Conflict or cooperation? Social capital as a power resource and conflict mitigation strategy in timber operations in Ghana's off-reserve forest areas

Conflicts over forests and trees threaten the sustainability of the resource base. The nature and causes of such conflicts have been documented, but little is known about factors that determine whether interactions result in conflict or cooperation. Particularly, the role of social capital has been underexposed, with existing studies focusing mainly on networks, and less on the role of norms, trust, and reciprocity in conflict mitigation. Our case study addresses these gaps, asking what factors determine whether interactions about timber resources in Ghana's off-reserve forest areas result in conflict or cooperation. Off-reserve areas, which are mosaics of forest, fallow, and farmland patches, contribute significantly to timber for domestic and export markets, despite a rapidly declining resource base since the 2000s. Conflicts over legally required social responsibility agreements and inadequate compensation for crop damage abound, but, in rare cases, peaceful cooperation exists. Based on a literature review, document analysis, key respondent interviews, semistructured interviews, and focus groups, we found that interactions between actors are shaped by a complex mix of socioeconomic, social, orientational, and institutional power resources that actors mobilize to negotiate access to increasingly scarce timber resources and their benefits. Socioeconomic power resources initially determine whether a cooperative relationship between timber operators and communities can be established, but elements of social capital (connectedness, norms, trustworthiness, and reciprocity) determine the further course of the interaction patterns. Communities thereby rely primarily on bonding social capital because their bridging capital is practically absent and their linking capital is limited to people who are potential conflict partners. We conclude that conflicts in forested landscapes go beyond competing claims and benefit sharing, and that norms, trustworthiness, and reciprocity are at least as important dimensions of social capital as networks. This finding implies that more attention is needed toward the cultural context in which interactions are embedded

Envisioning the Future of Mosaic Landscapes: Actor Perceptions in a Mixed Cocoa/Oil-Palm Area in Ghana

The future and benefits of mosaic landscapes have been a source of scientific and societal concern due to increasing population growth, climate change, urbanization, and expanding agricultural commodities. There is a growing call for integrated landscape approaches in which landscape actors discuss trade-offs between different land uses with a view to reaching a negotiated decision on the allocation of land uses. Yet, the operationalization of such approaches is still in its infancy, and integrated methodologies to visualize actors’ landscape visions are still scarce. This study therefore presents a participatory spatial scenario-building methodology that uncovers local perceptions of landscape dynamics and needed actions in a mixed cocoa-oil-palm landscape in Ghana’s Eastern Region. The methodology visualizes landscape actors’ perceived plausible changes and desired future landscapes, and is designed to trigger discussions on actions needed to achieve these desired futures. Findings show that farmers and institutional actors are aware of their landscapes with future preferences coming close to actual landscape composition and spatial configuration, and that—contrary to common assumptions—only those in the oil-palm-dominated landscape who already experienced the drawbacks of increasing landscape homogenization desire a mosaic landscape. The paper concludes that the collective mapping process makes actors aware of challenges at landscape level and increases farmers’ negotiation power through active engagement in the process and visualization of their knowledge and visions. Application of the methodology requires dedicated funding, political will, and capacity to apply it as an ongoing process, as well as monitoring feedback loops

Spatial Tools for Inclusive Landscape Governance: Negotiating Land Use, Land-Cover Change, and Future Landscape Scenarios in Two Multistakeholder Platforms in Zambia

Landscape approaches are being promoted as a form of negotiated governance to help reconcile competing land uses and identify common concerns for planning envisioned future landscapes. Multistakeholder platforms play a key role in these efforts. This paper aims to contribute to an emerging scholarship that explores how spatial tools can be used in such platforms as boundary objects and if and how they can contribute to inclusive landscape negotiations and governance. We used spatial mapping to observe and document stakeholder perceptions about drivers of land-use and land-cover change and desired future scenarios that accommodate competing land uses. We found that land-cover maps derived from satellite images helped participants identify land-use change dynamics and drivers. The ensuing community mapping of desired landscape scenarios in both multistakeholder platforms (MSPs) triggered a process of identifying common concerns and defining actionable priorities. However, in one MSP, stakeholders ultimately reached a compromise on a draft land-use map that was widely regarded as an entry point for further negotiations in Local Area Plans, while the other lacked consensus due to deep-seated social-cultural issues, such as social-class-based disagreements. This paper illustrates, first, that instead of focusing on the end product (participatory maps), understanding negotiation processes helps uncover why spatial tools may fail to achieve the intended purpose of reconciling land uses. Second, spatial tools only work for landscape approaches if MSPs are inclusive and foster a collaborative process that considers the views of all participants. The authors recommend that those steering MSPs stimulate them to evolve from “mere consultation forums” to “innovative, participatory platforms”, encouraging stakeholders to engage in genuine negotiation processes that allow negotiated and alternative outcomes. We contend that such an approach, supported by spatial tools, is likely to contribute to the implementation of landscape approaches. Policymakers and land users can use these spatial tools as boundary objects in user-focused strategies that engender inclusive stakeholder participation and ensure legitimate, acceptable, and sustainable outcomes

Novas perspectivas para a gestão sustentável da Floresta Amazônica: explorando novos caminhos New perspectives for the sustainable management of the Amazon forest: exploring new avenues

Com foco na indústria madeireira na região Amazônica do Brasil e com base numa comparação de resultados de uma pesquisa sobre o setor florestal realizada no início dos anos 90 e estudos realizados dez anos depois, este artigo explora várias tendências atuais com potência de mudar a gestão de florestas tropicais na região amazônica. Essas mudanças são relacionadas à a) mudanças no suprimento de matéria prima, b) globalização e abertura de mercados externos para madeira e outros produtos como a soja, c) crescente escassez da madeira, d) novos mercados e incentivos para o manejo florestal sustentável e manejo florestal comunitário, e e) mudanças nos padrões de posse da terra, incluindo a descentralização da governança florestal e devolução de terras florestais. Concluímos que as mudanças apontam em direções diferentes. Enquanto a expansão dos mercados externos provoca o aumento do desmatamento, a descentralização e democratização da governança florestal e a preocupação global com a perda de serviços ambientais da floresta e de meios de vida para as populações locais criam novos incentivos para a gestão florestal sustentável. O maior desafio é encontrar meios para que a exploração florestal de base familiar e comunitária e as operações das serrarias nas áreas de assentamento sejam mais sustentáveis, por exemplo através de parcerias inovadoras do tipo empresa-comunidade.<br>With a focus on the timber industry in the Brazilian Amazon region and based on a comparison of results of a study of the forestry sector carried out in the early 1990s and studies carried out about ten years later, this article explores various recent tendencies which have the potential to change tropical forest management in the Amazon region. These changes are related to a) changes in the supply of roundwood, b) globalisation and the opening of external markets for timber and other products like soy, c) increasing scarcity of timber, d) new markets and incentives for sustainable forest management and community-based forest management, and e) changes in forest land ownership, including the decentralisation of forest governance and devolution of forest land. We conclude that the changes are generating different effects. Whereas the expansion of external markets is leading to increased deforestation, the decentralisation and democratisation of forest governance and a global preoccupation with the loss of environmental services and livelihood opportunities for local people is creating new incentives for sustainable forest management. The greatest challenge is to find ways to make family-based logging and sawmill operations in settlement areas more sustainable, for instance through innovative company-community partnerships