The Performance of REDD+: From Global Governance to Local Practices

Whilst ‘REDD’ is the acronym for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, ‘REDD+’ refers to efforts to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, foster conservation, promote the sustainable management of forests, and enhance forest carbon stocks [...

Voluntary Sustainability Certification and State Regulations : Paths to Promote the Conservation of Ecosystem Services? Experiences in Indonesia

The Forest Stewardship Council initiated a Forest Certification for Ecosystem Services (ForCES) project from 2011 to 2017 to improve and promote sustainable forest management addressing a range of ecosystem services. Three sites in Indonesia were included in the pilot. Whilst the development of the certification standard was largely the result of a partnership between the certification standard organization, civil society and research organizations, implementation and monitoring of the impact of this sustainability standard will entail interactions with state regulations. This study examined how voluntary certification, other market-based approaches and state regulations concerning ecosystem services in Indonesia interplay, particularly in the agenda setting and negotiation stage. Using the conceptual lenses of transition theory and state and non-state market-based governance, interrelationships between ecosystem services certification and regulations were found to be complementary and antagonistic. The majority of interrelations were complementary and supporting. However, antagonism exists where regulations do not address multiple land uses and when there are contradictions in how state regulations define ecosystem services. There was limited state involvement in developing the ecosystem services certification standard, with no substitution between the voluntary standard and regulations occurring. To scale and transition this innovatory standard from a niche to a sociotechnical regime level, it is recommended that market-driven governance arrangements at farm, forest concession and landscape level are developed in collaboration with national and local governments. Collaboration can create synergies to incentivize the acceptance, adoption and effectiveness of non-state market driven instruments to positively enhance the conservation of ecosystem services.Peer reviewe

Community capacity for social enterprise development : Empirical evidence from community forest enterprises (CFEs) in Cameroon

With increasing forest devolution globally, community forest enterprises (CFEs) are emerging as potential options for local development based on forest resources. CFEs trade to meet their economic, social, and environmental goals; however, empirical studies have highlighted capacity deficiencies as key drawbacks to their development. Knowledge of what these capacity gaps are is low. This paper uses a systematic framework to explore capacity and deficiencies in capacity and the relation between the two within CFEs in Cameroon. Using the contextualised organisational capacity theory in combination with asset-based mobilisation theory, data was gathered from 31 CFEs based on focus group discussions. Principal component analysis and descriptive statistics were used to evaluate community capacity at individual, organisational (CFE), and network levels. Pearson correlation tests were used to explore the relationships between different domains of community capacity. The results indicate that community members and development practitioners agree that communities are weak in creating partnerships, networking, and resource mobilisation. The participatory community evaluation highlights major capacity gaps in infrastructure, members' skills and knowledge, and sense of community. This confirms that capacity gaps were larger at the individual and social network level, while organisational capacity scored higher except for a sense of community and resource mobilization. Although the community capacities at the individual level are generally low, these capacities correlate strongly with organisational capacity. The potential of the CFEs to meet objectives depends a lot on the capacities of individual members and networking capacity, indicating that these should be prioritised in development efforts, which should involve multiple stakeholders, with policy support and participation by the entire community

Book Review: "Communication and Public Participation in Environmental Decision-Making", Stephen P. Depoe, John W. Delicath and Marie-France Aepli Elsenbeer (Eds.)

No abstract received.

Book Review: "A Community Guide to Social Impact Assessment, 3rd Edition", Rabel J. Burdge

No abstract received.