Forest Degradation and Governance in Central India: Evidence from Ecology, Remote Sensing and Political Ecology

There is no clear consensus on the impact of local communities on the resources they manage, primarily due to a shortage of studies with large sample sizes that incorporate multiple causal factors. As governments decentralize resource management to local communities, it is important to identify factors that prevent resource degradation, to inform more effective decentralization, and help the development of institutional characteristics that prevent resource degradation. This study used remote sensing techniques to quantify forest biomass in tropical deciduous forests in Kanha Pench landscape of Central India, and used these metrics to identify factors associated with changes in forest biomass. Kanha Pench landscape was chosen because of its variation in forest use, and because forests were transferred over a period where satellite imagery was available to track changes. To verify that remote- sensing measured changes indeed constitute degradation, I conducted ecological studies in six villages, to understand changes in biomass, understory, canopy, species diversity and long-term forest composition in intensively used forests. To understand the impact of institutional variables on changes in forest, I interviewed members of forest management committees in fifty villages in the landscape, and tested which institutional variables were associated with changes in forest canopy since 2002, when the forests were decentralized to local communities. The empirical results are of particular conservation significance in India, where further decentralization of forests to local communities in scheduled under the Forest (Dwellers) Rights Act, 2006. Results indicate that local forest use is associated with decreases in forest biomass, understory, canopy cover, and changes in vegetation structure, species richness and diversity. Most importantly, I found that human use has the potential to alter long- term forest composition as transition of some species to higher size classes is altered where humans use forest more intensively. Particularly, species that are fire and trampling resistant are more likely to become mature trees in intensely used forests. Thus, local forest use is associated with forest degradation as the long-term trajectory of the forest is altered, and forests may not be able to provide ecosystem services including livelihood needs such as fuelwood, construction, and non-timber forest products in the future. At a broader scale, remote sensing techniques (optical imagery Landsat and RADAR imagery ALOS-PALSAR FBD) were able to quantify forest biomass at an acceptable accuracy (67 percent), while more easily operatable MODIS based EVI was not. Landscape analysis showed that changes in forest biomass from 2007 to 2010 were associated with high population density, high fire radiative power and greater distance to towns. Since people only travel approximately 2 kilometers for subsistence forest use, the significance of greater changes further from towns suggests that, at a broader landscape scale, forest degradation is not primarily due to local use, but may be a result of other factors. Action taken to exclude outsiders and lower meeting frequency of committees (never) were identified as institutional variables associated with remotely-sensed positive change in canopy over the period when forest management was transferred (2002 to 2010). Villages with no meetings were also associated with higher incumbency of committee Chairpersons and lower incumbency of other committee members. Simultaneously, while economic payments increased awareness and participation in forest management committees, economic payments were not associated with any action to exclude outsiders from forest use. This suggests that managers need to focus on factors besides economic payments to incentivize committees to exclude outsiders, especially as it is associated with positive changes in the forest. Further, while elite capture of resources (as indicated by incumbency and lack of inclusiveness in decision-making) is not helpful for social equity, it does not appear to be detrimental for forests. Overall, this study suggests a number of management strategies to reduce forest degradation. Managers could focus on forests at a distance from towns and roads, as this is where most negative change in forests appears to occur. They could also work with local communities so that their use of forests does not prevent regeneration of species important for ecosystem services. Managers could also work with committees to find strategies other than economic payments for incentivizing community protection of forests

Listening for change: quantifying the impact of ecological restoration on soundscapes in a tropical dry forest

Ecological restoration is crucial to mitigate climate change and conserve biodiversity, and accurately monitoring responses to restoration is imperative to guide current and future efforts. This study examines the impact of ecological restoration of a tropical dry forest in Central India. Here, the state forest department and a nongovernmental organization work with local communities to remove an invasive shrub, Lantana camara, in the forest, to assist natural regeneration, primarily for the purpose of improving access to forest resources for forest-dependent people. We used acoustic technology to examine the bird community composition and the acoustic space used (ASU) across comparable restored, unrestored (with L. camara), and naturally low L. camara density (LLD) sites. We found no significant difference in the cumulative number of bird species detected between the site types (median in restored and LLD = 38, unrestored = 41). We found a significant difference in bird community composition across sites (r2 = 0.049, p ≤ 0.001). ASU differs between site types (r2 = 0.023, p ≤ 0.10), with restored sites positively associated with ASU compared to unrestored and LLD sites, which could represent a temporary increase in ASU as animal communities are reorganized after the complete removal of L. camara. Our results suggest that small-scale restoration efforts that aim to help meet livelihood needs have the potential to contribute to ecological goals in this landscape. However, it is necessary to continue to monitor the regeneration trajectory in restored sites and the possible changes in the ASU

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Data for CRB drivers South Asi

Parks protect forest cover in a tropical biodiversity hotspot, but high human population densities can limit success

Maintaining forest cover is important for Biodiversity Hotspots that support many endangered and endemic species but have lost much of their original forest extent. In developing countries, ongoing economic and demographic growth within Hotspots can alter rates and patterns of deforestation, making it a concern to quantify rates of forest loss and assess landscape-scale correlates of deforestation within Hotspots. Such analyses can help set baselines for future monitoring and provide landscape-scale perspectives to design conservation policy. For the Western Ghats Biodiversity Hotspot in India, we examined correlates of forest loss following rapid economic expansion (post-2000 CE). First, we used open-source remote-sensing data to estimate annual trends in recent forest loss (from 2000 to 2016) for the entire Hotspot. Across the entire Western Ghats, we assessed the relative importance of and interactions among demographic, administrative, and biophysical factors that predicted rates of forest loss—measured as the number of 30 × 30-m pixels of forest lost within randomly selected 1 km2 cells. Protected areas reduced forest loss by 30%, especially when forests were closer to roads (33%) and towns (36%). However, the advantage of protection declined by 32% when local population densities increased, implying that the difference in forest loss between protected and non-protected areas disappears at high local population densities. To check scale-dependency of spatial extent, we repeated the modelling process for two landscape subsets within Western Ghats. In contrast with results for the entire Western Ghats, both focal landscapes showed no difference in deforestation with protection status alone or its interactions with village population density and distance to towns. However, deforestation was 88% lower when forests were protected and farther from roads. Overall, our results indicate that protected areas help retain forest cover within a global Biodiversity Hotspot even with rapid development, but high human population densities and road development can reduce the benefits of protection

Collateral damage: impacts of ethno-civil strife on biodiversity and natural resource use near Indian nature reserves

Civil conflicts often affect the control of natural resources, altering their access and use. Using a combination of questionnaires, remote sensing, and a review of articles in the popular print media, we investigated the impact of a protracted armed conflict on forest loss, livelihoods, and forest use near two globally important tiger reserves in northeastern India. Over a 23 year period, we found evidence of large-scale forest loss in the vicinity of Nameri and Pakke Tiger Reserves. Nearly all (99 %) interviewees opined that the ethno-civil strife was to blame for declining forest cover. Most interviewees identified 1990 as the year of onset of strife-mediated deforestation. This is partially supported by a review of print-media articles that reported conflict, violence, displacement, and the onset of large-scale migration in the previous year. According to respondents, ethno-civil strife has radically altered access to, and use of forests, by resident communities (causing economic hardship, increased costs, and reduced availability of essential timber products), and has also accelerated forest loss and increased poaching. We conclude that forests and wildlife in these protected areas are at immediate risk from ethno-civil strife. Urgent interventions are needed to reduce the environmental and societal impacts of civil strife in this biologically crucial region of India

Post-lockdown spread of COVID-19 from cities to vulnerable forest-fringe villages in central India

Background: Seasonal migration of young adult males to cities is a common livelihood strategy for forest-fringe households in central India. With poor health infrastructure, low nutritional status, and high proportions of Scheduled Tribe populations, these households and surrounding villages are highly vulnerable to COVID-19 exposure as seasonal migrants return home. Objective: We identify patterns of seasonal migration in forest-fringe villages of central India, including proportions of households with migrants, their locations, and destination cities, to assess the vulnerability of village populations to COVID-19 exposure from returning migrants. We also compare effectiveness of varying physical distancing strategies to reduce the likelihood of spread between villages after the initial lockdown restrictions lift. Methods: We analyze origins and destinations of seasonal migrants over the last five years from a previously-collected, primary household survey of 5000 households across 500 forest-fringe villages in central India. Based on a median-sized village, we use an SEIR (susceptible, exposed, infectious, recovered) compartmental model to conceptually compare disease spread with varying leniency of movement restrictions within and between adjacent villages as restrictions ease after the lockdown. Results and implications: Villages with seasonal workers are widely dispersed across forest-fringe areas in central India, indicating the vulnerability of these populations to exposure and the need for widespread testing and health facilities. All 32 districts, approximately 75% of surveyed villages, and 18% of households had at least one seasonal migrant living in a city for part of the year during the last five years. 81% of the destination cities had reported COVID-19 cases at the beginning of the lockdown. As authorities ease movement restrictions after the lockdown period, lenient restrictions for people within a village combined with maximal restrictions between villages could be more effective in reducing the number of people exposed compared with moderate restrictions both within and between villages

Improved household living standards can restore dry tropical forests

Despite multiple approaches over the last several decades to harmonize conservation and development goals in the tropics, forest-dependent households remain the poorest in the world. Durable housing and alternatives to fuelwood for cooking are critical needs to reduce multi-dimensional poverty. These improvements also potentially reduce pressure on forests and alleviate forest degradation. We test this possibility in dry tropical forests of the Central Indian Highlands where tribal and other marginalized populations rely on forests for energy, construction materials, and other livelihood needs. Based on a remotely sensed measure of forest degradation and a 5000 household survey of forest use, we use machine learning (causal forests) and other statistical methods to quantify treatment effects of two improved living standards—alternatives to fuelwood for cooking and non-forest-based housing material—on forest degradation in 1, 2, and 5 km buffers around 500 villages. Both improved living standards had significant treatment effects (−0.030 ± 0.078, −0.030 ± 0.023, 95% CI), respectively, with negative values indicating less forest degradation, within 1 km buffers around villages. Treatment effects were lower with increasing distance from villages. Results suggest that improved living standards can both reduce forest degradation and alleviate poverty. Forest restoration efforts can target improved living standards for local communities without conflicts over land tenure or taking land out of production to plant trees