Lessons from Managing for the Extremes: A Case for Decentralized, Adaptive, Multipurpose Forest Management within an Ecological Framework

Multipurpose and ecological forest management frameworks are being increasingly applied across the Global North on public lands. However, the discourse and practice of public forest management in much of the developing world are captured by extreme approaches of single-crop (usually timber) production and strict canopy-cover protection, as exemplified by the case of Nepal. We combine insights from field research with published documents and trace the consequences of prevalent management regimes on the ecology and silviculture of Nepal’s public forests. We find that managing for either extreme of timber production or forest protection can degrade forest ecosystems and affect their capacity to address the increasing number of demands placed on them. A history of narrow management outlooks has erased indigenous silvicultural practices and discouraged the development of novel silvicultural solutions to address today’s environmental concerns. Government initiatives advancing singular objectives, such as Nepal’s Scientific Forest Management program, often crumble under political resistance. Forest users in Nepal are widely interested in generating diverse benefits from their forests, including non-commercial products and services, suggesting a mandate for multipurpose management. We present a decentralized adaptive modality of multipurpose management featuring a silviculture that more closely matches the ecology of forests

Reshaping the future of ethnobiology research after the COVID-19 pandemic

A geographically diverse group of 29 ethnobiologists addresses three common themes in response to the COVID-19 global health crisis: impact on local communities, future interactions between researchers and communities, and new (or renewed) conceptual and/or applied research priorities for ethnobiology.Fil: Vandebroek, Ina. New York Botanical Garden; Estados UnidosFil: Pieroni, Andrea. University of Gastronomic Sciences; ItaliaFil: Stepp, John Richard. University of Florida; Estados UnidosFil: Hanazaki, Natalia. Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina; BrasilFil: Ladio, Ana Haydee. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universidad Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; ArgentinaFil: Alves, Rômulo Romeu Nóbrega. Universidade Estadual da Paraíba; BrasilFil: Picking, David. The University of the West Indies; JamaicaFil: Delgoda, Rupika. The University of the West Indies; JamaicaFil: Maroyi, Alfred. University of Fort Hare; SudáfricaFil: van Andel, Tinde. Naturalis Biodiversity Center; Países BajosFil: Quave, Cassandra L.. University of Emory; Estados UnidosFil: Paniagua Zambrana, Narel Y.. Herbario Nacionál de Bolivia; Bolivia. Universidad Mayor de San Andrés; BoliviaFil: Bussmann, Rainer W.. Ilia State University; Estados UnidosFil: Odonne, Guillaume. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; Francia. Laboratoire Ecologie, Evolution, Interactions des Systèmes Amazoniens; FranciaFil: Abbasi, Arshad Mehmood. COMSATS University Islamabad; PakistánFil: Albuquerque, Ulysses Paulino. Universidade Federal de Pernambuco; BrasilFil: Baker, Janelle. Athabasca University; CanadáFil: Kutz, Susan. University of Calgary; CanadáFil: Timsina, Shrabya. University of Yale. Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies; Estados UnidosFil: Shigeta, Masayoshi. Kyoto University; JapónFil: Oliveira, Tacyana Pereira Ribeiro. Universidade Estadual da Paraíba; BrasilFil: Hurrell, Julio Alberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Laboratorio de Etnobotánica y Botánica Aplicada; ArgentinaFil: Arenas, Patricia Marta. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Laboratorio de Etnobotánica y Botánica Aplicada; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Puentes, Jeremías Pedro. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Laboratorio de Etnobotánica y Botánica Aplicada; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Hugé, Jean. Open University of the Netherlands; Países BajosFil: Yeşil, Yeter. Istanbul University; TurquíaFil: Pierre, Laurent Jean. Saint Lucia Archaeological and Historical Society; Santa LucíaFil: Olango, Temesgen Magule. Hawassa University; EtiopíaFil: Dahdouh Guebas, Farid. Free University of Brussels; Bélgic