Mainstreaming integrative forest management

For the successful application of the approach, sustainable and integrative forest management needs not only to be piloted and practiced on the ground but also integrated into national strategies, development plans, and long-term forest management planning and monitoring. Consequently, it is equally important to work with forest tenants on the local level as to mainstream the approach on the national level.

The Join Forest Management approach has been anchored in the Forest Code of Tajikistan in 2011. This builds the legal basis of the implementation and accelerates the further dissemination to other parts of the country. Since 2016, a more integrative forest management is practiced for which an inter-sectoral dialogue has been established. This inter-sectoral dialogue facilitates to address environmental, economic and social challenges beyond the mandate of the forest agency. Forest monitoring and management planning are being strengthened through support to the forest inspection unit. Only if a forest management planning system and a forest monitoring structure are in place, an approach such as the integrative forest approach can be out scaled throughout the country and mismanagement, corruption, and wide-scale violations of regulations (e.g. grazing on forest plots) prevented. 

The JFM approach follows a multilevel approach, targeting national, regional and local level which has proven to be necessary and consequently successful.

A theoretically sound solution can only be as good in practice as its underlying management planning and monitoring system as well as its political support.

Competence development for forest tenants and staff of State Forest Enterprises

Competence development of forest tenants and of State Forest Enterprises (SFE) is likewise an important element of integrative forest management.

On the one hand, training on forest management techniques is required either directly for the forest tenants, who are often new to forest management, or for the local forester and other employees of the SFE. The training includes silvio-cultural techniques, such as grafting and pruning, and management of fruit tree species. On the other hand, training on the rights and responsibilities of the two contract parties, the forest tenant, and the SFE is needed.

Additionally, a modular training for forest tenants and foresters to encourage a landscape perspective when planning forest management activities has been developed. Within these training modules, the tenants identify threats and vulnerabilities of their communities and learn how re-and afforestation can be a suitable disaster risk reduction strategy. Further, land use conflicts on forest land are addressed and the training provides a platform to exchange and identify solutions, e.g. regulating if, when and how much livestock can graze on forest plots. Moreover, forest tenants learn about the benefits of diverse forest areas and the benefits of planting and grafting local tree species.

Increased capacities enable forest tenants to plan and manage their forest plots in a sustainable manner. The same training is given to male and female forest tenants separately, where the cultural setting holds women back in actively participating in the discussions and, consequently,  separate sessions become necessary. Giving separate training for women by women has empowered female forest tenants in Tajikistan.

The experience has shown that often it is not only limited knowledge of forest management that hinders the sustainable use of the resource but also a lack of communication and agreements between different land users. Especially, forest and pasture management compete for the limited land resources. In the past, the approach prohibited grazing on Joint Forest Management areas. However, monitoring visits have shown that this rule has frequently been violated. Therefore, rather than prohibiting grazing on forest plots, the aim is to address the problem openly together with the community. Understanding why and when they graze their livestock on forest plots and making them understand how and when it harms the forest the most. This has enabled forest tenants to find solutions, such as the implementation of a pasture rotation system, to reduce the negative impacts of free grazing and to address the problem together with their community.

Landscape perspective

By applying a landscape perspective to forest management, the ecosystem as a whole is considered. For this solution, a special focus has been given to biodiversity, climate change adaptation, and pasture management.

A diverse forest plot has multiple benefits for the forest tenant. Firstly, the tenant has a diverse harvest which contributes to food and nutation security. Secondly, species diversity reduces the risk of pests and increases the soil fertility. Thirdly, diverse forests provide a habitat for pollinators, which are crucial for fruit and nut trees.

Tajikistan is prone to disasters, further reinforced by overharvested natural resources and climate change having fierce impacts. Landslides and droughts are common phenomena but the frequency and intensity have increased significantly. Forest cover on slopes and along river banks are an important adaptation and disaster risk reduction strategy.

Further, livestock is frequently grazing on forest areas, as pastures are scarce and the limited land available overused and degraded. Forest grazing reduces ground cover, impedes the root system, and hinders natural forest regeneration. Therefore, grazing must be addressed together with the forest tenants and solutions identified that go beyond the prohibition of grazing in forests.

By applying a landscape perspective, a multitude of problems, difficulties, and risks to the community can be addressed. Consequently, the approach has gained in acceptance by the local communities as it takes environmental, economic and social challenges into account.

The experience has shown that political land delineations often do not correspond with ecosystem boundaries. Areas, assigned for re- and afforestation, do usually not cover a whole ecosystem but are part of a bigger ecosystem with which the forest area interacts and shares resources. Consequently, forest management needs to consider implications by and interactions with the wider ecosystem the forest plot is part of. As various land use types and land use rights interact in one ecosystem for which different ministerial bodies are responsible, the establishment of an inter-sectoral dialogue to foster coordination and cooperation of all involved actors at landscape level has proven to be successful. Within the JFM implementation in Tajikistan, a bi-annual exchange has been established, where practitioners, relevant ministries and local as well as international organizations exchange. This exchange platform is not only appreciated by partners but also helped to include the landscape perspective. Therefore, an exchange platform is highly recommendable. 

Joint Forest Management (JFM) approach

Joint Forest Management (JFM) is a participatory forest management approach that allows the local population – either individuals or groups – to become involved in forest management and support the rehabilitation of degraded natural forests over the long term. These individuals sign a contract for the land use rights with the State Forest Enterprises for a period of 20 years, with the possibility for prolongation. This encourages the tenants to sustainably manage and rehabilitate their forest plot of usually 1-2 ha in size. In addition to the contract, management and annual plans serve as tools for forest management planning and for the monitoring of activities and results. They are developed jointly by the State Forest Enterprises and the respective tenant for each individual plot. Typical tasks specified in the annual plan are measures to protect the plot from livestock grazing, planting of trees, harvesting and pruning. Further, the annual plan specifies the harvest shares of the State Forest Enterprises and the forest tenant according to a fair sharing principle defined in the contract. The management plan, developed, for a 5 year period, specifies long-term goals, such as the installation of an irrigation channel or the diversification of the forest plot. 

While land use rights in Tajikistan are typically given for a short period (usually for one single season), the 20-year contract with the State Forest Enterprises enables the tenant to develop a long-term forest management plan. The joint forest management approach has been first introduced in Tajikistan in 2006 and ever since gained in reputation. In 2011, the approach was formalized and anchored in the national forest code.

The experience has shown that for the introduction of JFM the support by external facilitators (e.g. field staff or a local NGO) is indispensable. Both contracting parties, forest tenant and State Forest Enterprise, need to have a clear understanding of their rights, rules, and obligations. Therefore, it is highly recommended to have experienced and skilled facilitators present in the field, who have a sound understanding of the approach and of the local context. Further, the facilitators need to guide the tenants as well as the staff of the State Forest Enterprises through the process of selecting a forest area, introducing the approach to the communities, selecting forest tenants, delineating the individual plots, concluding the contract, and developing the annual- and management plans. Further, the establishment of forest tenant groups has proven to be successful, especially since, in Tajikistan, community groups are relatively common. Jointly, the forest tenants perform activities such as harvesting, pruning or fencing.

Formalise and recognise co-management.

The formalisation of a co-management group provides a space for discussion that favors transparency in available information and in the making of specific decisions.

 

This space for dialogue with key stakeholders in the fishery, whose opinions are correctly validated by their constituent base, enables all stakeholders to work together in the design of a management plan.

 

This ensures that the measures that will be implemented to achieve sustainability will be respected by the users, since there is full knowledge of decisions and the reasons for taking one or another decision.

This work strategy provides stability and governance to the system.

 

In this case, it is the Crustacean Management Committee of the Province of Chiloé that must work on the design of a management plan for the Stone crab fishery. In Chile, the law recognizes this co-management instance as an advisory body to the Undersecretary of Fisheries and Aquaculture.

- It is necessary to maintain transparent actions in information and in decision-making processes.

- The responsibilities of representatives of the co-management group need to be clarified in order to avoid discussing issues or aspects that exceed the objectives of their co-management.

- It is recommended to organise a working plan for the co-management group and to regularly schedule the activities of the group.

Private representatives - fishermen and processors - handle a large amount of information that is not codified or explicit. Before the co-management system was set up, this information was not available and therefore was not being used for fisheries management.

 

Often, private and public objectives converge. However, before the creation of the co-management committee these objectives could not be realised or understood to be aligned due to a lack of appropriate communication channels.

 

The support and involvement of users in research and control is greater under a co-management system than without it.

Development of technical capabilities

The development of technical capacities with small producers for the establishment and management of agroforestry systems was carried out by coupling knowledge transfer with practical application by each producer in his pilot plot. The application of the practices was supported and accompanied by seed capital for each farmer. In farmer field schools, the technician taught theoretical and practical modules in a language suitable for all participants. He also promoted the exchange of knowledge among producers. For certain topics - gender equity, post-harvest management, etc. - specialized experts intervened. - specialized experts intervened. At the same time, the technician regularly visited the farmer in his pilot plot, thus creating space and trust for specific questions, and allowing the correction of wrong implementations. In order to maintain motivation in the group and encourage peer-to-peer exchange, several experience-sharing tours were organized to the countries of the Trifinio Region. Particularly empowered producers participated in training to become community agricultural promoters. These producers are now acting as technical assistants in their communities, and are disseminating good agricultural practices on a larger scale.

  • Motivated technicians, strongly supported by their manager, who established a transparent and trusting relationship with the communities.
  • Community leaders willing to set an example and support change.
  • Involvement of the whole family in the trainings
  • Reasonable duration of the capacity building process, which allowed us to face together (technician-producers) doubts and setbacks. Here there were 8 years of technical assistance.
  • Seed capital to establish pilot plots, since it requires a significant initial investment.
  • The generation of soil data with the active participation of low-income communities with a low level of formal education was possible, and had positive effects on their self-esteem and awareness of environmental issues.
  • From the beginning, it was important to consider mechanisms for dissemination, replication and anchoring of knowledge in order to ensure the permanence of knowledge and a scaling up of its application in the territory (e.g., community agricultural promoters).
  • Tri-national experience exchange tours in the Trifinio fostered direct dialogue among peers, giving participants confidence in their ability to undertake change.
  • The transparent and participatory definition of framework conditions, such as maximum pilot area per farmer, investment required and support provided, required special care. Agreements with each farmer were recorded in a farm plan to avoid misunderstandings.
Training of farmers

The method used in training involves introductory lessons on Biointensive agriculture and other sustainable ideas carried out indoors. After this familiarization with the concepts, the farmers are subjected to demonstrations to aid in acquiring of relevant practical skills and finally participatory action based on-farm training. Discussions and sharing of ideas and experiences is highly encouraged at this stage and upholding is equally emphasized. Thematic approach based on soil conversation, long term soil fertility building, ecological farm management practices and energy saving are stressed. Initially, trainers of trainees are selected from famer groups. They are then trained at Manor House Agricultural Centre. They are then sent to establish mini-training centre in the community where they train other farmers

The community members will have an interest in sustainable methods of farming – Biointensive agriculture i.e. avail themselves for the trainings, and play their duly part during training and implementation of the project in order to make a lasting impact.

The social-economic political and weather conditions will allow for the process of awareness, training and more importantly adoption and implementation of the ideas.

After this familiarization with the concepts of BIA, the farmers are able to adopt the technology. this is as a result of observation made from the demostrations during training and discussions, sharing of ideas and experiences

Alliance and partnership development

The purpose of this building block is to engage different stakeholders for ownership and sustainability. It works by creating a platform for leveraging resources, market linkages, policy formulation/ improvement and mainstreaming. For instance, NDRC Nepal actively engaged relevant government agencies for the project’s implementation, namely District Forest Offices (DFOs), District Agriculture Development Offices (DADOs), District Livestock Service Offices (DLSOs) and District Soil Conservation Offices (DSCOs). Local cooperatives, CBOs, NGOs and INGOs like Heifer International were also mobilized in the project’s endeavors for ownership and sustainability. The project efforts had direct benefits for the farming, forestry and fishery sectors. The involvement of local financial institutions helped link poor families to banks for financial stability. The project worked to link farmers directly with market networks, so that they continue to receive fair prices for their produce. Working with other relevant stakeholders, NDRC Nepal was successful in pressuring the Government of Nepal to draft a policy for addressing the issue of shifting cultivation in 2014.

For the success of this building block, three conditions are imperative: First of all, desired actors need to be included from the very beginning or planning phase of the project. Secondly, continuous communication and collaboration are vital to avoid misunderstandings and lay a strong foundation of partnerships. Finally, mutual review and reflection on a periodic basis provides insights for improving the alliance and partnership development.

During the implementation of this building block, multiple benefits of partnerships were realized. Cross sectoral collaboration is greatly useful for resource leverage. Including a variety of actors in the project is crucial to ensure market linkages. Also, if policy change or modification is needed, it is helpful to include the government sectors as intensely as possible. Including key government decision makers from the initial phase helps earn goodwill and catalyzes the policy formation or modification process. Collaboration and coordination with government bodies are pivotal in integrating important initiatives in the annual plans and programs for long term sustainability.

Research: Theoretical and technical foundations

The activities that form part of this building block aim to improve knowledge about the mangrove ecosystem, the impacts of climate change and the theoretical and technical basis of mangrove restoration. It aims to articulate the compilation of scientific information with local knowledge, transferring the findings into a practical approach.

  • As a preliminary step to the implementation of the measure, the preparation of the climate change plan of the Municipal Government of Esmeraldas was supported.
  • In 2016 a dialogue event was held between experts and technicians from Ecuador and other countries to better understand the impacts of climate change on the mangrove ecosystem and to share experiences and lessons learned on mangrove restoration. This knowledge is used to plan the reproduction of the red mangrove (Rhizophora harrisonii), reforestation in situ and monitoring (see also building block III).
  • An agreement has been established with the Pontificia Universidad Católica (Esmeraldas office) to monitor the efficiency of the trials and generate research on mangrove ecosystems linked to climate change.
  • Political and technical interest of the Municipal Government of Esmeraldas in generating the climate change plan.
  • Predisposition by the academy to collaborate in the implementation of practical research.
  • Interest of different actors in exchanging experiences and lessons learned in mangrove management.
  • Research on climate change, in order to be relevant and applicable to solving problems and challenges of conservation and sustainable management of mangroves, must be planned among all the actors in society (MAE and GIZ 2016).
  • Vulnerability studies should include perceptions of local communities.
  • The dissemination of information should address all political and decision-making levels, communities, public servants and others, using all possible means (not only digital) in a broad and creative way.
  • The development of training processes on climate change should be a line of action for the following years (MAE and GIZ 2016).
Resiliency

An urban food forest symbolizes the city's ability to be resilient regarding climate change and food security issues. Thus, this system must manifest resiliency in itself, with a minimal vulnerability (to diseases, environmental or governance issues) and a maximal autonomy (energy, nutrients, water resources).

 

The urban food forest relies little on external resources for water and nutrients. Rainwater is collected through a rainwater collection system and then reused to refill the pond, clean the tools, and water the plants. Deadwood, leaves, fruit peelings, or weeds are composted in several compost bins. They will be transformed into very good quality compost and be reused in the forest garden to provide the plants with all the nutrients they need.

 

The food forest is made up of "tree guilds" which includes several layers of vegetation who mutually collaborate and help each other to grow faster and healthier. For example, there will be nectar plants to attract pollinators, associated with nitrogen-fixing plants, ground-cover plants to protect from weeds. Therefore, the urban food forest is resilient to environmental fluctuations and needs minimal human energy to be maintained.

1. Water autonomy thanks to a rainwater collection system.

2. Nutrient autonomy and no waste generated thanks to the compost bins.

3. Make the plants collaborate and help each other through companion planting and tree guilds.

At first, the communities had no idea about how the compost is working or what is companion-planting. That's why we organized "work parties" : to teach them how it works, how to do it and what are the basic principles of natural farming. Now, they are all able to maintain the compost by themselves, choose a good combination of plants, and last but not least, they can, in turn, teach these good practices to visitors or media.

 

A food forest takes time to mature before it can become fully resilient. At the moment, we still rely partially on the municipal water system in both Seattle and Hsinchu because of the insufficiency of rainwater collector volume or precipitation. Volunteers are not yet fully equipped with knowledge to solve technical problems. Once, a break down of the system happened in Hsinchu and water was leaking. None of the volunteers were able to manage this technical problem and we had to call an expert. So we learned that the key to quickly face these kinds of technical problems is to write clearly on site how to react and who to call in a particular situation.