Bonell). The next four papers discuss therole of trees and forests in more detail:rainfall interception by rainforests (Saberi &Rosnani); sub-canopy rainfall and wetcanopy evaporation (Bidin & Chappell);impacts of forestry and land use (AbdulRahim & Zulkifli); and the runoff of peatswamps forest (Zulkifli et al).

Technical Documents in Hydrology seriesno 70, published by the InternationalHydrological Programme (IHP), UNESCO,Paris (115 pages)

The publication is available online:http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0013/001379/137954e.pdf

Due to the limited number of print copiesavailable, we highly recommend onlineconsultation and/or downloading of thepublication.

For those with limited internet access,orders for UNESCO/IHP publication titles(non-commercial series only) may beplaced through the IHP DocumentationCenter :

Vincent LeogardoIHP Documentation CenterUNESCO/Division of Water Sciences (SC/HYD)1 rue Miollis, 75732 Paris Cedex 15France

Phone: +33 (0)1 45 68 40 04Fax: +33 (0)1 45 68 58 11E-mail: [email protected]: http://www.unesco.org/water

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RIVER RESTORATION IN EAST ASIA

Publications

F. Parish, M.B. Mokhtar, A.R Abdullah andO.M.Chew (eds.) 2004

Proceedings of the East Asia RegionalSeminar on River Restoration (KualaLumpur, 2003) Global Environment Centre& Department of Irrigation and Drainage,Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (242 pages)

Poor management of land and waterresources in many river basins has led tomajor floods, water shortages, pollution andloss of biodiversity. Restoration of rivers andassociated wetlands and biodiversity in Asiais a relatively new practice and is still in anexperimental stage. The MalaysianGovernment and its partners organised theEast Asia Regional Seminar on RiverRestoration in January 2003 to shareexperiences and lessons learned onissues and challenges in river managementand restoration.

The seminar brought together more than165 representatives from governmentagencies, research institutions and NGOs.An important output of this seminar was the‘Kuala Lumpur Statement on RiverRestoration in East Asia’, which waspresented at the 3rd World Water Forum inKyoto, Japan in March 2003.

The proceedings of the seminar include 40papers covering four main topics: Planningand Management; Restoration Techniquesand Experiences; Research andDevelopment and Community Participation.The publication presents experiences withthe rehabilitation of river catchments toreduce floods and maintain dry season

flows, including reforestation of upperwatersheds. It discusses the restoration ofreclaimed tropical peat basin as well asrestoration of mangrove forests. Preventionof water pollution and methods to improvethe water quality are also reviewed. The lasteight papers examine the involvement oflocal communities in river restoration. AsFaizal Parish points out in a keynote paper,local people, especially fishingcommunities are very supportive ofrehabilitation projects as they can see directbenefits from improved fish habitat, coastalprotection as well as a source of woodproducts.

The publication can be downloaded from:http://www.riverbasin.org/ev_en.php?ID=3954_201&ID2=DO_TOPICISBN 983-3377-00-9

The proceedings (hard copy and CD-ROM)are available from the Global EnvironmentCentre for US$10.00 (excluding postage).

To order please contact:Global Environment Centre,2nd Floor, Wisma Hing,78, Jalan SS2/72,47300 Petaling Jaya, Selangor D.E.Malaysia

Phone: +60 3 7957 2007,Fax: +60 3 7957 7003E-mail: [email protected]: www.gecnet.info

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MANUAL ON PEAT SWAMP FORESTREHABILITATION AND PLANTING INTHAILAND

Publications

David Lee and Tanit Nuyim (2005)

The original version of the manual waswritten by Mr. Tanit Nuyim from the NationalPark, Wildlife and Plant ConservationDepartment (NPWPC). With thecollaboration between Global EnvironmentCentre, Wetlands International Thailand,and the NPWPC Department under the jointsupport from the UNEP-GEF’s IntegratedManagement of Peatlands for Biodiversityand Climate Change project and CIDAfunded Climate Change, Forests andPeatlands in Indonesia project, this manualwas translated into English and publishedin May 2005.

The manual starts by giving an overview andscenario of the peat swamp forest inThailand, including some basiccharacteristics and features of the peatswamp in the country. Chapter 3 provides alist of plant species that was tested forsuitability in peat swamp replanting. Thisprogramme was a product of a longresearch conducted from 1988 to 2002. Themanual also describes in detail the stepsand methodology for seedling preparation,nursery set up, as well as information onplant growth studies. This book is a usefulreference in any future attempts to replantpeat swamp forest species.

Web address Peat Portal:h t t p : / / w w w . p e a t - p o r t a l . n e t /ev_en.php?ID=3640_201&ID2=DO_TOPIC

Fahmuddin Agus, Farida and Meine vanNoordwijk (eds) 2004

This publication presents the proceedingsof a workshop held in Padang/Singkarak,West Sumatra, Indonesia, during 25-28February 2004: a workshop involvingresearchers and policy makers from district,provincial, national and international levels.The chapters are preceded with a reader-friendly executive summary. It revampssome ‘myth understanding’ of land usechanges and hydrological relationships.The chapters include: forest and watershedfunction relationship; the role of agroforestryin maintenance of hydrological functions;criteria and indicators for evaluating thesuccess of watershed management;farmers’ practices worth rewarding;recognizing and rewarding of watershedservices; institutional arrangements for

To request a copy, you should sign up to thepeat-portal, and then you can request a copyfor free.

For more information, contact David Lee atthe Global Environmental Centre.David LeeGlobal Environment Centre,2nd Floor, Wisma Hing, Jalan SS2/72,Petaling Jaya, 47300 SelangorMalaysia


HYDROLOGICAL IMPACTS OFFOREST, AGROFORESTRY ANDUPLAND CROPPING AS A BASISFOR REWARDING ENVIRONMENTALSERVICE PROVIDERS IN INDONESIA

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watershed management; and rewardmechanisms of environmental services.Results of group discussions are included.The final parts show the picturesque photosof Singkarak and Maninjau lakes and theircatchments illustrating an example of thechallenges and opportunities to Implementthe RUPES Program.

This Proceedings may be downloaded fromwww.worldagroforestrycentre.org/sea

ISBN 979-3198-18-4World Agroforestry Centre,ICRAF-SEA, Bogor, Indonesia

concludes that service users will continueto drive PES, but their willingness to pay willonly rise if schemes can demonstrate clearadditionality vis-à-vis carefully establishedbaselines, if trust-building processes withservice providers are sustained, and PESrecipients’ livelihood dynamics are betterunderstood. PES best suits intermediateand/or projected threat scenarios, often inmarginal lands with moderate conservationopportunity costs. People facing credible butmedium-sized environmental degradationare more likely to become PES recipientsthan those living in relative harmony withNature. The choice between PES cash andin-kind payments is highly context-dependent. Poor PES recipients are likelyto gain from participation, though theiraccess might be constrained and non-participating landless poor could lose out.PES is a promising conservation approachthat can benefit buyers, sellers and improvethe resource base, but it is unlikely tocompletely outstrip other conservationinstruments.

CIFOR Occasional paper (24 pages)

http://www.cifor.cgiar.org/scripts/newscripts/publications/detail.asp?pid=1760

Download PDF file at: (0.7MB)http://www.cifor.cgiar.org/publications/pdf_files/OccPapers/OP-42.pdf

PAYMENTS FOR ENVIRONMENTALSERVICES: SOME NUTS AND BOLTS

Sven Wunder (2005)

Payments for environmental services (PES)are part of a new and more directconservation paradigm, explicitlyrecognizing the need to bridge the interestsof landowners and outsiders. Theoreticalassessments have praised the advantagesof PES over traditional conservationapproaches. Some pilot PES exist in thetropics, but many field practitioners andprospective service buyers and sellersremain skeptical about the concept. Thispaper aims to help demystify PES for non-economists, starting with a simple andcoherent definition of the term. It thenprovides practical ‘how-to’ hints for PESdesign. It considers the likely niche for PESin the portfolio of conservation approaches.This assessment is based on a literaturereview, combined with field observationsfrom research in Latin America and Asia. It

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PAYMENT SCHEMES FORENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES INWATERSHEDS

FAO (2004)

This document presents the results of theRegional Forum on Payment Schemes forEnvironmental Services in Watersheds heldduring the Third Latin American Congresson Watershed Management (Arequipa,Peru 9 -12 June 2003)

Payment schemes for environmentalservices (PES) are innovative instruments fornatural resources management which areincreasingly being applied in Latin America.In a watershed context, PES schemesgenerally involve the implementation ofmarket mechanisms to compensateupstream landowners in order to maintainor modify a particular land use that is affectingthe availability and/or quality of the waterresources for downstream users. TheRegional Forum on Payment Schemes forEnvironmental Services in Watersheds washeld to exchange experiences with theseschemes in Latin America and to formulaterecommendations for the economicvaluation of water-related services, as wellas the design and execution of PES schemesin watersheds. This report summarizes thelessons and recommendations of the forum.The complete documentation, including 19papers, 22 presentations and case studies,is included on the CD-ROM thataccompanies this publication.

Regional Forum, 9-12 June 2003Land and Water discussion paper 3, FAO,Rome 2004

View in HTML: http://www.fao.org/documents/show_cdr.asp?url_file=/docrep/006/y5305b/y5305b01.htm

To be downloaded as PDF file at:ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/006/y5305b/y5305b00.pdf

Readers from developing countries withlimited access to the internet may requesta copy of the report free of charge. Pleasewrite to [email protected] indicatingthe title of the report and your mailingaddress.

ELECTRONIC FORUM ON PAYMENTSCHEMES FOR ENVIRONMENTALSERVICES IN WATERSHEDS

FAO and REDLACH, August 2004

This report is a summary of the discussionat the Electronic Forum on PaymentSchemes for Environmental Services inWatersheds, held from 12 April to 21 May2004. The forum was organised by FAO andthe Latin American Network for TechnicalCooperation in Watershed Management(REDLACH).

Over the last years, the concept ofPayment Schemes for EnvironmentalServices (PES) has received muchattent ion in var ious Lat in Americancountries as an innovative tool for thefinancing of sustainable management ofland and water resources. FAO andREDLACH have promoted discussionand exchange of experiences on thisissue by organizing the Regional Forumon PES at the Third Latin American

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A KNOWLEDGE AND ASSESSMENTGUIDE TO SUPPORT THEDEVELOPMENT OF PAYMENTARRANGEMENTS FOR WATERSHEDECOSYSTEM SERVICES (PWES)

Publications

Congress on Watershed Management,held in Arequipa, Peru, 2003.

The E-Forum was a follow-up to theArequipa conference with a view to validateconclusions and recommendations, as wellas to compile experiences with design,implementation, and assessment of PESschemes in watersheds in Latin Americanand the Caribbean. During the 6 weekdiscussion, 215 presentations of 118professionals from 26 countries were madeaddressing the following issues: (a)definition and scope of PES in watersheds;(b) design of PES schemes; (c) executionof PES schemes; (d) impacts of PESschemes; (e) PES, sensitization andawareness raising, and (f) PES andlegislation.

Besides summarizing the contributions ofparticipants on these issues, this reporthighlights recommendations to differentgroups of PES-related actors. Additionally,it presents a list of concrete experienceswith PES including contact details and linksof pdf reports on these experiences.

For more information visit the website:Land-Water Linkages in Rural Watersheds:FAO’s programme on hydrological servicesin watershed managementhttp://www.fao.org/ag/agl/watershed/watershed/en/mainen/index.stm

The report can be downloaded at:http://www.rlc.fao.org/foro/psa/pdf/report.pdf

Readers from developing countries withlimited access to the internet could requesta copy of the report free of charge. Pleasewrite to [email protected] indicatingthe title of the report and your mailingaddress.

Sylvia S. Tognetti, Guillermo F. Mendoza,Bruce Aylward, Douglas Southgate and LuisGarcia (2004).

This Assessment Guide focuses onidentification and quantification ofwatershed services found in a specificcontext, highlighting Rules-of-Thumb thatemerge from a review of research and casestudies. Following an overview of existinginitiatives, the Guide identifies the kinds ofinformation needed from a site-specificassessment and provides a framework fororganizing it in a way that is relevant anduseful for decision-making. Special attentionis given to estimation of the water-balance,as a basic framework for investigatingecosystem processes that underpinspecific services, and for estimating theirmagnitude and direction. A subsequentsection discusses the use of thisinformation to estimate economicsignificance of these processes, withoutwhich they cannot properly be considered“services”, and for evaluating trade-offs. Thisis then placed in the context of institutionalchallenges, although these are not a keyfocus of the report. The Rules-of-Thumb areonly meant to provide a working hypothesis,and thereby serve as a point of departurefor the assessment of payment initiatives.Given the broad range of relevantknowledge and perspectives needed toconsider the contribution of watershedprocesses to human well-being, in a

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specific social and economic context, andlarge spatial and temporal scales makingit often difficult to link multiple causes andeffects of watershed degradation andthereby identify threats to watershedservices, this guide should be regarded aspreliminary, to be further developed andimproved as lessons are learned fromimplementation. The Flows Bulletin willsupplement the guide by covering specialtopics in assessment as new informationemerges, identifying lessons learned fromtheir implementation, and considering theirimplications for practice.

Document prepared for the World BankEnvironment Department with support from theBank-Netherlands Watershed PartnershipProgram, Washington, DC.To be downloaded from:h t t p : / / w w w. f l o w s o n l i n e . n e t / d a t a /pes_assmt_guide_en.pdf

LIQUID RELATIONS: CONTESTEDWATER RIGHTS AND LEGALCOMPLEXITY

D. Roth, R. Boelens, M. Zwarteveen(eds.)(2005)

Water management plays an increasinglycritical role in national and internationalpolicy agendas. Growing scarcity, overuse,and pollution, combined with burgeoningdemand, have made socio-political andeconomic conflicts almost unavoidable.Proposals to address water shortages areusually based on two key assumptions: (1)water is a commodity that can be boughtand sold and (2) “states,” or othercentralized entities, should control accessto water.

Liquid Relations criticizes theseassumptions from a socio-legal perspective.Eleven case studies examine laws,distribution, and irrigation in regions aroundthe world, including the United States, Nepal,Indonesia, Chile, Ecuador, India, and SouthAfrica. In each case, problems are shown tobe both ecological and human-made; thelocally specific outcomes of social, political,and environmental histories. The essaysalso consider how gender, ethnicity, and classdifferences influence water rights and control.

In the concluding chapter, the editors drawon the essays’ findings to offer an alternativeapproach to water rights and watergovernance issues. By showing how issueslike water scarcity and competition areembedded in specific resource use andmanagement histories, this volumehighlights the need for analyses andsolutions that are context-specific ratherthan universal.

Paper ISBN 0-8135-3675-8Cloth ISBN 0-8135-3674-XPages: 352 pp.Price: $29.95 (Excluding: Sales tax)

For more information:http://rutgerspress.rutgers.edu/acatalog/__Liquid_Relations_2254.html

You can order online or by fax, telephoneand mail. To order, contact:

Rutgers University Press100 Joyce Kilmer AvenuePiscataway, NJ 08854USAPhone: +1 800 446-9323Fax: +1 888 471-9014E-mail:[email protected]

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FLOWS

Publications

NEWSLETTERS

FLOWS: News on payments for watershedfunctions

This E-bulletin provides a monthly review ofissues around the effectiveness ofpayments for watershed services.Gathering information from differentsources, FLOWS gives voice to a range ofperspectives and highlights the gapsbetween theory and practice.

Each issue features: a review of specialtopics, a resource guide, readercommentary, and announcements ofrelevant new reports, papers, andupcoming events. Flows is produced bySylvia S. Tognetti, in collaboration with theInternational Institute for Environment andDevelopment (IIED), and the World Bankthrough the Bank-Netherlands WatershedPartnership Program (BNWPP).

To subscribe, please [email protected]

For more information visit http://www.flowsonline.net/

PEATMATTERS

Newsletter of the Integrated Managementof Peatlands for Biodiversity & ClimateChange Project undertaken by WetlandsInternational and Global EnvironmentCentre

PeatMatters is distributed free to peatlandand climate change-related forums,networks, researchers, experts, scientistsand interested individuals. To subscribe orreceive a free issue, please email [email protected] or visit http://www.peat-portal.net

Compiled by David Lee & Murni Adnan;Editor: Faizal ParishPeatMatters is distributed by:The Global Environment Centre,2nd Floor, Wisma Hing, No 78, Jalan ss2/72, 47300 Petaling Jaya,SelangorMalaysiaWebsite: http://www.gecnet.info/

PeatMattersFirst Issue Volume 1. August 2004Download a copy at: http://www.riverbasin.org/TEMPLATE/c_21/docs/com_mat/PeatMatters_Vol1.pdf

Second Issue Vol. 2 July 2005 (12 pages).Download at:http://www.riverbasin.org/T E M P L AT E / c _ 2 1 / d o c s / c o m _ m a t /PeatMatters_Vol2.pdf

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RUPES NEWSLETTERASB POLICYBRIEFS NO 07:EMPOWERMENT THROUGHMEASUREMENT.

Publications

ASB Policy Brief no 7 is a special issue ontropical forests and water.

ASB Policybriefs is published by theAlternatives to Slash-and-Burn Programme.The series aims to deliver relevant, concisereading to key people whose decisions willmake a difference to poverty reduction andenvironmental protection in the humidtropics.

This issue can de downloaded from: http://w w w. a s b . c g i a r . o r g / P D F w e b d o c s /PolicyBrief7.pdf

Contact:ASB Programme, ICRAFPO Box 30677NairobiKenya

Phone: +254 20 525114/524000Fax: 254 20 524001Website: http://www.asb.cgiar.orgE-mail: [email protected]

RUPES is a Program for developingmechanisms for Rewarding the UplandPoor in Asia for the Environmental Servicesthey provide.

The Goal of the RUPES program is toenhance the livelihoods and reduce povertyof the upland poor while supportingenvironmental conservation on biodiversityprotection, watershed management, carbonsequestration and landscape beauty at localand global levels.

The Rupes Program will build workingmodels of best practices for successfulenvironmental transfer agreementsadapted to the Asian context. By conductingaction research at a number of sites acrossthe region, it will try to get answers to:a) What are the environmental services?b) How can they be measured?c) What mechanisms can be used toanticipate and prepare for changes toenvironmental services?d) Who should be rewarded?e) Who should pay these rewards?f) In what form should they be collected?g) What amount or form is appropriate?

The Rupes Project will undertake actionresearch on testing rewards or potentialrewards and reward mechanism at anumber of sites throughout Asia. RUPESaction research sites have beenestablished in Indonesia, the Philippines,and Nepal and will expand to othercountries such as southern China, Vietnam,Laos, India, and Sri Lanka.

The RUPES project team also publishes a

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newsletter to highlight current activities ofthe project as well as to report on interestinginformation on aspects of rewards forenvironmental services. Besides newachievemnets of the RUPES research sites,the newsletter contains announcements ofconferences and workshop in the Asianregion that are particularly relevant toRUPES.

For more information on RUPES or if youwould like to be involved in the RUPESprogram please contact:

RUPES programc/o The World Agroforestry Centre,Southeast Asia Regional OfficaPO Box 161Bogor, 16001Indonesia

E-mail: [email protected]/sea/Networks/RUPES/Index.htm

THE OVERSTORY

The Overstory edition # 157:Soil Erosion and Water Infiltration by RolfDerpsch

In this article Rolf Derpsch discusses thehow cultivation methods effects theprocesses of soil erosion and waterinfiltration. On sloping land, he points out,inappropriate farming practices causeerosion, not slope of rainfall intensity. Heexplains how erosion starts with the impactof raindrops on bare soil. Falling raindropsbreaks the soil into very fine particles, which

clogs soil pores and create a surface sealthat impedes water infiltration. Due tosurface sealing, only a small portion onrainwater can infiltrate the soil, most of itruns off the soil surface. But when the soilis covered with living plants or plantresidues, the plant biomass absorbs theenergy of falling raindrops.Rolf Derpsch is a strong advocate forconservation agriculture, using no-tillagemethods, being the most effective strategyto control erosion.

To get a copy of this article, send an emailto [email protected] , and you willreceive an immediate reply with theOverstory #157.

To download other back issues (1-100) andfor subscription information, please visit theOverstory web site at : < http://www.overstory.org >

The Overstory is an ejournal, distributed bythe Agroforestry Net, Inc., a non profitorganisation based in Hawaii.Address: PO Box 428HolualoaHawaii 96725USA

E-mail: [email protected]: http://www.overstory.org

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DFID/FRP PRUNINGS 2004Publications on forests and water

“Prunings” from the UK’s DFID Forestresearch programme are a compilation ofone-sheet human interest stories or littleprunings taken from the project outputs. Youmay download the 2003 and 2004 versions,each containing 10 prunings from theETFRN website. Several examples aresummarised below.

A brick cannot die!

Researchers from the University ofNewcastle, the South African Centre forScience, Industry and Research (CSIR-Environmentek) and the University ofDurham have contributed significantly towater allocation reform in South Africa.Through rigorous field studies in SouthAfrica, Grenada and Tanzania, they havecome up with reliable, and rather surprising,data. The researchers point out that morewater alone does not improve welfare forthe poor, although it does improve people’slivelihoods in general. Upgrading ruralwater supplies from groundwater pumpsto a communal street tap results in nolivelihood improvement. Instead,householders prefer the convenience of aprivate house tap.

Close collaboration of the research teamwith officials at the South African Departmentof Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF) hashelped promote a new perspective on waterresource management.

R7937: Catchment management andpoverty alleviation: the role of economic

instruments and compensationmechanisms in water resource and forestmanagement

DFID/FRP Prunings 2004

For more information about this projectcontact FRP Senior Administrator, e-mail:[email protected], or the ProjectLeader: Dr Ian Calder, e-mail:[email protected], or Mr. Robert Hope, e-mail: [email protected]

The head in the clouds?

Central America is not a region usuallyassociated with droughts. Yet, in manycountries in the region, water supplies arein danger of being depleted, leading to anunreliable supply of electricity through thecountries’ national grids. This change hascome about as cloud forest areas areincreasingly converted into agriculturallands for more “economical” enterprises,in particular coffee plantations or pasturefor cattle.

A research team led by Amsterdam’s FreeUniversity in close collaboration with King’sCollege London and various institutions inCosta Rica is using advance technology tomeasure differences in the levels of waterflowing from forested and deforested areasand develop a prediction model. “Cloudcatchers” are installed in high up canopytowers, together with rain and stream waterlevel gauges and computer equipment onthe ground.

R7991: Hydrological impacts of convertingtropical montane cloud


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For more information about this projectcontact FRP Senior Administrator, e-mail:[email protected], or the ProjectLeader: Dr Sampurno Bruijnzeel, e-mail:[email protected]

Vote for water!

Researchers from Newcastle University andthe Indian Institute of Technology in Delhiare studying the effects of trees on water inHimachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.The researchers have found that too manytrees on the hill slopes –and elsewhere inthe catchment- actually reduce the wateroutput of the well. And too many deep wellshave been drilled already. What is neededmore than anything else is good governanceof the area, keeping the water barons at bayand allowing the poor access to water ataffordable prices.

This project is contributing to the nationaldebate on trees and water. It is supplyinggeo-referenced information and a simplemodeling tool that show how water tableshave changed over past years in relation todeforestation and afforestation measures,groundwater mining for dry-season irrigationand other watershed interventions.

R8171: Low base-flows and livelihoods inIndia


For more information about this projectcontact FRP Senior Administrator, e-mail:[email protected], or the ProjectLeader: Dr Ian Calder, e-mail:[email protected], or Dr Ashvin Gosain, e-mail: [email protected]

Rosales, J. (2003)

This report is the third in a series ofdocuments to be published by the GuianaShield Initiative (GSI) of the NetherlandsCommittee for IUCN (NC-IUCN). TheGuiana Shield provides hydrologicalservices not only to its own population andnature, but also to the global community. Itis estimated that the Guiana eco-regioncontains 10-15% of the world’s fresh waterreserves and the Shield is, of course, partof the larger Amazon Basin – the largestfresh water reserve on earth.

NC-IUCN/GSI Series 3

For more information contact:Netherlands Committee for IUCNPlantage Middenlaan 2KAmsterdamThe Netherlands

Websites: http://www.iucn.nl; http://www.guianashield.org

HYDROLOGY IN THE GUIANA SHIELDAND POSSIBILITIES FOR PAYMENTSCHEMES

128 ETFRN News 45 - 46/06


SLASH-AND-BURN AGRICULTURE:the search for alternatives

Cheryl A.Palm, Stephen A. Vosti, Pedro A.Sanchez, and Polly J. Ericksen (eds.)2005

Striking an equitable balance between thelegitimate interests of rural tropicalhouseholds and the equally legitimateglobal concerns over the environmentalconsequences of tropical deforestation isone of the major challenges of the nextdecades. The Alternatives to Slash-and-Burn (ASB) consortium - now comprisingover 40 organizations spread across thehumid tropical belt - was established in1992 by a group of concerned national andinternational research institutions and non-governmental organizations to address thischallenge.

This book synthesizes the first decade ofASB’s work, with contributions fromagronomists, foresters, economists,ecologists, and anthropologists. Itassesses the environmental, economic,and social impact of deforestation andidentifies the costs and benefits ofalternative uses of forests and cleared land.Throughout the volume, the contributorspresent new conceptual tools and a richcompendium of empirical analyses neededto formulate viable alternatives to slash-and-burn agriculture.

The first paper provides the introduction toslash and burn activities and the overallframework used by ASB, including itstradeoff matrix. The second section focuseson the different environmental, agronomicand socioeconomic dimensions, including

chapters on carbon dynamics, greenhousegas emissions, above-ground and below-ground biodiversity, agronomicsustainability and macroeconomics. Thethird section focuses on specific best-betalternatives to slash and burn at a subnational scale, including community forestmanagement, jungle rubber, shade coffeeand reclamation of degraded grasslands.The fourth section provides the perspectiveof the main countries involved, Brazil,Indonesia, Cameroon, Peru and Thailand.The final section compares the differentsites, and assesses the tradeoffs amongthe environmental, agronomic, andeconomic functions of the forest andalternatives to slash and burn systems.

“This remarkable volume addresses thesustainable management of tropical forestswith unstinting sophistication, moving theanalysis beyond clichés to the truecomplexities of the challenge. . . . [It] is alandmark on the path to sustainabledevelopment.” (Jeffrey Sachs, from theforeword)

For more information about this book,please contact [email protected]

480 pages; 58 illus.Cloth $79.50: ISBN: 0-231-13450-9Paperback $39.50 ISBN: 0-231-13451-7Columbia University Press, New York

Ordering information:www.columbia.edu/cu/cup/sales/ind.html

From North America, South America, Asiaand Australia.

Contact:Columbia University PressOrder Department

129ETFRN News 45 - 46/06


IN SEARCH OF EXCELLENCE:Exemplary Forest Management inAsia and the Pacific

136 S. BroadwayIrvington, NY 10533USAPhone: +1-800-944-8648 or 914-591-9111Fax: +1-800-944-1844 or 914-591-9201

From Europe, South Africa and Middle East:

Contact John Wiley and Sons Ltd at:Columbia University Pressc/o John Wiley and Sons, Ltd.1 Oldlands Way, Bognor RegisWest Sussex, PO22 9SAUKPhone: +44 1243 779-777Fax: +44 1243 820-250

Patrick B. Durst, Chris Brown, Henrylito D.Tacio and Miyuki Ishikawa (eds) 2005

This book presents – in an easy-to-read andentertaining style- the results of a new studyhighlighting the positive side of forestry inthe Asia-Pacific region. While usual mediacoverage of forests are filled with doom andgloom stories, this book gives plenty ofexamples that not all is hopeless: there arelots of people and organizations out there,largely unheralded, that are successfullybattling against deforestation,environmental degradation and povertyamong forest dwellers.

In search of excellence: exemplary forestmanagement in Asia and the Pacifichighlights the brighter side of forestry in a

much-maligned region. A widespread callfor nominations identified 172 forests in 21countries that were perceived to be “well-managed.” After careful vetting, 28 forestswere selected for detailed case studyanalysis.

The result is a kaleidoscope of ideas,approaches, inspiration and perspirationthat tell the stories of people dedicated tobuilding sustainable livelihoods throughcareful management of their forests. Thispublication describes stories of peopleovercoming some of the very basicchallenges in sustainable forestmanagement: how they improved situationswhich others took for granted. The storiesencompass a broad spectrum ofmanagement challenges. From the“miracle” of the Kalibo mangrovereforestation project, which describes theconversion of a bare mudflat into amangrove ecotourism site, to the “minimalimpact” helicopter logging operations ofForever Beech in New Zealand, these casestudies lend hope for the future of forests.

Published by the FAO Regional Office forAsia and the Pacific (FAO/ RAP) and theRegional Community Forestry TrainingCenter (RECOFTC).© FAO 2005ISBN 974- 7946 -68-8

For more information and to obtain copies,contact:

Patrick DurstSenior Forestry OfficerFAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific39 Phra Atit RoadBangkok, 10200ThailandPhone: +66 2 697 4139

130 ETFRN News 45 - 46/06


INSTRUMENTS FOR SUSTAINABLEPRIVATE SECTOR FORESTRY

Publications

Fax: + 66 2 697 4445E-mail: [email protected]

Ms. Lay Cheng TanManager, Information Management andCommunicationRECOFTCPO Box 1111Kasetsart UniversityBangkok 10903, ThailandPhone +66 2 940 5700 Ext. 1213E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]

E. Meijaard, D. Sheil, R. Nasi, D. Augeri, B.Rosenbaum, D. Iskandar, T. Setyawati, A.Lammertink, I. Rachmatika, A. Wong, T.Soehartono, S. Stanley, T. O’Brien (2005)

The book Life after Logging is the output ofa research programme carried out inBorneo, Indonesia. It assesses and reviewsboth ecological and life history informationon a range of Bornean wildlife species,addresses the impact of timber loggingactivities on the survival of these speciesand offers recommendations for forestmanagers and government on sustainableforest management and planning relatedissues.

The book describes approaches todetermine the sensitivity of species tologging and fragmentation of the rainforest.It also indicates how forest managementcan be improved to allow timber extractionand wildlife conservation to be more

compatible. The publication concludes withidentifying knowledge gaps which shouldbe addressed in future research work.

An Indonesian language edition of the bookis currently being developed and should beavailable soon.

Publisher: CIFOR, IndonesiaISBN: 979-3361-56-5; 345pp

To order copies please contact:Nia Sabarniati (CIFOR)[email protected]

The book is also available online as a2.6Mb PDF file atwww.cifor.cgiar.org/scripts/newscripts/publications/detail.asp?pid=1663"

LIFE AFTER LOGGING: Reconcilingwildlife conservation and productionforestry in Indonesian Borneo

IIED Publication series CD-ROM (2005)

The role of the private sector is increasinglyimportant in the production and distributionof many forest goods. However, the price ofthis involvement includes degradation of theenvironment and an increase in socialinequalities. Therefore understandingprivate sector motivations, identifyingeffective market and regulatory instrumentsand providing practical guidance onsustainable management of forestresources by the private sector has becomevery relevant.

The CD-ROM contains publicationsreviewing mechanisms and instruments of

131ETFRN News 45 - 46/06


TROPICAL FOREST ECOLOGY: TheBasis for Conservation andManagement

Publications

certification and audit, partnerships betweencompanies and communities and marketsfor forest environmental services. It containsdetailed analyses of private sectorinvolvement in forestry in countries such asSouth Africa, Brazil, China, India, Malaysiaand Papua New Guinea.

Some of the publications are also availablein Spanish and Portugese.Product Code: 13501IIED

The publications contained in the CD-ROMcan be downloaded from www.iied.org.For free copy e-mail: [email protected]

To order hard copies of the publications,contact:

EarthprintP.O. Box 119, StevenageHerts, SG1 4TP, UKEmail: [email protected]: +44 1438 748 111Fax: +44 1438 748 844Website: www.earthprint.com

structures, ecological characteristics,classifications and functions of tropicalforests, which are vital for sustainable forestmanagement. Key issues highlightedinclude species diversity, energy flow, nutrientcycling and implications for forestry. Theeffects of deforestation on various spheresof development are also discussed.

The other chapters discuss socio-economicfactors that have become major driving forcesin tropical deforestation; cultural normsaffecting local management decisions; anddifferent approaches for implementingsustainable management techniques. Oneof the approaches discussed is the ReducedImpact Logging (RIL), a management toolthat reduces logging damage as comparedto conventional logging techniques; RIL mayalso lead to economic savings throughincreased efficiency, minimal skidding costsand reduced wastage.

The publication emphasizes the need tofocus on the potential of plantation forestryas areas under tropical forests aredecreasing globally. Efforts should bedirected towards planning and managingplantations in the bid to optimize theirproductivity for environmental and socio-economic benefits.

IIED/DANIDA; ISSN 1614-9785; ISBN 3-540-23797-6; 295ppPrice: EUR 129.95; USD 169.00

For copies, please contact:Springer-Verlag GmbHTiergartenstrabe 1769121 Heidelberg, GermanyTel: +49 (0) 6221 487-0Fax: +49 (0) 6221 487- 830 66www.springeronline.com

Florencia Montagnini and Carl F. Jordan(2005)

Tropical Forest Ecology discusses theimportance of tropical forests and thedevelopment of management strategies thatwould help decrease the pressure on theworld’s remaining tropical forests.

In the first four chapters, the book examines

132 ETFRN News 45 - 46/06

Past issues of ETFRN News

19 General Dec 1996

20 Tropical Forest Research in Africa July 1997

21 Sustainable Forest Management Sept/Oct 1997

22 Research Priorities Dec 1997

23 South East Asia Mar- May 1998

24 Sustainable Forest Management Jun-Aug 1998

25 Mediterranean Forest and Tree Resources Sept-Nov 1998

26 Climate Change Dec 98 - Feb 99

27 Latin America Mar-May 1998

28 Arid and Semi Arid Areas Summer 1999

29 Biodiversity Autumn-Winter 1999

30 Participatory Forest Management Spring-Summer 2000

31 Countries with Low Forest Cover Autumn-Winter 2000

32 Non-Timber Forest Products Winter 2000- 001

33 Forests and Water Spring-Summer 2001

34 Biotechnology Autumn 2001

35 Innovative Financing Mechanisms for Winter 2001-2002Conservation and Sustainable ForestManagement

36 Forest Resources Assessment Spring - Summer 2002

37 Forest Use and Soil Quality Winter 2002/03

38 Mountain Forests Spring-Summer 2003

39/40 Globalisation, localisation and tropical forest Autumn/Winter 2003management

41/42 National Forest Programmes Autumn 2004

43/44 Forests and conflicts Winter 2004-2005

Issues 19 -44 are available online at http://www.etfrn.org/etfrn/resource/news.html


Institut für Waldökologie, Universität für Bodenkultur Wien, Peter Jordan Str. 82, 1190Vienna. Phone: +43 1 476544100, Fax: +43 1 4797896, E-mail: [email protected],Website: www.oeaw.ac.at/kef/englishframe.htm Contact: Prof Dr Gerhard GlatzelCIS/BIO, Federal Office for Scientific, Technical & Cultural Affairs, Wetenschapsstraat 8,1000 Brussels. Phone: +32 2 23835 70, Fax: +32 2 2305912, E-mail: [email protected],Website : www.belspo.be, Contact: Brigitte DecadtRoyal Veterinary and Agricultural University, Forest & Landscape, Hoersholm Kongevej11, DK- 2970 Hoersholm. Phone: +45 35 281735, Fax: +45 35 281517, E-mail: [email protected],Website: http://www.sl.kvl.dk/?lang=en& Contact: Christian Pilegaard HansenViikki Tropical Resources Institute, PO Box 28, 00014 University of Helsinki, Helsinki.Phone: +358 9 19158643, Fax: +358 9 19158646, E-mail: [email protected],Website: http://honeybee.helsinki.fi/tropic/ , Contact: Prof Olavi Luukkanen, Riikka OtsamoECOFOR, 6 rue du Général Clergerie, 75116 Paris Phone: +33 1 53 70 21 81, Fax: +33 153 70 21 54, E-mail: [email protected], Website: www.gip-ecofor.org/etfrnContact: Bernard RiéraFederal Research Centre for Forestry and Forest Products, Institute for World Forestry,Leuschnerstr. 91, 21031 Hamburg. Phone: +49 40 73962146, Fax: +49 40 73962299, E-mail:[email protected], Website: www.bfafh.de Contact: Jobst-Michael SchroederMinistry of Rural Development and Food, Directorate General of Forests and NaturalEnvironment 31, Chalkokondyli Street, GR – 10164 Athens. Website: www.etfrn.org/etfrn/greece Contact: Nikolas EfstathiadisCOFORD, Arena House, Arena Road, Sandyford, Dublin 18. Phone:+353 1213 0725, Fax:+353 1213 0611, E-mail: [email protected], Website : www.coford.ie Contact:Eugene HendrickInstituto Sperimentale per la Selvicoltura, via delle Cascine 1, 50144, Firenze. Phone: +39055 360061, Fax: +39 055 362034, E-mail: [email protected], Website: www.etfrn.itContact: Giovanni PretoTropenbos International, PO Box 232, 6700 AE Wageningen. Phone: +31 317 495500, Fax:+31 317 495520, E-mail: [email protected], Website : www.tropenbos.orgContact: René BootAgricultural University of Norway, Dept of Forest Sciences, PO Box 5044, 1432 Aas.Phone: +47 64 948916, Fax: +47 64 948890, E-mail: [email protected], Website:www.etfrn.org/etfrn/norway/norway.htm Contact: Prem SankhayanInstituto Piaget - CIERT Av. João Paulo II, Lote 544, 2.º 1900 - 726 Lisboa. Phone: +218 316500 Fax: +218 316 504 E-mail: [email protected], [email protected], Website:http://home.kqnet.pt/id006240/ Contact: Prof Dr Raul M de A SardinhaCIT-INIA, Carretera de la Coruna Km7, 28040 Madrid. Phone: +34 91 347 37 50, Fax: +3491 3471472 Website: www.etfrn.org/etfrn/spain/ Contact: Dr Alejandro Lopez de RomaDepartment of Forest Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Science, 901 83 Umeå.Phone: +46 90 7866617, Fax: +46 90 786 9299, E-mail: [email protected], Website:http://www.sek.slu.se/ShowPage.cfm?OrgenhetSida_ID=1515 Contact: Dr Anders MalmerEidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich, Groupe de foresterie pour ledéveloppement, c/o Department Wald- und Holzforschung, 8092 Zürich. Phone: +41 16323214, Fax: +41 1 6321033, E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.fowi.ethz.ch/etfrn Contact: Dr Jean-Pierre SorgUK Tropical Forest Forum, c/o Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Richmond, Surrey TW9 2AB. E-mail:[email protected], Website: www.forestforum.org.uk Contact: Jane ThornbackEuropean Commission, DG Research, Rue de la Loi 200, 1049 Brussels. Phone: +32 22994204, Fax: +32 2 2966252, E-mail: [email protected] Website: http://europa.eu.int/comm/research Contact: Prof Nicole Riveill

Austria

Belgium

Denmark

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Ireland

Italy

Netherlands

Norway

Portugal

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

U K

EC Contact

ETFRN News 45 - 46 /06

ETFRN NATIONAL FOCAL POINTS


The European Tropical Forest Research Network is a network of European organisationsand researchers involved in forest research in the tropics, sub tropics and Mediterranean.

For further information on ETFRN, please contact your National Focal Point (see insideback cover) or the Coordination Unit (address below).

European Tropical Forest Research Network c/o Tropenbos International PO Box 232 6700 AE Wageningen The Netherlands Phone: +31 317 495516 Fax: +31 317 495521 E-mail: [email protected] http://www.etfrn.org

ETFRN News is a publication of the European Tropical Forest Research Network. It isprinted on 100% recycled paper and has a circulation of 4,000 copies.

Texts may be reproduced for non-commercial purposes, citing the source.

This publication is an output from a project partly funded by the United KingdomDepartment for International Development (DFID) for the benefit of developing countries.The views expressed are not necessarily those of DFID. ZF0210 - Forestry ResearchProgramme.

Contributions to the ETFRN News are always welcome.

Theme for the next issue:

Forests and the Millennium Development Goals

The European Tropical Forest Research Network - ETFRN

1

ETFRN International Calendar

January 2006

30 January-2 February

February 2006

13-24

March 2006

1-2

5-10

Wetlands, Water and LivelihoodsWorkshopSt. Lucia, KwaZulu-Natal, SouthAfrica

Sixth Session of the United NationsForum on Forests (UNFF6)New York, USA

The Sustainability ChallengeToronto, Canada

International Precision ForestrySymposiumStellenbosch, South Africa

Also on the ETFRN Homepage at: http://www.etfrn.org/etfrn/resource/frames/agenda.htmlMain Sources: Invitations or announcements received by the ETFRN CU or the Tropenbos Foundation;ITTO Tropical Forest Update; IUFRO Newsletter

Kemi Awoyinka, Maria StolkWetlands International,Wetlands, Water and LivelihoodsSecretariatPO Box 4716700 AL,Wageningen, The NetherlandsPhone: +31 317 478854Fax: +31 317 478850Email: [email protected]://www.wetlands.org

UN Forum on Forests SecretariatUnited NationsDepartment of Economics and SocialAffairsOne UN Plaza, Room DC1-1245NY 10017, New York, USAPhone: +1 212 963 3401Fax: +1 917 367 3186E-mail: [email protected] t t p : / / w w w. u n . o r g / e s a / f o r e s t s /session.html

Jean-Pierre KiekensForestLeadershipPhone: +1 514 274 4344E-mail: [email protected]://www.ForestLeadership.com/

Pierre AckermannStellenbosch UniversityDepartment of Forest and Wood ScienceForest Engineering

2


6 - 8

7 - 9

7 - 9

15 - 17

16 - 22

Practice Change for SustainableCommunities: Exploring Footprints,Pathways and PossibilitiesBeechworth, Victoria, Australia

Towards Sustainable Livelihoodsand Ecosystems in MountainousRegionsChiang Mai, Thailand

Planning for the Future: ClimateChange, Greenhouse GasInventories & Clean Energy LinkagesSan Francisco, California, USA

World Congress on Communicationfor Development (WCCD)Rome, Italy

World Water Forum: Local Actionsfor a Global ChallengeMexico City,Mexico

Private Bag XI7602 Matieland, South AfricaEmail: [email protected]:/ /academic.sun.ac.za/forestry/pf2006/

Happenings Australia Pty LtdAustralasia-Pacific Extension NetworkSuite 4, Level 1, 14 Queens RoadVic 3004, Melbourne, AustraliaPhone: +61 3 9866 6288Fax: + 61 3 9866 6313E-mail: [email protected]://www.apen.org.au/events/2006conf

The Uplands Program (SFB 564)Chiang Mai University50200 Chiang Mai, ThailandE-mail: [email protected]://www.TheUplandsProgram.net.ms

Amy KlausAir & Waste Management AssociationPhone +1 412 232-3444 ext. 3119E-mail: [email protected]://www.awma.org/

Chris MorryCommunication Initiative, World Bank’sDevelopment Communication Division, FAOE-mail: [email protected]://www.comminit.com

Rafael Lopez4th World water Forum SecretariatAv. Insurgentes Sur No. 2416, 4th floor04320 Mexico City, MexicoPhone: +52 55 51 74 44 80 / 81Fax: +52 55 5174 44 75E-mail:[email protected]://www.worldwaterforum4org.mx/home/cuartow

3


22 - 24

26 March -2 April

April 2006

3- 7

7 - 8

17 - 21

23 -30

GTZ Symposium: Relevance ofGenetically Modified Crops inDeveloping Countries.Bonn, Germany

The DISCCRS II symposium: ClimateChangePacific Grove, California, USA

Managing Forest Ecosystems: TheChallenges of Climate ChangePalencia, Spain

Conservation and the AgriculturalFrontier: integrating forests andagriculture in the tropics , NewHaven, USA

21st session of the Asia-PacificForestry CommissionDehradun, India

Brazil Forest Study Tour IIICuritiba, Porto Seguro

Katharina YanezGTZE-mail: [email protected]

Susan WeilerDISCCRS, Whitman CollegeWhitman CollegeWA 99362, Walla Walla, USAPhone: +1 509 527 5948Fax: +1 509 527 5961E-mail: [email protected]://aslo.org/phd.html

Felipe BravoEmail: [email protected]

Yale ISTF Conferencec/o Tropical Resource InstituteYale School of Forestry and EnvironmentalStudies210 Prospect Street,New Haven, CT 06511, USAWebsite: http://www.yale.edu/istf/E-mail: [email protected]

Patrick DurstFAO Regional Office for Asia and thePacific39 Phra Atit Road10200 Bangkok, ThailandPhone: + 66 2 697-4319Fax: +66 2 697 4445Email: [email protected]

Mark WillhiteWorld Forest Investment, Inc.Fax: +1 503 695 6419E-mail: [email protected]://www.worldforestinvestment.com/

4


May 2006

9 -12

10 - 12

June 2006

8 -10

July 2006

9 - 15

August 2006

8 -10

Climate Change Technology -Engineering Opportunities andChallenges in the 21stCenturyOttawa, Canada

3rd Annual Carbon ExpoCologne, Germany

Hydrological Sciences for ManagingWater Resources in the AsianDeveloping WorldGuangzhou, China

18th World Congress of Soil SciencePhiladelphia, USA

Forest and Water in a ChangingEnvironmentBeijing, China

Engineering Institute of Canada1895 William Hodgins LaneK0A 1L0 Carp, Ontario, CanadaPhone: + 1 613 839 1108Fax: +1 613 839 1406Email: [email protected]://www.CCC2006.ca/

Robert DornauConference DirectorETA/World BankPhone +41 79 689 22 42Fax +41 22 839 31 81E-mail: [email protected]://www.carbonexpo.com/

Dr. Tao Jiang & Ms. YangCentre of Water Resources andEnvironmental ResearchE-mail: [email protected]://cwre.zsu.edu.cn/mwra/

18WCSS RegistrationSoil Science Society of America677 S. Segoe RoadMadison, WI 53711Phone: 608-273-8095Fax: 608-273-2021www.19wcss.org

Ms Meiyang WangChinese Academy of Forests (CAF)Division of International CooperationPhone: +86 10 62889090Fax: +86 10 62884229E-mail: [email protected]://www.caf.ac.cn/fwce/fwce_e.cfm

5


September2006

5 - 9

26 -27

October 2006

2 - 6

10 - 13

22 - 26

Forest Governance andDecentralizationYogyakarta, Indonesia

Conference: Patterns andProcesses in Forest Landscape:Consequences of HumanManagement (IUFRO Division8.01.03 Landscape Ecology)Locorotondo, Barl, Italy

Managing Forests for PovertyReduction: capturing opportunities inforest harvesting and woodprocessing for the benefit of the poorHo Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Sustainable Forest Managementwith Fast Growing Plantations(IUFRO 4.04.02)Charleston, South Carolina, USA

IUFRO Working Group 2.08.03:Improvement and Culture ofEucalyptusDurban, South Africa

Thomas EntersFAO Regional Office for Asia and thePacific38 Phra Atit Road10200 Bangkok, ThailandPhone: +66 2 697- 4328Fax: +66 2 697 - 4445E-mail: [email protected]

Dr. Raffaele LafortezzaDip. Science delle Produzioni Vegetali,University of BariVia Amendola 165/A70126, Bari, ItalyPhone: +39 080 544 3023Fax: +39 080 544 2976E-mail: [email protected]/events/iufro2006

Thomas EntersFAO Regional Office for Asia and thePacific39 Phra Atit Road10200 Bangkok, ThailandPhone:+ 66 2 697 - 4328Fax:+ 66 2 697 4445E-mail: [email protected]

Chris GouldingEnsis, New ZealandE-mail: [email protected]/feop/iufro_plantations

Gill SlaughterTurners ConferencesPO Box 1935Durban 4000South AfricaPhone: +27 31 3321451Fax: +27 31 3686623E-mail: [email protected]

6


February 2006

8 - 10

27 February - 7April

27 February - 7April

May 2006

1May - 2 June

COURSES

Impact assessment: How do weknow we are making the difference?London, UK

Agroforestry Trees of the DrierTropics with World ForestResourcesBangor, Wales, UK

Agroforestry Trees of the DrierTropics with Soil and WaterConservationBangor, Wales, UK

Formulating Successful ProjectProposals for Energy, Environmentand Climate ChangeEnschede, The Netherlands

Training and Logistics AdministratorInternational NGO Training and ResearchCentrePO Box 563OX2 6RZ, Oxford. UKPhone: +44 1865 263 040Fax: +44 1865 201 851E-mail: [email protected]://www.intrac.org/

CAZS Natural ResourcesUniversity of Wales, BangorDeiniol RoadBangor LL57 2UWGwynedd, Wales, UKPhone: +44 (0)1248 382346Fax. +44 (0)1248 364717E-mail. [email protected]://www.cazs.bangor.ac.uk/Teaching_and_training/Course%20Info%202005_06/aftd_si06.pdf

CAZS Natural ResourcesE-mail. [email protected]://www.cazs.bangor.ac.uk/Teaching_and_training/Course%20Info%202005_06/aftd_swc06.pdf

Ms. Wendie KlieverikUniversity of TwenteDepartment of Technology and SustainableDevelopmentPO Box 2177500 AE, Enschede, The NetherlandsPhone: +31 (0)53 489 3545Fax: +31 (0)53 489 3087E-mail: [email protected]://www.bbt.utwente.nl/leerstoelen.nl

7


International Training of Trainers onWetland Management: facilitating ofmulti-stakeholders processes andcurriculum development (ICWM-TOT)Wageningen, The Netherlands

Forest Policy Short CourseBangkok, Thailand

Second Latin-America Short Courseon Biological Control of WeedsManagua, Nicaragua

Computable General EquilibriumModeling in Environmental andResource EconomicsVenice, Italy

MSc one-year course:Climate Science and Policy, NewYork, USA

Esther KoopmanshapInternational Agricultural Centre (IAC),Wageningen URPO Box 886700 AB WageningenThe NetherlandsPhone: +31 317 495251Fax: +31 317 495395E-mail: [email protected] t tp : / /www. iac .wur.n l / iac /courses/applform_88_05_2006.cfm

Thomas EntersFAO Regional Office for Asia and thePacific39 Phra Atit Road10200 Bangkok, ThailandPhone:+66 2 697 4328Fax: +66 2 697 4445E-mail: [email protected]

Dr. Julio MedalUniversity of Florida (USA) & UniversidadNacional Agraria (Nicaragua)E-mail: [email protected]://biocontrol.ifas.ufl.edu/materials/corsonic06.p

Ms Angela MarigoFondazione Eni Enrico MatteiPhone: +39 41 2711468Fax: +39 41 [email protected]://www.feem.it/ess06

Fax: +1 212 854 9896E-mail: [email protected] t t p : / / w w w . c o l u m b i a . e d u / c u /climatesociety

8 - 26

29 May - 10June

June 2006

12 - 16

25 June - 1 July2006

S e p t e m b e r2006

1 September2006 - 15August 2007

8


N o v e m b e r2006

27 November - 8December 2006

Interactive Forest & Nature Policy inPractice, Managing multi-stakeholderlearning in sector wide approachesand national forest programmesBogor, Indonesia

Ir W.L. HijweegeInternational Agricultural CentreP.O. Box 886700 AB Wageningen, The NetherlandsPhone: + 31 317 495 495Fax: + 31 317 495 395E-mail: [email protected] tp: / /www. iac.wur.n l / forestpo l icy /?page=1490