Mountain Farming Systems’ Exposure and Sensitivity to Climate Change and Variability : Agroforestry and Conventional Agriculture Systems Compared in Ecuador’s Indigenous Territory of Kayambi People

This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Agroforestry SystemsSmallholder farming is considered one of the most vulnerable sectors to the impacts of climate change, variability, and extremes, especially in the developing world. This high vulnerability is due to the socioeconomic limitations and high environmental sensitivity which aect the biophysical and socioeconomic components of their farming systems. Therefore, systems’ functionality and farmers’ livelihoods will also be aected, with significant implications for global food security, land-use/land-cover change processes and agrobiodiversity conservation. Thus, less vulnerable and more resilient smallholder farming systems constitute an important requisite for sustainable land management and to safeguard the livelihoods of millions of rural and urban households. This study compares a comprehensive socioeconomic and environmental dataset collected in 2015–2016 based on household interviews of 30 farmers of highland agroforestry systems and 30 farmers of conventional agriculture systems, to determine which system provides better opportunities to reduce exposure and sensitivity. A modified Climate Change Questionnaire Version 2 of the World Overview of Conservation Approaches and Technologies (WOCAT) was applied to collect the data. The interview data are based on the perceptions of Kayambi indigenous farmers about the levels of exposure and sensitivity of their farming systems during the last decade. Descriptive statistics were applied to analyze the data from the 60 farms. Results indicate that both agroforesters and conventional farmers clearly perceived increases in temperature and reductions in precipitation for the last decade, and expected this trend to continue in the next decade. Furthermore, conventional farmers perceived greater exposure to droughts (20%), solar radiation (43%), and pests, weeds and disease outbreaks (40%) than agroforesters. Additionally, results emphasize the better ability of agroforestry systems to reduce exposure and sensitivity to climate change and variability. These findings support the well-known assumptions about the key role played by agroforestry systems for climate change adaptation and mitigation, especially in developing countries.Peer reviewe

Forests and poverty : how has our understanding of the relationship been changed by experience?

Understanding of the relationship between forests and the poor has grown enormously, especially in the last twenty years. Aid donors worked on poverty reduction in the forest sector in the 1990s and into the early 2000s, but thereafter broadened their attention to address climate change mitigation, better forest governance and timber legality, and payments for environmental services. There has so far been an incomplete integration of new insights into the nature of poor people's reliance on forests, of their own efforts to use that reliance to escape from poverty, and of current forestry aid concerns. Future projects need to choose interventions which make better use of the results now available about forestpoverty relationships, both for the better conservation of forests, and for better focus on the livelihoods of the forest-reliant poor as they continue to try to move out of poverty.Peer reviewe

Sustainability of Smallholder Livelihoods in the Ecuadorian Highlands : A Comparison of Agroforestry and Conventional Agriculture Systems in the Indigenous Territory of Kayambi People

Smallholder farming constitutes an important but marginalized sector, responsible for most of the world’s agricultural production. This has a significant influence in the land use/cover change process and agrobiodiversity conservation, especially in mountainous regions of the developing world. Thus, the maintenance of sustainable smallholder farming systems represents a key condition for sustainable land management and to safeguard the livelihoods of millions of rural households. This study uses a combination of biophysical and socioeconomic data based on household interviews to compare 30 highland agroforestry systems and 30 conventional agriculture systems, to determine which system provides better conditions to support sustainable livelihoods for smallholder farmers. The interview data is based mainly on the perceptions of Kayambi indigenous farmers who use these farming systems to support their livelihoods. Independent-Samples t Test and descriptive statistics were applied to analyse the data from 60 farms. The results indicate that agroforestry systems contain greater agrobiodiversity; more diversified livelihoods; better land tenure security and household income; more diversified irrigation sources and less dependency on rainfall than conventional systems. These findings highlight the role of agroforestry systems in supporting sustainable livelihoods of smallholder farmers in mountainous areas.Peer reviewe

Mountain Farming Systems’ Exposure and Sensitivity to Climate Change and Variability: Agroforestry and Conventional Agriculture Systems Compared in Ecuador’s Indigenous Territory of Kayambi People

Smallholder farming is considered one of the most vulnerable sectors to the impacts of climate change, variability, and extremes, especially in the developing world. This high vulnerability is due to the socioeconomic limitations and high environmental sensitivity which affect the biophysical and socioeconomic components of their farming systems. Therefore, systems’ functionality and farmers’ livelihoods will also be affected, with significant implications for global food security, land-use/land-cover change processes and agrobiodiversity conservation. Thus, less vulnerable and more resilient smallholder farming systems constitute an important requisite for sustainable land management and to safeguard the livelihoods of millions of rural and urban households. This study compares a comprehensive socioeconomic and environmental dataset collected in 2015–2016 based on household interviews of 30 farmers of highland agroforestry systems and 30 farmers of conventional agriculture systems, to determine which system provides better opportunities to reduce exposure and sensitivity. A modified Climate Change Questionnaire Version 2 of the World Overview of Conservation Approaches and Technologies (WOCAT) was applied to collect the data. The interview data are based on the perceptions of Kayambi indigenous farmers about the levels of exposure and sensitivity of their farming systems during the last decade. Descriptive statistics were applied to analyze the data from the 60 farms. Results indicate that both agroforesters and conventional farmers clearly perceived increases in temperature and reductions in precipitation for the last decade, and expected this trend to continue in the next decade. Furthermore, conventional farmers perceived greater exposure to droughts (20%), solar radiation (43%), and pests, weeds and disease outbreaks (40%) than agroforesters. Additionally, results emphasize the better ability of agroforestry systems to reduce exposure and sensitivity to climate change and variability. These findings support the well-known assumptions about the key role played by agroforestry systems for climate change adaptation and mitigation, especially in developing countries

Sattumaa vai suunnitelmaa? Metsäpolitiikan vaikutus pienmaanomistajien tiikin kasvatukseen Laosissa

This study analyses the impact of policy, legal and market conditions and specific incentives on smallholders’ interest and success in tree growing between 1990-2015 in Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Laos, Lao PDR). A review of previous studies and policy papers established the framework for this study, with primary data then collected from smallholders through semi-structured interviews in four villages. The interview questions covered household socioeconomic features, land use, information on woodlots, extension, and perceptions on drivers and challenges of tree growing. The findings indicate that policy objectives of promoting smallholder tree growing are weak at the district and village levels, and the only significant incentive, namely land allocation, has become ineffectual due to land scarcity and preference for other income sources. Tree growers intend to mainly preserve their present plantation areas, although their interest to expand tree growing areas is weak, and one third of non-growers see tree growing as a potential livelihood diversification option. If the promotion of smallholder tree growing is to be improved, the land and forest policy and associated legislation requires thorough revision and simplification, extension services must be made available, and specific incentives developed to allow smallholders to access land and meet their specific needs.This study analyses the impact of policy, legal and market conditions and specific incentives on smallholders’ interest and success in tree growing between 1990-2015 in Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Laos, Lao PDR). A review of previous studies and policy papers established the framework for this study, with primary data then collected from smallholders through semi-structured interviews in four villages. The interview questions covered household socioeconomic features, land use, information on woodlots, extension, and perceptions on drivers and challenges of tree growing. The findings indicate that policy objectives of promoting smallholder tree growing are weak at the district and village levels, and the only significant incentive, namely land allocation, has become ineffectual due to land scarcity and preference for other income sources. Tree growers intend to mainly preserve their present plantation areas, although their interest to expand tree growing areas is weak, and one third of non-growers see tree growing as a potential livelihood diversification option. If the promotion of smallholder tree growing is to be improved, the land and forest policy and associated legislation requires thorough revision and simplification, extension services must be made available, and specific incentives developed to allow smallholders to access land and meet their specific needs.Peer reviewe

Making chocolate truly sustainable

When we eat a delicious piece of chocolate, do we have any idea of the journey it undertook to get to us, or the potential harm it has caused to people and the planet? This article discusses the potential and actual sustainability of cocoa and chocolate, from farmer to consumer. This round-the-world journey follows cocoa production from the tree all the way to supermarket shelves. This voyage of discovery shows that zero deforestation efforts are an excellent means of addressing the challenges in making cocoa production and trade sustainable. Many other issues need to be addressed before cocoa — or even better, chocolate — is truly sustainable. Efforts to make supply chains “green” must be embedded in a broader discussion about how to ensure sustainability, from commodity production to end products, from farmer to consumer, and not just at some of the points along the way.Peer reviewe

Measuring forest and wild product contributions to household welfare : Testing a scalable household survey instrument in Indonesia

Systematic comparisons of human dependence on forests and environmental resources have been challenging, as a result of heterogeneous methodologies. Specialized Forestry Modules have been developed, with the goal of filling current information gaps concerning the economic importance of forest and wild products in household welfare and rural livelihoods. Results from a pilot assessment of the Forestry Modules in West Kalimantan, Indonesia, are presented, showing that the Forestry Modules perform well in extracting the expected information: mean per capita forest and wild product income shifts according to the geographical “forest gradient”. Significantly, in the forest-rich upstream village, mean forest and wild product income and mean forest-related wage and business incomes exceeds current mean agricultural income statistics for West Kalimantan and mean non-agricultural rural household incomes in the lowest bracket. Consumption of forest products and importance as a coping strategy was higher in the most upstream village, where sale of forest products in times of shock was more marked in the most downstream village (where forest coping strategies were also least important). The Forestry Modules' detailed and systematic approach can help ensure that contributions of forest and wild products are not underestimated in national figures.Peer reviewe

China’s Conversion of Cropland to Forest Program as a national PES scheme : Institutional structure, voluntarism and conditionality of PES

Forest Landscape Restoration in Hilly and Mountainous Regions: Special Issue: The ‘Conversion of Cropland to Forest Program’ (CCFP) as a national ‘Payment for Ecosystem Services’ (PES) scheme in China: Institutional structure and roles, ensuring voluntarism and conditionality of subsidy paymentsChina’s ‘Conversion of Cropland to Forest Program’ (CCFP) is one of the world’s largest national ‘Payment for Ecosystem Services’ (PES) programs, with over 32 million rural households enrolled and 28 million ha converted to forest since 1999. Given the scale of the program and emerging interest in forest landscape restoration, the structure and function of implementation models is of interest. This study is based on key informant interviews tracing the structure and interactions among institutions for implementation of the CCFP from central government to provincial and sub-provincial scales in Yunnan Province. Data are used to analyze implementation arrangements for program planning, implementation and monitoring, and to identify features ensuring conditionality of PES payments. To assess the degree of voluntarism in enrollment, the study employs data from 87 household-level interviews in four southwestern provinces. Findings indicate that the CCFP system is designed to fulfill expectations of PES programs in terms of conditionality and voluntary participation on the side of ecosystem service sellers.Peer reviewe

China’s Conversion of Cropland to Forest Program: A systematic review of the socioeconomic and environmental effects

Background Farming on sloping lands has historically led to forest loss and degradation in China which, coupled with timber extraction activities, was deemed responsible for catastrophic flooding events in the late 1990s. These events led to the introduction of forest policies targeting ecological conservation and rural development in China, a process epitomized by the launch of the Conversion of Cropland to Forest Program (CCFP) in 1999. Methods/design This systematic review responds to the question: What environmental and socioeconomic effects has the Conversion of Cropland to Forest Program had on land resources and human populations during its first 15 years? Following the published protocol, we searched for English language studies published between 1999 and 2014, and screened them for relevance and eligibility in two stages (titles and abstracts followed by full texts), after which they were further assessed for potential sources of bias (study quality assessment) before data extraction and analyses. Forty three studies were identified as meeting our inclusion and quality criteria following screening of 879 search results, indicating an overall lack of high quality studies with primary data on the impacts of CCFP. Eighty per cent of county-level case studies were conducted in only four provinces, and 13 of the 25 provinces where the CCFP is implemented are not represented by these county-level cases in the review. The review also includes, however, four national level studies covering 20 provinces and seven regional level studies, each covering several provinces. The majority of studies were published after 2009 and evaluated impacts within the first five years of CCFP implementation, such that the long term impacts of the program remain open for further investigation. Results The skewed temporal and geographic distribution of studies limits the generalizability of the results, though the evidence base confirms a substantial increase in forest cover and associated carbon stocks linked to reallocation of sloping agricultural land to forest. To some degree, soil erosion has been controlled and flood risk reduced at local scales. Meanwhile household incomes have increased and rural employment has readjusted towards off-farm sectors. However, studies also indicate instances of diminished food security and increasing social inequality. Finally, several studies indicate suboptimal regional or localized tradeoffs among specific ecosystem services, including carbon sequestration vs. water discharge rates, flood control vs. riparian soil replacement, and forest productivity vs. biodiversity. Conclusions Additional research on long-term environmental impacts and program effects in under-studied regions, particularly southern and western provinces, is necessary. In terms of recommendations for future research on the CCFP, there is a significant need to examine confounding factors, ideally through the selection of matching control groups to CCFP participants, and to ensure sampling methodologies are more representative of selected study sites and the overall targeted area. There remain many opportunities to assess specific socioecological effects, upon which to base future policy decisions and more broadly inform ecological restoration and eco-compensation in both theory and practice.Peer reviewe

A systematic review of the socio-economic impacts of large-scale tree plantations, worldwide

Corrigendum: The author regrets to inform readers about an error in the legend of Fig. 8. Currently the legend reads "Fig. 8. Associations between cate-gories." However, the correct version is "Fig. 8. Associations betweencategories. Yellow lines refer to both mutually-reinforcing and negatingassociations. Linewidth reflects the relative abundance of such asso-ciations in the evidence base."The author apologizes for this error and any consequent incon-venience to readers. (Global Environmental Change Volume 57, July 2019, 101931)Since their widespread introduction in the 1980s, large-scale tree plantations have seen contestations over their socio-economic impacts. With the establishment of new plantations on the rise, a review of the literature examining their impacts on local communities is needed to inform policies and practices. In this systematic review, we followed an a priori protocol to reduce the selection biases inherent to conventional literature reviews, and considered both grey and peer-reviewed literature. Of the 20,450 studies identified in our literature search, only 92 studies met our predefined inclusion criteria. However, only 22 studies presented a clear comparator and considered confounding factors in their analysis. Of the 251 impacts identified in this sample, most impacts across the nine categories were characterised as predominantly negative impacts attributed to large-scale tree plantations. Impacts on employment (22% of reported impacts/of which 41% predominantly negative), land (21%/81%), livelihoods (12%/48%) and the often intertwined social impacts (20%/69%) were the most commonly considered categories, within which a majority of studies agreed on the impact dynamics when in similar contexts, resembling the dynamics observed in other large-scale land-based investments. Most impacts were reported from Southeast Asia (34% of reported impacts), South America (29%), Africa (23%) and Australasia (12%). We corroborate that costs of large-scale tree plantations for residents tend to be front-loaded, especially when plantations have displaced customary land uses, and possible benefits to accrue over time, moderated by the emergence of local processing and complementary livelihood activities. However, given the methodological inconsistencies in our sample and the under-representation of areas known to have undergone plantation development, strong global evidence on the long-term socio-economic impacts of large-scale tree plantations remains limited.Peer reviewe