Integrating climate change criteria in reforestation projects using a hybrid decision-support system

The selection of appropriate species in a reforestation project has always been a complex decision making problem in which, due mostly to government policies and other stakeholders, not only economic criteria but also other environmental issues interact. Climate change has not usually been taken into account in traditional reforestation decision-making strategies and management procedures. Moreover, there is a lack of agreement on the percentage of each one of the species in reforestation planning, which is usually calculated in a discretionary way. In this context, an effective multicriteria technique has been developed in order to improve the process of selecting species for reforestation in the Mediterranean region of Spain. A hybrid Delphi-AHP methodology is proposed, which includes a consistency analysis in order to reduce random choices. As a result, this technique provides an optimal percentage distribution of the appropriate species to be used in reforestation planning. The highest values of the weight given for each subcriteria corresponded to FR (fire forest response) and PR (pests and diseases risk), because of the increasing importance of the impact of climate change in the forest. However, CB (conservation of biodiversitiy)was in the third position in line with the aim of reforestation. Therefore, the most suitable species were Quercus faginea (19.75%) and Quercus ilex (19.35%), which offer a good balance between all the factors affecting the success and viability of reforestation.Curiel Esparza, J.; González Utrillas, NV.; Cantó Perelló, J.; Martín Utrillas, MG. (2015). Integrating climate change criteria in reforestation projects using a hybrid decision-support system. Environmental Research Letters. 10(9):1-13. doi:10.1088/1748-9326/10/9/094022S113109Amraoui, M., Pereira, M. G., DaCamara, C. C., & Calado, T. J. (2015). Atmospheric conditions associated with extreme fire activity in the Western Mediterranean region. 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Study in the issues of illegal logging and related trade of timber and other forest product issues in Europe

n/

The global politics of forest conservation since the UNCED

The mistrust between North and South which was a feature of the forest negotiations of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) has since slowly given way to a new co‐operative spirit. Following the failure of the UNCED to produce a Global Forests Convention several new international initiatives on forest conservation have emerged. This study describes these processes and analyses their significance. It is argued that progress has been slow and that there is much about the current international forest politics scene that requires clarification. Contentious issues include the role of timber labelling, the future of the processes working towards criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management, and whether a Global Forests Convention is desirable. Two recently‐created fora, the Intergovernmental Panel on Forests and the World Commission on Forests and Sustainable Development, both of which will report to the 1997 session of the Commission on Sustainable Development, may help to clarify the situation. However, it is now clear that many governments from the South intend to extract some measure of economic compensation from the North if they are to agree to significant forest conservation commitments. Much depends on whether a trade‐off can be reached between the environmental concerns of the North and the economic concerns of the South