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ETFRN NEWS 37: Forest Use and Soil Quality

Research Cooperation Sought

DFID-FRP SEEKS SOCIO-ECONOMIC EXPERTISE FOR WATER CATCHMENT MANAGEMENT STUDIES

The Forestry Research Programme (FRP) of the British Department for International Development (DFID) is working in tropical forest areas and is looking for people/institutions to work on socio-economic aspects of projects on water catchment management. Outputs should include the following:

  1. a guide to which economic and financial tools and instruments are most appropriate under what specific circumstances, taking the FAO Forestry Paper number 127 ("Valuing forests: context, issues and guidelines", by Hans Gregersen, Mike Arnold, Allen Lundgren and Arnoldo Contreras Hermosilla, 1995) as a starting point. The development of this guide should include comparative studies of the different methods at one or more data-rich sites. The data requirements for some methods described in FAO Forestry Paper 127 are too large for most upland communities, so research on parsimony will be one element of the comparisons between methods.
  2. through participatory consultation, the development of a "common currency" or the use of multi-criteria analysis to facilitate rational debate between stakeholders who only use monetised values and those who also consider social and cultural benefits. "Common currency" does not necessarily mean reduction to money. It could mean a common set of understandings, or agreed units for goods against services for barter trade (as used by self-help groups in this country to reduce trading taxes - for example, one sack of potatoes = 2 hours of house painting). The common currency or result of the multi-criteria analysis should help in reaching a consensus for decisions about forest and land use change intended to produce the greatest net social benefit.
  3. decision support systems (DSS), using the result of (b) above as one element, to help participatory processes and institutions work through arguments about changes in forest and land use. The decision support systems should use minimum data sets. The new research should build on the FAO André Mayer Fellowship study by Sebastiao Kengen (1997) "Forest valuation for decision-making: lessons of experience and proposals for improvement", and the IUFRO 1.05.06/4.11.03 conference at BOKU (Institute of Silviculture at the University of Agricultural Sciences, Vienna) on "Decision support for multiple purpose forestry", 23-25 April 2003.
  4. compensation mechanisms which have potential to transfer value captured by downstream users and consumers of goods and services, to benefit those forest managers who adopt good (conservative or service-enhancing) land and forest management practices upstream.
  5. equitable mechanisms for the capture and distribution of benefit (values) resulting from good forest management. More than a decade of trial implementation of trading in carbon emission reduction certificates has resulted in a relatively narrow range of prices for sequestered carbon. There is much less experience in developing countries in markets for watershed protection services.
  6. guidance on trading of forest-based environmental services. The decision support systems may be applied to markets for water quantity and quality, sequestered carbon, conserved biodiversity, and landscape beauty. It seems likely that trading in bundles of environmental services may be more beneficial for upland communities but more difficult for downstream users and consumers who may not be interested directly in biodiversity or carbon benefits. Maximisation of outputs of some services may have adverse effects on others. For example, high levels of sequestered carbon may be associated with acidified stream flows. So trade-offs will need to be examined as they affect different categories of stakeholder, not just the producers.
  7. a more rational approach to valuation of forest goods and services should enable greater consensus to be obtained on taxation regimes for forests and lands in marginal areas.

The experts we are looking for should work primarily on a, b and c and secondarily on e and g.

Contact person
Katelijne Rothschild - Van Look,
FRP Senior Administrator,
Natural Resources International Ltd,
Park House, Bradbourne Lane,
Aylesford, Kent ME20 6SN,
UK, tel: +44-1732-87.86.92,
fax: +44-1732-22.04.97,
e-mail: k.rothschild@nrint.co.uk
Note: For more information on the DFID Forest Research Programme also see funding opportunities.

RESIN MARKETS SOUGHT

Mar Dalmacio writes, "We are helping some 15 Peoples' Organizations to acquire permits for tapping almaciga (Agathis dammara) resins (commercially known as Manila copal).

To improve quality, the resins will be refined using technology developed by the Forest Products Development Institute. The refining technology involves the extraction of resin with ethyl alcohol at about 95 degrees centigrade with applied pressure and allowing the ethyl alcohol to distill and condense through the resin several times in a continues operation and then removing the ethyl alcohol for futher use in subsequent operation. The extraction vessel is provided with filtering medium to separate the ehtyl-soluble portion of the resin from the ethyl-insoluble portion and impurities like dirt, pieces of bark, stones and others.

The refined resin will then be of uniformly high quality. The local communities are expected to earn better income from their tapping operations. This, we hope, would motivate them to protect existing natural almaciga trees and the associated trees. In the end, biodiversity resources would be conserved. Operation of the refining plant is expected to start by January, 2003.

Meanwhile, we are looking for possible markets for the refined resin. We thought that perhaps you may have information on this matter."You may contact Mar at mvd@laguna.net.

Source; Forest Information Update, Vol 3, No.34 26 August 2002

PHD SUPPORT SOUGHT

Ms. Mildred Nafuna, Coordinator, writes, "One of our staff is interested in pursuing a PhD in community forestry for the tropics. He has come up with a project targeting the Ogiek community in Kenya, living in the Mt Elgon, and Mau forests. These people have been utilizing these forests sustainably, until recently when the government started excising bits of these forests for settlement. The proposal is titled 'Sustainable forestry use and stewardship- An example of the Ogiek forest community in Kenya'. We are seeking information on this area, as pertains funding and possibly individuals who can assist with a good proposal in the area. Those interested could get in touch with the student.

Nicholas Kunga,
PO Box 2831,Kampala.
Tel +256 77 580935
Email: mwitingece@avu.org

SOURCING IMAGES FOR TREES AND LEAVES

I am looking for images of the following trees, their leaves and seeds. Could you recommend any books or online resources where I might find this sort of imagery.

Thank you very much for considering my request.

Kristian Bodek
900 Broadway, Suite 903
New York, NY 10003
USA
Email: kbodek@themoderns.com

INFORMATION SOUGHT ON ON HOW FOREST FIRES CHANGE MICROBIAL GROWTH

Last summer we had extensive forest fires in the San Juan Mountain near Durango Colorado. We grew microbes from soil samples diluted 1:1000, 1:2000 and 1:4000. Soil samples were taken from arid land with an elevation of 6000 ft and from a forested area, elevation about 8500 ft. We also had samples from the burned area at 8500 ft. There was little rizoid type growth in the burn soil but abundant bacterial type growth with much variety. Why was this so? The sample from near the burn area had a variety of both types of growth. If you could send information on how forest fires change microbial growth it would be fantastic. Also we are looking for the difference between microbes in arid climate and high forest (Ponderosa Pines and shrubs).

Name: Valerie Uschuk
Bayfield School System
E-mail: valerieuschuk@earthlink.net

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