In this study the two international systems for forest management certification, PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification Systems) and FSC (Forest Stewardship Council), were analyzed against the requirements of the Forest Certification Assessment Guide (FCAG), an analytical framework for the evaluation of forest certification systems jointly developed by...

In this study the international PEFC system was evaluated on the basis of the Forest Certification Assessment Guide (FCAG). The analysis takes into account the recent decisions from the PEFC General Assembly in November 2010. The results are compared to a similar evaluation of PEFC carried out for WWF in...

This working paper presents findings from a rapid appraisal and field study of the walnut value chain in Jalal-Abad province between March 28 and April 1, 2011. Thereafter, the Rural Development Fund research team devoted considerable time and effort to checking data and producing graphs and market maps for the...

Assisted natural regeneration (ANR) is a simple, low-cost forest restoration method that can effectively convert deforested lands of degraded vegetation to more productive forests. The method aims to accelerate, rather than replace, natural successional processes by removing or reducing barriers to natural forest regeneration such as soil degradation, competition with...

This study examines the effectiveness of the SANParks management strategy for ensuring sustainable use and providing resource users with socio-economic benefits. It does so by examining three case studies on plant use in national parks with regard to the development of criteria and indicators for monitoring resource use, and the...

The aim of this working paper is to provide a global overview and up‑to‑date profile of REDD+ benefit‑sharing mechanisms, and to analyse the political‑economic factors influencing their design and setting. The analysis draws primarily on a review of existing benefit‑sharing mechanisms for REDD+ and natural forest management, namely fund‑based approaches,...

Managing the Family Forest in Mississippi is a video lecture series designed to be a primer on forest management for private landowners. Each of the 13 stand-alone videos address a topic from the Managing the Family Forest in Mississippi book, which can be downloaded at msucares.com. Viewers are encouraged to...

The aim of this report is to summarize the scope and scale of ASM in protected areas and critical ecosystems worldwide, describe its known effects, document and study attempted solutions, and offer an initial set of recommendations. While this report provides background on some of the current issues in the...

The remedy to poor governance starts with understanding where governance is weak. If we can measure forest governance, we can diagnose problems, advance reforms, and monitor their impacts. Forest governance comprises all the social and economic systems that affect how people interact with forests, including bureaucracies, laws, policies, traditional norms...

Uganda is currently hosting over 1.3 million refugees making it the largest refugee host country in Africa. The inflow of refugees is reported to have exacerbated a range of ongoing environmental impacts and associated challenges, including land degradation and woodland loss, resulting in inadequate access to energy for cooking and...