The Covid-19 pandemic led to an unprecedented increase in the U.S. price of softwood lumber by more than 300%. The reasons for this increase have been attributed to constraints on supply caused by pandemic-induced labor shortages, and increased demand for lumber caused by a Covid-19 related boom in domestic real estate and home improvements. In this paper, we examine the effect that these factors might

The level of biodiversity is in decline, also in forests. As more natural structures are known to safeguard biodiversity, changes in forest management, including higher amounts of deadwood, may help reverse the decline. However, this could lead to trade-offs between forest ecosystem services, and forest recreation might be negatively affected by the presence of more natural forest structures, especially

Galicia is a region situated in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula where community forests are very much spread. This kind of ownership is held by local communities that, collectively, decide how to manage the forest and its mycological resources as part of its non-timber forest products. In this work, we characterize and analyse the existing governance modalities for the collective use of mycological

Latin America is a crucial source of global forest values—whether the domestic and export values of commercial production or the global non-commercial values of forest services like carbon sequestration and biodiversity or the less-measured and generally more local contributions like watersheds and tourism. This paper reviews the extensive forest sector data for the period 1990–2020 for 19 South and

Community forest enterprises (CFEs) trade to meet the economic, social, and environmental challenges of their community, just as Social Enterprises (SE) do. The question is if CFEs also could and should be understood in terms of SEs. To explore this question, this study determines the extent to which CFEs can be classified as SEs, using CFEs in Cameroon as a case study. Based on the three-dimensional

This paper examines how decentralized forest governance policy led to new patterns of wealth accumulation in villages as a result of economic opportunities created by wood-charcoal production and trade in rural Senegal. In the region studied, the locus for development through decentralized governance was offered through an institution: the democratically elected Rural Council. USAID provided assistance

Governments have used policies such as taxes on the exports of unprocessed wood products and subsidies to domestic manufacturers to improve the competitiveness of domestic industries with the goal of supporting economic activities especially in rural areas. Newer motivations for policy interventions come in the form of climate change mitigation targets whereby improved forest management and increased

Climate change seriously impacts forest ecosystems. In order to maintain a healthy and sustainable forest cover, adaptation strategies should be implemented. This article proposes to deepen our understanding of the decision-making process of private forest owners in terms of adaptation decisions towards climate change. In particular, we question whether or not French private forest owners have already

This paper examines the potential impact of climate change on forests and timber production in Latin America. The analysis links a Dynamic Global Vegetation Model (DGVM), which projects forest migration, forest dieback, and net primary productivity spatially as a function of future climate predictions, with a dynamic optimization model of global timber markets. A global model is used because climate

Collaborative forest management (CFM) is widely promoted because of its purported ability to deliver both conservation and livelihoods improvement goals. It is especially attractive to developing countries where livelihood improvement is a key focus of national governments (that have simultaneously made global conservation commitments). Uganda has embraced CFM in its policy framework and promoted it

Forest products have become scarce for local communities in the Philippines. After decades of severe deforestation, a net gain in forest area has only been observed in recent years for the first time. This paper seeks to broaden the understanding of forest livelihood relationships at the turning point of a forest transition trajectory. Based on 993 household surveys from 10 distinct research sites

Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) are widely used wild, biological products harvested from rural and urban landscapes for household subsistence, income and culture, thereby contributing to human wellbeing. Estimates of the numbers of people making use of, or being dependent on, NTFPs vary widely, and global estimates to date have excluded urban populations and also NTFP users in the Global North.

Regardless of the environmental and socio-ecological implications of oil palm cultivation, oil palm is considered one of the most important oil crops in the world because of its high production efficiency which has seen a marked increase in the area under cultivation. While previous studies have analyzed the implications of this increase in cultivation on various socio-economic and environmental indicators

We investigate whether environmental reliance can be better understood if household categories are identified based on their level of reliance rather than the prevalent approaches based on what they earn (total household income) or own (assets). We conduct quantile regressions of environmental income and reliance (measured as the share of total household income from the environment) on different household

The forest-based sector is facing one the greatest transitions in its history in the face of global megatrends. Globalization, sustainability challenges and the ICT sector have put the world in a new light. Whereas some of the recent developments have resulted in challenges for the traditional forest industry, many positive expectations and opportunities are also seen to arise in the form of the transition

There is evidence that institutions related to climate change and natural resource influence each other's performance, and that local settings also affect policy outcomes. We examine how policy implementation processes and institutional interactions shape the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) programme in Cameroon. While institutional and governance features of REDD+

Responsible forest policy promotes management that does not impair the multiple uses of forests or decrease their regulative effects and biological diversity. The most important regulative effect of boreal forests is their ability to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. High biological diversity improves the resilience of forest ecosystems and forest-based economies, enhancing the long-term sustainability

After being subject to several decades of degradation, the bottomland hardwood (BLH) forests within the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley have undergone landscape-scale restoration regimes through conservation easement programs, such as the Wetland Reserve Program (WRP). Reforested easements offer an opportunity for landowners' adoption of forest management practices to fulfill the program's long-term

Using secondary literature and interviews, this paper examines forest discourses since World War II in four countries: Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, and Sweden. The national discourses often thematically coincide between the case countries, most prominently in the post-war endeavour to restore forest resources. This period was followed by diverging ideas and practices such as abandonment and fragmentation

Projects for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) have been initiated in developing countries, featuring partnerships with multiple actors under the global forest and climate change regime. Even though partnerships between stakeholders are crucial for ensuring successful project deliveries, there is a lack of knowledge about sectoral partnerships within and between stakeholders

The Protected Areas in Latin America, beyond the preservation of nature, have been central for government control over spatial resources. The weaknesses of the domestic bureaucracies in this region results in a gap between their formal rules and the expected outcomes. Forest management is an issue of competition between production and environmental bureaucracies all over the world. Bureaucracies search

Although the importance of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) is increasingly recognised across the globe, their potential is not yet fully realised. Their often valuable nutritional composition and discovery of new possible applications offer further opportunities for innovation and rural development. Yet only few NTFPs manage the jump from traditional, informal use to global markets. Therefore, this

Both trade and production of graphic paper have decreased over the last three decades. While this general decrease can partially be attributed to increased prominence of information technology, the overall figure is devoid of context and thus of most of its meaning to global economy. In this study we aim to break this trend down across the geographical and temporal scope, across its supply-chain commodities

Globally, Brazil is one of the most important producers of wood products from forest plantations. Climatic conditions suitable for high productivity coupled with strong market demand and other factors have led to a marked increase in the area devoted to forest plantations in the country. Wood production from these plantations has brought important macroeconomic benefits through export. However, knowledge

In Europe, private forest owners play an important role in achieving sustainability goals, such as those set by the European Green Deal. Efficient communication and coordination with these actors is therefore central. However, ongoing structural changes in forest ownership have in many cases silenced traditional communication channels, especially those involving owners of small forests. Their economic

Miombo woodlands are the most extensive dry forest type in southern Africa, covering ca. 1.9 million km2 across seven countries. Fire is a key ecosystem process that has structured miombo for the last 200,000 years. However, how fires affect the ecosystem's functioning is not well understood. In this study, we used the individual-based forest model called FORMIND to analyze the carbon balance in the

It is increasingly realised that for a proper understanding of the illegal aspects of the international timber trade sound data on seizures is needed. Their value, however, may be greatly diminished in the absence of accurate reporting. International trade in rosewood is regulated through CITES, with large amounts trafficked illegally, and annually thousands of seizures are made. Unfamiliarity with

With the accelerating globalization, many industries have faced continuous pressure from increasing importation. To protect the domestic industries, trade policies such as uniform tariffs have been widely used in recent years. In this study, the interaction between uniform tariffs on the primary roundwood and secondary wood and paper products within the U.S. forest supply chain is assessed. A two-stage

We offer an ethnographic account of how forest conservation is diversely assembled at the contiguous Tambopata National Reserve and Bahuaja Sonene National Park, biodiversity hotspots in the southern Peruvian Amazon. In so doing, and revising Elinor Ostrom and collaborators' Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) Framework, we put together a theory framework of forest institutional change, informed

In light of growing pressure on forests benefit sharing is increasingly gaining attention as a governance approach to facilitating more equitable and sustainable interactions and outcomes. While benefit sharing is one of the key components of REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation and the enhancement of forest carbon stocks) programs and policies under the United Nations

The co-existence of customary and statutory land tenure institutions makes land tenure a complex issue for farmers in sub-Saharan Africa. Furthermore, land tenure systems are gendered, which is often to the disadvantage of women. We outline a land tenure framework, which acknowledges the interactions between gender and different land tenure institutions and their impact on investments in agroforestry

At the global level, two Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) systems, i.e., protocols and certification, have grown significantly in standardizing forest management practices. Protocols are driven by multi-stakeholder groups that outline a series of standardized criteria and indicators agreed upon by participating countries. On the other hand, forest certification involves market-driven multi-stakeholder

Mangrove ecosystems in Indonesia show great promise in contributing to climate change mitigation, but they continue to experience significant degradation primarily because of aquaculture conversion. This work analyzes the mangrove governance in Indonesia and how it fits the country's high emission reduction. The study is mainly based on the analysis of existing regulations, interviews with relevant

For the forest sector, it is important to produce wood in an efficient and cost-effective way, while at the same time satisfying customer needs. This requires careful management of the wood product supply chain; from the point of production (forest owners) to the intermediates who transform these into intermediate goods and final wood products (forest-based industries), and deliver these goods to the

We analyzed the interdependency between forest land conversion and economic land use in Brazilian Legal Amazon (BLA) from 2006 to 2017. More specifically, we assessed incremental economic gains from forest conversion in the perspective of environmental efficiency, and we analyzed the causes and implications of the interdependence based on a Forest Transition framework. Results suggested that despite

In the last decade, multiple scientists and policymakers have been promoting bioeconomy for decarbonisation and as a way to tackle the ongoing socio-ecological crises. An effective transition to the bioeconomy in developing countries, which are predominantly agrarian,depends partly on its amenability to existing land access regimes and how actors in such countries are able to manage competing claims

This article examines global trends likely to influence forests and tree-based systems and considers the poverty implications of these interactions. The trends, identified through a series of expert discussions and review of the literature, include: (i) climatic impacts mediated through changes in forests, (ii) growth in commodity markets, (iii) shifts in private and public forest sector financing

Market-based forest governance mechanisms such as reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD+) are implemented in many forests rich countries to conserve biodiversity and mitigate against global climate change. The assumption is that communities will be better motivated to participate in forest conservation if monetary payments are provided to compensate for past efforts or future

The public forest policy's response to the threat of deforestation in Mexico has relied on different environmental tools for forest management, conservation, and survival. The present study compares the updated version of the Index of Economic Pressure for Deforestation (IRDef, in Spanish), one of the most commonly used public policy tools, to an alternative version this index incorporating a modification

Timberland ownership in the world, especially in the United States, has experienced significant changes in the past few decades. In this commentary, I reviewed a recently published book by Daowei Zhang under this theme. The book examined the driving forces of institutional timberland investment by compiling a number of landmark events through corporate reports and interviews with major parties involved

In this paper, we explore the interactions between political, social and environmental changes and forest governance in Kenya, through a study of Mukogodo forest in Laikipia county. Drawing on findings from key informant and group interviews as well as analysis of policy documents, we argue that political reform processes – including devolution and changing land and forest policies – combined with

An extensive set of policies, programmes, technologies and strategies have been implemented in the forest sector. Collectively, these ‘levers’ cover a diverse range of approaches, at a variety of scales and are governed by many different stakeholders. It is important for decision-makers to understand which levers might be most useful in achieving poverty alleviation. This paper seeks to answer the

China has endeavored to devolve collective forests to individual households or user groups in the past decades. However, few studies have explored the community-level institutional selection process in the forest devolution reforms. Based on a longitudinal case study in Fujian province, this study focuses on China's forest devolution reform in the early 2000s and explores in the reform why the community

This article deliberates the processes, principles, and rules relevant to forest-sector climate change mitigation and adaptation in light of the nationally determined contributions (NDCs) of the Paris Agreement (PA). We tackle such issues as targets and indicators, scope and information needs of forest-sector actions, progress tracking, stock taking, anthropogenic testing, carbon (C) accounting, and

The Forest Development Program (FDP) is a nationally renowned state-administered cost-share assistance program for forest landowners in North Carolina, primarily funded through taxation on primary forest products across the state. While the demand for FDP cost-share funds often exceeds available resources, over one-fourth of annual allocations on average go unused, due primarily to application cancellations

The influence of foreign donors and their development politics on domestic development policies has been an important research topic in the field of development studies. Lately, foreign donors have changed their strategy in forest-related development activities by substantially involving non-state actors. As a foreign donor, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has introduced

The “Fit for 55” climate package adopted by the EU is intended to prepare the way for the EU's climate neutrality in 2050. It contains measures affecting the forestry and timber sector. We evaluate three instruments: the proposal for a New EU Forest Strategy for 2030, the EU Renewable Energy Directive and the Land-use, Land-Use Change and Forestry Regulation with regard to their implications for sustainable

Forest and tree-based landscapes represent complex social-ecological systems. In tropical and subtropical regions, these landscapes are home to hundreds of millions of resource-poor people. Gaining a better understanding of how contextual factors influence forest-poverty dynamics is essential for the design, targeting and implementation of effective policy instruments and interventions to alleviate

This paper analyses timber and wood processing companies' views on opportunities and challenges for FLEGT implementation in Vietnam based on a literature review, online surveys with 56 timber and wood processing companies, in-depth interviews with 26 stakeholders from different institutions, and a consultation workshop involving 94 participants. Our paper shows that FLEGT has received increasing attention

Forests are sources of multiple ecosystem services (ESs) essential for human wellbeing. Forest owners are critical actors to decide which benefits they produce from their forests. To support the uptake of alternative forest management strategies in a way that is beneficial from the perspective of society as whole, new incentive schemes could be implemented in the future. We applied the choice experiment

The competitive advantage of traditional forest industry regions such as North America, Russia and the EU is based largely on the production and processing of coniferous (C) biomass. However, non-coniferous (NC) and recycled (R) biomass provide cost-effective alternatives to C biomass, which have already decreased the proportion of C biomass use and which can potentially have large impacts on the future

Prescribed fire is a management tool in many Australian and international ecosystems, where it can benefit biodiversity conservation and potentially reduce the risk of extreme wildfires threatening highly valued assets. However, the economic efficiency of prescribed fire is poorly understood. The aim of this study was to progress this understanding by improving estimates of prescribed fire costs. A

As programs with payments for ecosystem services (PES) have become more numerous, raising the need for and also the opportunity for rigorous evidence on their contributions, we examine shifts within Costa Rica's Pagos por Servicios Ambientales (PSA) program. The PSA was heralded from its initiation, despite demonstrations of low early impacts. We study shifts in impact over time across early periods

Payments for environmental services (PES) are considered an effective approach to solving both environmental and socio-economic issues. However, there lies a significant research gap in the context of their impact on income and attitudes toward conservation. Using household survey data and the propensity score matching technique, this study evaluates the impact of the payments for forest environmental

The alleviation of global poverty is a major objective of the 2030 UN Sustainable Development Goals (notably SDG1 “to end poverty in all its forms everywhere”). Many rural people experiencing poverty often rely on forests and tree-based systems, such as agroforestry, suggesting the existence of links between such systems and poverty outcomes. This paper reviews the evidence of such links across multiple

Factor endowment-based structural change theorems posit that increase in factor endowment of a region leads to an increase in output of the industries that use the factors more intensively. This study uses a dynamic panel regression analysis to examine the linkage between factor endowment and structural changes in Kentucky forest industry. The analysis uses forest-based industries' shares in employment

Opportunities exist for forestry companies to vertically integrate operations to include both forest estate management and timber processing. However, forest supply chains have traditionally functioned in a decoupled manner where forest operations and timber processing are uncoordinated in their planning and operation, leading to sub-optimal supply chain configuration and outcomes. To maximize the

Authoritarian environmentalism (AE) has become an important source of social injustice in China. Taking clues from the theory of just transition and a case study of forestry reform in Northeast China, this article discusses the tension between environmental protection and social justice in Chinese AE. From a procedural perspective, the belief in insulated eco-elites being best placed to make environmental

Major advances have been made over the past two decades in our understanding of the contribution forests and trees outside forests make to human well-being across the globe. Yet this knowledge has not always been incorporated into broader poverty and development policy agendas. The result is a missed opportunity to effectively and sustainably reach national and international poverty alleviation goals

Contingent valuation is used to examine the influence of environmental engagement and beliefs on willingness to pay (WTP) for urban forest preservation. We survey surrounding residents of two urban forest sites in Puerto Rico with distinct environmental experiences and beliefs about ecosystem services. We find that WTP for preserving the urban forest where the surrounding residents are involved in