Dr. William A. Powell received his BS in biology in 1982 at Salisbury State University, MD, and his PhD in 1986 at Utah State University studying the molecular mechanisms of hypovirulence in the chestnut blight fungus, Cryphonectria parasitica. He is currently the Director of the Council on Biotechnology in Forestry...

Riparian buffers are vital elements of watersheds, primarily due to their protection of surface and ground water quality from impacts related to human land use. These vegetated buffers are complex ecosystems that provide food and habitat for unique plant and animal species, and are essential to the mitigation and control...

A review is presented of the literature on riparian vegetated buffer strips (VBS) for use in stream-water-quality restoration and limitations associated with their use are discussed. The results are also resented of recent investigations on the effectiveness of a forested and a grass vegetated buffer strip for reducing shallow...

This film provides valuable information on the ongoing implementation of the FLEGT Action Plan along the timber supply chain - from harvest in the tropical rainforest of the Congo Basin, to consumption in the EU. Through the conclusion of Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs) with the EU, timber producing countries commit...

Forests and freshwater systems interact in many different ways: through soil stability and sediment load; fisheries and fish hatching; the impacts of different tree species on acidification of water; mitigation of incidence and severity of flooding from headwater catchments; management of downstream water logging and salinity; influencing the availability of...

It is now four years since the first Pterocarpus indicus died in Mahé. A technical cooperation project (TCP) of the FAO has recently begun and research efforts to understand the cause of the problem have intensified. A programme of field monitoring and assessment is underway and will continue at least...

In Ethiopia, a local-level participatory planning approach has ensured success for social protection schemes that provide payment in exchange for work to build public assets. The successful MERET (Managing Environmental Resources to Enable Transitions to more sustainable livelihoods) programme, which concentrated on integrated watershed management, has informed the broader Productive Safety...

This policy brief provides an overview of the potential for scaling up community participation in forest management in Zambia as part of the country's REDD+ investment strategy. The report gives some insight on the legal and policy context for community forest management, joint forest management, and private forest management. It...

Conflict between elephants and community members frequently lead to use of reactive measures, such as chasing elephants, capture and translocation, but these often fail to resolve conflicts on a sustained basis. This case study reports the long-term work developed in Valparai plateau in the Anamalai hills (India) to display where...

The Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI) has always argued that securing tenure and access rights to natural resources is a critical step towards achieving environmental and social justice. These issues have again become timely in relation to new forest sector initiatives for mitigation and adaptation to climate change, particularly Reduced...