Contents · (12-25 July 2019 Yunnan, China) 1 Degraded Forest Rehabilitation and Management in...

Contents

Degraded Forest Rehabilitation and Management in Bangladesh ............................................. 1

The Forest Restoration and Rehabilitation in Damrey Chakthlork Community Forest,

Kampang Speu Province, Cambodia ........................................................................................ 13

The Natural Forest Protection Project to Restore China’s Forestland and The Analysis of Its

Achievements in Southwest China ........................................................................................... 23

Efforts on Rehabilitation / Restoration of Fiji’s Degraded Forest Ecosystems ........................ 34

Forest and Land Rehabilitation in Indonesia: A Case Story of Restoration of Sandalwood

(Santalum Album Linn) in Nusa Tenggara Timur Province, Indonesia .................................... 52

Forest Rehabilitation and Restoration Project in Sabah, Malaysia .......................................... 62

Myanmar Rehabilitation and Reforestation Program ............................................................... 74

Forest Rehabilitation and Management in Nepal ..................................................................... 86

Enhanced National Greening Program in The Philippines .................................................... 105

Degraded Forest Rehabilitation and Management in PNG .................................................... 112

Forest Rehabilitation --- Case Study in Ihala Puliyankulam Degraded Forest in Dry Zone of

Sri Lanka ................................................................................................................................ 121

Forest Rehabilitation in Thailand ........................................................................................... 132

Impacts of Slash and Litters Management on Soil Nutrients and Growth of Acacia

Auriculiformis Plantation after Three Rotations in Southern Vietnam .................................. 155

Participant Paper for APFNet Workshop on Degraded Forest Rehabilitation and Management (12-25 July 2019 Yunnan, China)

1

Degraded Forest Rehabilitation and

Management in Bangladesh

Abu Yousuf

Assistant Conservator of Forest, Forest Department, Bangladesh

Abstract: Bangladesh is a small country with a total area of 147, 550 square kilometer. Only

17% of the total land cover is forest area which includes rubber gardens also. A huge number

of people are fully or partially dependent on forests for their livelihood. Forest resources are

supporting not only the villagers living in and around the forest lands but also the whole

population of the country in direct or indirect way. While supporting this vast population,

forests are losing resources in a high rate. Degradation of forest area has become a common

phenomenon in a developing country like Bangladesh.

In Bangladesh most of the forest dwellers are tribal people who are in the forests there for

centuries. Those people are fully dependent on forest for their survival. Rehabilitation of these

communities is tough in a small country like Bangladesh. In order to rehabilitate these

communities not only government has to ensure their safety but also government has to

ensure their proper living. Alternate income sources must be ensured. So to reduce the

degradation as well as ensure safety, social forestry was introduced in many parts of

Bangladesh. In this process people are involved to protect the forest lands and also to increase

the forest land area. Since total rehabilitation of these communities is a long process and

limitations are huge so social forestry practice is playing an important role in this process.

Different national and international organizations are also involved in this process.

Forest is a natural resource. In order to maintain this vast resource, a huge man power is

needed. But it is sad but true that in a developing country like Bangladesh, it’s not easy to

properly maintain both the resource and the people living depending on that resource. In

many cases which results encroachment, illegal felling or poaching. To minimize that

rehabilitation is must. But without international support it’s tough and also lengthy process.

Forest department is trying their best to minimize the problem but the main issue is less man

power and minimum knowledge. If proper training and support is available then this issue

might be minimized in near future.

Introduction

Bangladesh has undergone a major shift in its economic philosophy and management in

recent years. Forestry has manifold contributions towards the welfare of mankind. The

multiple uses of forest resources have been recognized from the advent of civilization. The


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forestry sector contributes about 1.79% of the total GDP of Bangladesh. This does not reflect

the true contribution of this sector. The rural population uses fuel wood and other minor forest

products practically free of cost. Forest and tree resources also play an important role in

protecting watersheds, irrigation and hydraulic structures, also in keeping the rivers and ports

navigable. They also play key roles in protecting the coastal areas from natural calamities.

The role of forest in protecting the environment from pollution and its contribution towards

biodiversity is immense.

The participatory social forestry contributes towards rural poverty reduction significantly.

Social Forestry Rules have been framed to provide the legal basis for a benefit sharing

system. Tree farming funds have been created from the 10% of the sale proceeds to create

new resources on the same pieces of land involving the same participants, to ensure

sustainability. TFF operating committees have been established involving local government

and Local Community Organizations (LCO). Apart from the sale proceeds, participants also

get money from the Forest Department for their labor input into plantation activities. They

also get periodic income from agriculture crops grown between trees both in forest and

marginal land. The participants also enjoy the thinning and pruning outputs in many areas

which also contribute to improving the livelihoods of the participants.

Employment Generation

Many people benefited directly from forestry-related activities e.g. in the wood based

industry, saw milling, furniture making, establishing and operating private nurseries, logging,

and in afforestation programs. Besides this, in the Sundarban region, millions of people

depend on the mangrove forest for their livelihood (e.g. mawali, bawali, fishermen, etc.).

Fuel wood and Non-wood Forest Products

Fuel wood is the major wood product required today in Bangladesh. The country needs over

8.0 million of fuel wood every year. Domestic cooking uses an estimated 63%, which is 5.1

million annually. Industrial and commercial use is also significant, which is 2.9 million

annually. According to the Forestry Master Plan, village households supply about 75% of the

fuel wood in the country, whereas government forests provide the remaining 25%. Due to

limited alternative sources of energy, rural people are mainly dependent on fuel wood for

cooking and other household activities. Of the total fuel wood, nearly 85% is used in rural

areas and 15% in urban areas. The Government of Bangladesh took many initiatives to

provide the consumer an additional supply of fuelwood for the future. In addition, some of the

non-wood forest products (bamboo, cane, sungrass, patipata etc) are also significantly

contributing to the economy and livelihood of the poor.

Environmental Status

Bangladesh has only recently created institutional mechanisms for environmental

management through the Ministry of Environment and Forests and the Department of

Environment. A major issue is how to build the institutional capacity and use existing national

level expertise efficiently in environmental impact assessment, monitoring, and evaluation of


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the forest sector. Environmental issues in Bangladesh differ depending on ecosystems,

habitats, and type of land uses. Major environmental issues in urban and industrial areas are

air pollution of smokes from industries and motor vehicles. Effluents of industries are also

regarded as a serious environmental problem. Erosion of hill soils, silting up of water bodies,

drying up of streams coming from hills, and flush floods are some of the environmental

hazards arising from degradation of forested lands in the hills. Indiscriminate use of chemical

fertilizers and insecticides is another environmental issue and threat to water bodies. Drying

up of water bodies, downing of ground water tables and erratic behavior of monsoons are

some of the indicators of change in climate with likely impact on the environment.

An experience with environmental impact assessment is limited in Bangladesh, and

legislation and policy are weak. Significant training and national capacity building is needed,

within both the Forest and Environment Departments. Effective policy, legislation, and

implementation mechanisms for conservation, protected area management, wildlife

management and biodiversity are poorly developed in the country. Owing to large population

and limited resources, Bangladesh cannot afford not to fully utilize its limited resources. The

problem is how to manage renewable resources without depleting them or their productive

capacities. Past and present forest resource use and exploitation patterns, if allowed to

continue, will result in further severe depletion of the growing stock and reduce flora and

fauna resources. These past exploitation patterns are not sustainable. The remaining natural

forests in the country may be exploited without causing irreversible and permanent damage to

the natural heritage of the country.

Agricultural Situation

Agriculture remained the driving force behind the economic growth of Bangladesh during the

20th Century and would continue to remain for years in the 21st Century. Agriculture is the

single largest producing sector of the economy since it generates about 30% of the country's

GDP and employing around 60% of the total labor force. The performance of this sector has

an overwhelming impact on major macroeconomic objectives like employment generation,

poverty alleviation, human resources development and food security. Meeting the nation's

food requirements remains the key-objective of the government and in recent years there has

been substantial increase in grain production. However, due to calamities like flood, loss of

food and cash crops is a recurring phenomenon which disrupts the continuing progress of the

entire economy.

Agricultural holdings in Bangladesh are generally small. Through cooperatives the use of

modern machinery is gradually gaining popularity. Rice, jute, sugarcane, potato, pulses,

wheat, tea and tobacco are the principal crops. The crop sub-sector dominates the agriculture

sector contributing about 72% of the total production. Fisheries, livestock and forestry sub-

sectors have a share of 10.33%, 10.11% and 7.33%, respectively.

Bangladesh is the world’s largest producer of jute. Rice being the principle staple food, its

production is of major importance. Rice production stood at 20.3 million tons in the 1996-97

fiscal years. Crop diversification programs, credit, extension and research, and input


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distribution policies pursued by the government are yielding positive results. The country is

now at the threshold of attaining self sufficiency in food grain production.

Present Forest Management

Forest management today is almost totally different from the past in respect of its objectives

and philosophy. Present-day forest management objectives are not only to produce timber but

also to provide clean air, clean water, and a healthy habitat for wildlife and to act as a major

harbor of biodiversity and nature based tourism. The present philosophy is to involve people

in the management of forest resources and create an environment so that people can feel that

they have also a share on trees growing on forestland as well as to improve the living standard

of people residing in the vicinity of the forest.

Present-day forest management is primarily guided by the Forestry Master Plan (FMP)

completed in 1993 with the assistance of ADB, UNDP and FAO. The objectives of present-

day forest management are adopted following the FMP and include:

• Enhancing environmental preservation and conservation;

• Introducing rational forest land use;

• Increasing public participation and benefit from the forest;

• Creating forests on marginal and private lands;

• •Institutional strengthening;

• Improving management practices;

• Improving the efficiency of resource utilization.

Recent Improvement in Management Practices

Inventories were carried out of all major forest formations in the country except the forests in

Chittagong Hill Tracts. This has provided the necessary database for using quantitative

information for preparing more comprehensive management plans for different forests. Small

units of uniform tree crops have been identified and information on these units was recorded

and processed by the Forest Department with the help of a computer based Resources

Information Management System (RIMS).

It has been possible to develop volume and yield functions for all major plantation species

and volume functions for major species in natural forests. Based on these data long-term yield

forecasts were made possible. A new working plan format has been devised in order to

incorporate available information in the future management plans. An annual plan of

operation is included as part of the management plan. In recent years, there has been a

substantial shift in emphasis in forestry and forest management from maximizing yield

towards maximizing sustainability through increased participation of local population,

conserving biodiversity and maintaining forest services (www.bforests.gov.bd). Present

management systems have evolved from the past ones through various modifications in order

to incorporate present objectives into forest management. Some new forest management


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systems have also been added to address new concepts in forest management such as agro-

forestry, homestead plantation, strip plantation, participatory forestry on encroached forest

land, mangrove afforestation on newly accreted land in the coastal areas, and conservation

area management to preserve wildlife habitat and biodiversity.

Degradation of Forests of Bangladesh

There are many forces responsible for forest degradation, collectively and individually and the

trends of these forces are very complex. The major causes of forest degradation in Bangladesh

are agricultural expansion, over-extraction of wood and non-wood resources, infrastructure

development, population growth, deforestation, settlement, urbanization and wrong

management practices.

Deforestation

Deforestation results mainly from agriculture land clearing, principally shifting cultivation.

Other causes include land use changes, encroachments, grazing, fire, uncontrolled and

unscientific commercial logging, and clear felling for plantations, illegal felling and fuel

wood collection, erection of brick fields and expansion of tobacco cultivation in the vicinity

of forests in some hill district. The direct causes are the symptoms or effects of a wide malaise

– poverty, landlessness, economic under-development, implementation of regulations, lack of

land use planning, uncertainties in land tenure system and socio-political instability. The

annual deforestation rate is estimated to be 3.3%. Consequently, per capita forest land is

declining. The impacts and manifestations of such alarming rates of deforestation are

multifaceted.

Forest Degradation Control Mechanisms

Linkage to National and Regional Forest and Land Use Policies

The first National Forest Policy of Bangladesh, which emerged as an independent nation in

1971, was announced in 1979. The salient features of the Forest Policy of 1979 were as

follows:

• Government forests should not be used for non–forestry purposes,

• Timber resources should be increased by establishing large scale plantations,

• Modern technology should be employed for extraction and utilization of forest

products,

• Forest based industries should be set up,

• A cadre of officers should be constituted for managing the forestry sector,

• Steps should be taken to conserve forests and wildlife and utilize the recreational

potential of the forests, and

• Mass motivation should be initiated and technical assistance extended to those

interested in forestry.


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The forest policy was revised in 1994. This policy is extensive, versatile and dynamic in

nature. The issues considered in formulating the Forest Policy of 1994 are as follows:

• People’s welfare principles inscribed in the Constitution of the Peoples Republic of

Bangladesh,

• Long-term and specific roles of the forest sector in the overall socio-economic

development of the country including the environment,

• National policies for the development of agriculture, cottage industries and other

related sectors,

• Decisions and recommendations taken in different international conferences and

conventions,

• The target of 20% of the country’s land under forest cover by the year 2015,

• The importance of urban forestry in reducing pollution in the cities,

• The target of the country’s protected area at 10% of the reserved forest by the year

2015,

• The need to involve women in homestead and farm forestry and participatory

afforestation programs,

• The importance of ecotourism, related to forest and wildlife, and

• Promotion of Government, NGOs and local people working together in order to

achieve self-reliance in forest products and maintenance of the ecological balance.

Hill Forest Planting

The magnitude of deforestation, soil erosion and degradation in the hill forest areas is quite

acute. Immediate steps should therefore be taken to bring such denuded and degraded areas

under vegetation cover in the shortest possible time in order to safeguard the area from utter

ruination. The main aims of the hill forest plantations are to control soil erosion, enhance

watershed and biodiversity, as well as to supply industrial raw materials.

The soil in these hills varies from sandy-loam to coarse sand, acidic and has low base

exchange and water holding capacities. Conspicuous retrogression of the ecosystem is the

result of uncontrolled felling, shifting cultivation and fire leading to large tracts of hills. In

such a situation, plantations of multipurpose tree species can play an important role in

restoring productivity, ecosystem stability and biological diversity of the degraded hills. There

is also increasing evidence that forest plantations can play an important role in harmonizing

long-term forest ecosystem rehabilitation with socio-economic development objectives. Also,

these plantations provide timber, poles, fuel wood and pulpwood and also help to conserve

biodiversity and the environment.

People-oriented Forestry

In order to restore degraded forest lands of Bangladesh, people-oriented forestry was


7

introduced as an alternative to traditional forest management. Active participation in the

management of forest resources was encouraged through these programs. Participation was

successfully created in different degraded forest zones. The Tangail Forest Division is one of

them which belongs to about 49,748 ha or 42% of the moist deciduous forests of Bangladesh.

Stabilization of Newly Accreted Land and Coastal Afforestation

The coastal belt of Bangladesh is about 710 km long, extending along the Bay of Bengal from

the mouth of the Teknaf River in the Southeast to the mouth of the Raimongal River in the

West. Given the protective role of the natural mangroves, the Sundarbans led the Forest

Department to try the establishment of mangrove plantations. Bangladesh is a pioneer country

in coastal afforestation programs. The Forest Department started intensive mangrove

plantations in 1965 with the following purposes:

Protection of coastal life and property from tidal surges and cyclones;

• Conservation and stabilization of newly accreted fragile coastal lands, and

acceleration of further accretion with the ultimate aim of transferring a large part of

this stable land to agriculture;

• Production of timber for fuel wood and industrial use;

• Creation of employment opportunities for isolated rural communities, and

• Development of a suitable environment for wildlife, fish and other estuarine and

marine fauna.

Afforestation programs under different projects funded by ADB and World Bank were

accelerated in 1974 and, by 2001; about 148,526 ha of plantation were established in four

coastal forest divisions. While the potential contribution of coastal plantations towards

mitigating the damages from tidal and storm surges are not disputed, their financial success

will depend on a viable program for utilizing wood products. These mangrove plantations are

sources of timber, poles and firewood, as well as different intangible benefits. They are also

acting as ideal filter of the coastal environment, disaster protector, habitat and breeding

ground for fish and shrimps, pastureland for cattle, habitat for wildlife and locations for

ecotourism.

Unfortunately, destruction and exploitation of mangroves have become an alarming concern

in Bangladesh. Many established plantations have been destroyed due to over exploitation,

conversion to agricultural land, shrimp culture, salt pans, urbanization and other human

interventions and about 50,000 ha of successful plantations are reported to have been

destroyed. Of the coastal plantations, 27% of the area has been eroded and 12% of the area

has been encroached.

Rehabilitation of Degraded Forests through Social Forestry

Social Forestry Programs have been initiated with a view to meet the forest product

requirements of the local population and to reverse the process of ecological and climatic

degradation through proper soil and water conservation and to improve the socio-economic


8

conditions of the rural people. More specifically, the Social Forestry Programs had the

following objectives:

• To meet the needs for fuelwood, small timber, bamboo, fodder and other minor forest

produces on a sustained basis;

• To empower local communities by involving them in the planning, implementation

and benefit distribution of forestry activities in order to cater for local needs;

• To promote self reliance and social equity among local people;

• To provide employment opportunities to the rural population;

• To develop the cottage industries in rural areas;

• To utilize the available land to the best advantage according to its production

capacity;

• To provide efficient soil and water conservation;

• To improve aesthetic value of the area and to meet the recreational needs of the

population.

The ADB funded Community Forestry Project implemented in the seven northern districts

from 1981 to 1987 paved the way for participatory forestry in Bangladesh. Following this

project other ADB funded projects such as the ‘Thana Afforestation and Nursery

Development Project’, and the ‘Green Belt Project’ was implemented. Currently, a country-

wide project funded by WB ‘Sustainable Forests and Livelihood’ (SUFAL) is being

implemented. Major components of this project are: coppice management, Assisted Natural

Regeneration, PA & Wildlife Corridor plantation, Enrichment Plantation, Stand Improvement

with line sowing, Rare & Endangered spp plantation, NTFp, Bamboo plantation, Medicinal

plants etc..

Agroforestry

Agroforestry as a scientific and planned approach to land use has emerged recently. It is a

sustainable management system for land that increases overall production, combines

agricultural crops, tree crops and forest plants and/or animals simultaneously or sequentially,

and applies management practices that are compatible with the cultural practices of the local

population. The potential land available for agroforestry in the country has been identified to

be about 1.51 million ha including 0.27 million ha homesteads land.

Participatory Buffer Zone Plantation

The Forest Department has undertaken a program to conserve and develop about 8,288 ha of

national parks, game reserves and wildlife sanctuaries with local community participation

throughout the country. This program will help in conserving biodiversity, environment, soil,

water and wildlife. The participatory buffer zone plantation is one of the major components of

this program. These plantations will meet the local demand of forest products and also help to

reduce poverty.


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Livelihood Improvement of Tribal People through Participatory Forestry in the CHT

This is an ambitious program of the Forest Department in improving the livelihood of the

tribal people. This is a new program and 124 families were involved under this program. Each

household was provided with 2 ha of land where they developed silvi-agri-horticultural farms.

In addition, 820 ha of block plantations were raised in highly degraded forest areas through

people’s participation in Lama and Bandarban Forest Division.

Homestead Plantation

Under this afforestation program, seedlings of fruit and timber species are distributed at a

subsidized rate to the rural households. This homestead afforestation program earned

widespread popularity in the country. As a result, a huge amount of tree resources was created

at the rural household level. In addition to providing shelter for birds and environmental

conservation, these are supplying families with food, necessary fuel wood and timber.

Bamboo, Cane and Murta Plantation

Bamboo, cane and murta are important raw materials for the cottage industries in Bangladesh.

For this reason, the government raised participatory bamboo, cane and murta plantations

under a development project. About 2,010 ha of bamboo plantations, 3,992 ha of cane

plantations and 784 ha of murta plantations were raised between 1989 and 2005.

Plantation of Medicinal Plants

The demand for herbal medicine has been increasing over the years, as it has very little side

effects. As the country possesses a huge variety of medicinal plants, their conservation and

promotion can contribute tremendously in meeting the future demand of herbal medicine.

More than 500 medicinal plants are naturally found in forests. The Government of

Bangladesh places much emphasis on the afforestation and conservation of medicinal plants.

So far, more than 300 ha have been planted with medicinal plants. The wild source of such

plants is also protected through definite policy guidelines. The medicinal plant marketing in

Bangladesh reported that the total size of the medicinal plant market at wholesale prices was

estimated at some $14 million per annum corresponding to 17,000 tons of products.

Tree Plantation Movement

Tree plantation has now become a social movement. The Government of Bangladesh started

the Tree Planting Movement in 1991 with a huge awareness program consisting of leaflets

and posters, massive print and electronic media campaigns and other activities. In addition,

banks were asked to establish credit lines for setting up nurseries. Since then, every year, tree

planting is carried out nation–wide for three months from 1st June to 31st August.

Rehabilitation Techniques of the Degraded Forest Areas

Plantation Species: Attempts to raise plantations in Bangladesh started in 1871 with Tectona

grandis but remained confined to the CHTs until 1920. In 1921, plantations were extended to

the Cox´s Bazar and Sylhet Forest Divisions.


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The total planted area until 1948 was 4,140 ha with an annual planting rate of 100 to 300 ha.

Tectona grandis was the main species planted because of its high value. Lagerstroemia

speciosa, Swietenia macrophylla, A. chaplasha, Cedrela toona and Syzygium grande were

introduced several years later. The planted area gradually reached 72,000 ha in 1968. The

Forest Department started planting fast-growing species, e.g. Gmelina arborea,

Paraserianthes falcataria and Anthocephalus chinensis in 1974. The plantations were

established on a large scale in the Chittagong Hill Tracts and Sylhet Division to produce

fuelwood. Coastal afforestation was also accelerated by four divisions. Annual planting has

continuously increased and reached a peak of 22,800 ha in 1985, of which coastal plantations

were about 10,000 ha.

Teak has dominated the plantations for industrial wood in the CHT, Cox´s Bazar and Sylhet.

More than 70% of the total plantation in hill forests is composed of teak and has always been

the principal species in plantation programs of Bangladesh. Besides teak, other long-rotation

species planted for industrial purpose are Dipterocarpus turbinatus, Swietenia macrophylla,

Lagerstroemia speciosa, Cedrela toona, Artocarpus chaplasha, and Syzygium grande.

Short-rotation species planted for fuelwood and pulp are Acacia auriculiformis, A. mangium,

Eucalyptus camaldulensis, Gmelina arborea, Paraserianthes falcataria and Anthocephalus

chinensis. Species used in coastal afforestation include Sonneratia apetala, Aviccenia

officinalis, Rhizophora gymnorhiza and Casuarina equisetifolia.

Pulpwood, veneer wood and fuel wood plantations have been established recently. The use of

quality planting material, site preparation and post-establishment maintenance has not been

given adequate attention. Due to budgetary and legal constraints adequate protection of

plantations from fire, grazing, illegal removal and encroachment has not been provided. There

is no clear policy to support homestead plantations.

Increasing Productivity: Unless productivity is dramatically improved, Bangladesh has little

chance to retain its natural forest areas. The correct way to achieve this goal involves several

processes:

• Increase forest productivity on existing and new plantations on barren land;

• Increase productivity by planting open and sparsely covered areas with multipurpose

and non wood species, e.g. fodder, legumes and nitrogen-fixing species;

• Keep coastal areas and char lands in mangroves, creating plantations on accreting

areas, rather than allowing conversion into agricultural land; and

• Prohibit low-technology shrimp farming from further expansion on forest lands.

Recommendations

The following actions are recommended to arrest deforestation and promote sustainable

development of forest resources in the CHTs. The recommended actions also aim at strategic

policy and legal reforms.

• Raising Awareness


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• Land Use Zoning

• Development of Private Forestry

• Restoration and Enrichment Plantation

• Linking Demand and Objective Oriented Planting

• Strengthening of Institutional Capacities

• Development and Promotion of Eco-Tourism

• Promotion of Alternative Income Generation Activities

• Involving Local People in Decision-making Processes

References:

Ali, M.O. 1994. Trees and Environment. In:A.A. Rahman, S. Huq, R. Haider and E.G. Jansen

(eds.), Environment and Development in Bangladesh, vol.II, University Press Limited,

Dhaka.

Badruddoza, K.M. 2001. National AgriculturalResearch System (NARS) – An Overview. In:

M.A. Wadud Mian, F.M. Maniruzzaman, M.A. Sattar, M.A. Aziz Miah, S.K. Paul and K.R.

Haque (eds.) Agricultural Research in Bangladesh in the 20th Century. Bangladesh

Agricultural Research Council & Bangladesh Academy of Agriculture, Dhaka. pp. 3-18.

Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) 1999. Statistical Year Book of Bangladesh. Ministry of

Planning, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh.

Banglapedia. 2003. National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh, Vol. 4, S. Islam (Chief editor),

Asiatic Society of Bangladesh, Nimtali, Bangladesh.

Bhuiyan, A. A. 1997. Agroforestry in Forest Land. In: M.K. Alam, F.U. Ahmed and S.M.

Amin (eds.), Agroforestry: Bangladesh Perspective, pp. 85-97. Bangladesh Agricultural

Research Council, Dhaka.

Choudhury, R.A.1982. Afforestation of denuded hills of Chittagong and Chittagong Hill

Tracts. Proceedings of Second Bangladesh National Conference on Forestry, Dhaka,

Bangladesh. pp.6-18.

Forestry Master Plan (FMP). 1993. Forestry Master Plan, Ministry of Environment and

Forest, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh. UNDP/FAO. BGD/88/025,

Dhaka.

Ghani, A. 1998. Medicinal plants of Bangladesh- Chemical Constituents and Uses. Asiatic

Society of Bangladesh, Dhaka. 460 p.

Hasan, M.K. and A.K.M.A. Alam. 2006. Land degradation situation in Bangladesh and role of

agroforestry. J. Agric. Rural Dev., 4(1&2):19-25.

Hossain, M.K. 1998. Role of Plantation Forestry in the Rehabilitation of Degraded and


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Secondary Hill Forests of Bangladesh.

Iftekhar, M.S. and M.R. Islam. 2004. Managing mangroves in Bangladesh: A strategy

analysis. J. Coast. Conserv., 10:139-146.

Khan, N. A., J. K. Choudhury, K. S. Huda and M. I. Mondal. 2004. An Overview of Social

Forestry in Bangladesh. Forestry Sector Project, Bangladesh Forest Department, 198 pp.

Lamb, D. and M. Tomlinson. 1994. Forest rehabilitation in the Asia-Pacific region. Past

lessons and present uncertainties. J. Trop. For. Sci., 7:157-170.

Momen, R.U., S.M.S. Huda, M.K.Hossain and B.M. Khan. 2006. Economics of the plant

species used in homestead agroforestry on an offshore Sandwip island of Chittagong district,

Bangladesh. J. For. Res., 17(4): 285-288.

Muhammed, N., M. Koike and A.W. Bitter. 2004. Investment analysis of Teak (Tectona

grandis) - a case study on Sylhet forests of Bangladesh. J. For. Planning, 10:77-86.

Muhammed, N., M. Koike, F. Haque, M.S.H. Chowdhury and M.A. Halim. 2007. Assessment

of Teak (Tectona grandis) timber sale and its associated price influencing factors: a case study

on Sylhet forests of Bangladesh. Intl. J. Sustain. Agric. Tech., 3(1):42-48.

National Forest and Tree Resources Assessment (NFA). 2007. National Forest and Tree

Resources Assessment (NFA), BFD/BSRRSO/FAO, Dhaka. 192 p.

Participatory Forestry Newsletter (PFN). 2005. Participatory Forestry Newsletter, Bulletin

No. 4, September 2005, Quarterly Newsletter of Bangladesh Forest Department.

Siddiqi, N.A. 2001. Mangrove Forestry in Bangladesh. Institute of Forestry and

Environmental Sciences, University of Chittagong, Chittagong. pp.201.

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Bangladesh. Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Dhaka. 340 p.


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The Forest Restoration and Rehabilitation in Damrey

Chakthlork Community Forest, Kampang Speu Province,

Cambodia

Meng Loth

Institute of Forest and Wildlife Research and Development

Forestry Administration, Cambodia

I Introduction

Damrey Chakthlork Community Forest have a project under Integrated Forest Ecosystem

Management Planning and Demonstration Project in Greater Mekong Sub-region (Cambodia)

aims to rehabilitate ecological services and product provision of forests in Cambodia through

improvement of community forest management and strengthening state-owned forest

conservation, so as to contribute to sustainable forest management in the Greater Mekong

Sub-region. Improvement of community forest management will be achieved through

developing restoration technologies and demonstrating integrated management models in

Damrey Chakthlork Community Forest (CF), which covers a total CF area of approximately

1,452 hectors.

Community forests, though expected to play important roles in both ecological maintenance

in Lancang-Mekong watershed and product provisions for local communities, are degraded at

different extent due to historical reasons such as shifts of tenure, unclear responsible parties

and unordered uses. To achieve the sustainable community forests management, it is

necessary and urgent to test and develop replicable technologies of reforestation and

silviculture. This project aims to develop specific models and relevant technologies for each

type of degraded forests. A different technique will serve as a model to those who wish to

implement reforestation in a certain type of degraded forest. All 4 models of reforestation

give an integrated technical guidance for community forests management in the region.

The proposed project site for community forest management will be situated in Damrey

Chakthlork Community Forestry (CF). Damrey Chak Thlork is located in Phnom Srouch

district, Kampong Speu province, a national permanent reserved forest and within Prek Thnot

Watershed, one of the tributaries of the Lancang-Mekong basin. Poverty is located mostly in

the northernmost part of Prek Thnot watershed. The downstream part is located in the

southeastern part of the watershed where most of the residential areas are located. This part is

highly urbanized and the most are vulnerable to erosion and flooding. The risks to flooding

increase as surface runoffs increase due to deforestation in the upland areas.

The Community Forestry of Dokpor Village are tropical dry forests comprising of deciduous

and evergreen tree species, such as Dipterocarpus obtusifolius, Pterocarpus macrocarpus,


14

Phyllanthus emblica, Antidesmaghaesembilla in the tree/top layer, Melienthessuavis,

Diospyros ehretioides, Mesuaferrea, Memecylonedule, Catunaregamtomentosa in the shrub

layer, and Curcuma alismatifolia, Scopariadulcis, Ludwigiaadscendens, Costosspeciosus,

Morindatomentosa in the herbaceous layer. Due to intensified harvesting during/after the civil

war, reclaiming land for rice production by destroying forests, continuously cutting of big

trees in normal times, and interrupted grazing, the community forest is degraded. There are

some regenerated seedlings in the forest, but a big proportion of them are root suckers

genetically deteriorated.

Restoration of degraded forestland is one of the most important components for the APFNet

supported project. General objective of Restoration and Sivilcuture Operation Plan is to

formulate detailed operational approaches in both technical and management aspects on forest

restoration and forest management, which can help to generate sustainable flow of benefit to

closely related stakeholders.

Whereas the specific project objectives are:

• to indicate tree species used for rehabilitation of degraded forest;

• to develop appropriate plantation patterns for different site conditions;

A variety of methods can be used to overcome forest degradation. The most common

approach is to simply restore economic productivity. Other alternatives are attempt “complete”

ecological restoration; or have the goal of production gains together with improvements in

biodiversity and ecosystem function.

The specific approaches has advantages and disadvantages, depending on the prevailing

ecological and socio-economic circumstances. To recover ecological functions and forestland

productivity of community forest, it is suggested by consultants that forests need to be

classified into different grades of degradation at first, and then species composition and stand

structure need to be adjusted through reforestation and silviculture treatments. Based on plant

community appearances and internal species compositions, the CF is classified into 4 grades:

• Deforested areas/open areas (which is so degraded that forest regrowth has not

occurred and which is now mostly occupied by grasses and shrubs)

• Severely Degraded forest (resulting from excessive and damaging timber

exploitation);

• Moderately Degraded forest (spontaneously regrowing on land that had been largely

cleared e.g. shifting cultivation);

• Dense forest

For the deforested areas/open areas, new plantation establishment has to be applied to

accelerate restoration process.

The second and third type of degradation is major part in the project site. Land occupied by

woody regrowth that has developed on a site after an earlier disturbance of shifting cultivation.

The site now has some of its former diversity although it is dominated by early succession


15

species and usually has fewer plant or animal species representative of mature forest. The

major forest restoration and rehabilitation activities of the project e.g. enrichment planting

will be carried out in these types of degradation.

For dense forest, it is no more the major problem, but needs tending and thinning so the

natural regrowth will be well performed.

The project will, based on such classification, develop restoration and silviculture models by

using different tree species and technologies. A trial of 16 hectares will be developed for

reforestation demonstration. Each treatment will cover 4 hectares, in which about 1000 m2

are remained as a control.

Fig.1 The layout of four types sites

II Tree Section

2.1 Criteria for Species Selection

1) In accordance with management objectives. Species used for the project should be support

to fulfill the project objectives of exploring and demonstrating effective approaches on

forest restoration and forest management, which can help to generate sustainable flow of

benefit to closely related stakeholders. Therefore, selected tree species should have dual

functions of ecological and economic benefits.

2) Site adaption must be guaranteed. Native species is encouraged. While some exotic

species with high market value are also preferred. For water-logged ground, it is

suggested to plant water-resistant native species.

3) Quality of plant material must be secured. Height of the seedling for transplanting must be

greater than 40cm.

4) Container seedling is required to ensure survival rate of young trees.

2.2 Introduction to Tree Species Selected

Based on the landscape situation and in line with criteria mentioned above, tree species of


16

Pterocarpus macrocarpus, Dalbergia cochinchinensis, Dalbergia oliveri, Cassia siamea,

Tectona grandis, Dalbergia bariensis, Dipterocarpus intricatus and Dipterocarpus

obtusifolius were selected for restoration and sivilculture treatment.

1) Pterocarpus macrocarpus

P. macrocarpus, is a tree native to the seasonal tropical forests of southeastern Asia: in

Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam. It has been naturalized in India and the

Caribbean.

P. macrocarpus is a medium-sized tree growing to 10–30 m (rarely to 39 m) tall, with a trunk

up to 1.7 m diameter; it is deciduous in the dry season. The bark is flaky, grey-brown; if cut, it

secretes a red gum. The leaves are 200–350 mm long, pinnate, with 9–11 leaflets. The flowers

are yellow, produced in racemes 50–90 mm long. The fruit is a pod surrounded by a round

wing 45–70 mm diameter, containing two or three seeds. The seasonal padauk flowers bloom

annually around April.

The wood is durable and resistant to termites; it is important, used for furniture, construction

timber, cart wheels, tool handles, and posts; it is listed as rosewood.

Pterocarpus macrocarpus leaves & flowers, collected Chonburi, Thailand

2) Dalbergia cochinchinensis

Dalbergia cochinchinensis, the Thailand rosewood, Siamese rosewood, or tracwood is a

species of legume in the Fabaceae family.

It is a threatened tree yielding valuable hardwood found in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and

Vietnam. Conservationists project that the species could be extinct within 10 years (by 2026).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seasonal_tropical_forest

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myanmar

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laos

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambodia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tree

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deciduous

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dry_season

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bark_(botany)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leaf

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flower

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raceme

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fruit

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legume

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seed

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Termite

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosewood


17

Dalbergia cochinchinensis seedlings

3) Dalbergia oliveri

Dalbergia oliveri is a species of legume in the Fabaceae family which grows in tree form to

15 – 30 meters in height (up to 100 ft.). The fruit is a green pod containing one to two seeds

which turn brown to black when ripe. The trees are found in Myanmar, Thailand, Laos,

Cambodia, and Vietnam. It's threatened by habitat loss and over-harvesting for its valuable red

lumber.

The wood of this rosewood-family tree is valuable for ornamental work including

Woodturning and furniture. The sapwood is yellowish-white with dark brown heartwood. The

heartwood is very hard and heavy. The lumber is sold under the names Burmese rosewood,

Laos rosewood, Asian rosewood.

4) Cassia siamea

Senna siamea, also known as Siamese cassia, kassod tree, cassod tree and Cassia tree is a

legume in the subfamily Caesalpinioideae. It is native to South and Southeast Asia, although

its exact origin is unknown.

It is a medium-size, evergreen tree growing up to 18 m with beautiful yellow flowers. It is

often used as shade tree in cocoa, coffee and tea plantations. In Thailand it is the provincial

tree of Chaiyaphum Province and some places in the Thailand are named after it.

Leaves are alternate, pinnately compound, with slender, green-reddish, tinged axis and 6 to 12

pairs of leaflets on short stalks, rounded at both ends.

This plant has medicinal value and it contains a compound named Barakol. The leaves, tender

pods and seeds are edible, but they must be previously boiled and the water discarded. They

are used in Burmese and also in Thai cuisine where one of the most well-known preparations

is Kaeng khilek (Thai: แกงข้ีเหล็ก).


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Other uses include as fodder plant, in intercropping systems, windbreaks, and shelter belts. As

a hardwood, it is used for ornamentation on instruments (ukeleles and guitars) and decorative

products. In this capacity it is known as Pheasantwood or Kolohala, named for the similarity

of the grain to pheasant feathers. It is sometimes used in Chinese furniture (known as

Jichimu) interchangeably with wood from the Ormosia species.

Kassod(Senna siamea) in Kolkata, West Bengal, India

5) Tectona grandis

Tectona grandis(teak) is a tropical hardwood tree species placed in the flowering plant family

Lamiaceae. Tectona grandis is a large, deciduous tree that occurs in mixed hardwood forests.

It has small, fragrant white flowers and large papery leaves that are often hairy on the lower

surface. It is sometimes known as the "Burmese teak". Teak wood has a leather-like smell

when it is freshly milled. It is particularly valued for its durability and water resistance, and is

used for boat building, exterior construction, veneer, furniture, carving, turnings, and other

small wood projects. Tectona grandis is native to south and southeast Asia, mainly India, Sri

Lanka, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar and Bangladesh but is naturalized and

cultivated in many countries in Africa and the Caribbean. Myanmar's teak forests account for

nearly half of the world's naturally occurring teak. It produces small, white flowers arranged

in dense clusters (panicles) at the end of the branches. Flowers contain both types of

reproductive organs (perfect flowers)

Teak is a large, long, deciduous tree up to 40 m (131 ft) tall with gray to grayish brown

branches. These are mostly known for their finest quality wood. Leaves are ovate-elliptic to

ovate, 15–45 cm (5.9–17.7 in) long by 8–23 cm (3.1–9.1 in) wide, and are held on robust

petioles which are 2–4 cm (0.8–1.6 in) long. Leaf margins are entire. Fragrant white flowers

are borne on 25–40 cm (10–16 in) long by 30 cm (12 in) wide panicles from June to August.

The corolla tube is 2.5–3 mm long with 2 mm wide obtuse lobes. Tectona grandis sets fruit

from September to December; fruits are globose and 1.2-1.8 cm in diameter. Flowers are

weakly protandrous in that the anthers precede the stigma in maturity and pollen is shed

within a few hours of the flower opening. The flowers are primarily entomophilous (insect-

pollinated), but can occasionally be anemophilous (wind-pollinated). A 1996 study found that

in its native range in Thailand, the major pollinator were species in the bee genus Ceratina.


19

Heartwood of teak is yellowish in color. It darkens as it ages. Sometimes there are dark

patches on it. There is a leather-like scent in newly cut wood. Sapwood is whitish to pale

yellowish brown in color. It can easily separate from heartwood. Wood texture is hard and

ring porous. Density is 720 kg/m3.

Sagwan Tectona grandis in Kolkata, West Bengal, India Teak leaves.

6) Dalbergia bariensis

Dalbergia bariensis is a species of rosewood tree in the Fabaceae family. It is found in

lowland and sub-mountain broadleaved forests in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam. It

has been called "Burmese rosewood" but has not been recorded from that economy.

As with other rosewoods, this species is threatened by overexploitation for its valuable timber.

Dalbergia bariensis

7) Dipterocarpus intricatus

Dipterocarpus intricatus (Khmer: tra:ch, tra:chsa, tra:chsnaèng, tra:chsra) is a species of tree

in the family Dipterocarpaceae found in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. The tree,

itself deciduous, is found in dense deciduous forests and clear forests. It is often met in pure

stands in deciduous, periodically flooded lowland forests, but can also be found in dense

forest at up to 1300m altitude. In Thailand it sometimes occurs growing gregariously with D.

obtusifolious, D. tuberculatus, Shorearobustaand S. siamensis, sometimes in pure stands

forming the climatic dry deciduous dipterocarp forest. This forest type covered a large area of

eastern, north-eastern and northern Thailand, from peneplain at 150-300m elevations to slope


20

and ridges up to 1300m above sea level. It does also occur in lowland dipterocarp forest (0-

350m) in Thailand. In Vietnam, it is described as common in dry forests. The tree prefers

poor, sandy and lateritic soils derived from granitic and sandstone formations. Seedlings

develop hardy rootstock and thick rough bark on the stout stem, affording fire-protection in

the ground-fire prone early hot dry season. Coppicing occurs freely up to a moderate size. In

Thailand leaves are shed from November, defoliation is complete by February, with leaf

starting at this time, or sometimes a little before. Flowering occurs from February to April,

fruiting from April to May, though in certain areas or some years with a late rainy season

these periods start up to 3 months earlier. The species grows from 15 to 30m tall.

The fruit has 2 prominent, elongated, netted wings, 6–8 cm long x 1.5–2 cm wide, on top of

an ovoid or ellipsoid fruit-body, 1.5–2 cm long x 1-1.5 cm wide, with undulate ribs, 2-3mm

wide.

In Cambodia the resin is mainly used in torch-preparation, while the red-brown wood is

"appreciated" for cart and house construction. Sold as "fancy wings" in the potpourri

trade.The genus Nanophyes is associated with seed predation of D. intricatus.

Dipterocarpus intricatus

8) Dipterocarpus obtusifolius

Dipterocarpus obtusifolius is a common species of tree in the family Dipterocarpaceae found

throughout Southeast Asia, including AndamanIslands, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos

and Vietnam. Three varieties have been published: var. subnudus Ryan & Kerr; var.

glabricalyx Smitinand; and var. vestitus (Wall. ex Dyer) Smitinand. While legitimate, these

varieties are as yet of low confidence level. The variety D. obtusifolius var. subnudus differed

by having completely hairless leaves and is found only in the south of Cambodia, Vietnam

and Thailand.

Trees are large, up to 30m tall, grow in dry Dipterocarp forest, and the red brown wood is

used in general construction. In Cambodia, the resin from the tree is used to make torches,

drinking water was obtained by cutting young stalks and the wood gave boards regarded as

non-durable in construction, while in some areas of the Kompong Chhnang Province it is an

important firewood source.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dipterocarpaceae

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southeast_Asia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andaman_Islands

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myanmar

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thailand

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambodia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laos

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kompong_Chhnang_Province


21

Dipterocarpus obtusifolius

III Restoration and Sivilculture Design

3.1 Restoration of Deforested Area/Open Area

In this area, the project will plant with native valuable timber tree species of Pterocarpus

macrocarpus, Dalbergia cochinchinensis, Dalbergia oliveri, and Tectona grandis.

Each tree species is planted with a total area of 1 hectare, in total of 4 hectares or 4 blocks.

Planting density for above tree species is 2×3 m, 3×3 m, 3×3 m, and 3×4 m, respectively. That

means seedlings of each tree species required is 1,667 seedlings of Pterocarpus macrocarpus,

1,111 seedlings of Dalbergia cochinchinensis, 1,111 seedlings of Dalbergia oliveri, and 833

seedlings of Tectona grandis. Though a total of 4,722 seedlings are required in the deforested

area, a ground total of 6,000 seedlings will be produced considering the allowance for

mortality.

For low-lying land, it will plant water-resistant species such as Dipterocarpus intricatus and

Dipterocarpus obtusifolius scatterly, according to the landscape. The two species requires

about 1880 seedlings planting in the low-lying land, and 2260 seedlings in total considering

the allowance for mortality.

3.2 Restoration of Severely Degraded Forest

Firewood plantations will be practiced in Severely Degraded Forest using tree species of

Cassia siamea.

For original forest, dominant trees with straight trunks in the tree layer will be remained,

while small trees, shrubs and weeds under remnant trees are cleared out. The size of pit for

planting is 40×40×30 cm. The density for planting is 1×2 m, which means a total of 20,000

seedlings or 5,000 seedlings per hector or per block. (i.e. at 5,000 seedlings/ha) required. Each

pit is applied with 50g of compound fertilizer. A technical manual for firewood plantation

management in the CF will also be produced at the end of the project. Field planting will be

carried using 1-year-old seedlings.


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3.3 Restoration of Moderately Degraded Forest

The management of moderately degraded sites will involve multistory management using

pepper and other rosewood tree species such as Pterocarpus macrocarpus and Dalbergia

cochinchinensis.

For the site preparation, vigorous high-value trees with straight trunks will be maintained

while untargeted trees will be cleared out in the moderately degraded forest.

The seedlings of premium timber (Dalbergia and Pterocarpus) will be planted at 4m x 4m.

This will require a total of 2,500 rosewood seedlings (at 625 seedlings/ha).

3.4 Silviculture treatment in Dense Forest

Overly crowded or clustered trees, such as Dipterocarpus, rosewood tree species, etc., should

be thinned, and root sprouted suckers of Dipterocarpus species should conduct tending. For

enrichment planting in forest gap, tree species such as Pterocarpus macrocarpus, Dalbergia

cochinchinensis, and Diptercarpus species will be planted.

The management of forest ecosystem in Dense Forest is mainly about tending, thinning and

enrichment planting, so as to speed up the succession progress of forest community and exert

its due functions.

3.4.1 Technical Parameters

1) Thinning the overly crowded or clustered trees, such as Dipterocarpus, rosewood tree

species, etc., so as to keep the spacing in 4×3m;

2) Tending on the root sprouted suckers of Dipterocarpus species, through which each

cluster will be kept with a top edge and the strongest sprout seedling;

3) Enrichment planting in forest gap with an area more than 15 m2, using tree species such

as Pterocarpus macrocarpus, Dalbergiacochinchinensis, and Diptercarpus species. The

planting density is 3×3 m;

4) Tending on naturally regenerated rosewood saplings such as Pterocarpus macrocarpus

and Dalbergia cochinchinensis, through clearance of surrounding shrubs and application

of 100 g of compound fertilizer for each sapling. The estimated number required is 2,000

seedlings (at 500 seedlings/ha).


23

The Natural Forest Protection Project to Restore China’s

Forestland and The Analysis of Its Achievements in

Southwest China

Qingli Han

Associate Professor, College of Biodiversity Conservation

Southwest Forestry University, China

Abstract: Natural forests are an important part of the forest ecosystem. China's natural forest

area accounts for 80% of its total forest resources, comprising the main body of China's forest

resources. Before 1998, China's natural forests were seriously damaged and degraded. After

that, China implemented the Natural Protection Project (NFPP, Tianbao for short), aiming to

protect and restore natural forests in many ways, including improving the service function of

the forest ecosystem and promoting the improvement of the whole ecological environment.

Tianbao Phase I Project has achieved remarkable results. The natural forest area has steadily

increased year by year. Other achievements include the successful transformation of forest

management ideas, the diversification of the forest industrial structure, the pace of ecological

construction, and the broadening of forest employment channels. This paper also analyzes the

effect of the Tianbao project in Southwest China, which provides the theoretical and practical

basis for the efficient implementation of the second phase of the Tianbao project.

China is located in the east of Asia and west of the Pacific Ocean, with a land area of

960×104km

2, making it the largest economy in Asia. According to the eighth national

inventory of forest resources (2014), China's forest area is 2.08×108hm

2, and the forest

coverage rate is 21.63%, ranking fifth in the world in terms of forest area, sixth in terms of

forest stock volume, and first in terms of plantation area. However, the forest coverage rate,

per capita forest area and stock volume are lower than the world average.

Natural forest is a zonal forest vegetation with trees as the main component under the

comprehensive action of certain climate and soil conditions. Natural forest is the main body

of the forest ecosystem. The natural forest area of China is 12.184 million hm2, accounting for

80% of the total forest area and 12.296 billion m3 forest accumulation which accounts for 92%

of the total forest accumulation (State Forestry Administration, 2005). Before 1998, long-term

excessive logging and unreasonable management led to a sharp drop in natural forest

resources, ecological function degradation and serious ecological economic consequences.

After the devastating floods of 1998, China began to carry out a pilot of the Natural Forest

Protection Project in the key state-owned forest region. In October 2000, the state council

approved the “Implementation plan of the Natural Forest Resources Protection Project in the

upper reaches of the Yellow River and the middle reaches of the Yangtze River” and the


24

“Implementation plan of the Natural Forest Resources Protection Project of key state-owned

forest regions in the Northeast Region and Inner Mongolia”. The original plan was to carry

out the whole Natural Forest Resources Protection Project from 2000 to 2010.

I Overview of Natural Forest Protection Project

The Natural Forest Resources Protection Project (NFPP), is an important forestry effort in

ecological engineering with great significance for safeguarding national timber security and

ecological security, tackling climate change and ensuring forest region social stability, and it

has been carried out through actions including setting orderly limits on cutting, banning

logging of natural forest resources, protecting the cultivation of natural forest, and improving

and protecting people’s livelihood in the forest region.

(1) Project scope

The forestry area of the engineering district covers an area of 124 million hm2, including 68

million hm2 of forestland (state forestry administration, 2005), which covers 734 counties and

167 forestry bureaus in 18 provinces (districts and cities) of key state-owned forest areas of

the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, the upper and middle reaches of the Yellow River and

northeast Inner Mongolia. The upper reaches of the Yangtze River are bounded by the Three

Gorges Reservoir Area, including 6 provinces (districts and cities) of Yunnan, Sichuan,

Guizhou, Chongqing, Hubei and Tibet. The upper and middle reaches of the Yellow River are

bounded by Xiaolangdi Reservoir Area, including 7 provinces (districts) of Shaanxi, Gansu,

Qinghai, Ningxia, Inner Mongolia, Shanxi and Henan, Northeast Inner Mongolia and other

key state-owned forest areas including Jilin, Heilongjiang, Inner Mongolia, Hainan and

Xinjiang.

(2) Project objectives

Short-term targets (by the year 2000) : Reduce the output of natural forests.Strengthen the

construction and protection of ecological public welfare forests and settle and disperse

redundant laborproperly. Stop the forest cutting of ecological public welfare forests

designated in the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River and the Yellow River.

Adjust and reduce the amount of natural forest resources in the state-owned forest areas in

Northeast China and Inner Mongolia. Strictly control the consumption of timber, and put an

end to excessive logging. Through the development of forest management and protection,

afforestation and conversion projects, the surplus labor caused by the reduction of timber

production will be settled, and all retirees will be included in the social pooling of provincial

endowment insurance, so that the existing natural forest resources will be initially protected

and restored, and the deterioration trend of ecological environment will be alleviated.

Medium-term goal (by 2010): Develop and protect ecological public welfare forests,

implement conversion projects, cultivate reserve resources, improve timber supply capacity,

restore and develop the economy. Facilitate the transition of wood-produce form based on

harvesting and utilization of natural forests to artificial forests. The contradiction between

population, environment and resources will be mostly alleviated.


25

Long-term goal (by 2050) : Natural forest resources will be fundamentally restored, wood

production will basically be based on artificial forests, and a relatively complete forest

ecological forestry system and reasonable industrial forestry system will be established in

forest areas giving full play to the important role of forestry in the sustainable development of

the national economy and society.

(3) Progress of the project

The Tianbao project has a huge scale of investment, with a total investment of 180.21 billion

yuan by 2014, of which 88.2% is from the state. After nearly 18 years of project construction,

it has exerted a far-reaching impact on the restoration and protection of natural forest

resources, ecological construction and sustainable economic and social development of state-

owned forest areas in China.

By 2005, the project to protect natural forest resources had been implemented for seven years,

with a total of 4.3282 million ha of barren mountains afforested and 8.8496 million ha of

newly closed mountains cultivated. The annual forest management area has remained at about

90 million ha. The accumulatively less wood was cut: 138.025 million m3 (calculated

according to the starting year within the scope of the project, 1997, 32.0554 million m3), and

less forest stock was consumed: 252.0713 million m3. Of 740,000 surplus workers, 660,000

surplus workers have been resettled by redistribution accounting for 89.19% of the total

number of resettled workers. The social and economic benefit monitoring results of 44

Natural Forest Protection Project sample counties and 30 sample forest industry enterprises

showed that the forest resources in the project area continued to increase, the area of soil

erosion continued to be reduced, and the ecological control achieved initial results. From

1997 to 2004, the forest area of 44 sample counties increased from 4.8534 million ha to

5.2888 million ha, with an increase of 8.97%. The area of soil erosion decreased by 17.53%

from 6.9212 million ha to 5.7078 million ha. The forest area of 30 forest industry enterprises

increased from 6.7672 million ha to 8.0636 million ha, with an increase of 19.15%. Forest

accumulation showed a trend of first decline and then growth. In 2004, it increased by

13.6883 million m3, or 1.46% more than that in 2003.

At present, with the completion of nearly half of the second phase of the Tianbao project

(2011-2020), the policy of stopping the cutting of natural forest resources in the key state-

owned forest region of Northeast China and Inner Mongolia has been fully implemented, the

revitalization of the state-owned forest region and economic and social transformation have

been carried out, the plans for ecological protection and economic transformation in the

greater and lesser Xingan mountains are making steady progress.

The state forestry administration of China has specially formulated several sets of industrial

standards for the evaluation of the Tianbao project, and relevant departments regularly issue

monitoring reports on the economic and social benefits of the Tianbao project. In recent years,

Chinese academic circles have also carried out extensive studies evaluating the significant

ecological, social and economic benefits of the Tianbao Project.


26

II Achievements of the Tianbao Project

(1) Changes in the forestry business model

The forestry management in the project area is changing from wood production to forest

protection and development, and the restoration and growth of forest resources are

accelerating. 13 provinces (districts and cities) in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River and

the upper middle reaches of the Yellow River had completely stopped commercial logging of

natural forests by 2000. The timber production of key state-owned forest areas in Northeast

China and Inner Mongolia was reduced from 18.53 million m3 in 1997 to 11.98 million m

3 in

2000.The annual net growth of forest resources in the project province reached 277 million

m3, accounting for 62% of the total growth in China. The ratio of total growth to total

consumption has changed from 1:0.83 in 1997 to 1:0.73 now. Through the implementation of

the project, forestry management began to implement strategic adjustment, forest resource

recovery and rapid growth, ecological priority, the forestry management model of three

benefits and these practices are becoming the consensus of the whole society.

(2) Adjustment of the industrial structure in forest areas

The economy of forest areashas changed from timber management to diversified management.

Many places make full use of the rich natural resources in forest areas, actively developing

non-forest and non-wood industries, implementing comprehensive development and

utilization, vigorously cultivating new economic growth points, and diversifying the forestry

economy. The Qinghe Forestry Bureau of Heilongjiang Province has vigorously promoted

forest management and protection contracting, carried out diversified management, extended

the timber industry chain, and actively developed the tertiary industry. The total social output

value has increased from 1.5 billion yuan in 1997 to 240 million yuan in 2000, and the

average annual income of employees has increased from 1,700 yuan to 4,800 yuan. The

Xiaolongshan Bureau of Experimental Forestry of Gansu province strengthened the

development of a forest eco-tourism base, with an investment of more than 13 million yuan,

established Maiji National Forest Park, and improved service facilities for tourism. In 2000,

tourism income reached more than 4 million yuan.

(3) Accelerating the pace of ecological restoration

The pace of ecological restoration has been greatly accelerated by the transformation of

vegetation restoration from simple afforestation to planting with management. In recent years,

many provinces (districts) have seized the opportunity to the implement the Tianbao Project

and the speed of afforestation has obviously increased. In just a few years, environmental

conditions have significantly improved with formerly barren mountains now covered with

green trees, further ecological deterioration curbed effectively and soil erosion reduced. The

Tianbao Project of Hainan is an example of the successful adoption of the operation mode of

"company + forest farm.” The company provided afforestation funds, technology and

management, and the forest farm provided land and labor.


27

(4) Expanding employment channels in forest regions

After the implementation of the Tianbao Project in their forest areas, all regions have been

making full use of regional advantages and resource advantages, vigorously developing

tourism, planting, breeding, processing and other industries, and actively developing the

individual economy, private economy and other non-public economies. Now, the channels of

employment and income of forest area workers has been expanded and got great progress

have been made by changing from a reliance on "big wood" to seeking economic benefits

through multivariate pathways.

(5) Transforming of the enterprise system in forest regions

The Natural Forest Protection Project has promoted the transformation of enterprises from the

traditional management system to the modern enterprise system and injected vitality into the

development of enterprises. The implementation of Tianbao Project forced forest industry

enterprises to change the traditional management system centered on timber production, and

provided opportunities for forest industry enterprises to accelerate the establishment of the

modern enterprise system. In accordance with the principles of maintaining clearly-

established control, clarifying responsibilities, separating government functions from

enterprise management and employing scientific management, enterprise gradually became

independent, self-financing, self-developed, self-restrained legal entity and market-oriented

operation by intensifying reform, asset restructuring, transforming management mechanisms,

and carrying out market-oriented operations. By separating enterprise from administration,

Jilin Logging Industry Group seized the opportunity of the Tianbao project by giving full play

to the advantages of the group and strengthening the enterprise economy by establishing a

system for investors and by implementation a listing, financing and brand strategy.

III Effectiveness Analysis of Tianbao Project in Southwest Region

As the key areas of the Tianbao Project, the four provinces of the Southwest, based on the

provincial boundaries, from west to east and north to south, include Sichuan, Chongqing, the

central and northern forest areas of Guizhou, the north, central and eastern forest areas of

Yunnan as well as Xishuangbanna and Wenshan forest areas, with a total area of 930,000 km2,

account for about 1/10 of China's territory (figure 1). In the Southwest forest region, the

second-largest forest area in China, the plants Anemoclema, Dipoma, Davidia involucrate,

Cycas panzhihuaensis and Alsophila spinulosa have been included in the state council's list of

national key protected wild plants. In addition, rare animals such as the Yunnan golden

monkey (Pygathrix roxellanae), the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), the green peacock

(Pavo muticus) and the Indian bison (Bos gaurus) are also endemic. Importantly, Yunnan is

an international distribution center of magnolias, and the northwest and southeast of Yunnan

are two distribution centers of endemic genera of seed plants in China. The four provinces

and cities of Southwest China are research hotspots of international biodiversity. Correct

achievement assessment of natural forest protection in this region is of great scientific

significance to further improve regional ecological protection and management


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Fig. 1 Geographic position of the natural forest protection project areas in Southwest China

(1) Changes of vegetation coverage distribution pattern in southwest Tianbao Project

area

Vegetation coverage is not only the most important index to measure vegetation conditions on

the ground, but also an important index to reflect the environmental change of the regional

ecosystem. The average annual vegetation coverage in the Tianbao engineering area increased

from 60.70% in 2000 to 61.18% in 2014, maintaining a fluctuating climb. The average annual

vegetation coverage in the Tianbao engineering area was over 60%, making it a relatively

high vegetation coverage area (figure 2).

Fig. 2 Trend of the annual mean vegetation coverage in the natural forest protection

project areas in Southwest China from 2000 to 2014

During the implementation of the first phase of the Tianbao Project (2000-2010), the

vegetation coverage increase was not significant. Except for over 60% in 2000, the other

years were all less than 60%, and the lowest was 56.42% in 2005. During the implementation

of phase ii of the Tianbao project, vegetation coverage increased significantly, reaching the

maximum value (63.13%) in 2013. On the whole, the conservation effect in this area was

remarkable.

The proportion changes of vegetation cover areas of different grades in the southwest region


29

are shown in table 1.Vegetation growth was good in the region, dominated by medium and

high vegetation coverage areas, and the annual growth rate was the highest, with the

proportion of medium and high vegetation coverage areas reaching 55.89% at the end of the

study. The proportion of the area covered by medium vegetation decreased significantly, from

29.36% at the beginning of the study to 24.21% at the end of the study. The proportion of

areas covered by high vegetation increased significantly, especially 12.14% in 2013, but

decreased in 2014. During the study period, the area of low and medium vegetation cover

increased, accounting for 12% of the area of the engineering area.

Table 1 Proportion of vegetation covered area in the natural forest protection project

areas in southwest China relative to grade of protection

year proportion of vegetation cover areas of different grades

low low to medium medium medium to high high

2000 1.93 8.25 29.37 53.4 7.05

2001 3.81 11.88 33.5 46.8 4.01

2002 3.59 12.98 27.41 50.79 5.23

2003 3.57 12.22 30.06 49.43 4.72

2004 3.74 11.34 28.09 52.43 4.4

2005 4.41 12.71 32.27 48.15 3

2006 3.41 11.9 27.82 52.09 4.77

2007 3.65 12.75 23.1 54.48 6.02

2008 4.27 12.72 24.53 53.95 4.53

2009 3.31 11.74 27.1 53.68 4.17

2010 3.19 10.55 28.46 53.68 4.12

2011 3.25 10.61 25.52 51.3 9.32

2012 3.51 11.25 31.1 49.56 4.58

2013 2.59 8.81 22.65 53.81 12.14

2014 2.87 9.65 24.21 55.89 7.38

The rate of annual area change in low, medium low, medium，medium high and high

vegetation cover areas was 0.06, 0.09, 0.34, 0.17 and 0.02 respectively

The spatial distribution of vegetation coverage of all levels in southwest China is shown in

figure 3: (1) The vegetation coverage distribution at all levels is distinct, and some areas in

Sichuan basin and western Chongqing are mostly artificial land. (2) The overall vegetation

coverage in Chongqing and Guizhou forest areas is relatively high, and there are few areas

with low vegetation coverage; (3) The vegetation coverage of the Yunnan forest region is the

second highest, and some low-vegetation coverage areas can be seen sporadically , especially

some forest regions in western and central Yunnan; (4) The distribution of vegetation cover

in the Sichuan forest area is the most complex. Around the Sichuan basin in south and

northeastern Sichuan, forest vegetation conditions are good, but there are large areas of low

vegetation cover in central and western Sichuan. Because western and northwestern Sichuan

belong to the Qinghai-Tibet plateau, most of the vegetation is grassland and desert grassland

and the vegetation coverage is inevitably weaker. However, the overall vegetation distribution

in the Tianbao engineering area is dominated by high vegetation coverage.

It can be seen that during the implementation of the Tianbao Project, vegetation coverage in


30

the Southwest forest area generally has been moving in a good direction, with a decrease in

the medium vegetation coverage area and a significant increase in the medium and high

vegetation coverage areas. The Tianbao Project has achieved remarkable results, but there is

still room for the development of vegetation coverage in the region.

Fig. 3 Spatial distribution of vegetation cover in the natural forest protection project

areas in Southwest China in the end of the study period relative to grade of protection

(2) Change trend of vegetation coverage in Southwest Tianbao Project area

Researchers used correlation analysis to simulate the variation trend of annual vegetation

coverage in Tianbao Project area during the study period, and counted the variation area and

the proportion of different variation trend area to the total area of Tianbao Project area (table

2).

Annual average vegetation coverage in Tianbao project area increased significantly, and the

growth condition and quality of vegetation in most areas were improved to a large extent. The

area where the annual average vegetation coverage has increasesd significantly is about

126,000 km2,

accounting for 17.90% of the total changing area of the whole region.

Meanwhile in nearly 50% of the areas in the Tianbao Project area, the annual average

vegetation coverage is in a state of no significant increase. The annual average vegetation

coverage of the Tianbao Project area during the study period is 66.92%.

Table 2 Proportion of the area with changed annual mean vegetation coverage to the

total of the natural forest protection project areas from 2000 to 2014

annual coverage change area /km2

proportion of total area of NFPP

/%

significant increase 126045.6 17.9

insignificant increase 345091.8 49.02

no change 1793 0.26


31

insignificantly decrease 200172.1 28.51

significant decrease 30368.4 4.31

As can be seen from figure 4, the areas where the annual average vegetation coverage

increased significantly during the study period were wide, but the distribution was uneven.

Fig. 4 Spatial distribution of significant changes in annual mean vegetation coverage in

the natural forest protection project areas in Southwest China from 2000 to 2014

The regions with significantly increased annual mean coverage are mainly distributed in the

forest areas of northeast Chongqing, the border forest areas of southern Chongqing and

northern Guizhou, the forest areas of northeast Sichuan and some areas south of Sichuan, the

forest areas of northern Yunnan and central Yunnan, and especially the border forest areas of

Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan.

Regarding changes of vegetation cover in each province, more than 17% of the regions in

Chongqing and Guizhou have significantly increased coverage. Yunnan province followed

with 9.7 percent. On the one hand, Sichuan province has a large forest area; on the other hand,

in Sichuanonly 8.9% of the forest areas have achieved a significant increase in annual

vegetation coverage which is not as dense as Chongqing, Guizhou and Yunnan.

Meanwhile, during the study period, only 4.31% of the total area of the Tianbao engineering

area had a significant reduction in annual vegetation coverage. In terms of spatial distribution,

significantly enlarged areas were relatively concentrated, mainly in the forest areas of the

Hengduan Mountains in southwest Sichuan, northwest and central Yunnan, and the Wenshan

region in south Yunnan. The surrounding areas of Wenchuan in Yunnan are areas where the

average annual coverage has decreased significantly, while the areas where the vegetation

coverage has decreased significantly in the forest areas of Chongqing and Guizhou are very

small. The significantly reduced forest areas in Chongqing and Guizhou accounted for only

0.90% of their forest areas respectively, while those in Sichuan and Yunnan accounted for

4.20% and 7.13% respectively.


32

An analysis of the Tianbao annual average area and its proportion and the spatial distribution

of vegetation coverage change shows a remarkable increase on the whole in average

vegetation coverage in the Tianbao Project area, especially in the provinces border area,

which has a significant increase in the average vegetation coverage area, and a significant

improvement in the quality of vegetation growth and in the overall situation. In particular, the

forest areas bordering the provinces are the areas where the annual vegetation coverage has

increased significantly, with prominent conservation results and enhanced ecosystem stability.

However, there are still areas in Southwest China where the average vegetation coverage

decreased significantly. These areas are not large in scope but are concentrated in distribution.

Therefore, attention should be paid to the implementation of the Natural Forest Protection

Project in the future.

(3) Landscape pattern index changes in southwest Tianbao Project area

Based on landscape ecology principles, before the implementation of the project in 1990-2000,

without human intervention, plaque in the Southwest forest region was going to develop in a

complicated manner with uneven distribution and fragmentation. After first phase of the

Tianbao Project was finished, the distribution pattern of forest plaque has markedly improved

with reasonable distribution, good organization and equalization, decreased patch

fragmentation, and high-connectivity direction of development. Comparison and analysis

shows that the first phase of the Tianbao Project had a significant ecological effect

Table 3 Landscape index of the natural forest protection project area in Southwest

China during the study period

year

the density of patch/km-

2

maximum patch index

patch shape index

aggregation index

spread degrees

simpson diversity

simpson uniformity

1990 2.1644 2.6628 972.0483 0.5080 44.2718 0.8354 0.8702

2000 2.1615 2.0972 969.0678 0.5077 44.0536 1.8352 0.8700

2010 2.1627 2.7020 970.7560 0.5084 44.2741 0.8353 0.8701

On the whole, the annual vegetation coverage of the Tianbao engineering area in the

Southwest four provinces increased significantly, and the ecological protection effect

improved significantly. The distribution of terrestrial patches is more reasonable, balanced

and orderly, and the patch connectivity was enhanced and the degree of fragmentation was

reduced. The quality of landscape habitat is continuously improving, which is conducive to

the maintenance and improvement of species diversity.

Conclusion

The protection of natural forests in the Natural Forest Protection Project is an important

measure of restoration of forest restoration which fundamentally curbs the deterioration of the

ecological environment, protects biological diversity, and promotes social and economic

sustainable development. We should continue to promote the implementation of the plan to

achieve further forest restoration.


33

References

Liu S Ｒ , Ma J M, Miao N．Achievements in Natural Forest Protection, Ecological

Restoration, and Sustainable Management in China. Acta Ecologica Sinica,2015,35( 1) :

0212-0218．

Tao W Z, Lv Y H, Li F Q, Hu J, Zhang K, Li T, Ren J Y. Assessment of Ecological Effect of

the Natural Forest Protection Project in Southwest China. Journal of Ecology and Rural

Environment. 2016, 32 (5) : 716-723 Journal of Ecology and Rural Environment

Ma J M, Liu S Ｒ, Shi Z M, Liu X L, M L. Review on Ecosystem Restoration Evaluation of

Degraded Forests. Acta Ecologica Sinica, 2010,30( 12) : 3297-3303.

Liu S R. Ecological Restoration Principle And Techniques Of natural forest. Beijing: China

forestry press, 2011.

Liu S R, Shi Z M, Ma J M, Zhao C M, Zhang Y D, Liu X L. Ecological Strategies for

Restoration and Reconstruction of Degraded Natural Forests on the Upper Reaches of the

Yangtze River. Forest Science, 2009, 45( 2) : 120-124.

Chen P. Natural Forest Protection: An Overview Abroad and a Review at Home. Journal of

Beijing forestry university (Social Sciences Edition), 2004,3( 2) : 50-54．

Zhou B. Study on Comprehensive Benefits Evaluation of Natural Forest Proection Programe

in Southwest China［D］. Beijing: Chinese academy of forestry, 2011

http://xueshu.baidu.com/usercenter/paper/show?paperid=babe035bcb3541cb22c4146306482cbe



Participant Paper for APFNet Training Workshop on Degraded Forest Rehabilitation and Management (12-25 July 2019 Yunnan, China)

34

Efforts on Rehabilitation and Restoration of Fiji’s

Degraded Forest Ecosystems

Mere Tagilala Vukialau

Senior Scientific Officer, Ministry of Forestry, Fiji

Purpose

The purpose of this report is the provide information to the participants of the Asia-Pacific

Network (APFNet) for Sustainable Forest Management and Rehabilitation Workshop and

other interested stakeholders on the status of Forest degradation in Fiji , the interventions

made to rehabilitate it, lessons learnt and the way forward.

Economy Background

The Republic of the Fiji islands consists of approximately 330 islands which is located in the

southwest pacific within the tropic of Capricorn. The estimated extent at which these islands

are scattered is between longitudes 174°East and 178°West and latitudes 12° South and 22°

South making Fiji to have a total territory of 65, 000 km2 of which 18, 000km2 is land area

(1.83 million ha). Fiji land mass is mostly concentrated on its two main islands, i.e 56% of

land mass area in Viti Levu and 30% in Vanua Levu.

Fig.1 Fiji Islands on the World Map ( Source: www.kijkjeinmijnhuis.n)

Fiji experiences a tropical climate with minor seasonal temperature changes of a minimum of

22°C in July and 26°C in February. The total rainfall measured per year is on average 2000-

3000 mm with over 5000 to 10000 mm in mountainous regions (Ash 2000). Fiji’s

mountainous interior acts as a rain barrier, resulting in the windward southeast part of the

island to receive high rainfall and extensive areas of tropical rainforest, while the leeward

northwest is much drier and has tropical dry forests. (Fiji Meteorology, 2008).


35

Fig.2 Fiji's Orographic Process (NaDraki, 2009)

Forest cover

In order to clearly define the term forest, this report uses the FAO definition: “Land spanning

more than 0.5 hectares with trees higher than 5 meters and a canopy cover of more than 10

percent, or trees able to reach these thresholds in situ. It does not include land that is

predominantly under agricultural or urban land use

Fiji’s total forest cover is approximately 1,054,419 hectares which covers 58% of the land

area which comprises of:

• 899,229 ha is native forest

58% is Closed Native Forest (with over 40% canopy cover)

42% is Open Native Forest (with 10-40% canopy cover)

It is estimated that native forest make up 91% of Fiji’s forest cover, with a mean

carbon stock estimated at 175 tCO2e/ha or 157,325,000 tCO2e (Payton and

Weaver 2011).

• 94690 ha of plantation forest (remaining 12% is predominantly mahogany (51,490 ha)

and pine plantations (43,200 ha)

• 38,742 ha is mangrove forest (5%)

Forest Types:

The following is a list of the forest types present in Fiji:

Cloud forest: this forest ecosystem is limited to mountain tops and ridges at elevations above

850m with high Precipitation rates high and reduced temperatures, trees generally that grow

here are stunted and heavily covered with bryophytes (Mueller-Dombois & Fosberg, 1998).

However, due to the Massenerberg effect, this forest type can also be sometimes found at

lower elevations particularly on mountain tops in close proximity to the sea.


36

Upland rainforest: found at elevations around 650-850 m and is usually found in rugged

terrain located between lowland rain forest and cloud forest (Mueller-Dombois & Fosberg,

1998). On the southeast coast of the main island of Viti Levu this forest type can be observed

at round 400m.

Mixed upland rain forest: found above 400 m near the coast and above 600 m inland

Temperatures are cooler and rainfall is generally higher, except that some upper elevation

areas experience seasonal droughts, such as the high mountain ranges on the lee side of Viti

Levu. Thus, a wet-zone forest with more than 3,750 mm annual rainfall can be distinguished

from an intermediate-zone forest with 2,000 to 3,750 mm rainfall.

Lowland rainforest: A forest system that occurs mainly on flatland and gentle slopes on the

windward side of the main islands, ranging from near sea-level up to about 650 m elevation.

Dry forest: This vegetation type is highly threatened once common throughout the coastal

fringes of dry zone areas. Due to burning, grazing and conversion to agricultural land with

only less than 10% of it remains. This vegetation type is also home to the critically

endangered Fijian Crested Iguanas (Brachylophus vitiensis). Much of Fiji’s tropical dry

forests have been lost due to repeated burning, and replaced by degraded grasslands, shifting

agricultural gardens, pastureland and pine plantations.

Talasiga (sun burnt) grasslands: This ecosystem is found in the dry zone areas of Fiji and

covers one third of Viti Levu and Vanua Levu and is dominated by introduced grasses such

as Pennisetum polystachyon (mission grass), Sporobolus spp. (wire grass) Miscanthus

floridulus, (gasau or reed) and ferns Dicranopteris spp., (qato or bracken ferns), Pteridium

esculentum (Mueller-Dombois & Fosberg, 1998).

Mangrove Forest: Fiji is home to the third most abundant stands of mangroves in the Pacific

Island region; however, while estimated at nearly 38,000 ha in 2010, this extent is decreasing

(MESCAL, 2013)

The Mangrove forest occurs at the mouths of major river deltas around mud-covered stream

banks in the tidal zone. Seven mangrove species are represented. Rhizophora stylosa and R. x

selala form a scrubby seaward fringe, replaced further inland by a mixed forest of Bruguiera

gymnorrhiza, Excoecaria agallocha, Lumnitzera littorea and Xylocarpus granatum.

Rhizophora samoensis is scattered throughout.


37

Fig. 3 Forest Types on Viti Levu (Source: CI, 2018)

Fig. 4 Forest Types on Vanua Levu (Source: CI, 2018)

About 90% of Fiji’s forested land is communally owned by indigenous people under

customary ownership through the iTaukei Land Trust Board (TLTB), 8% is private freehold

land, and 4% is state land. (Source: CI, 2018)

Change in Forest Cover

Fiji’s development over the years has resulted in a significant change in land use due to the

intensive utilisation of its natural resources and unsustainable land use practices such as clear-

cut logging, and burning and clearing of forest for agricultural and development purposes

(Ash 2000; FCPF 2013).This has resulted in a lot of socio-economic issues whereby the

affected communities have to bear both the direct and indirect costs e.g. erosion and also

environmental issues such as environmental degradation and decreased resilience to the

effects of climate change (Waqainabete-Tuisese, Rounds and Kennedy 2016).

Change in Forest Cover: Between 1990 and 2000:


38

Studies carried out between the year 1990 and 2000 showed a trend in which Fiji’s forest

cover increased at an average rate of 2,100 hectares per year equating to an average annual

reforestation rate of 0.21%.

However, between 2000 and 2005, although, Fiji gained 2.2% of its forest cover, or around

21,000 hectares, it lost -1,000 hectares—0—of its primary forest cover. Deforestation rates of

primary cover have decreased 0.1% since the close of the 1990s. (FAO, 2010)

Change in Forest Cover Between 1990 and 2010:

Fiji lost an average of 3,050 ha or 0.32% per year between 1990 and 2010 but it gained 6.4%

of its forest cover or around 61,000 ha. ( FAO, 2010)

Forest Degradation Conditions: an overview of the Problem of

Rehabilitation

Forest degradation refers to the reduction of the capacity of a forest to produce goods and

services (ITTO, 2002). Capacity includes the maintenance of ecosystem structure and

functions (ITTO, 2005). A degraded forest delivers a reduced supply of goods and services

from a given site and maintains only limited biological diversity. It has lost the structure,

function, species composition and/or productivity normally associated with the natural forest

type expected at that site (ITTO, 2002)

In order to analyze the Forest degradation in Fiji, the Driver, Pressure, State Impact,

Response (DPSIR) framework that was proposed by the European Union was used to map

out the cause and effect relationship of degraded Forest in Fiji and the current response to

address it.

Drivers

Drivers are changes in the economic, social and ecological system that directly or indirectly

exert pressure on the state of the environment. The EEA defines drivers as ‘the social,

demographic and economic developments in societies and the corresponding changes in

lifestyles, overall levels of consumption and production patterns’ (EEA, 2007).

Drivers for Forest degradation considers long term reduction of potential supply of benefits

from the forest which often results from poorly regulated or managed extractive activity

carried out at a small-scale by many actors, which is further intensified by the general

undervaluation of forest ecosystems and the non-tangible benefits they provide

(BarqueroMorales, et al., 2014; Skutsch, Torres, Mwampamba, Ghilardi, & Herold, 2011).

The four non-hierarchal but interacting driving forces to Forest degradation that will be

analysed are the Economic, social – cultural, technological and environmental drivers.

Economic Drivers

Fiji’s forestry and logging sectors contribute 0.6% to the GDP. However, the product from the

sector is also used as a valuable primary input into manufacturing processes which includes

sawmilling and planning of wood as well as the manufacture of wood products – and this has


39

a share of 0.7 %. Therefore, the total share of GDP comes to around 1.3 % of GDP. ( RBF,

2018).

Fiji’s main timber related exports are woodchips followed by mahogany and other wood

products. From 2012-2015, there was an increase in the total timber exports averaging at

$84.0 million as shown in figure 5.

The year 2015 alone recorded the highest total timber export earnings at $93.2 million;

however this figure fell by 31.5 % to $63.8 million in 2016. Woodchips remains the major

forestry export earner for Fiji to date except for the years 2011 and 2012 when mahogany

receipts were higher. This was driven by increased demand for locally branded mahogany by

the United States (US) market, coupled with improved supply of mahogany. ( RBF, 2018).

Fig. 5: Fiji's Main Timber Exports 2012-2016 ( Source: RBF, 2018).

Due to the value adding processing and production line from the Mahogany and Pine

plantation forests, the Forestry sectors’ contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is

expected to dramatically increase to $100 million within the next 5 years. ( FAO,2010)

Furthermore, the attractive local and international market prices for agricultural products,

wood products and minerals have provided much motivation for maximizing extraction and

utilization of forest products.

Socio- Cultural Drivers

Social factors include: population growth, food security, improved housing conditions with

better living standards, improved energy source for cooking, and urban drift.

Fiji’s population has increased from around 200,000 in the 1940s to more than 800,000 today

and this has taken its toll on Fiji’s forests, as more areas are cleared for agriculture and

housing and urban development .

Furthermore, the increase in population growth has resulted in the removal of Mangroves

Forests at an accelerating rate as a major source of fuel wood and this intensified by urban

development for hotel construction. Studies show that during the period 2008-2012, a total of

16 licensees produced between 256-956 m3/year (Watling, 2013), while in 2013 harvesting of

mangroves for fuel accounted for only 39 m3 (DoF, 2015).

Culture also plays a crucial role in the use, management and development of forest areas and

factors like traditional obligations, consumption preferences, and gender roles dictate the

continuous use of forest resources.


40

Technological Drivers

Technological factors include: the integration of agro-technology to increase productivity and

improved communication technology as well as the use of forest technology for value adding

end products.

Fiscal tax incentives directly support the modernization of agriculture and forest-based

technologies.

Environmental Drivers

Climate Change has given rise to the increase in intensity and frequency of extreme weather

events e.g. droughts, storms, floods, hurricanes and cyclones and other natural phenomena

(e.g. fire, outbreaks of animal and plant pests, earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis and volcanic

eruptions).This events can also be a driver for forest degradation as it disrupts the supply of

forest products and environmental services and in turn threatens the subsistence and

livelihoods of local communities and forest industries. (FAO, 2015).

Pressures

Pressures include both anthropogenic factors and natural processes that induce environmental

change or impact. (Pinter et al 2009). These pressures usually result from drivers but also can

be affected by societal responses to environmental problems. In order to grasp the full extent

of these pressures, five distinct areas that will be explored are the pressures exerted from the

Agricultural sector, Logging activities, Tourism, Relevant Institutions and Natural Disasters.

Agriculture

The conversion of forest land into agriculture has always been the viewed as the better option

for most communities as agricultural products has faster and short term returns compared to

the long growth cycle of forest species. In 2017, the Ministry of Agriculture (2017) produced

a data which showed that the high levels of semi-commercial cultivation of kava, taro, and

cassava cultivation are leading to encroachment into the native forests. Furthermore, by the

time these crops are harvested, the soil is depleted of its fertility, causing farmers to continue

to seek new farm lands in the native forests (MOA, 2017)

Agricultural expansion has generally been driven by national efforts towards food security

(in terms of self-sufficiency and import substitutions) in addition to commercial production

for export. In addition, the demand for agricultural products is rapidly increasing, as a result

of rural-urban drift along with change in diet and food preferences, the growth of the

hospitality and tourism sector, and government pressure for more exports and import

substitutions.

Logging

In the last six years, around 40,961 cubic meters (m³) of native, 60,163m³ of mahogany and

338,575m³ of pine logs have been produced on average per year (Figure 6). However, there

remains potential to increase production further without affecting sustainability. (RBF, 2018)


41

Fig. 6: Logging production trends between 2011-2016 ( Source: RBF, 2018)

Rapid turn-around of logging activities in native forest after commercial logging exacerbates

forest degradation in the absence of restocking or restoration, and these extremely degraded

forests.

Tourism

Within the last two decades Fiji’s tourism industry has grown dramatically, with over 650,000

tourists visit Fiji annually (ADB, 2014a). The increasing influx of tourists coming into the

economy pose increasing pressure on and competition for natural resources between

agriculture, industry, housing and tourism (Narayan, 2015).

Furthermore there has been an increase in the Development of port facilities on delicate

coastal ecosystems in Fiji is also increasing, with large areas of mangrove swamps being

drained and cleared for reclamation for this purpose (UNCCD , 2007).

Institutional Pressure

Fiji has a complex system of natural resource management rules and regulations across a

number of government agencies and applying those inter-agency rules and regulations in any

given location towards sustainable conservation and forest management is challenging, as

processes are not yet very clear or well-understood by the parties involved and there is no

national reporting framework to synchronize knowledge and understanding across ministries

and levels with respect to forest management (Scherl & Hahn, 2017).

It has also been identified that there is a gap in capacity for effective monitoring and

enforcement of existing policies and regulations related to any commercial and sustainable

management practices.

Natural Disasters

In February, 2016, Fiji was hit by a category 5 cyclone – TC Winston –which affected 62% of

Fiji’s population resulting in an estimated total damage and loss across all sectors at FJ$2.85

billion (Esler, 2016). It claimed forty four lives and left a trail of destructed Forest, crops, and

infrastructure, such as houses, hospitals, and schools in its wake.

State

State corresponds to a range of features highlighting the quantity and quality of resources,

living conditions for humans, exposure to the effects of Pressures on humans, to even larger


42

socio-economic issues. The combination of the current State and the existing Pressures

explains Impacts.

1. Change within the forest:

Structure

Crown cover

Species composition and

Stocking

2. Soil compaction

3. Loss of habitat

Impacts

Impacts can be defined as the changes in environmental functions affecting social, economic

and environmental dimensions, which are caused by changes in the State of the system.

Impacts also include changes in environmental dynamics and the services it provides and the

socio economic impacts that are linked to it (Maxim et al., 2009).

There are generally three commonly proxy indicators used when identifying degraded forests

or forest degradation.

• Reduction in biomass for volume and carbon

A decrease in canopy cover is often leads to the reduction in biomass for volume and carbon.

Despite the data that shows that conventional logging is more sustainable due to the high

growth rates in the remaining forest stand compared to lower intensity logging, this

incremental growth was concentrated in the smaller trees, indicating a heavily degraded forest

and decreasing proportion of commercial trees. Due to severe degradation and high mortality

from damage during felling and extraction it was proven that the remaining forest stands have

only 40% of their initial biomass density (Kaitani & de Vletter, 2007).

• Reduction in biological diversity

Fiji has an unusually high number of endemic species of plants and animals, most of which

are found in the rainforests. Of the approximately 1,600 native plant species, over half are

endemic. Deforestation and Forest Degradation poses a very serious threat to many of Fiji’s

endemic species. Others are known to have already gone extinct, for example, Fiji has lost

three bird species since the arrival of Europeans (the whistling tree duck, the grass owl and

the barred-wing rail) and another seven prior to this time. (SPC, 2011).

• Reduction in soil as indicated by soil cover, depth or fertility

Deforestation, intensive sloping, flat farming and reclamation of mangrove swamps are the

main drivers of forest degradation in Fiji. Fiji is losing over 50 tons of soil per hectare each

year through run-off, four times the average in tropical areas.


43

Response

Responses are the policy actions which are directly or indirectly triggered by the perception of

Impacts. It is an approach that is aimed at preventing, eliminating, compensating or reducing

their consequences. Responses can come from different levels of the society, such as groups

of individuals, governments or non-governmental sectors. These responses can in turn

influence trends in the Driving Forces, Pressures, State and Impacts.

Laws and Policies

Rural Land Use Policy 2006

The policy’s vision calls for Fiji’s obligation to address the following broad strategies:

• Protecting the integrity of ecological systems and biodiversity;

• Reducing the rates and areas of land degradation;

• Protecting natural resources;

• Reducing damage to fragile ecosystems;

• Maintaining and extending indigenous forest and plantation forest coverage;

• Promoting sustainable farming systems;

• Improving rural environmental conditions;

• Encouraging the formation of land husbandry groups;

• Preventing and controlling pollution; and

• Implementing international environmental accords to which Fiji is a signatory (Leslie

& Ratukalou, 2002a; 2002b).

MoF, whose role is to regulate, develop, and enforce restrictions within the logging industry.

• The Department of Environment, who is required to conduct an EIA for any commercial

logging activity.

• The Department of Lands and Ministry of Fisheries, who together – along with the Minister

of Forestry and Department of Environment – manage Fiji’s mangrove resources;

Department of Land for native logging in State Land as well as the establishment of Protected

Area or

Conservation Leases on all types of land tenure on behalf of the MoF

• The 2020 Agriculture Sector Policy Agenda – “Modernizing Agriculture” 2014

The 2020 Agriculture Sector Policy Agenda focuses on a balanced approach to sustainable

agriculture development (MoA, 2014).

• Land Conservation and Improvement Act, 1953 (Cap.141)

The Act’s aim was to make provisions for the conservation and improvement of land and

water resources. However, it lacked the necessary personnel and financial resources to be


44

effectively enforced (UNCCD National Focal Point, 2007). This Act will be replaced by the

2016 Land and Water Resources Management Bill if endorsed by Government

• The Agricultural Land and Tenant Act (ALTA), 1976 (Cap.270)

ALTA the amended 1960 Agricultural Landlord and Tenant Ordinance (ALTO) covers

agricultural leases and outlines the rights and responsibilities of both landlord and tenants

(USP, 2017).However, there is lack of enforcement by the relevant government ministries

namely; Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Lands, Ministry of Fisheries, Ministry of

Forestry , Department of Environment, Ministry of iTaukei, iTaukei Land Trust Board and

Fiji Sugar Corporation due to constraints in human, financial and technical capacity.

• Forest Decree 1992

the Forest Decree makes reference to 2 types of timber licences, in practice, there are four

types of license issued out to logging companies which include timber concessions (15 to 30

year period), long term license (10 years), annual licenses and other licenses usually for land

clearing (Whiteman, 2005

EMA Subjects Commercial Logging to a Mandatory EIA:

The EIA process has sufficient flexibility to assess logging plans against the standards defined

in EMA. If approved development could be subject to conditions derived from the FFHCP as

part of the conditions of approval. Effectively, the monitoring, compliance and enforcement

of EIA conditions will be undertaken by the Department of Environment under the provisions

of EMA and provides additional support towards ensuring sustainability of the project if well

implemented and enforced. It is important to note that the EIA. Aside from considering

whether logging practices meets sustainable standards, must also consider other aspects of

logging that may impact on other resources including native species, protected and

endangered species, water-sources, protected forests, sites of cultural and historical

significance and controversial developments from an environmental standpoint, issues which

if relevant should be part of the terms of reference for the EIA study.

Fiji Forest Harvesting Code of Practice 2013:

Although the Forest Decree itself is less focused on sustainable harvesting, in October 2010;

Cabinet endorsed the FFHCP for implementation in January 2011. The FFHCP is

administered by the MoF together with the Forest Decree and its accompanying regulations

Fiji Forest Certification Standard

The development of the Fiji Forest Certification Standard adopted the Forest Stewardship

Council Principles and Criteria for good forest management between 2006 and 2013.

The Standard covers all FME forest operations (e.g. nursery, planting, maintenance and

harvesting) that may have an impact on the environment (forest management unit and

landscape levels); the relationship that the FME has with local and indigenous communities in

the vicinity of its Forest Management Unit(s) as well as its workforce and contractors/sub-

contractors. The Standard also covers all relevant local and international laws and


45

agreements/conventions that Fiji is a party to; in addition to areas of social or environmental

significance

National Disaster Management Act (NDMA) of 1998

The NDMA establishes a National Disaster Management Council tasked to develop suitable

strategies and policies for disaster mitigation and preparedness; training and capacity building

for disaster response and management; recommend policies and strategies to the government

as well as the ability to form sub-committees to execute specific tasks relevant for national

disaster mitigation.

Projects and Initiatives

2015- Reforestation of Degraded Forest Project

In 2015, the Government of Fiji made a strategic move to contribute in the United Nations

Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Clean Development Mechanism

(CMD) by providing funding to the Reforestation of Degraded Forest Project.

The Project’s main objective is to rehabilitate degraded forest areas by planting of trees along

grasslands and barren lands and previously harvested forest and degraded areas. The main

activities carried out involved approaches that strengthen the department through the

provision of necessary tools and equipment’s while building the capacity for seed collection,

seedling production and establishment of forest restoration activities with key strategic

partners. It is also designed to involve community from the beginning in terms of species

selection, site selection, site preparation, planting phase and the maintenance of the planted

site after the establishment of forest areas with the intention of having the local communities

taking ownership of the project as they will reap the benefits in the future.

Tab. 1 Number of seedlings planted by the RDF project since 2015

Species Number of seedlings Area covered (ha)

Mahogany 199,860 718.92

Native 34,233 123.14

Sandalwood 14,485 13.03

Pine 107,502 96.76

Food security 8,145 29.29

Fuel wood 4,000 14.38

Total 368,225 995.72


46

Fig. 7 Total species of trees planted during the Restoration of Degraded Forest Project

Fiji Land Degradation Project (UNCCD National Action Program) 2015-2019.

Action Against Desertification (AAD) Project which has a 4 years duration period was

funded by the European Union in the context of the ACP/EU programme that was launched

in 2015. This project supports the UNCCD National Action Programme for Fiji, which aims

to build the resilience and increase the productivity of forest landscapes, while improving the

livelihoods of the local population through the restoration of degraded land and the

sustainable management of natural resources.The followings areas highlighted in blue for

figure 8 shows the degraded areas project site :

Fig. 8 Areas highlighting degraded areas project

The activities that were successfully executed during the AAD Project were:

Land restoration: restoration of 2 000 hectares of communal lands.

Training on utilization of Non-timber forest products: 2 000 farmers, of whom half are

women, were given assistance and training on bee farming for honey production ,crop

pollination, sandalwood and wild ginger production, nutritional gardens and the production

and marketing of handicraft made of forest materials to enable them to increase their income.

0

20,000

40,000

60,000

80,000

100,000

28,766

7,806 224

29,685

1,365 6672

85,852

14,616 11,036

56,040

4,000

78,570

11,811 3,225

21,777

2,780 4,000

201520162016-20172017-2018


47

Capacity development: 240 farmers and 540 community members were trained in the areas

of forest seed collection and handling, nursery and restoration techniques, sustainable land

and forest management practices and market analysis and development. In addition, about 150

government agents are being trained in specialized fields, such as tree breeding, farm soil

testing, land use planning and resource.

The Planting of 4 Million Trees for 4 years Initiative ( 2019-2022)

As an initiative to mitigate and adapt climate change, enhance watershed area management,

boost timber and other wood production, reduce degradation of forest areas, improve

opportunities for carbon financing, biodiversity conservation, reduce soil erosion and siltation,

support food security and improve agriculture production and practice the government of Fiji

through the Ministry for Forestry has launched the 4 Million Trees For 4 years (4M4T) . The

Ministry of Forestry also has four projects namely REDD+, Reforestation of Degraded Forest,

Reforestation of Indigenous Species and Sandalwood Development that can be utilized to

drive the 4MT4Y initiative.

The main objectives of the 4M4T initiative are:

• Identify and collaborate with development partners, government agencies,

communities, civil society organizations, NGO’s, industries and corporate

organisations in the delivery of project.

• Establish a multi-sectoral steering committee to coordinate and monitor the

implementation of the project.

• Create awareness and promote the project to all Fijians

• Mobilize divisional working groups to implement and supervise tree planting

activities.

• Secure funding sources for the implementation of the project

• Engage schools, youth groups, women groups, resource owning communities,

municipalities and farmers in tree planting programs

In order to achieve this target for each year, the three main divisions of the Ministry of

Forestry must strive to plant 1 million trees per year till 2022 i.e Northern , Central Eastern

and the Western must target to plant 3333 per year.

Fig. 9 Reforestation of degraded areas tree planting in Fiji

Participant Paper for APFNet Training Workshop on Degraded Forest Rehabilitation and Management (12-25 July 2019 Yunnan, China)

48

Fig. 10 The DPSIR Framework for degraded forest in Fiji

Economic

Agriculture

Change in Forest :

1. Structure

2. Crown Cover

3. Species Composition

Reduction in Biomass

Fiji Forest Decree

Fiji Forest Harvesting Code

The 2020 Agriculture Sector Policy Agenda –

“Modernizing Agriculture” 2014

Rural Land Use Policy 2006

Reduction in Biological Diversity

National biodiversity

Endangered and Protectected Species

Act: 2002

Endangered and Protected Species

Regulations of Fiji. 2003

Soil compaction Reduction in Soil cover,

depth and fertility

Logging Loss of Habitat

Loss of endemic species

Socio-cultural

Technological

Institutional Pressure

Uncordinated approach by relevant authorities

Lack of monitoring Lack of monitoring

uncordinated approach Environment

Climate change Natural Disasters

Drivers Pressures State Impact Response

Forest Rehabilitation Projects:

2015-Resoration of degraded Forest 2015-2019- Fiji Land Degradation Project (UNCCD National Action Program) 2019-2022- Planting of 4 Million Tree for 4 Years Initiative


49

The Way forward

Over the last three decades, it has been identified that most of the policies did not achieve the

intended agriculture development and this has led to increased deforestation and land

degradation. (CI,2018). The following are three areas that will help address the gap:

1) Need to have an Integrated National Land Use Plan

In order to have a clear demarcation for urban development and infrastructure so that its

related activities not encroach into areas meant for agriculture and forestry, Fiji must have an

Integrated National Land Use Plan (INLUP) . To make it a holistic approach, it should

include the Rural Land Use Plan (as a major output in the implementation of the 2005 Rural

Land Use Policy) to plan the boundaries for the management of forest and agricultural areas.

2) Sustainable Forest Management

Production

• Biodiversity conservation must be incorporated into the management regimes of

natural and plantation forests, as stipulated in the Fiji Forest Certification Standard

• Mangroves must be gazette as Protected Areas in order to priorities its conservation

and sustainable management

• forest-based economy to be established , which should incorporate economic activities

relating to all forest ecosystem services (and also mangroves), ranging from forest

biomass to tourism, recreation and non-wood products

• The Fiji Government needs to seriously consider the provisions in ALTA and provide

improved resources (human, financial, technical capacity, etc.) to relevant institutions

to protect and conserve Fiji’s Forest sustainably.

• Effective monitoring and harsh penalties to be issued to those that don’t comply with

it.

References

ADB. (2014b). Fiji country Partnership Strategy (2014-2018): Poverty Analysis Summary.

Mandaluyong City, Philippines: Asian Development Bank.

Barquero-Morales, L., Skutsch, M., Jardel-Pelaez, E. J., Ghilard, A., Kleinn, C., & Jealy, J. R.

(2014). Operationalizing the Definition of Forest Degradation for REDD+ with Application to

Mexico. Forests, 5, 1653-1681. doi:10.2290.f5071653

Boucher, D. H., Elias, P., Lininger, K., May-Tobin, C., Roguemore, S., & Saxon, E. (2011).

The Root of the Problem: What's Driving Tropical Deforestation Today? Cambridge, MA:

Union of Concerned Scientists.

Conservation Internation, (2018). Analysis of Drivers of Deforestation and Forest

Degradation and Identification of Response Strategies


50

DoF. (2011). Fiji REDD-Plus policy: reducing emissions from deforestation and forest

degradation in Fiji. Suva, Fiji: Government of Fiji / Ministry of Primary Industries -

Department of Forestry & Secretariat of the Pacific Community. Retrieved from

https://theredddesk.org/sites/default/files/fiji_redd_policy.pdf

DoF. (2015). Annual Report, Parliamentary Paper #19. Suva, Fiji: Government of Fiji /

Department of Forestry

Esler, S. (2016). Post-Disaster Needs Assessment: Tropical Cyclone Winston, February 20,

2016. Suva, Fiji: Government of Fiji.

FAO, 2015 FRA 2015 Terms and Definitions http://www.fao.org/3/ap862e/ap862e00.pdf

ITTO (International Tropical Timber Organization). 2002.ITTO Guidelines for the restoration,

management and rehabilitation of degraded and secondary tropical forests. ITTO Policy

Development Series 13. ITTO, Yokohama, Japan. [online] URL

http://www.itto.int/direct/topics/topics_pdf_download/topics_id=1540000&no=1&disp=inline

Kaitani, V., & de Vletter, J. (2007). Technical Report: Structure and dynamics of indigenous

Fijian forest following different intensities of controlled selection logging – An analysis of

observations in the NFMPP Permanent Sample Plots over the period 1991. Suva, Fiji:

Government of Fiji / Department of Forestry Research Division & SPC/GT-Pacific German

Regional Forestry Project.

Maxim, L., Spangenberg, J. & O’Connor, M. 2009. An analysis of risks for biodiversity under

the DPSIR framework. Ecological Economics 69: 12–23

MESCAL. (2013). Review of Policy and Legislation Relating to the Use and Management of

Mangroves in Fiji. Suva, Fiji: IUCN/Mangrove Ecosystems for Climate Change Adaptation

and Livelihood (MESCAL) Project. Retrieved from

https://www.iucn.org/sites/dev/files/content/documents/fiji_policy_and_legislative_review_re

port.pdf

MoA. (2017). Crop Extension Division Quarterly Report: Crops Data. Suva, Fiji:

Government of Fiji / Ministry of Agriculture.

Mueller-Dombois, D., & Fosberg, F. R. (1998). Vegetation of the Tropical Pacific Islands (1

ed.). New York: Springer.

Narayan, P. K. (2015). Fiji's Tourism Industry: A SWOT Analysis. Journal of Tourism Studies,

11(2).

RBF, (2018),Fiji’s Forestry Sector – Developments in Recent Years

https://www.rbf.gov.fj/getattachment/c6c9ef57-9eaf-428d-9f65-8af3bed6cd1c/Fiji-s-Forestry-

Sector-Developments-23-September

Skutsch, M. M., Torres, A. B., Mwampamba, T. H., Ghilardi, A., & Herold, M. (2011).

Dealing with locally driven degradation: A quick start option under REDD+. Carbon Balance

and Management, 6(16).

SPC,( 2011). Forests of the Pacific islands Foundation for a sustainable future

http://www.fao.org/3/ap862e/ap862e00.pdf


51

Acronyms

ALTA The Agricultural Land and Tenant Act (ALTA), 1976

APFNet Asia-Pacific Network for Sustainable Forest Management and

Rehabilitation

CI Conservation International

DPSIR Driver, Pressure, State Impact, Response Framework

EEA European Environment Agency

EIA Environment Impact Assessment

EMA Environment Management Act

FFHCP Fiji Forest Harvesting Code

ITTO International Tropical Timber Organization

MoA Ministry of Agriculture

MoF Ministry of Forest

TLTB iTaukei Land Trust Board

REDD Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation

REDD+ REDD “plus” forest conservation, sustainable management of forests,

and the enhancement of forest carbon stocks

UNCCD United Nations Conventions to Combat Desertification


52

Forest and Land Rehabilitation in Indonesia: a Case Story

of Restoration of Sandalwood (Santalum Album Linn) in

Nusa Tenggara Timur Province, Indonesia

Abdul Malik Solahudin

Trainer on Forest Planning and Conservation, Kupang Education and Training Agency

of Environment and Forestry, Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Indonesia

Abstract: Sandalwood (Santalum album Linn.) is an endemic species of Nusa Tenggara

Timur (NTT) Province and has high economic value. Its population is declined extremely

because of over-exploitation without sustainable management and unfair policy

implementation in the past. There are several obstacles in rehabilitating this species including

low participation of communities due to mismanagement in the past and cultivation technique

of sandalwood that is relatively difficult. Various efforts have been done to solve these

challenges, among others is by implementing forest and land rehabilitation program . The

results of the program begins to be seen after the provincial government of NTT province and

Ministry of Environment and Forestry promoted Gerakan Cendana Keluarga (GCK, a

sandalwood preservation project with family as its target) and Gerakan Cendana Pelajar (GCP,

a sandalwood preservation project with students as its target). Public awareness both to

preserve and to cultivate sandalwood tree increases and it is relatively easy to find

sandalwood trees in this province.

Keywords: forest and land rehabilitation, sandalwood, Nusa Tenggara Timur Province,

Gerakan Cendana Keluarga (GCK), Gerakan Cendana Pelajar (GCP)

Introduction

Nusa Tenggara Timur is located in the southern part of Indonesia. This province is famous for

its sandalwood timber and oil. Sandalwood tree (Santalum album Linn.) is believed as an

endemic species of Nusa Tenggara Timur (Timor Island, Flores, Sumba and Alor). Even

though sandalwood tree can be cultivated in other regions, but its quality is not as best as

sandalwood cultivated in NTT.

Economically, sandalwood is an important species for Nusa Tenggara Timur people because

of its superior oil content and high terrace wood production (Kementerian Kehutanan, 2010).

The demand for sandalwood product is always high since sandalwood oil and timber are

needed for many purposes, such as raw material for parfume and cosmetic, sculpture, and

religious and cultural purpose. Sandalwood also contributes regional income significantly.

During 1986/1987 to 1990/1990, sandalwood timber contributed 28.20 – 47.60 percent of


53

NTT Province income (Suripto, 1992 in Kementerian Kehutanan, 2010).

Unfortunately, sandalwood population in NTT Province has declined dramatically due to

unsustainable exploitation without being followed by its preservation. International Union for

Conservation of Natural Resources (IUCN) has categorized Santalum album Linn as a

vulnerable species in 1997. Meanwhile, CITES has groupped this species into Appendix II

categorries (WWF Indonesia, 2008 in Kementerian Kehutanan, 2010).

Sandalwood exploitation has been going on for a long time since the Dutch colonial era until

the time of independence (after 1945) and continued in the reformation era (after 1998).

Based on the results of the study of Pua Upa (1991) in Pello (2001), it was stated that the

number of sandalwood trees produced by natural stands throughout NTT Province was only

702,642 trees.

The exploitation of sandalwood plants is not accompanied by community conservation efforts.

This is due to the history of the management of sandalwood in the past which didn’t take side

with the community. The trade of sandalwood began in the Dutch colonial era. At that time,

all sandalwood trees both in the forest and on community land was controlled by the

authorities (the Dutch government). People who are caught stealing or damaging sandalwood

will get a severe sentence.

After Indonesia gained its independence, the exploitation of sandalwood continued.

Meanwhile, sandalwood management policies did not change. During the New Order Era (the

era before year 1998), the government determined that all sandalwood in the NTT Province

belonged to the government. This is regulated in the NTT Provincial Regulation which was

applicable at that time (Pello, 2001 in Rumboko and Raharjo, 2016). The enactment of

Regional Regulation number 16 year 1986 and the decision of the Governor of NTT Province

number 82 year 1996, which ignored the community’s rights and justice, triggered social

protests. At that time, people didn’t want to plant sandalwood on their land because they were

afraid of the consequences.

Considering the sustainability of sandalwood plants that are increasingly threatened, the

government then changed its policy by revoking Regional Regulation number 16 year 1986 in

1997. However, because of lack of socialization, many people haven’t known yet about this

new regulation, especially for whom living in the remote area. As a results, many of them

were still afraid to plant sandalwood and it caused community participation in conserving

sandalwood is very low.

The lack of knowledge and skills in cultivating sandalwood plants are also another problem.

Many people are reluctant to plant sandalwood because they do not know how to cultivate

sandalwood properly. The majority of sandalwood trees planted by the community did not

succeed in surviving because sandalwood is a plant that requires special treatment starting

from the process of germination to planting in the field. As a result, sandalwood population

continued to decline.

To deal with that situation, the local government of Nusa Tenggara Timur Province and


54

central government (Ministry of Forestry) tried many efforts to restore sandalwood population

in NTT. The governments also have already made a master plan of sandalwood development

and preservation in Nusa Tenggara Timur Province year 2010 – 2030.

The master plan has its vision “to restore Nusa Tenggara Timur as a province of sandalwood

in 2030”. To gain that vision, five missions have been set. One of its missions is “developing

a sandalwood-planted forest with community-based management system”. Since cultivating

sandalwood plants requires as many as human resources, the government realized that it will

be difficult to succeed because of their limited budget and human resources. So that,

communities involvement is very important to realize that mission.

To implement that mission, furthermore, the local government launched a sandalwood

conservation project that was started from a family (called Gerakan Cendana Keluarga or

GCK) in 2012. The target of this project was families that had a concern to preserve

sandalwood. The procedure of the project is that the government appoints religious

institutions (churchs or mosques) as the party responsible for coordinating families under

those institutions. After being formed, the government then provided training in sandalwood

cultivation techniques for members who joined the project. The government also provides

seeds and seedlings for them to be planted on their lands.

After success with the GCK project, the government then developed a sandalwood

conservation project targeting students of elementary school and junior high school (called

Gerakan Cendana Pelajar or GCP) in 2016. The procedure is similar to the GCK project. The

ones responsible as coordinator and evaluator are headmaster and teachers. Through the GCK

and GCP project, the government also provides thousands of seedlings every year. The

amount of Seedlings provided by government to be distributed can be seen in the following

table.

Tab. 1 The number of seedlings distributed for GCK and GCP project

Name of Project Year of Seedling Distribution

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 Total

GCK 55,000 55,000 50,000 50,000 45,000 65,000 31,500 351,500

GCP

10,500 27,500 31,500 69,500

Total 55,000 55,000 50,000 50,000 55,500 92,500 63,000 421,000

Source : Dinas Lingkungan Hidup dan Kehutanan Provinsi Nusa Tenggara Timur, 2018

(data is processed)

Key Elements

Technical Aspects

Cultivating sandalwood has many obstacles. First, to germinate sandalwood seeds requires

special treatment and technique. Many people do not know how to treat sandalwood seeds to

germinate and how to treat seeds during the nursery until the seeds are ready to be planted in

the field. So that, at the beginning of the project implementation, many seeds did not succeed

to grow. For this reason, human resource capacity needs to be improved through training and

technical guidance.


55

To transfer sandalwood cultivation science and technology from the research findings and

empirical experience from local wisdom in the community, training on how to rehabilitate

forest and land and how to cultivate sandalwood plants has been widely held. Kupang

Education and Training Institute of Environment and Forestry (BDLHK Kupang), for

example, has made the sandalwood cultivation training as the one of the leading trainings.

Through the training, it is expected that the need of skilled and reliable human resources to

support the sandalwood rehabilitation program can be fulfilled.

Second, the germination rate of sandalwood seed is still low. This is caused by the

procurement of seeds that are not in accordance with the principles of silviculture. Probably,

the seeds germinated are not yet ripe, come from young trees or inbreeding. So that, the

quality of sprouts and saplings produced is very low.

Actually, the governments, communities and educational institutions have tried to preserve

sandalwood and to develop sandalwood cultivation. According to Haniin (1998) in

Kementerian Kehutanan (2010), sandalwood plants have been developed in Indonesia, among

others in 1958 in Ba'at (TTS) covering an area of 15 ha, in 1967 at BKPH Buleleng covering

an area of 103.25 ha, in Gunung Klotok and Sanggrahan (Kediri) covering an area of 177

hectares, in Jantur (Batu, Malang) covering an area of 4 hectares, in Songgoriti covering an

area of 20 hectares, in Gunung Kidul Karangmojo covering Forest area of 80 hectares. The

development of sandalwood activities is still ongoing.

Based on information from the Belu District Forestry Service, about 2000 - 3000 sandalwood

seedlings are prepared annually to be distributed to the community. Efforts to conserve

sandalwood have also been done by building seed gardens since 2002 covering 4 ha. While

the Center for Biotechnology Research and Forest Plant Breeding (B2PBPTH) Yogyakarta

has built a collection of sources of seed and tissue culture. Indonesia Institute of Science (LIPI)

also made several sandalwood development plots in the community on Sumba Island.

Third, after sandalwood saplings are planted in the field, many of them cannot survive during

the dry season due to extreme climate and drought. Only 30 percent of saplings can survive

(Sumanto, et al., 2011). To overcome the problem, several years ago the Kupang Research

and Development Center of Environment and Forestry suggested drip irrigation system in

order to keep sandalwood saplings humid and avoid them from drought.

Efforts to preserve and to develop sandalwood have received a lot of valuable information

from research results. The research institutions (both regional and central institutions) has

done many findings related to sandalwood development and cultivation including the

selection of the type of planting media and the types of primary and secondary hosts, the

identification of mycorrhiza which can increase the growth and endurance of sandalwood

against drought, the implementation of drip irrigation techniques to increase the life

percentage and many more.

Last, when the young plants are planted in the field, there are several disturbances. The

common disturbances for plants in NTT Province are livestock grazing, forest fires and other

human activities. Fencing the rehabilitation area and making firebreaks is a solution that can


56

be sought to reduce the disturbance.

Policy, Legal and Institutional Issues

As mentioned above, the government realizes that sandalwood conservation efforts cannot be

carried out without community participation. Therefore, the government revokes the old

regional regulations and creates new regional regulations that are more pro-people in 1997.

Moreover, the government of Nusa Tenggara Timur Province have made a provincial

regulation no 5 year 2012 concerning on sandalwood management in 2012. This new policy

returns the right to the sandalwood owners. The owners, has rights to have benefit from

selling their sandalwood trees.

Even so, many people of NTT province still has traumatic experiences because of the past

policies applied during several decades. As a result, the rehabilitation of sandalwood plants

has not succeeded. To overcome this problem, both central and regional governments

continue to try to convince the public through various socialization efforts. The socialization

activities regarding the new sandalwood management policies were carried out including

through campaigns in various media (mass media and social media), workshops, training, etc.

Financial Issues

Most of the funds used for forest and land rehabilitation programs in Nusa Tenggara Timur

Province from 2014 to 2018 are for sandalwood management project, as shown in Table 2.

The sustainable sandalwood management project is one part of the forest and land

rehabilitation programs. From the table, it can be seen that most of the forest and land

rehabilitation program funds are used to support sustainable sandalwood management projects.

This shows the seriousness of the local government to restore sandalwood populations in NTT

Province.

Tab. 2 Target and Realization of Forest and Land Rehabilitation Program in Nusa

Tenggara Timur Province

Year Program / Project Target

(Rupiah) Realization

(Rupiah)

Percentage

(%)

2014

Forest and land Rehabilitation Program 7.558.696.600 5.151.345.557 68,15

Sustainable Sandalwood Management

Project 5.491.116.600 3.282.930.180 59,79

2015



Project 8.671.427.250 7.207.015.485 83,11

2016



Project 7.039.779.000 5.478.085.645 77,82

2017



Project 14.214.624.560 11.134.973.296 78,33


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Source : Dinas Lingkungan Hidup dan Kehutanan Provinsi Nusa Tenggara Timur (data is

processed)

All funds used for the GCK and GCP projects come from the Nusa Tenggara Timur

Provincial Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBD), the Ministry of Environment and

Forestry's general allocation funds, and the National Revenue and Expenditure Budget

(APBN) sourced from the Watershed Management Center of Benain Noelmina NTT.

Sustainability of The Project

Nusa Tenggara Timur (NTT) is the driest province in Indonesia. This province has a semi arid

climate and its land cover dominated by shrubs and savanna. The precipitation intensity in

this province is very high but its duration is very short (68 days in average). This situation

causes the soil surface to become damaged and easily eroded. The data taken in 2006 shows

that 72.19 percent of forest and land in NTT Province was categorised as critical and very

critical. So that, the government of the Republic of Indonesia has apointed this province as the

targeted areas for national forest and land rehabilitation program.

Because it has become a target area, the forest and land rehabilitation program in NTT

province will continue. However, the GCK and GCP projects have not been continued for

policy change reason after the new governor of NTT Province was elected in the early of

2019. The new elected governor is currently more focused on tourism activities and

cultivation of Moringa oleifera. Recently, sandalwood restoration activities are no longer the

main priority, because they are included in the general forest and land rehabilitation program.

This means that sandalwood will be treated the same as other types of forestry plants. There is

no special budget for sandalwood conservation activities. However, the spirit of the

community to develop and preserve sandalwood is believed to continue. The reason is due to

economic motives or to save this species from extinction.

Lesson Learnt

Master plan of of sandalwood development and preservation in Nusa Tenggara Timur

Province year 2010 – 2030 stated that Nusa Tenggara Timur Province should be the

sandalwood province in 2030. To achieve this goal, the government approved a forest and

land rehabilitation program. The aim of establishment of this program is to restore forest and

land health to its original condition. Regarding to sustainable sandalwood management

activities, the objective to be achieved is to restore sandalwood which used to be abundant

and common to find in the forest and land of NTT Province.

The GCK and GCP are suitable projects to realize that vision. The short-term goal of GCK

and GCP project is to cultivate and keep sandalwood seedlings in the community both in the

family and in the school environment. This project is one of the short cuts that the

government can do to achieve the goal of restoring sandalwood with their limited budgets and

human resources. The success of growing sandalwood plants is believed to increase if they

are planted and treated intensively by the community as long as they have the knowledge and

technology. Meanwhile, the long-term goal of GCK and GCP is the availability of abundant


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amounts of sandalwood in the future so that the sandalwood extinction can be prevented,

besides of course it will improve the economy of the community.

Since the projects takes account the community involvement, it can be said that the projects

are quite successful in persuading the public to be aware and willing to preserve sandalwood.

The community has not been traumatized to plant sandalwood. Even, the community has

started to cultivate sandalwood plants on their land. Moreover, they have also been able to

produce sandalwood saplings on a small scale, considering that the request for sandalwood

saplings is quite high. The enthusiasm of the community to plant these species is also quite

high because every time there is a free seed distribution program, sandalwood is a favorite

plant that is sought after by the community.

Even, for some people, planting sandalwood has also become a kind of social pride. They feel

they have become saviors of sandalwood from extinction. In addition, social status will also

increase because it is considered as the new rich man to have this wood for future investment

that its benefits can be obtained when sandalwood plants are harvested. Whereas, a few years

ago, sandalwood was called as the trouble wood (Hau Lasi in local language) or the evil wood

(Hau Nitu).

At that time, every sandalwood tree owner or land owner with sandalwood trees inside their

lands would get into trouble if the trees died or was stolen. Even if sandalwood trees are ready

to be harvested, the owner of the tree or land gets nothing because the money from the trade

belongs to the government. But now, after a fundamental policy change, sandalwood is called

as “the green gold” because of its high selling value due to the scarcity of its availability.

Forest and land rehabilitation programs through planting sandalwood which have been carried

out for quite a long time have also begun to show results. The sandalwood plants planted in

the field have started to grow even though they are still limited in number, especially in

intensively managed forest or land areas. It can be said that to find sandalwood trees is easy

now, they grow in many places from the backyard to the small scale plantation owned by

private.

Planting sandalwood is actually not so difficult as long as it is treated intensively. There is an

interesting story behind the launching of GCP (sandalwood preservation project with students

as the target) in 2016. When the forest and land rehabilitation program with sandalwood was

implemented, not all available sandalwood seedlings were planted because the rainy season

has passed. The remaining unplanted sandalwood seedlings were ignored. Then came an

elementary school boy who saw the seedlings then took home some of the seeds. He planted it

in the yard and watered it every day until the sandalwood plant grew well.

Later, this true story of the child caring for the sandalwood plant was found out by the head of

the Forestry Service of NTT Province. After hearing the story, the official then got the idea to

make a similar project to GCK (sandalwood preservation project with family as the target)

with student as the basis and was named GCP. He believes that school students (junior high

school and lower level) can do the same thing with the kid in the story above as long as it is

encouraged to treat sandalwood plants intensively. For this reason, the implementation of


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GCP involves principals and teachers as motivators and evaluators for their students.

From this story, we can learn that community involvement has an important role in the effort

to rehabilitate and restore sandalwood. Even if a survey of the distribution of sandalwood

plants is carried out, there may be more sandalwood plants on community lands than the

sandalwood in the forest area.

The Way Forward

The forest and land rehabilitation program in NTT Province through the GCP and GCK

projects has generally had a positive impact on the future sustainability of sandalwood in this

province. Many indicators have proven that this project is successful, especially in awakening

public awareness. This also can be seen from the communities’ demand for sandalwood

seedlings which continue to increase from year to year. Even, The Environmental and Forest

Service of Nusa Tenggara Timur Province, responsible for this program, are not able to fulfill

all the communities’ requests for seedlings. The causative factor is due to the limited number

of seeds circulated in the community. People who has sandalwood seeds will sell to those who

buy their seeds with higher price. So that, the government finds it difficult to get seeds from

the community. Before 2012, the price of sandalwood seeds was only 75,000 rupiah per

kilogram. But now it reaches 500,000 rupiah per kilo gram. This is because the demand for

seeds from both inside and outside the NTT province is quite high, while the number of

parent trees is still limited.

At this moment, the local government has not been able to regulate the trade and circulation

of sandalwood seeds since they are afraid public will return to apathy after prolonged trauma

after the adoption of unfair past policies. For this reason, efforts are needed to ensure that the

seeds that come out can be monitored and the needs of seeds in the province remain available,

for example by inventorying parent tree owners, establishing partnerships in buying and

selling sandalwood seeds and buying seeds at higher prices from the community.

The problem of failure to grow sandalwood plants caused by low quality seeds, needs serious

attention. The government must inventory the remaining sandalwood stands and conserve

them. If the sandalwood stand is on community land, the government must provide incentives.

The government must also build ex situ conservation plots planted with high-quality

sandalwood plants and high genetic diversity. Sandalwood seeds can be imported from other

regions if the sandalwood genetic diversity in the area is very low.

The problems of sandalwood cultivation which are quite complicated have been studied,

especially by the Kupang Research and Development Center of Environment and Forestry.

However, the transfer of information and technology has not yet reached the community. This

is due to the lack of interest of the community to read the scientific papers. People considers

those research products are complicated and not easily understood. For this reason, the

government must simplify the results of this research into easy-to-digest daily language and

then publish it to the public through printed media (brochures, pamphlets, posters) or social

media.


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The demand for products produced from sandalwood plants (wood and oil) will continue

along with increasing community needs, while the natural resources of sandalwood are still

limited. By involving community in cultivating sandalwood, it is expected to increase the

stock and also conserve it. However, the cycle of harvesting sandalwood is relatively long

(around 30 years). The community, especially those who work as farmers, need regular

income to meet their daily needs. If they only rely on sandalwood plants, their daily needs

will not be fulfilled. Fortunately, sandalwood is a type of plant that can be intercropped with

other plants, such as seasonal plants and intercrops. The government must continue to

promote this chance, so that farmers can grow sandalwood on their land without losing their

main livelihood as farmers.

Summary

Managing forest involves many parties, especially the government as policy makers and the

people who live around the forest area. Therefore, these parties should cooperate each other.

The case of sandalwood rehabilitation in NTT Province is one example of how non pro-

people policies have led to forest and land rehabilitation programs not working properly.

Considering that sandalwood plants must be conserved from their extinction, the government

changed its policies by creating new regional regulations that were more pro-people. By

promoting GCK and GCP Project, the forest and rehabilitation program within its focus on

restoring sandalwood plant has been seen and sandalwood population has begun to be

recovered gradually.

Technical factors in sandalwood cultivation are also important factors for the success of forest

and land rehabilitation program. For this reason, the central and regional governments have

begun to socialize and spread information about sandalwood cultivation technique to the

public. By doing this, the community will not find it difficult to cultivate sandalwood and the

success of growing sandalwood can increase. As a result, the availability of sandalwood will

continue and the threat of its extinction can be avoided.

Refferences

Balai Pengelolaan DAS Benain Noelmina, 2011. Membumikan RHL DAS Benain Noelmina

Berbasis Rencana Teknik RHL.

Kementerian Kehutanan, 2010. Masterplan Pengembangan dan Pelestarian Cendana Nusa

Tenggara Timur Tahun 2010 – 2030. Balai Penelitian Kehutanan Kupang. Kupang.

Pello, J., 2001. Aspek Hukum Cendana Dan Perilaku Masyarakat NTT. An Article in Berita

Biologi Vol. 5, No 5, August 2001. Edisi Khusus Masalah Cendana NTT. Pusat Penelitian

Biologi, LIPI. Bogor.

Raharjo, A.S. in Balai Litbang LHK Kupang, 2015. Kebijakan Pengelolaan Cendana Pasca

UU 23/2014 Tentang Pemerintahan Daerah. An Article in Prosiding Diskusi Ilmiah Sinergitas

Peneliti, Widyaiswara dan Peneliti Kehutanan dalam Desiminasi Informasi Guna Mendukung


61

Pembangunan Lingkungan Hidup dan Kehutanan NTT, Page 20 – 23. 8 December 2015.

Balai Penelitian dan Pengembangan Lingkungan Hidup dan Kehutanan Kupang. Kupang.

Rumboko, L and Raharjo, A.S., 2016. Cendana Nusa Tenggara Timur. Gadjah Mada

University Press. Yogyakarta.

Sumanto, S.E., Sutrisno, E. and Kurniawan, H., 2011. Analisis Kebijakan dan Strategi

Litbang Kehutanan dalam Pengembangan Cendana di Nusa Tenggara Timur (Policy Analysis

and Forestry Research Strategy on Sandalwood Development in East Nusa Tenggara). Jurnal

Analisis Kebijakan Kehutanan, Vol. 8 No. 3, Desember 2011, p. 189 – 209


62

Forest Rehabilitation and Restoration Project

in Sabah, Malaysia

Valeria Linggok

Head of Information Management and Geospatial Data Section

Sabah Forestry Department, Malaysia

Abstract: In Sabah, degraded area defines as areas where secondary forest elements exceed

50% of vegetation cover. Degraded area occurs due to the past excessive log extraction and

natural disaster. Secondary forests maybe degraded but they hold biological treasures that

have been recognized as vitally important. Therefore, the government is strongly support the

forest rehabilitation and restoration in Sabah.

The forest rehabilitation and restoration project in Bukit Piton Forest Reserve is a success

story of rehabilitation project in Sabah. The project aims to restore forest for Orang Utan or

Pongo pygmaeusmorio habitat in area of 11,612 hectares. The planted trees enrich the

richness of the forest and creates orang utan source of foods.

Forest rehabilitation in temporarily unstocked or degraded land is proven to give a significant

impact to the forest conservation and protection of the flora and fauna in Sabah. This initiative

is constantly and continuously given a top priority towards sustainable forest management.

Forest rehabilitation is in line with the state government policy to increase the totally

protected areas (TPAs) to 30% or 2.2 million hectares by year 2025.

A total of 248,116 hectares of forest reserve categorized as temporarily unstocked and

degraded area inside. Whereas, a total of 61,635 hectares of Totally Protected Areas (TPAs) is

categorized a degraded or poor stocked forest. Poor forest stands needs intervention.

Therefore, Sabah Forest Policy 2018 was regulated to strengthen the commitment and

direction in managing forest reserve areas and tree cover through sustainable forest

management. This policy takes into account environmental, social and economic

sustainability, through good forest governance and best management practices, to ensure

forestry remains an integral and competitive land use in Sabah.

1. Introduction

Sabah is one of the states in Malaysia and it is the second largest state in Malaysia. It situated

at the northern tip of Borneo Island which hosts some of the world's oldest and biodiversity-

richest tropical rainforest. Its position is at latitude of 4o2’-7o2’ and longitude 115o15’ -

119o15’, with a landmass of 7.40 million hectare, approximately. It experiences an equatorial


63

climate with the annual temperature ranging from 26o C to 32o C, relative humidity ranging

from 85% to 95% and total rainfall ranging from 1500 mm to 4500 mm.

Map 1: Location of Sabah, Malaysia

The Sabah Forestry Department (SFD) is entrusted to manage forests and regulate forestry

activities in Sabah since it was established in 1914 when the state was still under the rule of

the British Borneo Chartered Company.

Sabah's forests are managed for a broad range of uses and to conserve economic, social,

environmental and cultural values. The Sabah Forestry Department's forest management

planning ensures that the forest resources will remain healthy in the future. Hence sustainable

benefits such as timber and other forest products, recreation opportunities and wildlife

conservation, are generated for the State.

The past functions of the department focused primarily on the collection of royalty.

Commercial logging in Sabah first started in 1879, and in 1914, the Sabah Forestry

Department was established in response to rapid increase in logging activities. The

department however has evolved over the years and later assumed broader responsibilities

covering the protection and conservation of forest reserves based on the concept of

Sustainable Forest Management (SFM). The objectives are as follow:

• To ensure that the management and development of Sabah's forest reserves are in

accordance with the principles of Sustainable Forest Management;

• To optimize the utilization of forest resources in order to sustain socio-economic benefits

to the State;

• To ensure that the development of forest industry corresponds with the long term

productive capacity of the state's resources;

• To ensure sufficient trained manpower and expertise to implement Sustainable Forest

Management efficiently and professionally;

• To intensify the R&D programmes and efforts toward the development and


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implementation of Sustainable Forest Management;

• To conserve sufficient natural forest areas for the protection and maintenance of the

environment, water resources, soils and biodiversity;

• To enhance enforcement strategies to safeguard the forest resources;

• To increase public awareness on the importance of forests and Sustainable Forest

Management;

• To ensure that sufficient financial resources, technology, and logistical supports are

available for the implementation of sustainable Forest Management; and

• To promote the rehabilitation of natural forests and the establishment of forest plantations.

1.1 Forest Reserve and Tpas in Sabah

The department has established forest reserves throughout the state, and is currently the

custodian for about 3.6 million hectares or 49.1% of the state’s land mass. In order to achieve

the dual objectives of economic utilization and environmental conservation, the forest

reserves in Sabah are classified into seven(7) classes based on their specific functions. Seven

(7) classes are (1) Class I for Protection, (2) Class II for Commercial, (3) Class III for

Amenity, (4) Class IV for Amenity, (5) Class V for Mangrove, (6) Class VI for Virgin Jungle

and (7) Class VII for Wildlife Reserve.

Map 2: Forest Reserves and Other Lands in Sabah, 2019

The State Government policy also emphasizes on conservation of its natural ecosystems

through protected areas. To date, more than 26% of the state’s land area (about 1.9 million

hectares) have been gazette as Totally Protected Areas (TPAs), and this figure represents the

largest network of totally protected areas in the Malaysia.


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Map 3: TPAs in Sabah, 2018

1.2 Degraded Forest

In 2018, SPOT6 and SPOT7 images of year series 2015 to 2016 were used to update the cover

of forested area in Sabah. It was found that a total of 4,558,367.97 hectares of Sabah is

covered by forest. National threshold used to define forest is a forest land spanning more than

0.5 hectares with tree height at maturity is 5 meter and a crown cover of more than 30%.

Based on the exercise, we had identified that about 248,116 hectares of forest reserve

categorized as temporarily unstocked and degraded area inside. Degraded area occurs due to

the past excessive log extraction and natural disaster. Forest fire occurrence during drought

season is a main cause of tree loss.

Map 4: Temporarily unstocked and degraded area inside forest reserve, 2016

Basically, degraded area in Sabah defines as areas where secondary forest elements exceed 50%

of vegetation cover. Secondary forests maybe degraded but they hold biological treasures that

have been recognised as vitally important.

Common pioneer species that contribute most of the total basal area of secondary forest in

previously mixed dipterocarp forest, importance sorted in decreasing order, are Macaranga

spp., Mallotus spp., Homalanthus spp., Croton spp., Cloaxylon spp. and Endospermum spp.


66

from the tree family Euphorbiacea; Neolamarckia cadamba, Nauclea spp., Neonauclea spp.,

Diplospora spp., Timonius spp., Pleiocarpidia spp., Mytragyna speciosa and Ludekia

borneensis from the tree family Rubiaceae; Pterospermum spp., Pterocymbium spp. and

Brownlowia spp. from the tree family Malvaceae; Tristaniopsis spp., Syzygium spp. and

Decaspermum from the tree family Myrtaceae; Alstonia spp. (Apocynaceae); Octomeles

sumatrana (Datiscaceae); Duabanga mollucana (Lythraceae); Cratoxylon spp. (Hypericaceae);

Trema spp. (Cannabaceae); and Dillenia spp. (Dilleniaceae).

Meanwhile, temporarily unstocked is area with trees shorter than 1.5 meters that have not yet

reached but expected to reach a canopy cover at least 30% and tree height of at least 5 meters.

2. Forest Rehabilitation Project

In Sabah, forest rehabilitation has several aims such as to create connectivity or to enrich

forest stands to absorb carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere.

A total of 61,635 hectares of Totally Protected Areas (TPAs) in Sabah is categorised a

degraded or poor stocked forest. Therefore, poor forest stands needs intervention. It will

create wildlife source of foods. Cost of forest restoration is ranging from MYR5,000 to

MYR10,000 per hectare, includes maintenance. Whereas, cost of silviculture is ranging from

MYR350 to MYR500 per hectare. Cost depends on the poor stocked forest condition and

types.

A project of forest rehabilitation that aims to enrich forest stands to absorb carbon dioxide

(CO2) namely rehabilitation of logged over forest was undertaken by the Innoprise-FACE

Foundation Rainforest Rehabilitation Project (INFAPRO). The project was initiated in 1992

as a pilot carbon-offset project. The overall objective is to rehabilitate about 25,000 hectares

of degraded mixed dipterocarp forests with native trees as a means of absorbing atmospheric

carbon. The project site is within Ulu Segama Forest Reserve (USFR) in the Sabah

Foundation Concession area. Forest rehabilitation by INFAPRO includes both enrichment

planting and stand tending. Tending refers to treatments such as the cutting of vines, the

cutting of climbing bamboos and the removal of belukar trees in order to promote the

regeneration of climax forest species such as dipterocarp. To ensure that the restored forests

provide suitable habitat for wildlife, about 10% of planted trees are of selected wild fruit trees.

Now, the project is looking for a carbon market trading mechanism for forest financing.

Second example of the forest rehabilitation project is the reforestation of Bukit Piton Forest

Reserve (BPFR). The project aims to restore forest for Orang Utan or Pongo pygmaeusmorio

habitat in area of 11,612 hectares. It a part of the state government’s Ulu Segama-Malua

Sustainable Forest Management (USMSFM) project established on 15 March 2006 covering a

total area of 241,098 hectares.

Part of the project area was a collaborative partnership between the Sime Darby Plantation

Sdn. Bhd. (SDP) and the Sabah Forestry Department. It was initiated began in 2008 to restore

about 5,400 hectares of the forest reserve for orang utan habitat.

Other collaboration which was initiated in year 2010 was the Yayasan Sime Darby (YSD).


67

Yayasan Sime Darby was roped in to facilitate and to accelerate the achievement of the forest

rehabilitation project’s target in Bukit Piton Forest Reserve. The Yayasan Sime Darby

committed about MYR25 million over 10 years to reforest areas which was completed in

2018.

The Sabah Forestry Department, with the assistance of Yayasan Sime Darby and Sime Darby

Plantation Sdn. Bhd.. The Sime Darby Plantation Sdn. Bhd., still continues to monitor the

project to ensure that the planted trees are in optimum condition for growth in order to create

a vital and healthy habitat for the orang utan.

2.1 Forest Rehabilitation in Bukit Piton Forest Reserve

The largest forest rehabilitation project is in Bukit Piton Forest Reserve. The restoration

works had received full supports from Sabah Foundation, WWF-Malaysia, and Sime Darby

Plantation Sdn. Bhd.. The area was logged extensively and harvested using unsustainable

practices in year 1980s to 2007. This, combined with drought that induced forest fires in 1983

and 1997 to 1998, resulted in a degraded forest.

Initially, Bukit Piton Forest Reserve with 11,612 hectares in size was gazetted as a forest

production area in 1961. In 2012, it was reclassified as protection forest with aiming to totally

protect its forest resources specifically as a home of wildlife or Orang Utan and home of the

globe's richest stand of Dipterocarps and other biodiversity. The change in classification is a

significant one as it meant that the forest is protected by law from any form of land

conversion, timber exploitation or extraction of any forest products.

Estimated about more than 300 Orang Utan can be found in Bukit Piton Forest Reserve

(Alfred et al.,2010). The Orang Utan population in the area is completely isolated due to the

distribution of the palm oil plantations to the north and east of the area and the Segama river

to the south prevents the Orang Utan from migrating out of this isolated area for food and

breeding purposes.

Fig. 1 Location of Bukit Piton Forest Reserve

Bukit Piton Forest Reserve


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Planting of pioneer species, dipterocarps, common species and fruit trees are essential to

avoid forest simplification and improve ecosystem structure and community assemblages,

similar to pristine conditions.

2.1.1 Implementation of the Forest Restoration Activities

Poorly stocked areas either for rehabilitation or enrichment planting are selected by diagnostic

ground surveys supported by aerial photo. Planting line or clusters spaced at 12.5 meters are

marked in the field with a planting density of approximately 240 plants per hectares.

The maintenance activity plays an important role in the restoration projects to ensure survival

of the planted seedlings from creepers and shrubs especially in the open area. In 2017, about

10,767.14 hectares were successfully maintained by carrying out line, point clearance,

resupplying of dead seedlings and fertilizing.

In 2016, Bukit Piton Forest Reserve had undergone the 5th surveillance audit (Forest Re-

Certification) by the Scientific Certification Systems (SCS) since it was certified as a Well

Managed Forest by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) in June 2011. Therefore,

application of herbicides, is strictly in compliance with FSC guidelines and Standard of

Procedures (SOP).

The range of mortality varies from 6% to 17% which was recorded three to five years after

planting. The mortality rate is caused by the seedlings quality, technique of planting, wildlife

disturbance, weeds competition, wildlife disturbance and weather condition.

Photo 1: Planted and Maintained seedlings in Bukit Piton Forest Reserve. (From Left)

Seraya Majau and (Right) Kapur Paji.

2.1.1.1 Cost of Forest Rehabilitation

Below are the cost of activities for conducting forest rehabilitation in Sabah:

No. Activities Rate

1 Seedling MYR 5 per seedling

2 Site Preparation MYR 500 per hectares

3 Maintenance MYR 400 per round per hectares

4 Planting MYR 2 per point


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Other cost of components to be considered are the supervisor allowances, capacity building, road

maintenance, field works facilities and monitoring & reporting.

2.1.2 Key Challenges in Strengthening the Forest Rehabilitation Efforts

Based on the Bukit Piton Forest Reserve experience, the most critical challenges in forest

rehabilitation are a) insufficient funding, b) insufficient seedling supply, c) forest fire, and d)

wildlife disturbance. These challenges should be tackled in a way to make the forest

rehabilitation success and achieve the targeted aims.

Below are some of the strategies to strengthen the forest rehabilitation project:

1) To encourage the villagers or local community to establish more nursery by the Sabah

Forestry Department supervision.

2) An adequate training to be given to all staffs and project personnel The quality of human

resources either in laboratory or in field must competent.

3) Engagement of other stakeholders and look for sponsorship or donation for the

conservation efforts.

4) Forest fire tower construction for hourly fire occurrence monitoring during drought

season.

5) State and federal fund must be allocated and sufficient to cover the forest rehabilitation

cost.

3. Lessons Learnt

3.1 Overall Outcome of the Forest Rehabilitation Efforts

Forest rehabilitation is in line with the government policy to increase the totally protected

areas (TPAs) to 30% or 2.2 million hectares by year 2025. This percentage has far exceeded

the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) target of 10% and even

Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) 17% of various types of ecosystems.

While do the forest rehabilitation, the department do the protection of orang utan. Increment

of the size of the totally protected areas could ensure the conservation of orang utan habitat

and other wildlife in Sabah’s forest. By the way, 70% of our orang utan are in totally

protected areas or Forest Stewardship Council Certified forests.

Forest restoration is also the fastest, the cheapest and most effective way in mitigating against

climate change and the department is fully takes advantage of this initiative.

3.2 Accomplishments

3.2.1 Extent of Area Restored

A habitat once ravaged by forest fires and acute timber harvesting practices, is now slowly

experiencing the presence of orang utan population in the area. Today, trees are seen to thrive

in the area, growing and maturing at its expected pace.

But the mark of a true success of reforestation is when wildlife begins to make use of


70

replanted trees, be it for food or for shelter.

BPFR has become one of the largest restoration works being implemented in Sabah since it

was kick started in 2007. The efforts were fully supported by three main stakeholders such as

Yayasan Sabah, WWF-Malaysia, and Sime Darby Plantation Sdn. Bhd. which provide

sufficient funds to restore habitat and enough food sources for orang-utans which are trapped

in the degraded forest and surrounded by small oil palm estates. The restoration projects have

successfully planted about 11,253 hectares or 97% out of its total area.

3.2.2 Orang Utan Population

In 2011, after years of careful observation on the field, WWF-Malaysia’s Orangutan

Conservation Team have found that the orangutans have indeed utilised the replanted trees in

Bukit Piton Forest Reserve. Nests can be found on the Laran and Bayur trees that lined the

forest. Individual orang utan have also been observed to be eating on fruiting trees.

Photo 2: Orang Utan Nest

Orang utan nest census in 2016 found that the orang utan densities range in Bukit Piton

Rehabilitation Project area is between 1.03 to 3.25 individual per square kilometers. Most

nests detected are on the medium size trees and lower crowns of dominant trees for example

pioneers species.

Orang utan population in Bukit Piton Forest Reserve considered as a stable population as no

major catastrophe such as forest fire, habitat conversion or killing have been reported. Instead,

more sightings of mother and dependent young were seen roaming around Bukit Piton Forest

Reserve in the recent years

3.2.3 Establishment of Nursery by Local Community

It shows positive cooperation from the local community surrounding the project area. Segama

community successfully supplied 11,100 seedlings for restoration at Bukit Piton Forest

Reserve. Continued protection and establishment of canopy from fast growing trees through

the current forest restoration project will likely continue to increase orang-utan populations in

Bukit Piton Forest Reserve.

The forest rehabilitation is directly gives opportunity to the Sabah Forestry Department to

engage the local people in forest management. Engagement of the natives in forestry can also

make them benefit from forest rehabilitation. It is our duty to make them to understand on

how to implement and to apply doable method. Based on the Bukit Piton Forest Reserve

project, they have earned household incomes about MYR2,000 or more per month. Indirectly,


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the Sabah Forestry Department helps to reduce poverty rate among the villagers.

Sabah Forestry Department constantly engaged closely with the local communities which are

located adjacent to the Bukit Piton Forest Reserve area. This effort has received positive

response from the community as they obtained their side income and are aware of their

contribution to be part of the project to restore the wildlife habitat in Bukit Piton Forest

Reserve.

As to increase relations with the community, a series of consultation activities and awareness

programme under the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification were carried out with

the Segama and Silam communities, as well as contractor and plantation workers adjacent to

the project area. These efforts are very crucial to give communities awareness on conservation

efforts and how the project area was certified by the international standard, FSC under good

forest practices.

4. The Way Forward

4.1 Priority Given to the Forest Rehabilitation and Restoration of Degraded Land

Forest rehabilitation in temporarily unstocked or degraded land is proven to give a significant

impact to the forest conservation and protection of the flora and fauna in Sabah. This initiative

is constantly and continuously given a top priority towards sustainable forest management.

Stakeholders shows consistent support by providing funding and technology. Identification

and monitoring of degraded land supported by more advance technology for an example,

using of higher resolution of reference data.

The government of Sabah is more transparent with regard to the conservation. Banned notice

on conversion of forest reserves land for oil palm cultivation was published and oil palm

plantation maps are made available for public access. The governance is more supportive by

undertaking efforts to ensure that the totally protected forests will be 30% while also stepping

up reforestation activities, seriously.

4.2 Key Directions of Change

Nowadays, oil palm company is financing much of conservation by get directly involve in

forest restoration works and operation. Recently, the Sabah Forestry Department is proposing

a new forest rehabilitation project borne by the Ministry of of Primary Industries (MPI) of

Malaysia. It will be soon under the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) of The State

Government of Sabah as represented by the Sabah Forestry Department and Malaysian Palm

Oil Council (MPOC). The restoration project area size is 6,500 hectares and located at Lower

Kawag, Ulu Segama Forest Reserve (LKFR). It is situated at southern part of BPFR and

categorised as degraded land which is due to unsustainable logging practices in the past and

burnt twice in year 1983 and 1997.

The project objectives are (i) to identify areas for forest rehabilitation and restoration work; (ii)

Jointly develop the Forest Rehabilitation and Restoration Work Plan; (iii) to finance the forest

rehabilitation and restoration project; and (iv) to develop educational programmes for the

promotion of environmental and conservation awareness. The federal government will help


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Sabah in its restoration of degraded forests as well as carry out fresh surveys on the

population of orang utans and Borneo pygmy elephants in the state.

Other key direction of change is to look further for the new degraded forest reserve area to be

rehabilitated to restore and to enrich forest stands. Getting more local people involve in

managing forest resources throughout the state.

5. Summary

Land use conversion is a crucial issue that could change the entire landscape of forest area

and the status of the land. Changing of land use in alienated land is beyond the Sabah Forestry

Department authority. Alienated land is owned by individual holder or villager. Therefore,

forested area could be anytime logged for other purposes. It could broken of the wildlife or

forest connectivity and unproductive land becomes abandon land.

The government should gazette more state land to be a forest reserve to secure its forest

biodiversity richness. State land forest must be conserved for social, environmental, cultural

values and for its wide range of invaluable benefits to the people.

Forest rehabilitation has reached its objective by improving the breeding of orang utan in a

previously degraded and burnt forest. This activity is one of the strategies to move quickly

into Sustainable Forest Management, conservation and sustainability. Enforcement of the

Sabah Forest Policy 2018 and other land related laws could avoid any land use conversion

activities that cause loss of biodiversity. The Sabah Forestry Department strongly believe that,

under the Sabah Forest Policy 2018, the department is committed to ensure that at least 50%

of Sabah’s land mass is designated and protected for sustainable forest use and tree cover for

environmental protection, biodiversity conservation, and socio-economic well-being. Under

the thrust number 2, the objective number 3 states that to ensure all degraded forests are

restored to enhance their ecological functions. The strategy action plans are (a) to identify

areas of degraded forests in need of restoration, (b) to formulate and implement restoration

plan for degraded forests, (c) to monitor the effectiveness of the restoration activities and (d)

to map out and record the restored forest areas.

The Sabah Forest Policy 2018 rationale strengthens the commitment and direction in

managing designated forest areas and tree cover through sustainable forest management. This

policy takes into account environmental, social and economic sustainability, through good

forest governance and best management practices, to ensure forestry remains an integral and

competitive land use in Sabah. The aim is for institutionalized good governance of forest

management.

Furthermore, based on the powers vested under the Forest Enactment 1968 and Forest Rules

1969, the department has undertaken various efforts to protect and to manage the state’s

forests.

Good governance and smart partnership in forest management is encouraging and assist most

in forest rehabilitation initiative inside forest reserve. Restore damaged ecosystems in Sabah

is a massive effort that involves the Federal Government, the State Government, Non


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Government Organization (NGO) such as World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Sime Darby

Plantation Sdn. Bhd. (SDP).The government should encourages more non government

agencies to invest in forest rehabilitation and management in Sabah. Local and international

contribution could ensure the sustainability of forest management in long term.

References

Alfred et al. 2010. The importance of maintaining a proper database on forest restoration

program for orangutans in Borneo. American Journal of Environmental Sciences 6 (2): 137-

151.

Annual Report 2017. Sabah Forestry Department.

http://www.forest.sabah.gov.my

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2019/04/02/federal-government-to-help-wildlife-

conservation-and-reforestation-efforts-in-sabah/

Normah Abdul Latip, Azizan Marzuki, Mohd Umzarulazijo Umar, Nadiatul Sarah Rais., Land

use and Forestry Management in Sabah: Review of Literature. Aust. J. Basic & Appl. Sci.,

9(7): 317-322, 2015.

Nilus, R.,Chung, A.Y.C.,Pereira, J.T.,Sugau,J.B.,Tangah, J.,Sabran, S.. et al. (2010).

Mangroves of Sabah: An Introduction to the Flora and Fauna. Sabah Forestry Department,

Sandakan.

Sabah Forest Policy 2018. Sabah Forestry Department.

Violini,S.,2013.Deforestation:Change Detection in Forest Cover Using Remote Sensing

Applications. Mario Gulich Institute, CONAEUNC and CONAE, Argentina.

WWF Malaysia. January 2018. Bukit Piton: A Case of Reforestation Success.

WWF Malaysia. January 2017. Orang Utan Population Estimates in Bukit Piton Forest

Reserve, Sabah.


74

Myanmar Rehabilitation and Reforestation Program

Min Maung Maung

Staff Officer, Natural Forest and Plantation Division, Forest Department

Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation, Myanmar

Introduction

Myanmar, located in Continental South East Asia, is an economy largely endowed with

natural forest resources. 58.66% of the total area of the economy was covered by forests in

1990. However, the total forest area of the economy has been reduced to 42.92 % in 2015

(FRA 2015). Obviously, forest resources are dwindling due to many political, economic and

social factors, and consequently, the economy is now ranked as the third most deforested

economy in the world. Therefore, the reforestation and rehabilitation program is thus prepared

to prevent deforestation and forest degradation. Moreover, the program intends to fulfill

international commitments on climate change mitigation and to enhance forest cover of the

economy through reforestation and rehabilitation.

Vision

The reforestation and rehabilitation program is implementing as follows:

• To restore biodiversity and ecosystem in the areas affected by deforestation and forest

degradation to its original condition by using proper silvicultural operations, as well as to

mitigate climate change and

• To support national socio-economic development and sustainable forest management.

Objectives

The objectives of rehabilitation and reforestation are as follows:

• To establish forest plantation by appropriate silvicultural measures and operations,

• To encourage investment of private sectors and smallholders in reforestation activities,

• To support community forestry, home gardens, and agroforestry

• To develop rehabilitation and reforestation policy of Myanmar through multi-

stakeholders’ participation, and

• To encourage participation of stakeholders in planning, implementation and monitoring

of reforestation and rehabilitation activities.

Forest Policy in Myanmar

With the approval of the Cabinet Meeting (27/95) of the Government committee held on 20

July, 1995, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation identified six


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imperatives as follows:

• Protection of soil, water, wildlife, biodiversity and environment;

• Sustainability of forest resources to ensure perpetual supply of both tangible and

intangible benefits accrued from the forests for the present and future generations;

• Basic needs of the people for fuel, shelter, food and recreation;

• Efficiency to harness, in a social-environmentally friendly manner, the full economic

potential of forest resources;

• Participation of the people in the conservation and utilization of the forests; and

• Public awareness of the vital role of the forests in the well-being and socio-economic

development of the nation.

Forests Conditions in Myanmar

The forest cover in Myanmar is about 42.92 %, whereas closed forest and opened forest

account for 21.56% and 21.36% of the economy’s total area, respectively (FAO 2015).

Average annual deforestation rate is about 1.72% (1,348,620 acres) of the economy’s total

area. In addition, degraded forests accounts for 22.29% (37,250,000 acres) of the economy’s

total area.

Fig. 1. Forest cover status of Myanmar

21.56%

21.36%

22.29%

31.98%

2.81% Closed forest

Open forest

Degraded forest with shifting

cultivation

Other land

Water


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Tab. 1 Lists of Forest cover and soil type in states/ regions as of 2015

No. States/ Forest Cover Low forest/

Others Total Regions Closed Open Total Taung-ya

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8)

1 Kachin 7.67 7.6 15.27 2.74 3.99 22

2 Kayar 0.53 0.53 1.06 1.19 0.65 2.9

3 Kayin 1.67 1.65 3.32 2.41 1.77 7.5

4 Chin 2.77 2.74 5.51 1.64 1.75 8.9

5 Sagaing 5.47 5.42 10.89 4.97 7.51 23.37

6 Thnintharyi 3.49 3.47 6.96 2.17 1.58 10.71

7 Bago 1.43 1.42 2.85 2.16 4.27 9.73

8 Magway 0.95 0.94 1.89 3.02 6.16 11.07

9 Mandalay 0.66 0.19 0.85 1.76 4.81 7.42

10 Mon 0.56 0.56 1.12 1.04 0.87 3.03

11 Rakhine 2.56 2.54 5.1 1.21 2.78 9.09

12 Yangon 0.06 0.06 0.12 0.29 2.1 2.51

13 Shan 7.47 7.41 14.88 10.3 13.32 38.5

14 Ayeyarwady 0.54 0.54 1.08 1.41 6.2 8.69

15 Naypyitaw 0.19 0.64 0.83 0.49 0.4 1.72

Total 36.02 35.71 71.73 37.25 58.16 167.14

Source: Planning and Statistics Division (2016)

Forest Department plans to extend Reserved Forest and Protected Public Forest to be 30 % of

total land area of the economy and protected areas to be 10 % of total land area of the

economy. 827 Reserved Forests and 346 Protected Public Forests of 4,133,765 acres (24.70 %

of total land area of the economy) and 39 protected areas system of 9,607,490 acres (7.75 %

of total land area of the economy) had been established at the end of September,2018.

Forest management and implementation of forest conservation activities

Scientific forest management in Myanmar was initiated by Dr. Dietrich Brandis since his

arrival in 1856. The first Forest Management Plan was prepared for teak forests of Bago

Yoma in order to ensure sustainability. Myanmar Selection System (MSS) was initiated in

1881 and the system was scaled up in most District Forests in 1920. Under MSS, trees which

have marketable girth limit are selected and extracted. Meanwhile, enumeration of future

yield and tending operations activities were carried out. Currently, forest conservation

activities are being implemented by drawing District Forest Management Plan from 2016-

2017 to 2025-2026.

Forest operations such as teak girdling, selection marking and felling, plantation

establishment, natural regeneration, improvement felling, weeding, thinning, repairmen of

forest roads, repairmen of reserved boundaries, repairmen of compartment boundaries and fire

protection were carried out in order to enhance quality of forests. Climber cutting, Nyaung-

bat felling and of Reservation of forest areas were later included into the operations while


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enrichment planting, pruning and community forestry were also included in 2013.

Unsystematic extraction which often exceeds official annual allowable cuts (AACs) greatly

damage the composition of forests which subsequently degraded into forest with less teak,

pyinkado and padauk and other valuable species.

East Pago Yoma Project-EPP was implemented from 1979 to 1984 by financial support of

Word Bank in order to fulfill the basic-needs of people and to fulfill demand of timber and

non-timber forest products by the people, Moreover, ADB project was also implemented with

the financial support of ADB. FD established 62, 3000 acres of forest plantations annually.

The highest annual plantation area was 80,000 acres in 1985 the lowest annual plantation area

was 7,600 acres in 2015. By 2016, FD has established 2,180,811 acres of plantations which

accounted for 1,211,695 acres of commercial plantation, 338,009 acres of watershed

plantation, 179,121 acres of industrial plantation, 449,586 acres of village-used fuelwood

plantation and 2,400 acres of mangrove plantation.

Special teak plantation program was initiated in 1998 with high expectation. It was planned to

grow 8,100 ha of teak plantation annually until 2037 and projected to harvest 1.8 mil m3

annually from the final year but the program stopped now. During 8 years (1998-1999 to

2005-2006), about 160,000 acres of teak plantation were established. However, the return

from many plantations is found to be low because of shortage of manpower, limited budget,

weak governance, insufficient maintenance, weak monitoring limited follow-up timely

tending operations, and so on.

Private plantation program was initiated in 2006. The total plantation (Teak, Hardwoods and

Industrial plantation and long term crop plantation such as Rubber, Palm - oil, Sugarcane,

Tapioca) area have reached up to 297,004 acres by 2015-2016. Community forestry was

started in 1995 and 282,432 acres of community forests have been established throughout the

economy by 2016. Private sector and community involvement in plantation establishment are

encouraging situations. However, profits and returns are still found to be low as final harvest

is still long way while intermediate yield could only be harvested from the plantations.

Drivers for Deforestation and Major Reasons of Reforestation and

Rehabilitation

Drivers of deforestation and forest degradation in Myanmar are as follow: -

Direct drivers

Excessive timber extraction

• Illegal logging

• Over cutting of fuel wood

• Land-encroachment for agriculture

• Shifting cultivation

• Mining


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• Dam construction

• Infrastructure construction for urban development

• Expansion of ponds for breeding of fishes and prawns in mangrove forests

• Natural disaster (forest fire, storm, floods, pest, diseases, landslides)

Indirect drivers

• Corruption

• Poverty

• Limited job opportunity

• High demand of forest products

• Lack of land use policy

• Weak monitoring and evaluation

• Limited budget

• Weak law enforcement

• Population pressure

• Poor stakeholders’ engagement

• Weak political support

Myanmar has total population of 51,486,253 with 10,877,823 households. Urban population

accounts for 29.6% (15.24 million) while rural population accounts for 70.4% (36.25 million).

81% of total households use fuel wood, charcoal and briquettes. 86% of rural household use

fuel wood and charcoal while 52% of urban household use fuel wood, charcoal and briquettes.

Thus, forest rehabilitation and reforestation call for due actions in order to provide basic

needs such as food, shelter and fuel to the present and future generation.

Forest rehabilitation and reforestation activities in the past were not fully effective due to the

following reasons

Organizational issues

Insufficient staff limited budget, weak governance, weak monitoring and evaluation, limited

skilled staff, weak stakeholder engagement.

Technological issues

Limited availability of good quality seeds, weak nursery practice systems, weak seasonal

practice (work) for silvicultural and forest management, limited accessibility to advanced

technology, lack of modern techniques, equipment and laboratory.

Policy issues

Lack of national land use policy, lack of forest plantation policy and land tenure, inconsistent

sectorial policy, weak policy support for policy


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Therefore, Myanmar rehabilitation and reforestation program will be implemented in a

systematic way and the program will be designed to reflect existing condition and developed

based on lessons learnt from the past. The program is intended to increase forest cover, to

reduce deforestation and forest degradation.

Expected Outcomes

The rehabilitation and reforestation program is expected to deliver the following outcomes-

• Development of plantation policy

• Practice of suitable silvicultural operations based on degree and level of forest

degradation and deforestation

• The development of Forest Management Committee in respective Districts, Regions

and States.

• The development of coordination mechanism between FD and relevant ministries

• Reviewing and comparing the national (30) year master plan in accordance with the

current status and revising the new reforestation plan.

• Combating illegal logging with participation of local people and relevant line

ministries.

• Fulfilling the basic needs of the local for forest products.

• Phytoremediation of land affected by mining

• Use of proper seed collection methods for reforestation program.

• Job opportunities for local people.

• Enhancement of awareness of local people concerning the value of forests.

• Promotion of applied research

• Promotion of collaboration with international organizations

• Climate change mitigation and adaptation

Project Period

Reforestation program will be conducted based on two project phases. The first project phase

will be (2017-2018) – (2021-2022) and the second phase will be (2022- 2023)- (2026-2027).

Project Area

Three regions included 13 districts under the Dry Zone Greening Department.

• Naypyitaw Region

• Forest Regions and States including 68 districts under Forest Department.

Implementing Institution

With the participation of local people, Forest Department implementing reforestation program


80

with financial and technical assistance of national and international organizations. If

necessary, suitable and interested organizations are allowed to implement reforestation

program and Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation will monitor

their implementation.

Implementing Activities

The following rehabilitation and reforestation activities in line with national forest policy are

implementing:

1) Development of plantation policy; Plantation Policy will be developed during the phase II

of the rehabilitation and reforestation program with close cooperation with national

experts as well as by assistance of international experts.

2) Assisted Natural Regeneration; implement where natural regeneration is insufficient. The

following activities are conducted: Coppicing of unsound trees

• Nyaung-bat felling

• Pruning

• Thinning

• Weeding

• Seeding

• Fire protection

Natural Regeneration; an important activity of forest rehabilitation and restoration to enhance

the quality of degraded forest where there are less than 300 trees per acres growing.

Enrichment Planting; one of the most important activities which intend to enrich natural

forests where natural regeneration is insufficient. In first year, there will be not only planting

of locally adaptable and economically important tree species but also implementation of

normal plantation operations such as weeding, patching, fertilizing and fire protection.

Moreover weeding and fire protection will be carried out for the first 3 years of plantation.

Establishment of forest plantation; Artificial regeneration are conducted in areas where there

is serve forest degradation and deforestation, in areas which cannot be rehabilitated by means

of natural regeneration and by enrichment planting. Forest plantation includes commercial

plantation, watershed plantation, mangrove plantation, village supply/ fuel wood plantation,

others greening plantation and hill green plantation.

Private plantation; Teak (private owned) and other hardwood plantation are allowed in order

to develop the economic sector of the private plantations, to supply the desired raw material

for wood based industrial consumption and for domestic uses and export purposes.

Community forests; in order to supply the development of national economic potentials, to

reduce poverty of rural community, to reduce dependency on natural forest, to stabilize

environment and ecosystem, to provide basic needs of local people and to promote


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participation of local people in environmental conservation activities.

Agroforestry; a practice which integrates planting of forestry and agricultural crops with aim

to conserve water, soil and ecosystem while fulfilling livelihood of local people and

promoting income generation from the practice.

Old Commercial plantation; The condition of old commercial plantation, which was

established between 1981-1982 and 2009-2010, are assessed by actual ground observation.

Based on existing condition of old plantation, plantation standards will be graded.

Distribution of seedlings; distributed to the general public in order to assist housing estates of

rural community, to supply timber, post, pole and fuel for husbandry and animal breeding

purposes, to develop awareness of people on trees and forests.

Tending operation on 5-year old plantations; Pruning and cleaning intends to upgrade the

quality of plantation in the first 5 years. Thinning is a operation on removal of undesirable,

dead and old trees to get growing space in monoculture plantation and natural forests.

Clonal Seed Orchards (CSOs) and Seed Production Areas (SPAs); aimed at conserving good

genetic quality and producing good quality timber by using improved seeds. CSOs and SPAs

will be established for commercial tree species such as of teak, pyinkado, padauk, tamalan

and reserved tree spp.

Seed and Seedling Centers (SSCs); aimed at producing locally and commercially important

superior species using seeds from different provenances of Myanmar while providing

technical assistance and seedlings in reforestation program. To produce sufficient qualified

seedlings in reforestation program, eight research stations and eight seed and seedling centers

(SSCs) and 100000-seedlings nursery are established.

Extension of reserved forests/ protected public forests; According to Myanmar Forest Policy

(1995), it is planned to extend 30% of the total area of the economy as reserved forest and

protected public forest and 5% in short-term and 10% in long term as protected areas.

Currently, 24.79% and 5.75 % of the areas have been established as reserved forest, protected

public forest and protected areas, respectively. Thus, more areas will be extended for

designation as reserved forests, protective public forests and protected areas in States and

Regions.

Water supply; Dry Zone Greening Department (DZGD) implements making small ponds,

construction of the small reservoir, tube wells and preparing reservoir for drinking water for

villages and for animals and for nurseries in central dry zone of Myanmar.

Special greening activities; conducted in drought and dry areas where there is little forest

using fast growing big saplings by Dry Zone Greening Department (DZGD).

Promotion of fuel wood substitutes; 80 % households in Myanmar are using the firewood

according to Myanmar population census in 2014. About 18 million cubic tons of firewood

per year will be needed if calculated using firewood for each township household as 1.4 cubic

tons and for each rural household as 2.5 cubic tons. For the implementation of the project,


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30000 A1 cook-stoves, reducing about 40% the use of firewood, will be distributed with the

aim to contribute and to reduce harvesting of firewood in the natural forests. The local people

who are aware of advantages of these cook-stoves will be trained the methods of making the

cook-stove to contribute and sell by themselves. Dry Zone Greening Department implement

activities by developing action plans in order to reduce deforestation by using efficient

cooking stoves, by-products, fuel-wood substitutes, and by establishment of model village, by

conducting public awareness activities and by establishment of extension camps.

Training; Department staff, workers and villagers of the Forest Department and Dry Zone

Greening Department who implement reforestation activities are trained in different groups to

improve capacity for conducting administration and forest activities.

Applied research; promoted with close collaboration between Forest Research institute and

international organizations. Research related to silvicultural practices, nursery practices,

spacing, physical and chemical characteristics of the species are conducted in different

planting zones. Practical results will be applied.

Extension activities; the following activities are implemented by organizing extension groups

in cooperation with project implementing units. Moreover, participation of CSO and NGOs

plays a vital role in sustainable forest management, environmental conservation, biodiversity

conservation, soil and water resources conservation in extension stations of project zones.

1) Informing and reporting project implementing activities and programs to the district

and township administration departments, relevant departments and CSO.

2) The activities on forest, soil and water conservation, village-owned forest

management, reduced impact logging, establishment of SPA, training program,

research and public awareness will be conducted in close collaboration with

enterprises and departments under Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental

Conservation.

3) For raising public awareness, pamphlet, poster, documents, cartoons videos and

article will be published.

4) Public awareness activities for illegal activities, encroachment and shifting

cultivation and for terrace farming to eliminate traditional shifting cultivation system

and for land preparation method in permanent plots.

5) Public education about village owned plantations as the rural public movement as

firewood and charcoal requirements for rural and urban use are beyond the

productivity of natural forests.

6) Public awareness for establishment of fuel wood plantations according to forest law

section (5), in “establishment of different types of plantations”, village supply fuel

wood plantations are concerned only with local people and private sector can also

have the right to manage and own the firewood plantations under the permission of

Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation.


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7) Public awareness on natural environment, social and environmental development

relating to sustainable forest development.

8) Awareness raising about the role of agroforestry, community forestry and private

plantation.

9) Provision of planting techniques to the general public and establishment of

demonstration plots.

Organizational Arrangement

Organizational arrangement plays an important role for effective and successful

implementation of the project. Institutional capacity is one of the most important elements to

generate sustainable and successful project outcomes. In order to successfully implement

forest rehabilitation and reforestation projects (that have been described), the project is

conducted by forming project monitoring committees and implementation units. The

project is well structured with regards to responsibilities of project committees, classification

of different project zones, developing detail plans for implementing annual project activities,

calculating staff requirements, finding availability of labor force for projects, calculating the

needs of buildings, machines and tools, and estimating budget for forest operations

implemented and tools.

Project Steering committee, Central Project Monitoring Committee, Regional/ State Project

Monitoring Committee, District Project Implementing Unit, Township Project Implementing

Unit and Basic Project Implementing Unit are organized with respectively responsible person

and Terms of reference (TORs) are designated for each committee and implementation unit.

Classification of Plantation Zones

Plantation zones are classified in order to successfully accomplish objectives of rehabilitation

and reforestation program based on management and accessibility. The plantation zones are

classified as follows:

Sr Zone Number Region/ State

1 Zone-1 Tanintharyi/ Mon / Kayin

2 Zone-2 Ayeyarwady/ Rakhine

3 Zone-3 Bago/Yangon/Naypyitaw

4 Zone-4 Sagaing/Kachin/Chin

5 Zone-5 Mandalay/Magway

6 Zone-6 Shan/Kayar

Annual Action Plan

Based on the activities which will be implemented in the respective project zones, Regional

& state level project monitoring committee submit Annual Action Plan to Central Project

Monitoring Committee after preparing the Plan in cooperation with township and basic

project implementing unit level.


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Number of Required Staff

National Rehabilitation and reforestation is conducted into six project zones in regions and

states. On behalf of central project monitoring committee, supervision is led by the director

(Natural forests & Plantation Division under Forest department), one deputy director

(Reforestation Project), one assistant director & staff officer. Apart from the reforestation

activities, the routine forest operations are carried out by the respective township staff of

Forest Department. Within townships in six project zones, reforestation and rehabilitation will

be implemented by basic project implementing units. New staff, totally 1696 staff, (between

ranks ranging from Range officers to nursery workers) are proposed to appoint.

Labor

Since reforestation works have to be usually carried out in reserved forests and protected

public forests, it is important to have permanent and temporary labor. Forest operations will

be successfully done only if the permanent and temporary labor are sustainably available

within the project period. The following measures will be carried out in order to obtain

sufficient labor for operations.

a) Recruitment of labor from 50 & above-household-villages of which settlements were

deserved from forest land.

b) Recruitment of labor from homeless and jobless local people from the villages

nearby the reserved forests.

c) Recruitment of labor from the forest villages which will be established by the forest

department on accessible areas within the project period.

Budget

Within the fiscal years from 2017-2018 to 2026-2027, the budget required for forestry

operations, infrastructure, vehicles, fuel, other necessitates & staff salary are abuout

(573,581.86) million kyats.

Monitoring and Evaluation

In order to assess the expected outputs while implementing Myanmar Reforestation and

Rehabilitation Program, project monitoring committee will be organized within the project

period and monitoring and evaluation carried out as follows;

a) Mid-term evaluation

b) End of Project evaluation

c) Ex-post evaluation

The project will be developed based on the lessons learned from short-term and long term

impacts.

Annual Action Plan prepare through cooperation with implementing teams at township &

basic plantation unit level. Implementing teams at township & basic plantation unit level will


85

implement project activities as described in the plan. The Project Monitoring Committee at

Region & State level pay a monthly inspection visit to the project sites and then submit

monthly progress report to Central Monitoring Committee. In every fiscal year, six inspection

teams jointly organized by Central monitoring committee & monitoring committee at Region

& state level make an overall inspection visit to the six project zones and within one month

after fiscal year, they submit the inspection report to the Central Project Monitoring

Committee.

Conclusion

In order to meet sustainable need for the direct & indirect benefits from the forests for the

current & future generations as stated in Myanmar Forest Policy, forestry operations as

described in National Rehabilitation and Reforestation Program and the extension programs

are implemented nationwide. These forest restoration programs shall not only benefit national

people but also support climate change mitigation within ASEAN region. Therefore, Ministry

of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation, in cooperation with line ministries,

will put its emphasis on implementation of forest rehabilitation program not only by national

budget but also by financial and technical support from international organizations.


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Forest Rehabilitation and Management in Nepal

Mohan Chandra Bishwakarma

Under Secretary, Ministry of Forests and Environment, Nepal

Abstract: Community forestry intervention particularly in hills has significantly contributed

in forest cover increase in recent decades in Nepal. Leasehold forestry partly contributed in

rehabilitation of heavily degraded forest lands. Similarly, large scale plantation programs and

annual plantations activities by different government forestry institutions and communities

have partially supported in forest development. However, unsustainable harvesting of timber

and fuel wood, forest encroachment, haphazard infrastructure development activities such as

road, public building construction etc., forest fire, over grazing along with other underlying

causes like high dependency on forest resources, increased demand for forest products etc. are

realized to be responsible for forest degradation in the economy. Government has formulated a

number of policies and strategies to address these drivers of deforestation and forest

degradation to increase the overall forest productivity. Silvicultural systems based sustainable

forest management in Terai is deriving promising results in managing overstocked and

degraded small forest patches. Rapid expansion of ongoing sustainable forest management

should be made in all possible government and community managed forests to achieve the

intended outcomes. Therefore, introduction of modern tools and techniques along with

generation of adequate skilled human resources is highly essential to support ongoing

technical forest management in Nepal.

1. Introduction

1.1 Forests, People and Other Land use

Forest covers 6.61 million ha (44.74%) of the economy land; forest-5.96 million ha (40.36%)

and Other Wooded Land (OWL) 0.65 million ha (4.38%) (see Annex-1) (DFRS, 2015). Of the

total forest area, 37.80% lies in middle mountain, 32.25% in high mountain and high himal,

23.04% in Churia and 6.90% in Terai. The contribution of agriculture and forestry to national

GDP is estimated to remain at 26.5% in 2018/19 (MoF, 2019). Estimated forestry sector

contribution is 15 % to agricultural sector GDP (MPFS, 1988). Forest supplies 70% of fuel

wood and 40% of animal feed. About two-third of the total households use fire wood as usual

source of fuel for cooking (CBS, 2012).

The current population is 26.49 million and observed annual growth rate is 1.35% (CBS,

2012). Total number of households is 5.42 million. More than 6 million people (21.6%) are

still below the poverty line (MoF, 2018). Forest not only contributes in agricultural

productivity but also supports Tourism, Industry and Energy sectors. The National Land use

Survey Project, 2016 has estimated Forest (39.5%), Shrub land (4.1%), Agriculture (25%),


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Rocky area (14.4%), Grazing/rage land (11.9%) and Remaining (5.3 %) is covered by others

such as rivers, snow, ponds, lakes, urban area, barren land etc (see Annex-2) (DoS, 2016).

1.2 State of Deforestation and Forest Degradation

1.2.1 Deforestation

Forest and shrub land consistently declined during 1964 (45.55%) to 1999 (39.6%). The

current increase in forest cover (39.6% to 44.74%) is due to mainly community forestry

intervention particularly in mountains, abandonment of agricultural land and partly

methodological differences (Niraula et al. 2013, Gautam et al. 2002, Poudel et al. 2015,

DFRS, 2015). The highest rate of deforestation was observed between 1947 and 1980, where

Nepal’s forest cover declined at an annual rate of 2.7%. The annual deforestation rate was

1.7% during 1980s to mid-1990s with 2.3% in hills and 1.3% in Terai (DFRS, 1999). In recent

years, it is observed that forest degradation, rather than deforestation is a primary concern in

Nepal (MoFSC, 2014a).

1.2.2 Illegal Harvesting of Timber and Fuel wood

Illegal harvesting is generally carried out either by local residents or by illegally organized

groups particularly in Terai. Commercial logging is now banned but few cases of over

extraction of timber than approved forest operation plan by CFUGs have been reported.

Illegal collection of fire wood for household use is common throughout the economy. It has

been estimated that over 100,000 cubic feet of timber was illegally harvested in 2009 in Terai

(Khadka, 2010). Currently, demand outstrips supply. There will continue to be a shortage of timber

and fuel wood in Terai region due to high current demand and population growth (Kanel et al., 2012).

About 17.5 million cft timber legally extracted in 2017/18, and amount of timber and fuel

wood supply has continuously increased in the last 10 years (DoF, 2017, MoF, 2019).

1.2.3 Forest Encroachment and Resettlement Programs

The latest figure shows that about 125,110 ha (3,876 ha in PAs and 121,234 ha outside the

PAs) of forest lands have been differently encroached by more than 30,194 households in 740

locations (DoF, 2017, DNPWC, 2017). However, this figure is assumed to be far below than

the actual.

Government sponsored resettlement programs resulted in clearing of forests in Terai in a

massive scale during 1960s. It is estimated that over 140,000 ha forest lands distributed to

landless people in the last 40 years (MoFSC, 2014a). In the past 30 years, 2,819 ha of forest

lands were distributed to landless, free bonded-laborers and resettlements purpose (MoFE,

2018) of which, only 2.65 ha is distributed in the last 15 years for the purpose of relocating

protected area settlement (MoFE, 2018). It is estimated that over 450,000 households are still

landless in Nepal, (HLSLRC, 2010). Use of forest lands legally for resettlement purpose has

greatly reduced in the recent years.

1.2.4 Use of Forests Lands to Priority Development Projects

A total of 16,716 ha forest lands (including 4,690 ha for plantation to SFDP in 1994) have


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been provided to more than 516 development projects during 1985-2018 9 (see Annex-3)

(MoFE, 2018). In the last 15 years, hydropower, security forces, infra-structure development

projects, public building constructions are top most forest land receiving sectors. The amount

of such lands has continuously increased in the last 5 years and this is may be due to

increasing demand of forest lands for hydropower projects (MoFE, 2018).

1.2.5 Grazing, Forest Fire and Other Disturbances to Forest

Nearly two-third of the total forest area was affected by grazing (DFRS, 2015). It is observed

that livestock number has increased by 19% between 2001/02 - 2011/12, when the number of

goat and sheep increased but cow and buffalo decreased (CBS, 2019). Consumption of fodder

exceeds sustainable supply in some regions (Maren et al., 2014).

It is estimated that forest fire burn occurs in 0.16 million ha annually in Nepal. A recent study

in a Terai district revealed that, of the total forest biomass burnt, leaf and grass biomass

constituted more than 90% and only 0.01-0.4% was of tree biomass. This indicates surface

fire is the most common phenomenon (Bhujel, 2019). During 2018, forest fires were recorded

in more than 1303 different locations. Few crown fires particularly in coniferous forests in

mountains were detected few years ago (personal communication with Chief of Fire Desk,

DoF).

FAO estimated a forest loss of 2.2% (23,375 ha) in a 2015 earth quake in Nepal (MoSTE,

2015). Churia was observed to have highest occurrence of grazing, forest fire, landslides and

cutting of vegetation. Tree cutting and lopping were highest in forests of Terai (DFRS, 2015).

1.3 Brief History of Forest Management and Rehabilitation

Forests which were as a private property came under State after 1957. Before that,

commercial logging for timber supply to India and clearing of forests for agricultural

expansions held massively. Government institutions were established to manage and protect

forests. Forest management remained under full control of State till 1976. Then after, it is

realized that only state protection efforts are not adequate to protect and manage ongoing

deforestation. Government formulated its first forestry sector plan in 1976 to manage forests

resources in a sustainable way in cooperation with local communities. As a result, community

forestry emerged to address deforestation problem in mid 1970s. CF expanded throughout

hills massively. Forest Act, 1993 and its Regulation, 1994 formalized and further enhanced

community based forest management. After 2000, leasehold forestry in hills and collaborative

forestry in Terai evolved as new participatory model. After 2014, Silviculture system based

sustainable forest management of forests started in Terai and now is expanding in hills (see

Annex-4).

2. National Level Efforts in Forest Rehabilitation

2.1 National Policy Instruments

Government of Nepal formulated a number of plans and policies to conserve and manage

forest resources. They have played vital role in conservation and management of forests,

watersheds and biodiversity (see Annex-5).


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Plan and Policy

• The National Forestry Plan, 1976

• The Master Plan for the Forestry Sector, 1988/89 (25 years plan)

• The Leasehold Forest Policy, 2002

• The Revised National Forest Policy, 2000

• The Forest Policy, 2015

• The Forestry Sector Strategy, (2016-2025)

• The REDD Strategy, 2018

• The National Forest Policy, 2019

Legislations

• The Forest Act, 1993 and Regulation, 1994

• The National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1973 and its Regulation, 1974

and Buffer Zone Management Regulation, 1996

• The Environment Protection Act, 1996 and Regulation, 1997

Strategy and Guideline

• The Forest Encroachment Control and Management Strategy, 2011

• The Forest Fire Control And Management Strategy, 2010

• The Working Procedure on Scientific Forest Management, 2014

• The Working Procedure on Use of Forest Lands for National Priority Project, 2018

2.2 Key Programs Implemented

The government of Nepal implemented different programs in order to conserve and manage

forests, watersheds and biodiversity to its full extent in order to meet the increasing demand

for forest products without further degrading the ecosystems and biodiversity.

2.2.1 Large Scale Plantation Programs

In addition to following large scale plantations program, regular afforestation and

reforestation activities by different government forestry institutions and FUGs are supporting

to rehabilitate degraded forests in Nepal.

Tab. 1 Large Scale Plantation Programs

SN Program Key features Remarks

1 Sagarnath Forest

Development Project,

1978

Started with clear felling of 10,740 ha heavily degraded

natural forests

Project covers 13,500 ha, of which 10,447 ha is under

plantation (55% is covered by Eucalyptus, 45 % by Sisoo

Under

(FPDB)


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and Teak, and remaining by Khair and other species

Adopted Taungya agro-forestry

2 Ratuwamai

Afforestation Project,

1978

Project covers at 2,713 ha of which 2,240 ha is under

plantation. Eucalyptus is major species planted in 415 ha,

Sisoo and Teak in 200 ha

Under FPDB

3 Nepalgung Forest

Development Board,

1985

Plantation of fast growing species in 3,680 ha Not in

operation

now

2.2.2 Community Based Forest Management

Currently 2.49 million ha forests (including 0.14 million ha in buffer zones) is being managed

by more than 30,000 local forest user groups (CF, CFM, LHF) by which more than 3.84

million households are benefitted (see Annex-6). Community forestry alone shares 2.37

million ha with more than 22,500 user groups (DoF, 2017, DoF, 2018, DNPWC, 2017).

2.2.3 Sustainable Forest Management

within the period of last six years, about 83,000 ha of forests are currently being managed

under Silvicultural systems based scientific forest management. Of the total, 48% in

collaborative forest, 34.5% in community forests and 17.5% in government managed forests

particularly Terai (see Annex-7) (DoF, 2018). The estimated annual timber production target

from SFM is 6 million cft where 3.2 million timber and 2.64 million cft fuel wood (5288

Chatta) have been supplied in 2017/18 (MoF, 2019).

2.2.4 Protected Area Management and Protection Forests

About 23.39% (34,419.75 km2) land is currently under protected area management system

(DNPWC, 2018). Of the total forests of Nepal, 1.03 million ha (17.32%) lie inside PAs

(DFRS, 2015). There are 20 PAs (12 NP, 1 WLR, 1 HR, 6 CA) and 13 Buffer Zones. BZ

cover 5687.78 km2 (DNPWC, 2018). PA management has significantly contributed in forest

conservation. A total of 0.19 million ha forest is being managed under protection forest in 10

different locations (DoF, 2017).

2.2.5 Landscape Conservation Program

The government of Nepal is currently managing Terai Arc Landscape (24,710.13 km2),

Sacred Himalayan Landscape (23336.36 km2), Kanchenjungha Landscape (5190 km2),

Chitwan Annapurna Landscape (32090 km2) and Kailash Sacred Landscape (13224.18 km2)

for the conservation and management of forests, watersheds and biodiversity (see Annex-8)

(DoF, 2017).

2.2.6 REDD Forestry and Climate Change Program

Now implemented in 23 districts in Terai. Major activities are, SFM plan preparation support,

seedling productions, private forestry promotion, technical capacity building by training to

forestry staffs and communities etc.


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2.2.7 President Chure Terai Madesh Conservation Program

Implemented throughout Churia Conservation Area. Major activities are, seedling production

and distribution, plantation, natural regeneration conservation, soil conservation and bio-

engineering activities, forest fire control etc in Churia.

2.3 Institutional Framework

The Constitution of Nepal has decentralized forests, biodiversity, and watershed management

responsibilities in federal, state and local level governments (see Annex-9). National Forest

Policy formulation and protected area management is sole right of the Federal government

whereas management of forests within the State territory is a right of State government. Local

level environmental conservation and management is under Local government.

Tab. 2 Government Key Forestry Institutions Involved in Forest Rehabilitation

SN Federal Government (1) State Governments (7)

1 Ministry of Forests and

Environment

Ministry of Industry, Tourism, Forests and

Environment -7 (One in each states)

2 Department of Forests and Soil

Conservation

Forest Directorate Offices-7

3 Department of National Parks and

Wildlife Conservation

Divisional Forest Offices-77

4 Department of Plant Resources Watershed Management Offices-14

5 Department of Environment Forest Research and Training Centre-7

6 Forest Research and Training

Centre

7 REDD Implementation Centre

8 Forest Product Development Board

2.4 Stakeholder’s Engagement

More than 29,000 community, leasehold and collaborative forest user groups are involved in

the conservation and management of forests. Federation of Community Forest User Groups

(estd. 1995), Association of Collaborative Forest User Groups (estd. 2006), and Association

of Family Forest Owners Nepal (estd. 2015) are major CBOs working in Nepal’s forestry

sector.

2.5 Technology Development

Nepal has used few modern tools and techniques in some to extent such as satellite imageries

during national forest inventories, use of power chain saw in harvesting in SFM, use of

MODIS satellite data in fire surveillance and prevention etc. Similarly, real time SMART

Patrolling has in protected area management and Breeding Seed Orchards have been

establishment in different geographical regions. Indigenous knowledge and practices have

been utilized in forest management activities but introduction of modern tools and techniques

has been realized essential for the technical management of forests in Nepal.


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2.6 Financial Management

Government of Nepal allocated 128.7 million USD for forestry sector in 2017/18 which is

1.18% of the total annual national budget. Foreign aid constituted 22% in national budget in

2017/2018. Of which, forestry sector received 11.7 million USD (0.72% of the total foreign

aid in Nepal) which is a slight decrease in comparison to the last five years (MoF, 2018). In

the past, Government of Nepal worked with governments of Denmark, Finland, Japan, UK,

Germany, Switzerland, Australia, Netherlands etc., donor agencies such as UNDP-GEF,

WWF, IUCN, ZSL etc and multilateral organizations such as World Bank, Asian Development

Bank, for the forestry sector development and is continuing now.

3. Overall Outcomes and Lessons Learned

3.1 Community based Forest Management

Till date, more than 29,000 FUGs have been involved in the management of around 2.49

million ha of forests. CF is effective in improving forest condition in terms of regeneration,

growing stock, density of number of forest patches, biodiversity etc. (Pokharel et al., 2005).

LHF program have produced plenty of grasses and greenery within a two years period

resulting in increased incomes of poor families. Also, community engagement has played

great role in control of forest encroachments, shifting cultivation, forest fires, grazing etc. It is

widely observed that most of forest operation plans of FUGS are still protection oriented.

3.2 Sustainable Forest Management

About 83,000 ha forest is now being successfully managed under silviculture system based

SFM particularly in Terai. SFM has improved total growing stock, natural regeneration, forest

health, ecosystem functions and biodiversity (MSFP, 2016). Supply of timber and fuel wood

has increased than previous years because of different felling operations. Now, SFM is being

piloted in hills (pine forest and others). Inadequate skilled forestry staffs and trained local

users, lack of modern tools and techniques, and off course, lack of financial resources are

some observed challenges in SFM.

3.3 Plantation and Plantation Management

Between 1992-1996, plantations at more than 48,000 ha of forest land was carried out of

which 5,723 ha in government managed forest, 15,423.5 ha in CF, 25,827 ha in private land

and 1,733.4 ha in LHF (CES, 1998). By the year 2000, Nepal Australian Community Forestry

Project alone established plantation in some 20,000 ha of land (Cribe, 2006). More than 5,000

ha plantation has been done in the last three years (MoFE, 2019 unpublished progress report).

More than 144 million seedlings have been produced by government forestry institutions in

the last 10 years utilizing annual budgets (OAG, 2019). About, 10,447 ha of plantation under

SFDP and 2,240 ha under RAP is being managed. These plantations have contributed in

restocking degraded forest lands, supplied timber, fuel wood, poles for telecommunication

and transmission lines, raw materials (eucalyptus leaves) for essential oils production etc.

Mostly planted species are Sissoo (Dalbergia sisoo) and Euclyptus (Euclaytus cameldulensis)

in Terai, and Pinus roxburghii and Pinus patula in hills. Plantation of between (1963-1983)


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were observed successful and have created dense forest cover but plantations after that period

were not found satisfactory due to lack of inadequate quality planting materials, inappropriate

size of planting materials and planting techniques, and inadequate protection measures from

grazing and forest fires (Poudel, 2017).

Taungya villagers are now involved in forest land encroachment, illegal collection of forest

products, setting forest fire in SFDP area. It is observed that natural regeneration conservation

is an effective way of rehabilitating Sal (Shorea robusta) forest even in such areas where long

plantation efforts were proved failure. Growth performance of Eucalyptus planted in agro-

forestry setting was found poor in comparison to pure plantation (SFDP, 2015).

3.4 Private Forestry and Plantation Development

Till now, only 2,458 private forests are formally registered (DoF, 2017). Till now only 131 ha

forest land has been granted to 6 projects mostly for Rubber plantation (Ficus sps.). Las time

in 2004/05, 98.60 ha land was granted for rubber plantation, till then there is no demand of

forest lands for plantation activities. Land security, security of investment, forest crop

insurance, shortage of quality seed providers may be regarded as barriers for private forestry

development. However, private sectors engagement and investment in NTFPs based

enterprise development is increasing in recent years.

3.5 Forest Land Encroachment Control

Out of the total 125,110 ha forests encroached, 4291 ha has been freed from encroachment till

2017 (OAG, 2018). In the last three years, more than 3,500 ha land has been freed from

encroachers and fencing and plantations have been done in some lands (MoFE, 2019

unpublished progress report). Due to weak political commitment evacuation has become

difficult and lack of adequate financial resources rehabilitation measures are hampered.

Negligible amount of lands have been received as compensation from development projects.

These sites were mostly never planted and established as per agreement. Such lands are found

to be illegally encroached by squatters in some places. Monitoring of such projects from the

concerned district authorities is very poor (MoFE, 2018). Development agencies prefer to

construct roads through forestlands as they get the land free and can also avoid diverse types

of local disputes. In some cases, roads are deliberately constructed through the forest land in

order to facilitate the extraction of timber (CNRM, 2010).

4. Ways Forward

• SFM should be extended in all possible government and community managed forests.

Develop adequate skilled forestry professionals and trained manpower at community

level.

• Productive forests should be mapped and managed according to the production potential.

• Protection oriented forest operation plans of CFUGs should be revised in to SFM plans.

CFUGs should be involved in forest based enterprise development in a cooperative

model.


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• Leasehold forest (below poverty line) should be expanded to possible extent. High value

NTFPs cultivation and enterprise developed should be promoted.

• Produce quality seedling by using trusted seed sources. Promote use of planting materials

of appropriate size and type in plantations.

• Arrange appropriate fencing to protect plantation sites from grazing, forest fires, potential

encroachments etc. Provide irrigation and weeding facilities at least for few years.

• Carry out more studies on success of plantations by species, type of planting materials,

geographical locations, type of plantations such as community or government plantation

etc.

• Prefer natural regeneration conservation wherever possible rather artificial regeneration.

• Train more staffs in modern nursery techniques and management.

• High level political committee at centre level should be formed to obtain political support

in forest encroachment control.

• A separate guideline should be developed to attract private sectors in large scale private

plantations and associated forest based industry/enterprise development.

• Develop of forestry parks and or promote urban forestry at barren, degraded public lands

in collaboration with local governments in order to create greenery and also protect land

from further encroachments.

• Promote agro-forestry in private lands with fast growing species in order to supplement

household level demand for forest products especially in Terai. Provide alternative energy

sources such as solar, biogas, improved cooking stoves etc. to them.

• Control burning practice will be highly cost effective and beneficial in forest fire control.

Develop good network of fires lines and maintain regularly. Create awareness on forest

fires during dry season.

• Look for possible alternatives of a priority development projects before approval. Regular

field monitoring of such projects from concerned district level authorities should be

increased in order to get lands to be compensated and plantations to be established.

• High altitude range/pasture lands are not adequately managed yet. An innovative

approach should be introduced for high altitude range/pasture land management. Private

sector can be attracted for NTFPs cultivation in such lands.

• Introduce modern tools and techniques and innovations in technical forest management.

• Institutionalize result based monitoring. Policy formulation should be interlinked with

research and development.

• Forest governance should be improved.


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5. Summary

The highest rate of deforestation (2.7%) in Nepal was observed before 1970s. The causes of

deforestation were, timber export to India for railway sleepers, agricultural expansion, forest

land granting as a private property to family members during Rana regime etc. And

deforestation still continued in subsequent years but the rate reduced to in an average 1.7%.

Government of Nepal formulated different forestry plans and policies, and programs in order

to address deforestation. Community forestry program was introduced during 1970s and

became very successful in contributing rehabilitation of degraded and denuded hills. Success

behind community forestry was involvement of local communities in the protection and

management of forests. Community participation provided better protection to forests from

forest fires, grazing, illegal logging, encroachment etc. Later on, other community based

forest management models including leasehold forest emerged which further supported CF.

Government and community plantations contributed in greenery development in barren and

heavily degraded forests. Government itself initiated Sagarnath forest development project

and Ratuwamai afforestation project in 1978 and later introduced another Nepaljung forest

development project in 1985 in order to manage degraded natural forests by large scale

plantations and natural regeneration conservation. Natural Sal stands were established by

regeneration conservation even in plantation failure areas in Sagarnath. Quality of seedlings

and adequate protection measures must be ensured for the successful plantation in the coming

days. Strong political commitment is required to evacuate encroached forest areas and

arrangement of adequate financial resources is essential. Result based monitoring of forest

lands given to priority development projects should be increased to get compensated lands

timely and ensure plantation establishment. Development of good network of forest fire lines

and control burning practices help to control forest fires. Over and free grazing in forests

should be discouraged by stall feeding. Silvicultural systems based SFM is being

implemented and getting success in Terai both in terms of improving forest condition and

supply of timber and fuel wood without compromising quality of ecosystems and biodiversity.

SFM should be implemented to all possible government and community managed forests in

order to meet growing demands for forest products.

Development of adequate skilled forestry professional and trained human resources at local

level is required for the rapid implementation of SFM. Introduction of technological

innovations for sustainable forest management and policy formulations based on research and

development is essential for the overall development of forestry sector in Nepal.

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assessment of the enabling conditions for community forestry in Nepal. Nepal Swiss

Community Forestry Project, Nepal, (2005).

Poudel, N. R., Fuwa, N. & Otsuka, K. The impacts of a community forestry program on forest

conditions, management intensity and revenue generation in the Dang district of Nepal. 2012:

259–281, Environment and Development Economics, (2015).

Poudel, R.B. Evaluation of Plantation Efforts in Nepal. pp 40-44, Hamro Ban, 2073/74,

Nepal, (2017).

RAP. Annual Report (2071/72). Ratuwamai Aforestation Project-Forest Product Development

Board, Nepal, (2015).

SFPDB. Annual Report (2071/72). Sagarnath Forest Product Development Board-Forest

Product Development Board, Nepal, (2015).

UNEP. Nepal: State of the Environment 2001. United Nations Environment Programme,

Thailand, (2001).

WECS. Energy Sector Synopsis Report Nepal-2010. Water and Energy Commission

Secretariat, Nepal, (2010).


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Abbreviation

BZ Buffer Zone

CA Conservation Area

CF Community Forest

Cft Cubic Feet

CFM Collaborative Forest Management

CFUG Community Forest User Groups

CBO Community Based Organization

DoF Department of Forests

FPDB Forest Products Development Board

FRA Forest Resource Assessment

FUG Forest User Groups

GDP Dross Domestic Products

Ha Hactare

HR Hunting Reserve

LH Leasehold Forest

MPFS Master Plan for Forestry Sector

NP National Parks

NTFPs Non-timber Forest Products

NGOs Non Governmental Organizations

OWL Other Wooded Lands

PAs Protected Areas

REDD Reducing Emission from Deforestation and Forest Degradation

SFM Sustainable Forest Management/Scientific Forest Management

SFDP Sagarnath Forest Development Project

RAP Ratuwamai Aforestation Project

USD United States Dollar

WLR Wildlife Reserve


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Annex:1 National Level Forest Inventories

Report Produced

by Year

Forest Shrub land Total

Million ha % Million ha % Million ha %

Forest Survey and

Research Office

(FSRO)

1964 6.402 45.55 - - 6402 45.55

Land Resource

Mapping Project

(LRMP)

1978/79 5.616 38.1 0.689 4.7 6285 42.8

Master Plan for

Forestry Sector

(MPFS)

1985/86 5.424 37.4 0.706 4.8 6210 42.2

National Forest

Inventory (NFI)

(DFRS)

1999 4.268 29 1.560 10.6 5828 39.6

Forest Resource

Assessment- FRA

(DFRS)

2010-

2014 5.962 40.36 0.647* 4.38 6.61 44.74

* OWL is Shrub land and area with tree crown cover (5-10%)

Source : Adapted from DFRS, 2015

Annex: 2 Land Use Pattern

SN Land Use Category Ecological Region (area in % of national total) Nepal (in %)

Mountain Hills Terai

1 Forest 7.94 21.54 10.02 39.5

2 Agriculture 3.27 11.07 10.65 25.0

3 Rock 12.27 2.13 0.00 14.4

4 Grazing 7.93 3.61 0.35 11.9

5 Shrub 1.35 2.57 0.18 4.1

6 River 0.88 0.86 1.16 2.9

7 Snow/Glacier 1.23 0.27 0.00 1.5

8 Barren Land 0.35 0.04 0.01 0.4

9 Urban 0.84 42.28 56.88 0.4

10 Pond/Lake/Reservoir 0.05 0.01 0.00 0.1

Total

Source : Adapted from National Land Use Project, 2016, Survey Department

Annex: 3 National Forest Lands Provide to Other Priority Project

SN Purpose Number of

Projects Area (ha)

1 Government Offices (VDC,muncipality, other project offices) 92 678.57

2 Hydro Power, Electricity Transmission line 164 3,223.63

3 Landless, land squatters 18 2,819.12

4 Security forces 67 1,726.28

5 Infrastructures- Road, drinking water supply, irrigation projects 57 1,689.66

6 Plantation (Rubber) 7 4,690.40

7 Hospital, school, college 38 881.51

8 Cement, limestone mining 22 398.85

9 Wildlife farming 2 256.37


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10 NTFPS enterprise 2 128

11 Hotel, resort, park, cable car 19 214.74

12 Telecommunication tower 25 6.33

Total 16,716.7

Source : MoFSC, 2018

Annex : 4 Brief History of Nepal's Forest Management

Before 1957 : Forests was administered as private property

up to 1864 Era of forest conversion to agricultural land Commercial logging for timber

export to India and agricultural

expansion

1864-1950 Privatization of forest by autocratic regime

1950-1956 Transition period of conversion of forest from

private property to as state property

1957-1990: Forest was controlled as state property

1957-1960 Nationalization of private forest-forest declared as

state property

Realization of management as

deforestation continued

CF was introduced to rehabilitate

degraded forests in hills

1961-1975 State's control and command approach remained

dominant

1976-1986 Emergence of concept of community forestry

1987-1990 Formalization of current forest policy

1991-2018: Forest has been managed as common property

1991-2000 Translation of community forestry principles and

policies in to practices

Continuation of CF

Introduction of LHF to rehabilitate

degraded forest (<20% crown

cover)

Now, scientific forest management

in Terai and piloting in hills.

2000 on

wards

Recognization of community forestry as an

effective resource management tools

Emergence of collaborative, leasehold forest

management

Promotion of forestry activities in private and

public land

Implementation of SFM

Annex: 5 Forestry Sector Key Plan and Policies

Plan and Policies Key Provision/Features

The National Forestry Plan,

1976

Emphasized on need of sustainable management of forests, technology

development and public cooperation

The Master Plan for the

Forestry Sector,

MPFS,1988/89 (25 years plan)

CF and LHF got high priority

Emphasized on enrichment plantation, larger scale plantations,

seedling production and distribution

Aimed to establish at least a quarter of a million hectare new

plantation by 2010

The Revised National Forest

Policy, 2000 Introduced block forest management and CF in Terai

The Leasehold Forest Policy,

2002

Defined LHF to be practiced in shrub land (< 20%crown cover) by

utilizing people below poverty line

The Forest Policy, 2015

Forest development in encroached area

Not to provide forest land to other non-forestry use unless there is no

alternatives


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Implement SFM in all possible forests

Mapping of productive forest area

The Forestry Sector Strategy,

FSS (2016-2025)

Implementation of SFM

Aimed about 50% of Tarai and inner Terai forests and at least 25% of

middle hills and mountain forest being sustainably managed

REDD Strategy, 2018 Establish and maintain National Forest Monitoring System

Implementation of SFM, promote private and public land forestry

The National Forest Policy,

2019

Defined collaboration and cooperation among federal, state and local

level government for forest management

Aimed to maintain existing forest cover (44.74%)

Rehabilitation of all degraded forest lands, promotion of urban and

family forestry

Legislations

The Forest Act, 1993 and

Regulation, 1994

Categorized forests as national and private forest. National forests

further as government managed including block forest, collaborative

forest, protection forest, community forest, leasehold forest, religious

forest

Transferred forest management right to local communities

Strictly prohibited registering forest land as a private property

Do not provide forest lands for any kind of resettlement programs

Prohibits illegal felling, cultivation, encroachments, grazing, forest

fire, etc in national forests

The National Parks and

Wildlife Conservation Act,

1973, Regulation 1974 and

Buffer Zone Management

Regulation, 1996

Management of different categories of PAs (NP,WLR,HR,CA and BZ)

Mobilization of buffer zone institutions in PA management

Allocation of 30-50% of the annual park revenue for BZ development

program

Prohibits illegal felling, hunting, cultivation, grazing, forest fire, etc in

PAs.

The Environment Protection

Act, 1996 and Regulation,

1997

Provision of IEE/EIA and implementation of EMP

Defines threshold for IEE/EIA

Provision of penalties against IEE/EIA

Strategies and Guidelines

The Forest Encroachment

Control and Management

Strategy, 2011

Implementation of Encroachment Control Plan

Control further encroachment

Evacuate encroached areas gradually

Implement rehabilitation measures in encroached areas

Obtain political commitment for evacuation

Formulated a central level committee comprising representatives from

line ministries, all security forces, FECOFUN

The Forest Fire Control And

Management Strategy, 2010

Implement fire management plans at center, district and FUGs level

Fire fighting in collaboration and cooperation

Reclamation of the fire burnt areas

The Working Procedure on

Scientific Forest Management,

2014

Emphasized on implementation of SFM

Recommended different silvicultural systems according to different

forest conditions

The Working Procedure on

Use of Forest Lands for

National Priority Project, 2018

IEE/EIA to be required

Strictly prohibits use of forests land for other non forestry purpose

except if there is no alternatives


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Equal land area should be compensated and forest created by

plantation at ratio of 1:25 trees

Annex: 6 Forest Land Under Different Forest Management Category

SN Management category Number of

FUG/institution Area (ha)

Involved

Households

1 Community management 29,780 2,356,999 3,843,639

1.2 Community forest 22,266 2,237,670 2,907,871

1.2 Collaborative forest 30 76,012 864,015

1.3 Leasehold forest (Below poverty line) 7,484 43,317 71,753

1.4 Buffer Zone Community Forest 476 138,184

1.5 Buffer Zone Leasehold Forest 63 257 408

2 Others

2.1 Leasehold forest (Commercial) 22 640

2.2 Private forest 2,458 2,360

2.3 Religious forest 36 2,056

2.4 Protection Forest 10 190,809

2.5 Protected areas 20 3,441,975

Source: Department of Forest, 2017 and Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, 2018

Annex: 7 Sustainable Management of Forests in Different Forest Management Regimes

SN Management Regime No of Forests Area Managed (ha)

1 Community forests 285 28,500

2 Collaborative forests 15 40,000

3 Government managed

forests (block forest) 7 14,572

Total 307 83,072

Annex: 8 Nepal’s Conservation Landscapes

SN Landscape Area Km2 Location Objective Total Coverage

1 Terai Arc Landscape -

TAL(2014) 24,710.13 Terai and Churia

Forest and biodiversity

conservation,

livelihood

improvement

Nepal and India

(Total Tal area-

49,500km2)

2

Sacred Himalayan

Landscape -SHL

(2006)

23336.36

High mountain

(watershed of

koshi river

basin)

Mountain biodiversity

and natural resource

conservation and

management

Nepal, Bhutan,

China

3 Kanchenjungha

Landscape 5190 High mountain

Conservation of

critical biodiversity

hot spots in mountain

Nepal, India,

Bhutan

4 Chitwan Annapurna

landscape (ChAL) 32090

Mountain-Terai

(North-south

linkage)

Climate friendly

conservation and

management

Nepal


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5 Kailash Sacred

Landscape KSL 13224.18

Mid-hill -high

mountain

management of

mountain eco-system

Nepal, China,

India

Annex: 9 Forest and Environment management power in three governments

Federal

Government Power

State Government

Power

Federal and

State

Government

(concurrent

power)

Local Government

Power

Federal, State

and Local

Government

(concurrent

power)

National Forest

Policies

Carbon Services

National parks,

wildlife reserves

and wetlands

National and

international

environment

management,

environment

adaptation

Land Use

Policies

Human

Settlement

Development

Policies

Criminal and

civil laws

making

International

treaties or

agreements

Use of forests

management

and environment

within the state

Management of

lands, land

records

State bureau of

investigation

Environment

protection,

biological

diversity,-

Utilization of

forests, forest

conservation

areas

stretching in

inter State

form

Land policies

and laws

relating

thereto

Civil and

criminal

procedure

Environment

protection and

bio-diversity

Protection of

watersheds,

wildlife

Local records

management

Forests,

wildlife,

birds,

environment,

ecology and

bio-diversity

Landless

squatters

management


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Enhanced National Greening Program in the Philippines

Leo Paulo Llorando Ferrer

Forest Management Specialist II, Forest Management Bureau

Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the Philippines

Abstract: On February 4, 2011, Former President Benigno S. Aquino issued Executive Order

(EO) 26 declaring the implementation of the National Greening Program (NGP). The NGP is

implemented in pursuit of sustainable development for poverty reduction, food security,

biodiversity conservation, environmental stability and climate change mitigation and

adaptation. This specifies that the NGP shall plant 1.5 Billion trees covering 1.5 million

hectares for a period of six years from 2011-2016 covering lands of public domain, namely

Forestlands, Mangroves and protected areas, Ancestral domains, Civil and military

reservations, Urban areas under the greening plan of Local Government Units (LGUs),

Inactive and abandoned mine sites and Other suitable lands.

Coordination and consultations with different stakeholders, Peoples Organization (POs), Civil

Society Organizations (CSOs), Local Government Units, and other National Government

Agencies (NGAs) were done to attain targets of the program. This includes coordination

pertaining to watershed planning, survey and mapping, seedling production, plantation

establishment, maintenance and protection activities, and monitoring and evaluation.

With the success of the implementation of the National Greening Program, the coverage of

the NGP has been expanded covering all the remaining unproductive, denuded and degraded

forestlands extending its implementation from 2016-2028 through Executive Order 193

signed by former President Aquino last November 12, 2015.

Introduction

The official land area of the Philippines is about 30 Million hectares that is legally classified

as forest land (15.8M hectares) and alienable and disposable land (14.2M hectares).

Moreover, the Philippines forest cover is estimated at 6,839,832 hectares comprises of 28.3%

(1.9M hectares) closed forest, 67.2% (4.6M hectares) open forest and 4.5% (0.3M hectares)

mangrove forests. With this data, the government has formulated the implementation of the

Enhanced National Greening Program. It aims to rehabilitate degraded areas in the identified

143 critical watersheds supporting irrigations and 146 proclaimed watersheds in the economy,

reforestation of denuded grasslands and brushlands, rehabilitation of coastal and mangrove

areas, agroforestry development of upland farms, rehabilitation of rivers and streambanks and

other areas suitable for bamboo species. Comprehensive activities on the implementation of

ENGP includes survey, mapping and planning, preparation of Work and Financial Plan for


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government budget allocation for the program, comprehensive site development with the

partner stakeholder, survey assessment and preparation of GIS generated maps (shapefiles)

including geoatagging of sites and site coding, plantation establishment and maintenance and

protection activities.

Monitoring and evaluation of activities were also done to verify the status and

accomplishment of established plantations. Validation by the Inspection and Acceptance

Committee (IAC) of the DENR field office serve as basis for payment for the partner

stakeholders. Annual 100% monitoring of survival rate of planted seedlings performed by the

Regional Offices and all reports are subscribed by the officials and are all under oath. Further,

regular annual monitoring done by Forest Management Bureau and Office of the

Undersecretary for Policy, Planning and International Affairs of the department. Internal audit

conducted by the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Anti-corruption of the department

together with the Commission on Audit and Third-Party Evaluation showing transparency on

implementing the program.

Tab. 1. NGP CY 2011-2018 Nationwide Accomplishment (as of January 18, 2019)

Tab. 1 shows the actual accomplishment of National Greening Program implementation

nationwide exceeding its target area being developed. This shows overall success in the

national implementation, even though there were several challenges that were encountered

during the process. For instance, budget allocation for the program for this year have a total of

5.07 Billion Pesos requested to be funded but was significantly reduced by 48.7% or a total of

2.47 Billion budget cut during the National Budget hearing in the Senate. This poses an

adjustment on the activities for this year specifically on establishment of new plantations and

prioritizing maintenance and protection of previously established plantation. Peace and order

situation in the established plantation area are also considered as one of the challenges

encountered by field implementers. Different leftist groups were inhabiting some forest areas

within the plantation sites posing danger to the field implementers and survival of the planted


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seedlings during encounters with the government. Survival of the planted seedlings after the 3

year maintenance and protection activities is also one of the challenges being considered by

the government in the program implementation. The established plantations were maintained

and monitored within the first 3 years from the start of the establishment. This include

weeding activities, hole digging, site preparation, Fire line establishment, application of

fertilizers (mycorrhiza), replanting and patrolling activities. Downloaded budget for the

established plantation already includes funds for the maintenance and protection activities.

Fig. 1. NGP Budget allocation from CY 2011-2018 including the proposed and final

allocation for 2019

The graph shows the budget allotted for the implementation of the Enhanced National

Greening Program and shows the increasing trend from 2011-2015 and reaching its peak at

year 2016 with a downward trend thereafter due to sudden budget cut this year. This results to

adjustments on implementation specifically on plantation establishment and costings on

maintenance and protection activities.

With the implementation of the program on the national level, this call for the different

measures on monitoring the effectiveness, efficiency and transparency of the program.

Through this, all of the established plantation under the program are GIS mapped with its own

specific attributes and color coded per year. Established plantation sites are also posted real

time in the NGP website (www.ngp.denr.gov) for the information of the general public. All

sites are geotagged complete with geographic coordinates with date and time stamps.

Furthermore, all established plantation sites are obliged to provide a Certificate of Site

Development duly signed and sworn by all concerned officials in the field offices. It certifies

and validates the accomplishment of a specific plantation area. This include the before and

after geotagged photos of the sites to instantly grasp status of developments in the area

together with the location, total area developed, date established and validated and computed

survival rate.


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Fig. 2. Sample of color-coded thematic maps, NGP Website with sample site codes,

sample geotagged photos and Certificate of Site Development of established ENGP

plantation.

Conduct of multi-level monitoring

To determine and monitor the efficiency of the project and its impact on the society and the

environment a multi-level monitoring were conducted by several national agencies and

offices. Annual 100% validation of established NGP plantation sites were performed by the

respective Regional Office and all reports are subscribe and under oath by the concerned

personnel. Further, the Forest Management Bureau is regularly monitoring the performance of

established plantations by conducting random sampling on randomly selected sites

nationwide. The Office of the Undersecretary for Policy and Planning and Office of the

Assistant Secretary for Anti-Corruption is conducting an annual performance monitoring and

internal audit activities for ENGP. In relation, the Commission on Audit is closely monitoring

all the financial and physical activities of the project is regularly asking for explanations on

their findings. Furthermore, an independent third-party audit was done by the National

Economic Development Authority (NEDA) through the Philippine Institute for Development

Studies (PIDS) with results presented to several fora in the economy.

Public-Private Partnership is one of the strategies used by the government in implementing

the program. Involvement of private sectors in forest rehabilitation is encouraged to


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rehabilitate more areas within the economy. Private sectors will adopt, fund and manage a

specific area to be rehabilitated and will then be developed as plantation sites. Funding will be

at the expense of the company which will in return be considered by the government as part of

their Corporate Social Responsibility efforts.

The program also has partnerships with different State Colleges and Universities in the

propagation of seedlings and maintenance of Clonal Facilities. This will provide good quality

seedling provenance for the planting and replanting activities. The Department has provided

funds for these colleges and universities in the rearing of clones and seedlings which will then

be used as planting materials for targeted plantations. Furthermore, each province within the

economy has established a Seed Production Areas (SPAs) and Individual Plus Trees (IPTs)

areas for seed sources of endemic and indigenous trees in the economy. With the demands in

the number of seedlings needed in the establishment of the plantation, Mechanized and

Modernized Forest Nurseries (MMFN) were also established per Region in order to support

the need of quality planting materials.

Fig. 3. Different Public and Private partner organizations and stakeholders involved in

the implementation of ENGP.

The program is also compliant with the Procurement Law of the Philippines and follows the

Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System. This system promotes transparency

in government procurement and enhanced opportunities to trade with the government.

Stakeholders that are interested to participate in the program may inquire online provided that

they are duly registered with the system and the target area is within the public domain.

Interested Peoples Organization must be registered with any of the registering office in the

economy (SEC, CDA and DOLE) in order to participate in the program.

Way Forward

As the program continues, the administration has come up with strategies that will further

ensure the success of the program. Reforestation by administration is one of the strategies

seen to be employed in the future wherein areas to be rehabilitated or proposed sites must be


110

within proclaimed and critical watersheds without existing tenure or within the protected area

and no existing Peoples Organization or qualified partner within and adjacent to the area

where the plantation will be established. The field office will designate a Project Manager per

watershed or protected area that is currently an employee of DENR, a registered Forester and

holds a permanent position with at least Salary Grade 18 or Senior Forester in the department.

ENGP sites that are already bearing fruits, latex, timber and other products derived from the

established plantation developed with our partner Peoples Organization are targeted to be

linked to market their products. This is through engagement of partner POs to different private

companies, NGOs, NGAs, and other interested organizations through coordination, meetings,

workshops and involvement in different activities fit to the marketability of their products.

Graduated sites established by year 2011-2016 that are no longer subjected to maintenance

and protection activities are targeted to be rehabilitated by administration prioritizing areas

within critical watersheds and/or areas with low survival rate of at least 30%. Seedlings

sources will be derived from Department of Public Works and Highways Tree replacement

program using the replacement seedlings from the affected trees by the road widening project

of the department, donations from different organizations and concerned offices, seedlings

produced by the Mechanized and Modernized Forest Nurseries and cloned seedlings from the

established Clonal Nurseries.

Conduct of drone image processing and analysis training for field office personnel to further

enhanced their capacity on processing images captured with the use of drones. Use of drones

in NGP sites monitoring and Forest protection activities is also considered. Further, drones

will also be used in surveying and mapping of potential sites for future site development.

Drone being used are the issued DJI Phantom 4 Pro partnered with Agisoft program used to

process image data bringing real time birds eye view of the established plantation which will

be a vital input for future planning efforts and monitoring of the status of the targeted area.

Summary

The Enhanced National Greening Program is a complete example of a national strategy in

forest rehabilitation and restoration. It’s a nationally funded program involving all the

concerned stakeholders in its implementation realizing the need for diverse inputs in its

success. Both financial and physical inputs is essential in the success of the project. With the

implementation of the program for more than 8 years now, it is now realized that various

inputs for funds, planning, implementation, manpower, technology, monitoring and evaluation

efforts, climate, terrain and target setting are significant in the success of the program. Several

challenges have been encountered and have been revisited for solutions and guidance for

future implementation.

Application of different technological innovations in the implementation of the program is

substantial in ensuring the success of the strategies being used in the attaining the targets of

the program. It will also be an important component for future planning and target setting.

Comprehensive Site Development is one of the best approaches in implementing the forest


111

rehabilitation and restoration efforts in the economy. This process involves the community in

the area providing them substantial inputs and technological assistance as partner

stakeholders. It will further give them a sense of ownership in the area which will result to

better management and protection of the established plantation. Involvement of all the

concerned stakeholders in implementing the program is also seen as a good strategy in

attaining its goals and objective.

Adjustments on the strategies and techniques in project implementation will depend on funds

allocated and availability of potential sites to be rehabilitated. Availability of quality planting

materials together with the partner stakeholder that will manage the plantation is also a big

factor in project implementation. Further, monitoring and evaluation activities as a tracking

tool in assessing are important in assessing the efficiency of the project both in the community

and biodiversity.


112

Degraded Forest Rehabilitation and Management in PNG

Vincianna Andrew

Forester Community Forestry, The Papua New Guinea Forest Authority

Abstract: This APFNET Report is based on the outline given in the Forest Rehabilitation

Workshop. The report gives an overview of the programs undertaken to address forest and

land degradation in Papua New Guinea (PNG). The economy has four main regions and this

report is focused on the Highlands of PNG. The Highlands region is mostly high montane

forests, moss forests with a vast degraded grassland and slopes for rehabilitation. The lessons

and experiences learnt during the implementations of the rehabilitation programs are different

from the rest of the world as PNG’s land tenure system is mostly customary ownership, 97 %

customary land ownership.

The report is in three segments. The first segment is basically an introductory to the

economy’s geography, topography, people, culture and the climate. The second segment is

focused on the efforts undertaken for Forest Rehabilitation and Management in PNG. The

approaches and mechanisms for forest rehabilitation, encounters and most importantly lessons

drawn for better avenues for successful programs into the future are in the third segment with

summarized conclusions and way forward for PNG.

Introduction

The forest resource is the livelihood of the 85% of the economy’s population living in remote

rural areas depending on it for their survival and daily needs. The financial returns from trees

harvested also provide economic benefits, providing revenue to local resource owners, both

the provincial and national levels of governments. This forest economy in both the rural and

urban areas enables government services to flow to these isolated or remote communities. As

population increases, the pressure for basic needs and services also increases. As a result of

the conversion of forests areas to other land uses threatens the rich and unique biodiversity

and increasing problems of deforested land and forest degradation. To remedy this program,

Papua New Guinea (PNG) has collaborated with numerous international organizations over

the years including CSIRO, FAO, UNDP, ITTO, JICA, ACIAR and other regional

organizations such as CIFOR, APAFRI as well on a sub-regional level with the South Pacific

Commission. It was through the earlier collaborative works that provenance trials of a number

of species were established forming the basis for future species improvement and

development in PNG. This made possible the implementation of Forest Landscape

Restoration (FLR) and Forest Rehabilitation (FRM) and Management programs in the

economy. However, PNG has moved forward after some attempts on forest rehabilitation has

developed a strategy to shift away from an extractive economy to one that will develop and


113

grow manufacturing, agriculture, forestry (ban of round and promote downstream processing),

fisheries and eco-tourism sectors as this directive is outlined in the Vision 2050.

Forest Types

PNG has various forests cover which are categorized into different types of vegetation

depending on the environment and species dominance. The following vegetation types

recognized are; (1) Low altitude Forest on Plains and Fans, (2) Low Altitude Forest on

Uplands, (3) Lower Montane Forest, (4) Montane Forest – above 3,000 m, (5) Dry seasonal

Forest, (6) Littoral Forest, (7) Seral Forest, (8) Swamp Forest, (9) Mangrove, (10) Woodlands,

(11) Savannah, (12) Scrub and (13) Grasslands.

Geological History

The island of New Guinea is the second largest in the world. It lies between 3.5 and 12 of

south of the equator in the region commonly referred to as equatorial or the `hot-wet tropics'.

The island is approximately 2,500 kilometers long from east to west occupying a total area of

775,000 square kilometers. PNG occupies the eastern half of the island, just north of Australia

with a total land area of approximately 46.17 million ha, of which 5.6 million ha comprises

the islands, namely; New Britain, New Ireland, Bougainville and Manus as well as other 600

smaller islands (Figure. 1).

Fig. 1: Map of Papua New Guinea

Climate

The average annual rainfall experienced throughout the economy varies depending on the

topography from the highlands to the coastal plains. It may reach up to more than 8,000 mm

of rainfall annually in some higher mountainous areas to relatively low in seasonal coastal

areas with 1000-1500 mm of annual rainfall. Average temperatures also varies with altitude,

resulting in hot and humid tropical temperatures in the lowlands and islands and a milder

temperature in the highlands. Frosts do occur above 2, 200 m for very higher altitude areas

such in the Highlands of PNG.

Cultural Dimensions and Population

PNG is considered among the most bio-culturally diverse in the world. Its unique and diverse

environments have supported many tribal groups and communities for thousands of years.


114

These groups and tribes speak over 800 plus distinct languages. However, throughout the

economy two major languages are used; Pidgin and Hiri-Motu, while English is used in

business and educational. This great bio-cultural diversity is a reflective of the extreme

diverse environments as influenced by the immense variations in geology, landforms, climate

and altitude. The diverse environmental conditions are well matched by the diverse cultural

traditions and customs.

According to preliminary census for 2010, PNG’s current total population is over seven

million. Approximately eighty-five per cent (85%) of the population lives in rural areas.

Population densities range from one person per square kilometer in the remote rural areas to

over 500 people per square kilometers on some small Islands. Land shortages are increasingly

common in areas where population densities are greater than 100 persons per square

kilometers. The average population growth rate is about 2.7%, but this varies greatly between

and within provinces, such that the higher growth rates are found in the main urban centers,

while relatively lower rates are recorded in rural areas. In the highlands, this is largely due to

migration into the urban areas.

Land Tenure System

Land ownership in PNG is vested with the traditional customary owners, most of whom live

in rural areas and they account for 85% of the total population. Ninety seven percent (97%) of

the total land area is owned by these traditional customary landowners and they have

complete ownership on their land. Whilst on the other hand, the state and some private

companies and individuals only owned 3% of the land. In terms of forest resource ownership,

the traditional owners owned 97%. The landownership and total area according to Forest

Resource Assessment (FRA) 2010 is shown in Table 1 below.

Forests Ownership Area (ha)

FRA 2010 Categories Forest Area (000ha)

1990 2000 2005 2010

Public forests 946 904 883 883

Private forests (Owned

by indigenous / tribal

communities)

30,577 29,229 28,554 28,554

Other forests 0 0 0 0

Total 31,523 30,133 29,437 29,437

Under the new Land Reform Act, the Special Agricultural Based Lease (SABL), gives the

opportunity back to the indigenous people and this is concerning the 3% state owned land

when the 99 year lease ends. People have the total ownership to lease to any business rather

than forestry development which makes forest rehabilitation a real challenge as rural

communities are more focused on fast making money such as short term agricultural crops.

This becomes a hindrance for forest managers and forests scientists to really get down to the

bottom of it in order to reforest or afforest the forested or grasslands.

Problems of Forest Rehabilitation and Management

The extent of the forest areas has been declining since 1990 from 31 million ha to 28.6

million ha as shown in FRA 2010 (Table 2) below. On the other hand, areas of planted forests


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have increased from 63,000 ha in 1990 to 92,000 ha in 2005, but due to harvesting it

decreased to 86,000 ha in 2010 as shown in Table 2 below.

Tab. 2. Forest characteristics and areas (FRA 2010)

Main forest Characteristics

(Based on FRA 2010

Categories)

Area

Forest Area (000 Ha)

1990 2000 2005 2010

Primary forests 31,

329.20

29,

533.60

28,

343.70

26, 209.90

Naturally regenerated forests 131 517 1, 001 2, 430

Planted forests 62.8 82.4 92.3 86.1

Reforestations na na na Na

Afforestations (grasslands) na na na Na

Total 31, 523 30, 133 29, 437 28, 726

In 2005 it was estimated that over 28.3 million ha (or 61%, FAO, 2010) of the total land mass

constitutes the forested land. A total of 15million ha of these forested lands have been

identified as productive forests, of which 12.2 million ha (81%) has or is currently acquired

for commercial logging, but that 6.0 million ha (40%) is deemed inoperable. Of the remaining

productive forest areas, 2.4 million ha has been logged and left to regenerate, while 0.4

million ha has been converted to permanent alternative land uses, such as oil palm estate

development projects. While another 1.1million ha is converted to other subsistence uses,

mostly by traditional slash and burn form of agriculture (Tate, 2006).

The extent of the forested land has gradually declined due to increasing expansion of forest

clearing through logging, large scale oil palm plantations, oil and gas and mining activities.

Shearman, et al. (2008) reported that 2.92 million ha of the forested land were degraded by

such activities and these disturbed forests are vulnerable to further degradation and

conversion to other uses. Such threats will become increasingly obvious with the increasing

population growth, extractive resource developments, food cropping and the future impacts of

climate change.

The fast population growth in economy has put a lot more pressure on the forests resource as

well as for land clearance for agricultural crops. According to preliminary census for 2010,

PNG’s current total population is over 7million. Approximately 85% of the population lived

in rural areas. Population densities range from one person per square kilometer in the remote

rural areas to over 500 people per square kilometers on some small Islands. Land shortages

are increasingly common in areas where population densities are greater than 100 persons per

square kilometers. The average population growth rate is about 2.7%, but this varies greatly

between and within provinces, such that the higher growth rates are found in the main urban

centers, while relatively lower rates are recorded in rural areas. In the highlands, this is largely

due to migration into the urban areas.


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Forest Rehabilitations and Management Programs

Collaborative programs were initiated with the Australian Scientific Organization, (CSIRO)

started in late 1950s up to the present involved seed collections for different native tree

species which have potential for plantation forestry and farm fruit trees. The Japanese

Government through its Technical Aid program to PNG established the PNG Forest Research

Institute office complex in 1989. It also assisted the institute through the JICA experts in the

establishment of seed orchards for a number of local and exotic species. This collaborations

with partner countries were just for a short time and no project sustainability but still to some

extent, degraded lands and imperated grasslands were rehabilitated through this species trial.

Tree breeding studies was initiated in the economy from seeds collected from wild stands of

A.cunninghamii, A. hunsteinii, Acacia mangium, Terminalia brassii and E. deglupta, and

developed for plantation programs. The programs enabled the establishment of seed

production areas (SPA) or Seed Orchards which provided quality seed sources for

reforestation and afforestation programs in the economy. The main forest trees species

currently developed for plantations include Eucalyptus deglupta, A. cunninghamia, A.

hunsteinii, Tectona grandis, Ochroma lagopus and Acacia mangium and A. auriculiformis.

Several commercial and lesser-known species are currently being trialed under tree

improvement programmes. This improvement program is based on various research studies

and trials of indigenous tree species with the support from donor agencies.

Examples of Rehabilitation Projects in the Highlands of PNG

Seed Storage

Mature Klinkii Afforestation

Nursery


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Barriers in Forest Rehabilitation

Many afforestations, reforestations, initiated under bilateral ties are being offloaded once

donor projects phase out. This makes management difficult due to insufficient funds for

maintenance. Another setback in the expansion of forest rehabilitation is lack of support in

terms of finance from the government as forest rehabilitation is a long term investment for the

rural communities to be involved. The lack of workable framework to pave way for plantation

development through forest rehabilitation and some noticeable barriers are listed below as

experienced in the highlands;

• Man-made bush fires

• Inconsistency supply of materials

• Lack of supervision and monitoring

• Labour intensive

• Lack of financial assistance

Challenges in Forest Rehabilitation

In the foreseeable future, forest rehabilitation and management will be dictated by increasing

population growth and its impacts on the forest resources resulting from the demands for

Drivers of Forest Degradation

Bushfire Mining

Fuelwood Agriculture


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increased socio-economic developments. Thus, influencing the policy directives such as those

illustrated in the National Government’s Medium Term Development Strategy (MTDS) 2010-

2015, the Development Strategy and Implementation Program (DSIP) 2015 – 2030 and the

Vision 2050. At the same time, the challenges of the pending impacts of climate change.

The Government’s strategic direction as outlined in the Vision 2050 document provides

challenges to shift away from an economy dominated by extractive resource sectors to one

that will develop and grow manufacturing, agriculture, forestry, fisheries and eco-tourism

sectors. Of the seven pillars of Vision 2050, two (2) provide clear directions for sustainable

development in forestry and timber industry therefore:

• Wealth creation, natural resources and growth nodes;

• Environment sustainability and climate change.

Under the strategic direction of wealth creation there are three (3) implications for

socioeconomic growth through forestry and these are:

• Eliminating the export of round logs by 2010;

• Ensuring downstream processing of all logs on shore; and,

• Developing forestry plantations in suitable areas, with landowners’ participation.

There is a need to strengthen the awareness on the government’s focus on the forest industry

especially more awareness throughout the economy and more importantly review of the forest

policies and guidelines. Currently, there is no workable policies and framework such to assist

local people in terms of forest rehabilitation and the challenges escalates the efforts. Through

intervention of policies and workable framework in alignment to the 2050 Vision of the

Government in creating wealthier healthier economy.

Summaries and Recommendations

The drivers of forest degradation in PNG is associated with the following environmental

issues; over exploitation of natural resources, unsustainable use of forest resources,

explorations, agricultural project, population pressure, climate change and lack of

collaborations with the indigenous people. Institutions and agencies involved indirectly in

forest rehabilitation and restoration lacks capacity to undertake appropriate strategies and

methods to effectively address forest landscape restoration issues and could benefit from

assistances provided through external collaborations.

As such, PNG has a great wealth of information on FRM in the economy which today’s forest

managers and forest scientists can capitalize from the baseline data. For instance, forest

plantations of commercial species such as Tectona grandis, Pinus species, Ochroma lagopus,

Eucalypts species, Acacia species and Araucaria species were developed on state land

specifically for timber and pulp. Seed orchards are established for the purpose of providing

quality germplasm (seeds) to meet domestic demands for plantations


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Papua New Guinea Forest Authority (PNGFA) is the sole supplier of germplasms to other

stakeholders especially timber companies involved in plantation development. Seeds supplied

are mostly of E. deglupta,Anthocephalus chinensis, Octomeles sumatrana and Acacia

magium. Forest plantations are located in the following provinces; Madang, East and West

New Britain, Milne Bay, Central, Morobe, Western and Eastern Highlands. This companies

have rehabilitated and reforested or afforested the land that was exploited.

Studies on forest trees in plantations in PNG have shown that increasing temperatures in the

area over the past years have changed the soil conditions and appears to be conducive to

termites and other insects thus increasing their attacks on the both plantation and natural

forest trees. In areas where rapid agricultural development is occurring, large areas of forests

have to be cleared to make way for agricultural crops and through this process, a number of

forest plant species are either lost or reduced in numbers resulting in the erosion of the genetic

bases.

The impact of climate change on the vegetation in PNG are becoming more and more evident

as notable changes due to increasing surface and air temperatures, changes in the distribution

and intensity of rainfall, alteration of hydrological regimes, changes in wind patterns and

intensity, altering of fire frequencies and intensities, flooding and erosion regimes are being

observed and recorded over short period of time. This noticeable change is affecting the

behavior of the people to take tree farming as one of the priority activity in terms of

integrating agriculture with forestry as these are part of the rural economy.

Recommendations

The following are some of the issues required by the Medium Term Development

Strategies(MTDS), the Development Strategy and Implementation Programs (DSIP) and the

Vision 2050 to be addressed by the regulating agency and other stakeholders in the economy.

1) Revise the existing Forestry Policy & other forestry legislations to strengthen

conservation and reforestation/re-afforestation programs.

2) PNGFA to develop a National Reforestation Programme to meet the required acerage by

2050 under the Operation Looking for Land and Planting Trees, the 2050 Vision to plant

800, 000 ha by 2050. At the same time timber projects that are located in isolated areas

should develop and establish an effective program to improve the forest composition in

logged over areas.

3) Establish understanding under joint venture agreements with land owners to secure land

to develop Seed Orchards, establish species trials of indigenous species and large scale

reforestation and afforestation projects due to lack of land.

Way Forward

1) Workable Policy and Framework on Forest Rehabilitation and Forest Landscape

Restoration to increase local people participations as they own the land. This will give the

local people the opportunity to fully participate and take ownership of the long term


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investment concerning all associated benefits of tree planting.

2) Forest Institutions and agencies involved indirectly in forest rehabilitation and restoration

lacks capacity to undertake appropriate strategies and methods to effectively address

forest landscape restoration issues and could benefit from assistances provided through

external collaborations with improved technologies and skills.

3) Offloading of responsibilities of responsibilities to the customary landowners as they

owned the land. Assist them with finance and material whilst the government coordinates

and supervise the projects effectively as a joint venture project.

4) Improved laws on forest fire especially man-made fire, with strong penalties to mitigate

man-made fire

5) Therefore it is strongly recommended to take into account all the above and a revised

forest policy in alignment to the 2050 strategic medium and long term strategies. This

would pave way for successful rehabilitation programs by in cooperating all the lessons,

experiences, failures of past projects as a stepping stone. Also increasing funds for

rehabilitation programs with effective monitoring for a greener wealthier healthier PNG.

References

Doran, J.C., Skeleton, D.J. 1982. Acacia mangium seed collections for international

provenance trials. Forest Genetic Resources Information 11, 48-50.

FAO, Rome.

FAO, 2010. Country Report – Papua New Guinea. In Global Assessment Forest Resources

Assessment, 2010. FRA 2010/161. FAO, Rome.

Jeffrey, G.K., 2012. Development of a PNG timber industry based on community-based

planted forest: design and implementation of a national germplasm delivery system (ACIAR

Project FST 2007/078). In Mid-term project report.

Shearman, P., Bryan, J., Ash, J., Hunnam, P., MacKey, B. and Lokes, B., 2008. The state of

the forests of Papua New Guinea – mapping the extent and condition of forest cover and

measuring the drivers of forest change in the period 1972-2002, University of Papua New

Guinea, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.


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Forest Rehabilitation in Sri Lanka:

Case study in Ihala Puliyankulam Degraded Forest

in Dry Zone of Sri Lanka

Senanayakage Mahesh Chathuranga Senanayaka

Assistant Conservator of Forests, Forest Department of Sri Lanka

Abstract: Deforestation and forest degradation are main environmental problems in Sri

Lanka. Therefore, the Government of Sri Lanka has set a target to increase the forest cover up

to 32% of the land area of the economy from the existing 29.7%. Forest restoration and

rehabilitation used as a main tool to increase the forest cover. The programme to enhance the

forest cover commenced in 2014 and around 8700 ha are under rehabilitation and restoration.

Ihala Puliyankulama degraded forest in Ipalogama Reserved Forest in Dry Zone of Sri Lanka

is one of the restoration area among them. The area is 70 hectares and the vegetation of the

land is predominantly grass with scattered trees and shrubs. Various interventions such as fire

protection, removal of grass and other unwanted plants, scattered tree planting, seed sawing

and protection of the land from cattle grazing are the main interventions. The land is

continuously supervised and monitored. It has been observed the improvement of natural

regeneration over two year period. Number of seedlings on the land has been increased

remarkably compared to 2014. Suppression of grass and protection of land from fires has

played a significant role in forest regeneration. It is a challenge to maintain the restoration

process under national and local level external threats. Adequate measures have been taken to

overcome them and to replicate this approach in other similar areas of Sri Lanka.

Introduction

Main land uses of Sri Lanka are Forests, Home gardens, Paddy, Tea, Rubber, Coconut and

other agricultural lands. Forest occupies 29.7% of the total land area of the economy

according to 2010 estimates (Edrisinghe, et.al). There are three main climatic regions in Sri

Lanka and they are Wet Zone, Dry Zone and Intermediate Zone. The mean annual rainfall

above 2500mm is considered as Wet Zone and rain fall below 1750mm is categorized as Dry

Zone. Mean annual rainfall in intermediate zone is between 1750mm to 2500mm (Survey

Department of Sri Lanka). Distribution of the forest cover in Sri Lanka in main climatic

regions shows in Figure 1. It shows that majority of the forests concentrated in to the dry zone

of the economy. In contrast home gardens and rubber plantations are concentrated in to the

wet zone. Most of the paddy and other agricultural lands are located in the dry zone.


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Forest degradation and deforestation are main environmental problems in Sri Lanka. Annual

deforestation rate from 1999 to 2010 was estimated as 0.23% but forest degradation has not

been estimated even though it is taken place continuously at an alarming rate. The

deforestation and forest degradation is higher in the dry zone than in the wet zone of Sri

Lanka. Planned development activities, encroachments, shifting cultivation, illegal felling,

forest fires and cattle damages are main causes of deforestation and forest degradation. As a

result, Sri Lanka suffers many environmental problems such as floods, soil erosion,

landslides, and siltation of reservoirs and loss of biodiversity. In addition, loss of wildlife

habitats becomes a serious problem at present. Human-elephant conflicts, crop damages due

to other wild animals such as wild pigs, giant squirrels, porcupines, barking deer, monkeys

and peafowl are have affected rural livelihood seriously at present as a result of the habitat

degradation. Deforestation and forest degradation contributes to climate change and UNFCC

has estimated it contributes to 17% of the CO2 emissions.


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Fig. 1. Forest Types of Sri Lanka and Climatic Zones

Therefore, there is a national commitment to protect the existing forest area of the economy.

Sri Lanka has planned beyond this target and expect to increase the forest cover up to 32% of

the total land area of the economy.

A Forest rehabilitation and restoration progrmme was commenced in 2014 by Forest

Department of Sri Lanka to enhance the forest area and to improve the quality of the forests.

Forest Department expects to increase the forest cover by another 60,000 ha by rehabilitating

and restoring of degraded forest lands to achieve the national target of 32% forest cover.

Under the forest restoration and rehabilitation programme around 8,700 of degraded forest

lands are being restored and rehabilitated from 2014 to 2016. This programme is implemented

island wide covering dry zone and wet zone and intermediate zone. This report describes the

experience and lessons learnt in this programme in dry zone of Sri Lanka using a case study

of Ihala Puliyankulama Restoration site.

Ihala Puliyankulama degraded forest area which is under restoration programme is located

Ipalogama Reserved Forests in Puttalam district. Figure 2 shows the location of the Ipalogama

Reserved Forest and Ihala Puliyankulama degraded forest and forest cover distribution of the

district. The figure shows the majority of the reserve is degraded. This is due to

encroachments and shifting cultivation. There are dense forest, open forests, scrubs and

grasslands within the forest. In order to protect forest from further degradation and

deforestation, Forest Department surveyed and demarcated the forest boundary in 2004. It

eased the monitoring and supervision of the forest hence illegal activities within the Reserved

Forests decreased. Farmers did not continue shifting cultivation within the forest after the

boundary demarcation.

The area of Ihala Puliyankulama degraded forest is 70 ha and the vegetation is predominantly

grass and patches of shrubs. Impetrate cylindrica, Panicum maximum and Aristidia setaceae

were abundant grass on the land. In addition, Haldina cordifolia and Manilkara hexandra trees

were sparsely scattered. Grass species available on the land are highly combustible so that the

land was prone to forest fires annually during the dry season. These fires were manmade and

originated in adjoining villages due to negligence of the people. In addition, hunters set fires

in the forest to trap wild animals. Due to continuous forest fires, natural regeneration was

interrupted stopped subsequently grass and few fire resistant trees species were dominated on

the land. There are small bushes of large trees which has the potential to grow up to 10-15 m

height. Due to continuous fire damages these trees remain as small bushes. This land was

selected for forest restoration programme in Puttalam district in 2014.

Ihala Puliyankulama forest land is located around 400m away from Putalam –Trincomalee

main road and there are three GN divisions closer the forest. They are Aluthgama,

Palugasdamana, Ihala Puliyankulama and the population is 3887 persons. The main

occupation of them is farming. Main crop of the area is paddy and farmers grow vegetables

and other field crops on uplands. They had practiced shifting cultivation on government lands

but at present very few farmers practice it. The discussions with the villages revealed that


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shifting cultivators have switch over to permanent cultivation on their private lands.

Fig. 2: Location of the Ihala Puliyankulama Degraded Forest

Objective of the Programme

The overall objective of the national forest restoration and rehabilitation programme is to

bring 60,000 ha of degraded forest lands under forest restoration process by the year 2020.

The objective of the restoration programme of Ihalapuliyankulam is to improve the

biodiversity, biomass and structure of 70 ha of degraded forest area.

Key elements relating to the Case Study

Technical Aspects

The natural regeneration was not taken place on Ihala Puliyankulama degraded forest land


125

mainly due to forest fires so combustible grass becomes prominent. Grass cover suppresses

the growth of the seedlings and induces fires so this continues as a vicious cycle. There are

different ways to improve this land. They are Ecological Restoration, Rehabilitation and

Reclamation. Lamb and Gilmour (2003) define above terms as follows.

Reclamation: Recovery of productivity at a degraded site using mostly exotic tree species.

Species monocultures are often used. Original biodiversity is not recovered but protective

function and many of the original ecological services may be re-established.

Rehabilitation: Re-establishing the productivity and some, but not necessarily all, of the plant

and animal species originally present. For ecological or economic reasons the new forest may

include species not originally present. In time, the original forest’s protective function and

ecological services may be re-established.

Ecological Restoration: Re-establishing the structure, productivity and species diversity of the

forest originally present. In time, ecological processes and functions will match those of the

original forest.

Lamb and Gilmour (2003) described the difference between approaches as illustrated in

Figure 3.

Fig. 3. Ecological restoration, rehabilitation and reclamation

In the absence of human intervention the degraded forest may gradually recover and species

richness and biomass will improve slowly towards its original condition (B1 to A in Figure 3).

The rate at which this occurs depends on the speed with which species are able to colonise the

site; it might be accelerated by human intervention (i.e. restoration). Alternatively, recurrent

disturbances (e.g. wildfires or grazing) may further degrade the system and more species may

be lost, pushing the system towards point From B1 to B2. Reclamation is represented by point

E, where a tree plantation or crop monoculture has been established. This may have recovered

the original biomass (E1) or perhaps even exceeded it (E2) because of site preparation and

fertiliser use. Rehabilitation is represented by point F. In this case structure and biomass and

some, but not all, of the original species richness have been recovered. Each of these three

alternatives (A, F or E) might, theoretically, be applied to any of the several forms of

degraded lands (Lamb and Gilmour, 2003)

Biodiversity

Stru

ctu

re, B

iom

ass,

Pro

du

ctio

n


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Interventions carried out in Ihala Puliyankulama Degraded Forest

Ecological Restoration technology was used in Ihala Pulianakulama degraded area and they

are described below.

Fire Protection

Fire is the main cause of degradation in this land so intensive fire protection programme was

implemented. Places whare fire originates were identified and fire line was established

covering the area. The width of the fire line is 10m and all the grass was removed completely

(Figure 4). The length of the fire line is six kilometers. The fire line is cleared once a year

during the dry season. The villages around the area were informed to be vigilant over the fire

occurrence. Forest officers were vigilant about the fire occurrences.

Fig. 4. Fire Line

Promotion of the growth of young seedlings

There are young seedlings on the degraded land but they cannot grow and establish well due

to fire damages and disturbances of grass cover. The grass densely occurs on the land (Figure

5) it suppresses the growth of young seedlings by limiting availability of light, moisture and

nutrient to seedlings. In order to control grass we pressed and bent grass on the ground. Since

it was not successful we up rooted grass and burnt them. It was successful and Figure 6 shows

area where grass was uprooted.

Fig. 5. Grass Cover of the land Fig, 6. Grass removed area

Rehabilitation of burnt trees

Due to seasonal fires, species which have a potential to grow as a large trees become small

bushes. These bushes were managed removing unnecessary branches leaving few stumps

(Figure 6).


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Fig. 7. Burnt saplings formed bushes

Scattered tree planting

Planting of small number of trees was done in places where there were no seedlings to grow.

Locally available species were planted. Selection of species was done by examining species

availability of forest areas closer to the land and by consultation of key informants who know

the history of the land.

Direst Seeding

The rate of natural succession is limited by the slow dispersal of seed on the land. Therefore,

to accelerate the successions, deliberate reintroduction of seeds is done. Seeds were placed

after removing the grass and loosing the soil in patches of one meter diameter.

Educate adjoining people

In addition to above technical interventions, Forest Department informs adjoining people

about the programme and obtains their support for this. This was done using informal

meetings and home visits.

Monitoring

The performance of the programme is monitored continuously. Forest officers visit the land at

frequent intervals to observe the growth of the seedlings and growth of the grass. In addition,

the performance is compared to the baseline also. At the beginning seven samples were taken

from Ihala Puliyankulama to establish the baseline and these samples will be revisited and

study the species composition after three years from the beginning.

Policy, Legal and Institutional Issues

National forest policy of Sri Lanka has three policy objectives. The first objective is to

conserve forests for posterity, with particular regards to biodiversity, soils, water and

historical, cultural, religious and aesthetic values. According to the policy, degraded forests

lands will be rehabilitated as forests for conservation and multiple use production where it is

economically and technically feasible, mainly for the benefit of local people. In addition,

Government of Sri Lanka has set a target to increase the forest cover up to 32% of the total

land area of the economy. Therefore, Forest Policy of Sri Lanka supports this programme.


128

Sri Lanka National Agricultural Policy aims to increase the agricultural productivity through

the application of sustainable management practices. The same policy promotes maximum use

of degraded, barren and infertile lands as well as lands under shifting cultivation to ensure

higher productivity and idle lands to be used to crop/forest cultivation and animal husbandry.

Since shifting cultivation is a cause of deforestation, this policy can have negative effect on

forests. However, using of idling lands for forest cultivation has a positive effect on forestry.

There is a demand for lands for development, settlements and village expansion. Demand for

degraded forests from development sector is high since degraded forests do not consist of

large trees and good vegetation. Further, developers do not recognize a regenerating forest but

instead see an economic opportunity in the form of apparently unused and unoccupied

wasteland. This is a severe threat for forest rehabilitation.

Ihala Piliyankulama degraded forest is vulnerable for development pressure due to above

mentioned reasons and its proximity to Puttalam-Trincomalee highway. However, this

degraded forest is located within the Ipalogama Reserved Forest therefore the potential threat

to the forest is less. In order to aware about forest restoration to general public and interested

parties, Forest Department set up a sign board at the boundary of the restoration land (Figure

8).

Fig. 8. Sign Board

There is a demand for grazing lands in Sri Lanka to provide food for over one million cattle

population in Sri Lanka. More than 90% these cattle are free ranging and the feed on forest

lands. Cattle grazing degrade forests since they damage small seedlings and compact the soil.

Specially degraded forest lands are requested by cattle farmers to develop grazing lands.

Cattle trespassing is an offence according to the forest law so legal action can be taken for

owners who send cattle for forest areas. However, it is difficult to control cattle trespassing

and enforce law since the number of cattle herd is too large to handle. Therefore, law

enforcement is not a practical solution to control cattle damages in forests. According to the

Animal act, cattle trespassing in forest is not illegal.

There are three cattle owners around the Ihala Puliyankulama forest area and the size of the


129

herd is around 200. Forest Department has employed a watcher to protect this site from cattle.

Funding

Government of Sri Lanka funds for the forest restoration programme. The restoration

programme needs continuous maintenance of the land, removing of unwanted plants and

protection the land from fires. The funds available at present are not sufficient to implement

the restoration programme more effectively. If more funds are available project can be expand

to more lands and intensity of interventions can be increased.

Lesions Learnt

Baseline and Performance of the interventions

The vegetation of the degraded land was studied using a sample survey using seven sample

plots selected randomly at the beginning of the restoration programme. The sample plots were

circular shape and size was 500m2 . Two years later same samples were studied again.

A change of species composition is shown in Table 1 and 2. It shows number of seedlings and

shrubs have been increased with the interventions. Sample survey revealed that number of

shrubs has been increased up to 294 individuals per hectare in 2016 from 63 individuals in per

hectare in 2014. The result shows that number of seedlings in 2014 is 43 per hectare and after

two years it is 132 per hectare. Only two new species were recorded on this land which was

not present in 2014. In addition to the number of individuals, I observed the increased growth

of individuals even though it is not measured. Photo monitoring also shows the improvement

of the vegetation. Figure 9 Shows the enhanced growth of the seedlings.

Fig. 9. Growth of the seedlings

Tab. 1. Shrubs in Ihala Puliyankulama degraded forest before and after the intervention

Species Common Name

Number of

individuals / ha

in 2014

Number of

individuals / ha

in 2016

Gmelina arborea Demata 0 14

Ochna laceolata Malkara 9 91

Blachia umbellata Goda ratmal 0 6


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Phoenix sylvestris Indi 11 123

Carissa carandas Karamba 6 6

Memecylon

rostratum Kuratiya 23 34

Croton lacciferrus Kappettiya 14 20

Total 63 294

Tab. 2. Tree species on Ihala Puliyankulama before and after the intervention

Species

Local Name

Number of Species

2014 2016

DBH >5

cm DBH<5cm

DBH >5

cm DBH<5cm

Vitex altissima Milla 9 6 9 23

Grewia rothii Boradaminiya 17 6 17 6

Azadirachta

indica Kohomba 6 0 6 9

Chloroxylon

swietenia Burutha 3 6 3 6

Lannae

coromandelica Bathhik 11 17 11 40

Eucalyptus

camaldulensis Camaldulensis 17 0 17 0

Tamarindus

indica Siyambala 3 0 3 9

Panderu 3 0 3 0

Bauhinia

racemosa Maila 6 3 6 9

Syzygium cumini Madan 0 0 0 11

Cassia fistula Ahala 0 0 0 6

Porawapalu 0 6 0 6

Haldina

cordifolia Kolon 6 0 6 0

Memecylon

angustifolium Korakaha 6 0 6 9

Galseru 3 0 3 0

Asbadda 3 0 3 0

91 43 91 131

The main reasons for the above performance of the project are prevention of the land from

forest fires, removal of grass and protection from cattle damages. During the two year period

only one forest fire was occurred and it was controlled at the beginning before spreading to

larger area. The area damaged due to the fire was around 10 hectares. There are no cattle

grazing on this land since Forest Officers have controled it. During intervention period seed

sawing was done on the land but the success of this is very low.

This restoration programme in Ihala Puliyankulama proves that the forest restoration is a

useful tool to increase the forest cover while improving the bio diversity of the land. Removal

of grass is the main reason for the accelerated natural regeneration. Grass should be up rooted


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to effective control even though, it is an expensive practice. Therefore, we have to find low

cost methods to suppress grass. It is important to improve the participation of local

communities for this programme to protect the site from various threats. Forest Department

can replicate the methods used in Ihala Puliyankulama to other similar degraded forest areas.

Way Forward

Restoration of Ihala Puliyankulama area is a part of the national restoration programme. In

order to understand the performance of the programme it is proposed to conduct detailed

study covering biological and socio economic aspects of the programme. This knowledge

will be useful in future restoration programmes.

Uprooting grass is the best way to remove grass and promote natural regeneration but it is

expensive. Therefore, it is necessary find out low cost method to suppress grass. Seed sawing

is a low cost method for replanting trees but success is low. Therefore, improved seed sowing

methods have to be found out. Since the funding is not sufficient to implement required

restoration activities it is proposed to find additional funds.

Summary

The degraded forest area in Ihala Puliyankulama was restored using different interventions

such as fire protection, removal of grass and other unwanted trees, scattered tree planting,

seed sawing and protection from cattle. Restoration is a slow process which needs continuous

care and supervision. Fire damages and cattle damages are local level threats that can be

managed through supervision. The land is under restoration and number of individuals of

existing species has been increased while two new species are found compared to the base

year of 2014. The technology that we have used is suitable for the land. Since removal of

grass is essential it is necessary find out alternative methods to suppress grass. The direct

seeding methods was not successful on this land and it is necessary to develop technology for

direct seeding. There are external threats from development, livestock and agricultural sectors.

Threats can be managed by informing stakeholders about the programme.

References

Edirisinghe, E. A. P. N., K. P. Ariyadasa and R. P. D. S Chandani (2012), ‘Forest Cover

Assessment in Sri Lanka’, The Sri Lankan Forester 34 (new series): 1–12.

Survey Department Sri Lanka (2007), The National Atlas of Sri Lanka, Second Edition.

David L. and D. Gilmour (2003), Rehabilitation and Restoration of Degraded Forests, Issues

in Forest Conservation. IUCN.


132

Forest Rehabilitation in Thailand

Manop Kaewfoo

Forestry Technical Officer (Practitioner Level),Pong Krai Watershed Management Unit

Department of National Parks Wildlife and Plant Conservation

Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Thailand

Abstract: Thailand has suffered from severe deforestation during the last century. Forest

cover has declined drastically both in terms of area and quality, mostly due to the expansion

of human activities. Much of the deforested area has been used for agricultural purposes, but

much has also been left in a degraded condition. In late 1980s, the forest declined to a point

where the nation decided that the remaining forest should be kept for conservation rather than

further exploitation. consequently, forest policy has shifted its focus from exploitation to

sustainable management and protection. Thailand has set a goal of increasing its forest area to

40% of the total land area, while at present, forests occupy around 31.58 % of the land. With

the intention to retain most of the remaining forest as protected areas and, at the same time,

achieve the goal set, several reforestation and rehabilitation initiatives have been

implemented, especially on those lands in a degraded condition. In terms of forest plantations,

the crucial factors in good plantations are the selection of suitable species, the quality of seed

and seedlings and planting techniques. Additionally, the development of promising

approaches that will facilitate the collaboration is urgently needed to ensure that the

rehabilitation measures introduced will not be of a top-down nature. The current emphasis on

the rehabilitation of degraded forests also provides opportunities to build new relationships

between the government and local communities based on collaboration rather than

confrontation. Successful programs have to take into consideration the social reality of poor

rural households to ensure an equitable sharing of the benefits and costs.

Status of Land Use and Forest Degradation

Forest Land and Land Use Change

Thailand has a total land area of 513,115 km2 (about 51 million ha, or 320 million rai), and a

population of 66,413,979 million people, with an annual birth rate of 10.5 percent in 2018.

The economy is diverse and comprises agriculture, manufacturing and service industries. The

economy has been urbanizing rapidly since the 1980s; in 1965, only 13 percent of the

population lived in urban areas, compared with 23 percent in 1990, declining to 21 percent in

2000 (World Bank, 2000). Population density was 110 people/km2 in 1990, rising to 120.3

people/km2 in 2004 (RFD, 1998; 2004) and rising to 129.43 people/km2 in 2018. Forest

resources, forest land and agricultural land have been interdependent since the start of


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economic development in the 1960s; the economy is based on agriculture. The population

growth and migration, resulting in decreased in the number of forest areas. (Figure 1)

Percentage of Forest Area Number of Thai population (million people)

Source: Sueb Nakhasathien Foundation, 2018

Fig. 1 Percentage of forest area and number of Thai populations

Since the Royal Forest Department (RFD) was established in 1896 to carry out forestry tasks

under the Royal Thai Government, Thailand has enacted five main policies that are relevant to

forestry and forest-related resources: 1) the first Forest Protection Act of 1913, for long-term

forest exploitation benefiting the State; 2) the forest protection policy, which was introduced

as part of the First National Economic and Social Development Plan (NESDP No.1) of 1961

and comprised a few national acts (described in the following section) aimed at achieving 50

percent forest cover; 3) a policy aiming to achieve 40 percent forest cover, which was part of

the third NESDP in the 1970s and altered the original forest protection policy; 4) the first

formal National Forest Policy, which was formulated by the National Committee on Forestry

in 1983 and aimed at dividing the 40 percent land cover into 25 percent under economic or

production forest, and 15 percent under conservation forest − these percentages were switched

after the logging ban of 1989; and 5) the Forestry Master Plan, which was announced during

the Queen’s birthday speech on 11 August 2003 and aims to restore degraded forests,

encourage the forest industry with various plantation schemes, and support the community

forests that local communities have established and are managing, in spite of the long delay in

enactment of the Community Forestry Act of 1992.

Tab. 1. Land Utilization of Thailand by Region, 2017

Region/

Province

Total Land

(ha)

Forest Land

(ha)

Agricultural

Land use

(ha)

Farm size

(ha/household

)

Non-Agricultural

Land use (ha)

Whole

Kingdom

51,311,502.08 16,345,016.1

6

23,880,594.7

2

4.04 11,085,891.2

Northern 16,964,428.8 9,020,705.44 5,201,067.52 3.96 2,742,655.84

Northeastern 16,885,434.0

8

2,504,888.64 10,217,300.0

0

3.74 2,362,283.04

Central 10,390,120.4

8

3,045,287.2 49,825,50.24 5.82 2,362,283.04

Southern 7,071,518.72 1,774,134.88 3,479,676.96 3.42 1,817,706.88

1961 1967 1976 1978 1982 1985 1988 1989 1991 1993 1995 1998 2000 2004 2005

2006 2008 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017


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Source: Agricultural Statistic of Thailand (2018)

In 2000, forests occupy about 17.0 million ha, or 33.2 percent of the total land area.

Generally, percent over the past few decades the area of agricultural land has expanded at the

expense of the forest.

Table 1 shows the distribution of land uses by different regions in the economy. It is evident

that all regions in the economy have reasonable areas of both agricultural land and forests,

with the North being the most heavily forested. The whole Thailand area are divided into 32

percent forest area, non-agricultural land uses into 22 percent and the most agricultural land

uses area is 46 percent. (Figure 2)

Fig. 2. Percentage of land uses in the whole Thailand kingdom

During the past few decades farmers have been encouraged to move from subsistence

agriculture to more market-oriented cash crops, requiring an expansion of the agricultural land

base. The government has also had a policy of leasing “degraded forest lands” to the private

sector for the establishment of plantation crops such as oil palm, eucalypts and for large-scale

shrimp farming. Some of the resulting large agri-businesses forced people off their land so

that they had to seek new farming land, which generally meant they were obliged to move

into the forest and clear more land. These economic factors operating outside the forest sector

have been major drivers of forest clearance. The Northern region, which has traditionally been

an area dominated by shifting cultivation, has witnessed a significant shift towards more

permanent agricultural practices, with an emphasis on cash crops (in some cases as a

replacement for opium).

Thailand’s forest areas declined from 53.33% of the total land area in 1961 to 22.8% in 1999

(FAO 1999). The annual deforestation rates were in excess of 3% for much of the period

(FAO 1998). In 1997, FAO estimated that 329,000 ha of Thailand’s forest areas were being

removed annually, equating to 2.6% annual forest loss. Researchers and other involved parties

agree that there are several direct causes of deforestation in Thailand, for instance, legal and

illegal logging, land encroachment and shifting agriculture. In general, Thai forestry has

undergone four stages as follows (FAO 1998):

1. Early exploitation stage (the mid-1890s to the early 1930s) Logging for commercial

purposes started when teak was in demand here and abroad.


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2. Forest exploitation and management stage (the 1930s to the early 1960s) Logging became

an important economy-building activity. RFD, as the government agency responsible,

attempted to put forest exploitation under management by enacting important forest laws,

opening a school to train foresters and putting them to work to implement forestry laws

and regulations.

3. Peak exploitation decline stage (the 1960s to the mid- 1980s) Logging peaked, export-

oriented agriculture expanded, and the national economic development gained

momentum. As the forests diminished, a growing awareness of the link between the forest

and national well-being emerged.

4. Exploitation closing stage and the beginning of a new forestry era (from the late 1980s)

People developed a high awareness of the adverse effects of forest exploitation. The

forest had declined to a point where the nation had to decide that what remains of it must

be kept for conservation rather than for further exploitation. (Alice and Nobukazu, 2006)

It is generally accepted that the causes of deforestation and forest degradation in Thailand are

diverse (Kashio, 1995; Jantakad and Gilmour, 1999; Rerkasem, 1995;) and include:

• agricultural expansion – for both permanent and shifting cultivation;

• farmers’ need to improve productivity for better economic conditions, leading to the

• expansion of agricultural land;

• rural poverty, including that of disadvantaged and landless people;

• population growth and migration, resulting in increased population in forest areas;

• poorly planned and managed activities of both legal and illegal logging operations;

• poor coordination of policy planning and implementation among the government

agencies

• involved in forest resource management and conservation, and weak institutional

capacity for

• these activities;

• infrastructure development and improved access into frontier areas, particularly in

terms of

• roads, dams and mining.

Forest resources in Thailand have officially been owned by the State or the government,

through RFD, since 1896. In October 2002, the government began to reform the bureaucracy

of the whole economy, and responsibility for forest resources was divided between two

departments: RFD and a newly established Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant

Conservation (DNP). RFD oversees production in the forestry sector, and DNP the protection

or conservation of forests. The ownership of forest resources remains under the government

through these two departments. The private sector and/or local people cannot own any piece


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of natural forest; if they want to have their own forests, they have to establish forest

plantations, forest farms or agroforests. Community forests, which have been in existence for

several years now, have yet to be formalized, particularly regarding rights and responsibilities;

this is owing to the long process of enacting laws, which started in 1990 (see section on

Community management in the chapter on Changes and trends in forest management). Since

the logging ban, a semi-private enterprise agency − the Forest Industry Organization (FIO) −

has been the sole logging operator in plantations and the wood industry in Thailand.

Status of Forest Degradation

The economy has two main forest types, namely evergreen forest and deciduous

Broadleaved closed canopy forests or tropical evergreen forest cover some 36% of the total

forested area. Small but important areas of bamboo, pine forests and mangroves also occur.

Broadleaved open canopy forests cover 54% of the forest area and include: 1. Mixed

deciduous forest with and without teak 2. Dry dipterocarp forest, and 3. Savannas

The Royal Forest Department reported that the forest cover of Thailand in 1910 amounted to

35.9 million ha, or 70% of the land area. In the intervening decades the forest area has

declined to the present 26% coverage in 1993. Much of the loss has taken place since the

1960s, when the forest area has halved (see Table 2). The biggest percentage-wise loss of

forest took place in the Northeast Region with a reduction from 7.0 million ha in 1961 to 2.1

million ha in 1998. At the end of the 1960s, about 70 % of the North of the economy was

covered with forest. However, by the 1990s, two thirds of the forested area above an elevation

of 1,000 meters had been modified through shifting cultivation by ethnic Thai and hill tribe

people. In addition, a large percentage of forest in the North had been heavily logged or

burned and as a result has been converted to savanna woodlands and open grassland

(Charuppat, 1998).

The most recent techniques of land use and forest cover estimation showed that in 2000 the

area was covered with forests at about 17,011,078 ha or 33.15 percent of the economy. The

new statistics deriving from present technology of satellite image interpretation revealed the

increasing forest cover as compared to 25.28 percent of 1999. It should be noted that different

sources give different estimates of areas under various types of land use. These variations are

caused partly by the use of different techniques and different standards for defining forest and

non-forest land. In addition, the aerial photo data base is quite old, so even if estimates are

precise, they may not represent the present-day reality. However, they give useful comparative

data.

Forest resources in Thailand have officially been owned by the State or the government,

through RFD, since 1896. In October 2002, the government began to reform the bureaucracy

of the whole economy, and responsibility for forest resources was divided between two

departments: RFD and a newly established Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant

Conservation (DNP). RFD oversees production in the forestry sector, and DNP the protection

or conservation of forests. The ownership of forest resources remains under the government

through these two departments. Table 3 show the protected areas between 2007 and 2017 in


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each categories of protected areas as National Park, Forest Park, Wildlife Sanctuary, Non-

Hunting Area, Botanical Garden and Arboretum oversees by DNP. Table 4 show the National

Forest Reserves Areas between 2007 and 2017 oversees by RFD.

At present, RFD is encouraging large- and medium-scale private plantations, along with strict

protection of the remaining forests. RFD has recognized the importance of people’s

participation and cooperation since the mid-1980s, but its rigid technocratic and top-down

bureaucratic structure makes it difficult to implement participatory projects that involve local

people in the collaborative management of forest resources and the environment. As long as

RFD’s top-down attitudes and poor support for staff continues, the concept of sustainable

forest management (SFM) will remain an empty promise. In the meantime, policies for

participatory forest management and the joint management of natural resources are

incoherent; understanding and trust are necessary before any real collaboration among

involved parties is possible, and SFM needs to be planned and worked towards.


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Region

Year ha % ha % ha % ha % ha % ha %

1973 11,359,500.00 66.96 5,067,100.00 30.01 1,503,600.00 41.19 2,397,000.00 35.56 1,843,500.00 26.07 22,170,700.00 43.21

1976 10,232,700.00 60.32 4,149,400.00 24.57 1,263,100.00 34.6 2,182,600.00 32.38 2,013,900.00 28.48 19,841,700.00 38.67

1978 9,493,700.00 55.96 3,122,100.00 18.49 1,103,700.00 30.24 2,042,600.00 30.31 1,760,300.00 24.89 17,522,400.00 34.15

1982 8,775,600.00 51.73 2,588,600.00 15.33 800,000.00 21.92 1,851,600.00 27.47 1,644,200.00 23.25 15,660,000.00 30.52

1985 8,412,600.00 49.59 2,558,000.00 15.15 799,000.00 21.89 1,768,500.00 26.24 1,548,500.00 21.9 15,086,600.00 29.4

1988 8,040,200.00 47.39 2,369,300.00 14.03 783,400.00 21.46 1,724,400.00 25.59 1,463,000.00 20.69 14,380,300.00 28.03

1989 8,022,200.00 47.29 2,358,600.00 13.97 778,600.00 21.33 1,722,300.00 25.55 1,460,000.00 20.65 14,341,700.00 27.95

1991 7,714,300.00 45.47 2,179,900.00 12.91 769,100.00 21.07 1,661,600.00 24.65 1,344,900.00 19.02 13,669,800.00 26.64

1993 7,523,100.00 44.35 2,147,300.00 12.72 763,400.00 20.29 1,640,800.00 24.34 1,280,800.00 18.11 13,355,400.00 26.03

1995 7,388,600.00 43.55 2,126,500.00 12.59 759,100.00 20.8 1,628,800.00 24.17 1,245,500.00 17.61 13,148,500.00 25.62

1998 7,306,020.00 43.06 2,098,400.00 12.43 750,700.00 20.57 1,604,900.00 23.81 1,212,500.00 17.15 12,972,200.00 25.28

2000 9,627,028.28 56.75 2,652,694.10 15.71 843,828.32 23.12 2,146,184.65 31.84 1,741,342.97 24.62 17,011,078.32 33.15

2004 9,206,842.40 54.27 2,809,568.96 16.64 824,032.64 22.57 2,124,324.16 31.52 1,794,329.44 25.37 16,759,097.60 32.66

2005 8,938,099.00 47.31 2,533,460.00 15 793,582.00 21.74 2,067,858.00 30.68 1,767,131.00 24.99 16,100,130.00 31.38

2006 8,836,811.00 52.09 2,454,988.00 14.54 788,362.00 21.6 2,055,507.00 30.5 1,729,591.00 24.46 15,865,259.00 30.92

2008 9,507,474.45 56.04 2,755,554.24 16.32 803,340.00 21.01 2,222,757.12 29.81 1,869,439.31 27.03 17,158,565.00 33.44

2013 9,005,376.00 52.36 2,530,229.00 15.09 822,244.00 22.45 2,213,222.00 32.79 1,768,056.00 23.95 16,339,126.00 31.57

2014 9,045,997.00 52.6 2,519,829.00 15.02 812,210.00 22.18 2,218,111.00 32.86 1,769,516.00 23.97 16,365,664.00 31.62

2015 9,039,501.80 52.56 2,505,626.63 14.94 814,684.67 22.25 2,226,903.17 33.02 1,771,840.83 23.99 16,358,557.10 31.6

2016 9,029,437.90 52.5 2,503,651.60 14.93 817,243.89 22.32 2,225,342.16 32.98 1,772,293.27 24 16,347,968.81 31.58

2017 9,020,705.37 52.45 2,504,888.61 14.94 818,178.15 22.34 2,227,109.01 33.01 1,774,134.95 24.02 16,345,016.08 31.58

Source : Forest Land Management Bureau, Royal Forest Department, 2018

Table 2 Forest Area in Thailand by Region, 1973-2017

Whole KingdomNorth North-East East Central South


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Tab. 3. Protected Areas in 2014 – 2017

Source: Department of National Parks Wildlife and Plant Conservation, Statistical data 2017

Tab. 4. National Forest Reserves Areas in 2013 - 2017

Note: 1. Total area of the national forest reserves appeared in this table compiled from the

maps and their corresponding area published in the government gazette which occasionally

overlapped each other and some areas have already been revoked from the reserved category

for other used. 2.In the North, included Nakhon Sawan, Kamphaeng Phet and Uthai Thani.

Source: Department of National Parks Wildlife and Plant Conservation, Statistical data 2017

The following are complementary policies and incentives that would help SFM to become

fully effective:

• RFD’s roles and attitudes need to be substantially changed, and its organization

requires restructuring with a view to the future. RFD was established in 1896, so it is

not surprising that changes need to be made.

• Institutional capacity is needed. Involved agencies should capacitate institutions,

make partnerships and carry out activities with all the parties involved. It is also

Year 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Categories of Protected Areas (ha) (ha) (ha) (ha) (ha) (ha)

National Park 5,472,553.00 5,513,532.00 6,032,384.00 6,032,011.00 6,031,990.00 6,219,886.00

Forest Park 123,879.00 123,671.00 123,879.00 123,608.00 123,518.00 121,899.00

Wildlife Sanctuary 3,620,321.00 3,657,872.00 3,692,937.00 3,692,937.00 3,692,937.00 3,692,937.00

Non-Hunting Area 377,624.00 523,304.00 406,042.00 406,042.00 414,705.00 430,657.00

Botanical Garden 4,628.00 4,137.00 4,137.00 4,538.00 4,538.00 4,538.00

Arboretum 4,189.00 4,284.00 4,297.00 4,302.00 4,302.00 4,252.00

Total 9,605,201.00 9,828,808.00 10,265,685.00 10,265,448.00 10,274,001.00 10,476,181.00

Year 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

Categories of Protected Areas (ha) (ha) (ha) (ha) (ha)

National Park 6,219,886.00 6,219,886.00 6,219,886.00 6,246,274.15 6,315,318.24

Forest Park 121,099.00 145,582.00 145,582.00 145,581.66 113,378.21

Wildlife Sanctuary 3,692,937.00 3,692,937.00 3,692,937.00 3,702,777.96 3,726,936.36

Non-Hunting Area 430,657.00 430,657.00 430,657.00 505,645.83 564,484.55

Botanical Garden 4,638.00 4,769.00 4,769.00 4,768.64 5,002.08

Arboretum 4,152.00 3,923.00 3,908.00 3,916.06 3,915.74

Total 10,475,382.00 10,497,754.00 10,497,739.00 10,608,964.30 10,729,035.18

Year 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Region (ha) (ha) (ha) (ha) (ha) (ha)

North 11,187,504.08 11,187,504.08 11,187,504.08 11,187,504.08 11,187,504.08 11,187,504.08

North-east 5,533,340.00 5,533,340.00 5,533,340.00 5,533,340.00 5,533,340.00 5,533,340.00

Central and East 3,488,906.00 3,488,906.00 3,488,906.00 3,488,906.00 3,488,906.00 3,488,906.00

South 2,818,314.50 2,818,314.50 2,818,314.50 2,818,314.50 2,818,314.50 2,818,314.50

Total 23,028,064.58 23,028,064.58 23,028,064.58 23,028,064.58 23,028,064.58 23,028,064.58

Year 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

Region (ha) (ha) (ha) (ha) (ha)

North 11,187,504.08 11,187,504.08 11,187,504.08 11,187,504.08 11,187,504.08

North-east 5,533,340.00 5,533,340.00 5,533,340.00 5,533,340.00 5,533,340.00

Central and East 3,488,906.00 3,488,906.00 3,488,906.00 3,488,906.00 3,488,906.00

South 2,818,314.50 2,818,314.50 2,818,314.50 2,818,314.50 2,818,314.50

Total 23,028,064.58 23,028,064.58 23,028,064.58 23,028,064.58 23,028,064.58


140

necessary to establish transparency and accountability in forest management

• Security of land tenure and access to resources for local people would help

discourage forest encroachment, but forest tenure under RTG is still rigid at present.

• Local people’s rights to use and manage their community forests must be approved.

(The

• Community Forestry Act has been waiting for approval since 1992.)

• There is need for local institutional development and the recognition of local

communities’ traditional rules and regulations. These can help the planning and

implementation of natural resource management at the local level through TAOs.

• Cooperation and coordination should be built up among the agencies involved in

policy planning, the implementation of natural resource management, monitoring and

evaluation.

• It is important to gain the collaboration of key stakeholders who can help resolve

conflicts over land uses and overlapping land areas between local people and

RFD/DNP. During such conflict resolution, it is necessary to establish the agreement

of both parties regarding the identification of boundaries and the demarcation of land.

• Inappropriate or obsolete legislation/regulations need to be replaced. The political

will to do this is needed.

• Government officials must employ socially acceptable methods (based on equality,

not superiority) when working with local people and other parties.

• It is essential that all stakeholders be involved in the participatory planning of

decentralization schemes.

Fig. 3. Various factors contributing to degradation and loss of forest (TFSMP, 1992)

Figure 3 shows the various factors that contribute to on-going forest degradation and loss. The

degradation and destruction of forest resources in Thailand stems from a variety of reasons.


141

The private purchase, direct or indirect and for whatever purpose, of extensive tracts of

farmland in former forested areas, which were officially reclassified as non-forest areas, has

driven the land dependent peasants to resume their production activities by clearing land in

the Forest Reserve for cultivation. The extensive conversion of forests into farmland is also

caused by the farmers’ need for additional land to increase output, because existing

agricultural productivity is usually rather low. Meanwhile, failures by the state can be

considered as another major underlying factor of forest resource destruction and degradation.

Many government policies are either inappropriate or unclear in their objectives, design,

direction and operation, such as the policies concerning infrastructure development, tourism

promotion, and export crop promotion. Certain laws, official rules, and regulations related to

forest resources are not well-defined either, and may therefore hamper the accomplishment of

goals established by the National Forest Policy and the National Land Policy. This is because

the legal mechanisms cannot function to guide and control land use in the desired manner,

especially the usage of land according to conservation practices in the watershed headland.

Another pitfall is, perhaps, the difficulty to accurately assess the forest situation because the

available statistics and information concerning forest resources are not gathered on a

continuous basis nor by using the same methods each time, and the definitions used in

succeeding studies and reports are not always the same (Kaosa-ard and Wijakprasert, 2000).

Implementation of Forest Restoration and Rehabilitation

In Thailand, reforestation was introduced in 1906 when teak was planted in the form of

taungya plantations. From then until 1960 small areas were planted annually. However, no

clear reforestation plan came up until the first National Economic and Social Development

Plan (NESDP) was introduced in 1960. Accomplishments were very modest; only about 8,754

ha were planted before 1960, of which 92 percent was teak. In the First and Second Plan, it set

up planting targets at 13,000 ha and 140,000 ha, respectively. The planting target was

increased towards the Fourth Plan at 500,000 ha, then declining to 300,000 ha in the Fifth

Plan. In the Sixth Plan, the target was not specified in terms of ha per year. Instead, the

government stated that the Kingdom's forest cover should be increased from 28 to 40 percent

(15 percent for protected forests and 25 percent for economic forests) of total land area. This

target was reversed in the Seventh Plan, i.e., 25 percent for protected forests and 15 percent

for economic forests. By the time when the Eighth and Ninth Plan were introduced

reforestation work had become less important for development in the government’s view due

to previous unsatisfactory results. At the present, it is unlikely that the government will

consider reforestation work as an important means for rehabilitating degraded forest land

rather than enhancing natural regeneration by only protecting the area from forest fire.

(Jamroenprucksa, 2004)

Impacts of Forest Degradation

The disappearance of large tracts of forest vegetation denotes the possible loss of important

forest ecosystems, particularly those characterized as unique or uncommon and possessing a

great diversity of sophisticated life in all of the vertical stratification. They also serve as


142

natural habitats to rare and endemic species of plants and animals in Thailand. The loss of

forested areas often makes it difficult or even impossible to restore the ecosystem to its

natural state. The loss of many distinctive forest ecosystems from the economy must be taken

as the most negative experience. It must be prevented at all costs, not only for the purpose of

protecting biodiversity in all trophic levels, but also because the general public and future

generations may be deprived of their right to biodiversity and welfare. Once the rare and

unique forest ecosystems are depleted or damaged, there will be no likely way of finding

replacements or alternatives for future generations to pursue advancement in science or to

utilize the various biological resources to sustain human well-being and development.

The qualitative degradation of forest ecosystems involves changes in the community structure

of wild plant species induced by human activities such as wood cutting, foraging and land

clearing, but which take place sporadically and not to any great extent, or to an extent that

permits the ecosystem to successfully restore itself to its original state over the years. To

assess whether the extent to which external disturbances will have a bearing on the

sustainability of an ecosystem, various indicators are needed such as species richness, tree

density, basal area, the growth distribution of each species, relative density, relative

dominance, relative frequency, and the importance value index of each species in a specific

forest ecosystem. In addition, tree vigor, regeneration patterns, and stages of succession can

also serve as indicators of the degree to which forest ecosystem degradation has occurred.

Nevertheless, the most obvious consequence of forest loss and degradation is the loss of

biodiversity. Thailand’s rich reserves of biodiversity have been severely degraded, particularly

during

recent decades. However, the extent of the loss is not clear. Also, of importance is the loss of

environmental services, such as watershed functions and carbon sequestration. Quantification

of these services is even more difficult to determine. There is also a widely held view that the

loss of forest cover has impacted adversely on water supplies in Thailand’s major river

systems. Even though the weight of scientific evidence does not support these views, they

have become part of the local belief system.

Current Policy Governing Land Use and Restoration/Rehabilitation

Forest Land Zoning

Since 1989 following the declaration of the logging ban operation in Thailand, the Ministry of

Agriculture and Cooperatives instructed the Royal Forest Department to undertake a survey of

the status of the forest in all areas that previously had been allocated as logging concessions.

The purpose of this survey was to establish clearly defined forest land classifications within

national forest reserves. The three zones are classified as follows:

• Conservation Zone (or Zone C)

The land in this zone is covered with forest trees that are healthy and must be conserved. The

area is managed for being national parks or wildlife sanctuaries.

• Economic Zone (or Zone E)


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The forest condition in this zone is partly degraded. However, the assessment of soil

capability indicates that these areas are suitable for the cultivation of tree crops, particularly

forest tree crops.

• Agricultural Land Reform Zone (or Zone A)

The land in this zone has been deforested and is occupied by permanent settlers. The

communities in these areas are permanent and people are cultivating a combination of rice,

upland crops, and permanent tree crops. These areas have been shifted from the control of

RFD to Agricultural Land Reform Office in order to give land tenure to the settlers.

In Thailand, any piece of land not covered by deeds or documents according to the processes

of the Land Code of 1954 was to be defined as forest land. Therefore, the state forest can be

considerably expanded in spite of having forest settlers. In 1999, there are 1,221 units of

forest reserve of 23,037,000 km2 or 45.9% of the economy (Royal Forest Department, 2001).

The potential areas for reforestation are in the category of Conservation and Economic zones

which covered 18.6 percent of the economy area or 9,558,400 ha. However, it has been found

that there are a number of small holders already occupying the land. It requires their

cooperation for reforestation of the land, and appropriate incentives should be provided.

Land Right Certification

The government has tried to preserve and protect land for forestry. Large forest reserve areas

have been destroyed in spite of this. The enforcement of the law and the protection of natural

and planted forests have been ineffective. Another dimension of the problem is the fact that

about 6 million hectares of encroached forest land where farming has been practiced for

decades is actually suitable for agriculture (Onchan, 1990). However, the government is

reluctant to give up, or alienate the land to people now occupying it. It has for a long time not

been argued that if the land was legally allocated to the farmers it could be used more

efficiently. Forest farms could be such an efficient land use. On the other hand, there is a

worry that if the forest occupants are given the land certificate, they will sell the land right

illegally, move and continue forest encroachment. The government has granted land rights

through a number of land allocation agencies such as Agricultural Land Reform Office, Public

Welfare Department, Cooperative Promotion Department, and RFD. However, this has so far

been rather ineffective in reducing forest encroachment.

In the study area, it is estimated that the area under rubber plantation and fruit tree plantation

covering 30 percent of the watershed has received land right certificate (S.P.K.4-01) issued by

the Agricultural Land Reform Office. As the survey revealed, there are some farmers who

prefer not to have all their land subjected to that land right certificate in spite of having illegal

ownership. This is the case when they have more land than the rule by the government defines

which allows less than 50 rai for the certificate (Jamroenprucksa,2004)

National Forest Policy

In Thailand, the concrete policy for reforestation can be accounted from the beginning of the

first National Economic, Social and Development Plan (NESDP), The National Forest Policy


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that required Thailand to have forest cover at 40% of the total land area was also changed to

incorporate the rising awareness into its tasks. Within the 40% of the economy land area, the

ratio of conservation and commercial forest, which used to be 15:25, was changed to 25:15,

respectively. During the National Economic and Social Development Plan (NESDP 1-6

(1961-1991)) agricultural development for export was the main priority in Thailand’s

development, and farmers were encouraged to expand their farmland. Later, during NESDP 8

(1997 to 2001) − almost too late − the government recognized the negative environmental

impacts that result from economic development without proper consideration of sustainability,

the environment and local people’s involvement. In the NESDP 9 (2002 to 2006), the main

focus is on restoring degraded natural resources and utilizing resources soundly.

(Lakanavichian, 2006). In the NESDP 10 (2007 to 2011), the main focus is on Thailand must

therefore raise the standard of management. The environment is better than ever by protecting

the resource base in order to maintain a sustainable balance of the ecosystem. By developing

the natural resource management system for hight efficiency under the process of having

participate and adjust the production model of products and services that are more

environmentally friendly. For the NESDP 11 (2012 to 2016), was focus on Conservation,

restoration and stability of natural resources and the environment. Aimed at preserving and

restoring forest and conservation areas. In the current NESDP 12 (2017 to 2021), adhere to

the principle of "philosophy of the sufficiency economy "" sustainable development "and"

people as the center of development " in accordance with the 20-year national strategic plan.

Where the goals and indicators must be consistent with the target framework economic, social

and environmental development Which international organizations have established such as

sustainable development (sustainable development goals: SDGs) at the United Nations. Table

5 summarize the major policy and practical shifts that have taken place in the past four

decades.

Table 5. Evolution of watershed management policy in Thailand

Period Policy Focus Major Activities

1976-1980 Watershed rehabilitation

Reforestation of abandoned swidden area;

relocations of hill tribe villages and

improvement of quality of life.

1980-1990 Integrated watershed

management

Land use planning, soil and water

conservation measures, forest fire control and

promotion of agricultural extension.

1990-1999 Participatory watershed

management

Local people’s participation, village

committee, watershed network, rules and

regulations.

2000-2011

Watersheds for the people

Promote participation of local people in the

conservation and protection of forest

resources Along with improving the quality

of life of the community.

2012 onward Watersheds for the people

Promote participation Integrative work of all

sectors, both communities in the conservation

and preservation of watershed headlands and

improving the quality of life along with

sustainable use.

A National Forest Policy was drawn up and adopted by the cabinet in 1985 in an attempt to


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harmonies the forest policy in the economy and to place forestry within the context of overall

national development. The process of preparing the policy was thorough and detailed, with

extensive public hearings and input. Reforestation and afforestation were seen as important

initiatives to supply wood for future needs. This part of the policy encouraged the private

sector to become involved in tree planting projects for both domestic and export supply.

Emphasis was placed on a partnership with the private sector. However, the private sector was

interpreted to mean concessionaires and business people rather than rural people.

Although the forest policy was widely considered that it did not give adequate attention to

three crucial areas (RFD, 1993). These are:

• Deforestation, with all its negative impacts, continued because its root causes were

not addressed;

• The Kingdom’s household and industrial wood demand was not met in a sustainable

manner; and

• The conflict over forest land use by many "illegal" occupants of state forest land

remained unresolved, thereby accelerating land degradation and maintaining social

tension. (Lakanavihian, 2006)

Watershed Classification Regulation

The Watershed Classification Regulation was introduced in the late 1970s to classify areas for

watershed protection, production forestry and agriculture. Based on an agreement among state

agencies, five watershed classes were characterized as follows:

• WSC1 – Protection or conservation of forest and headwater sources. Areas under this class

are usually at high elevations and have steep slopes, so that they should have permanent forest

cover. There are two subclasses: WSC 1A if the area is wholly undisturbed, or WSC 1B if part

of it has already been cleared for cultivation.

• WSC2 – Commercial forest. Areas under this class may be at high elevations and

may have steep slopes, but their landform results in less erosion than WSC1. They

may be used for logging, mining, or grazing, or for crop production if appropriate

soil protection measures are taken.

• WSC3 – Fruit tree plantation. Uplands with steep slopes, but less erodible landform

than WSC 2; may be used for commercial forests, grazing, fruit trees, or some

agricultural crops if soil conservation measures are taken.

• WSC4 – Upland farming. Gently sloping, and suitable for row crops, fruit trees and

grazing with moderate use of soil conservation measures.

• WSC5 – Lowland farming. Very gentle slopes or flat; suitable for paddy fields and

other agricultural crops with few restrictions.

Watershed management became a priority for the RFD in the early 1950s. Public relations

work was started through print and broadcast media to inform people about the damage to soil

and water resources caused by frequent fires. At about the same time rehabilitation of denuded


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watersheds by means of reforestation commenced in the Northern region. A number of RFD

stations were established in the North and Northeast of the economy for headwater protection

and rehabilitation. Rehabilitation by reforestation continued on the assumption that only

forests can provide ideal hydrological conditions. The watershed management activities were

mainly agency oriented and were focused on technical interventions. From 1965 to 1996, the

RFD through its Watershed Management Division rehabilitated 211,231 ha of forest primarily

through reforestation activities, and mainly in the Northern region. All highland communities

are directly affected by the national forest policy and its implementation. As all mountain

lands essentially "belong" to the RFD, the highland villager’s rights to use land can be

revoked by a forestry officer at any time. At the village level, this policy translates into an

enforcement of land use restrictions without redress to any social and economic assistance. An

example of how the insecurity of tenure can have a devastating effect on people’s lives comes

from the experience of the Lahu village of Lo Pa Krai, North of Chiang Mai. Their village

was selected for economic development, and a large tract of this land in the area was awarded

by the RFD in Bangkok to the Forestry Industry Organization (FIO), a government owned

company mandated to develop eucalypt plantations. This action essentially disenfranchised

the local villagers from their traditional lands, and they were without redress (Ramitanondh

and Somswasdi, 1992). However, the approach of the RFD to watershed management has

evolved over the years, as experience has been gained.

Forest Restoration/Rehabilitation Initiative

Reforestation

As discussed above, Thailand absolutely needs a massive reforestation program for at least

three reasons. Firstly, the economy has suffered a negative wood balance. Secondly, as the

economy’s population increased to 66 million in 2019, it needs wood from man-made forest

to release consumption pressure on natural forest. Thirdly, due to the impact of past shifting

cultivation destroying huge forest areas of watershed headlands, the economy needs effective

reforestation to rehabilitate the degraded forest. Therefore, reforestation in Thailand can be

divided, by type of planting land and forest policy, into three categories, namely: reforestation

on public land, on leasehold, and on titled land.

Reforestation on Public Land

The Royal Forest Department is the main agency implementing reforestation programmes in

the economy operating under the following two offices:

• The Office of Conservation is responsible for reforestation in the conservation zone

especially in degraded watershed headlands and

• The Office of Reforestation with its two units, - i.e., the Division of State Reforestation

and the Division of Private Reforestation - is responsible for reforesting degraded forest

reserves and promotion of private reforestation in leasehold forest land. Forest Industry

Organization (FIO) and Thai Plywood Company, which are state-owned enterprises, are

permitted to use public land for reforestation to supply wood material in a sustainable

manner.


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Forest logging concessionaires were also active agencies for reforestation according to the

concession agreement before the logging ban in 1989. After that, the reforestation burden

moved to FIO. The main purpose of reforestation on public land by the government budget is

to reforest the watershed areas heavily destroyed by shifting cultivators in the past as well as

lowland degraded forests. The former planting sites were more common in the mountainous

terrains rather than in the lowlands, while the latter reforestation gave rise to the development

of forest villages and management of community forestry. From 1994 to 1996, the Royal Thai

Government through the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (MOAC) launched a large

scale reforestation programme in commemoration to the Golden Jubilee of King Bhumipol

Adulyadej's ascension to the throne (the Fiftieth Anniversary of H.M. the King) to rehabilitate

deteriorated conservation forest as well as planting trees along roadside of the main highways.

The government was successfully doing a billion-baht fund raising campaign for its

implementation. Besides, RFD and state-owned enterprises have been using the budget from

other agencies such as the Electricity Generation Authority of Thailand, the Royal Irrigation

Department, and concessionaires to launch the reforestation program on public land.

However, most problems of reforestation on public land are the lack of adequate maintenance

due to less budgetary support especially after 6 years of plantation establishment. Forest fire is

another big problem causing mortality of planted trees in large areas. (Jamroenprucksa,2004)

Private Reforestation on Leasehold

After the logging ban in 1989, the government has set up the new target of forest cover being

25 percent for conservation forest and 15 percent for economic forest in the Seventh Plan

(1992-1996). Recognizing the potential role of the private sector in reforestation for economic

purposes, RFD promoted private-sector involvement by providing them the privilege to rent

degraded forest land which is in the economic zone for fast-growing tree planting. Thus,

encroached land in forest reserves is rented to private companies for eucalyptus plantations at

a rate of only 10 baht per rai (or 0.16 ha). The government also grants promotional privileges

to participating companies through a Board of Investment (BOI) promotion program. This

policy has led to a major controversy as private firms have to pay farmers living on

encroached land to move out. If this policy were widely implemented, there would be a major

concern on ensuring the welfare of the approximately 7.8 million poor farmers now living in

forest reserves. The National Forest Reserves Act of 1964 cannot be enforced unless the

government finds a way to deal fairly with such a large number of settlers. Past experience

has shown that driving people out of the forest reserves without appropriate compensation is a

sure recipe for trouble. However, for this reason, there were many private enterprises applying

to utilize degraded forest lands for the establishment of industrial plantations throughout the

economy, especially after 1980. Nowadays, there are two main groups which have similar

approaches in the management of their reforestation for securing raw material. The first

group, in the Prachinburi and Chachoensao province, has its own plantation of about 32,000

ha in which some are leasehold, some are contract farming area with farmers of the size of

about 48,000 ha. The second group, in the Kanchanaburi province, has a contract farming area

of about 25,600 ha in addition to non-contract farming of 40,000 ha (Banjachaya, 2002).

Mostly, the species planted is Eucalyptus camaldulensis. From the social point of view, the


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industrial reforestation project, which is large-scale in nature, must ensure that local people

get long-term benefits from the reforestation effort. (Jamroenprucksa, 2004)

The benefits from the large-scale reforestation to local people can be listed as follows

• Cash from employment in nursery, planting, maintenance, protection, harvesting and road

construction work;

• A share of the revenues when the trees are harvested;

• Possibilities to use the land temporarily or permanently for the people’s own production;

• Wood or profit sharing contracts; the wood or the profits from timber harvesting in

plantations shared in relation to the inputs to the plantation; and

• Various extension activities in which technical assistance is provided to local people, so

that they can establish forest and agroforestry plantations on their own titled or permitted

land.

Reforestation on Titled Land

Recently, in the period of 1994 to 2000, the government has established incentive schemes to

promote economic tree farming on titled land. It has provided a subsidy of 3,000 baht per rai

(18,750 baht per ha) for five years, divided into five installments, as the established plantation

has proven successful. This project has faced a lot of problems due to unclear directions for

future management of the plantation as well as small wood markets. Some farmers, who

joined the promotion, gave up and switched to other uses of the planting plot. It can be seen

that the number of farmers joining the promotion and planting area from the beginning, the

period of 1994 to 1998, has decreased to 81,486 farmers and 174,256 ha. (Jamroenprucksa,

2004). However, the government gazette has published the Forest Act (No. 8) BE 2562, which

is significant in section 4, shall be repealed in the first paragraph of Section 7 of the Forest

Act BE 2484, as amended. By the National Peacekeeping Council Announcement No.

106/2557 Re: Amendment to the Law on Forestry dated 21 July 2014 and shall use the

following instead. By considering that all kinds of wood that is grown in the land of

ownership is not classified as restricted timber According to the Forestry Act, in response to

the policy of the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment that wants to create space

"Economic forest" that can be cut, sold." To encourage the private sector is interested in

growing more forests.

To solve the problems in the long term, the farmers have been encouraged by the Royal Forest

Department to form farmer organizations, so-called “Private Reforestation Cooperatives”, to

help members in running their own wood-based business and to solve marketing problems. At

present, there are 34 cooperatives established throughout the economy. However, there are a

number of problems the farmers have to face such as slow growth and survival of trees, lack

of appropriate technology for the utilization of small logs, and an unclear market for wood.

However, the success and failure of reforestation projects showed that participation of local

people is a key factor. The most important measure to achieve participation consists in

assuring an interesting market for the products coming from plantations. With a good market


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at hand, people will look upon any plantation as something valuable, something worth as

private property (Jamroenprucksa, 2004)

Adaptation to Economic Crisis

After achieving an average growth rate of 6.8 percent during 1960-1996, the Thai economy

faced the severest crisis in 1997. This crisis had some effects on the structure of the economy.

The government had launched the public sector adjustment policy to review the role of

government agencies. It was decided that all work that could be carried out by the private

sector should be privatized. Or despondingly, all work which could be undertaken by local

people should be transferred to local organizations. Under this policy, the RFD will terminate

government reforestation projects, private plantation promotion, seedling distribution, and

wood and non-wood checkpoints. These activities as well as all the work concerning forest

engineering (such as road construction, forest boundary survey and all mechanical

engineering) shall be transferred to the private sector. (Jamroenprucksa, 2004). Plantation and

forest protection activities will be transferred to local organizations. The process of the

adjustment was initiated in 1998 and is ongoing (Komon, 2000).

Future Action for Enhancing Restoration/Rehabilitation

Proposed Model for Community-Based Reforestation

Reforestation is often regarded as key activity in sustainable natural resource management.

Representative and accountable community-based institutions are seen to be potentially more

dynamic and responsive to rapidly changing local realities. In Figure 4 a model of

Community-Based Reforestation is presented that can be set up through support by funding

organizations such as the government or a donor agency. As mentioned earlier, community-

based reforestation is a form of decentralization which emphasizes local people’s participation

through collaboration of two governmental reforestation units which have different

complimentary roles. One, called “Local Reforestation Unit (LRU) “, is based on local

organizations which may be the one within the structure of the local administration or the one

from farmer cooperatives. This depends on the situation of each community. Another one,

called “Technical Reforestation Support Unit (TRSU)”, is a qualified professional team in

reforestation and natural resources management. TRSU should get an initial fund from the so-

called “Funding-support Reforestation Organization (FRO)” to prepare a reforestation plan as

well as a research and extension plan with the local people and LRU. Then, they should

submit the plan for approval to FRO for further funding and implementation.


150

Fig. 4 Proposed model of community-based reforestation (Jamroenprucksa, 2003)

With the above model, LRU will play a key role in implementing reforestation plans starting

from the beginning of the project period to the end of harvesting. During the project period,

FRO will release the reforestation fund to LRU and TRSU together on the basis of their

collaborative report submission. FRO can get return indirectly from harvesting timber for

further financial support of the next implementing cycle.

Integrated R&D Approach

Integrated research and development (IR&D) is an iterative process and a form of natural

resource management. Therefore, agricultural science must definitely be subject to the value-

driven preferences of diverse interest groups or learning communities. Resource management

involves negotiating goals and acceptable trade-offs among multiple stakeholders, including

the different learning communities. For poor farmers in semi-subsistence agriculture, there are

trade-offs between satisfying the family's daily food and income needs and maintaining the

viability of the natural resources required to produce them. For better-off farmers in

commercial agriculture, there are trade-offs between cutting costs to capture slender profit

margins and long-run investment in the management practices and technology needed to

sustain productivity. Research aimed at improving the management of reforestation has to

incorporate the management objectives of the different stakeholders with regard to how best

to use natural processes, cope with disturbances, and internalize externalities.


151

Fig. 5 Basic steps for carrying out integrated research and development.

(adapted from Hagmann et al., 2002)

The methodological sequence can be viewed as a cyclical spiral of collective action,

reflection, and self-evaluation (Figure 5). Each cycle brings new learning experiences on

which the next cycle can be built. Not even the situation analysis is static; it will provide more

insights during implementation that might require new actions. This action learning is an

iterative process, aimed at full engagement and ownership of the process by local people with

their own goals, values and needs. The process of the IR&D consists of 5 basic steps, namely

• Interactive situation analysis:

This step aims to participatory assess the situation existing in the project environment. It

consists of exploratory vision, needs and problems related to reforestation and livelihood.

The preliminary result can be a draft of logical framework for the further discussion with

local organizations.

• Facilitation of platform building:

The technical reforestation support unit should conduct a forum for local people to discuss

in order to develop vision and build consensus on the subject matter. Interest groups can

be formed for in-depth analysis and scenario-building.

• Negotiation of interest & power:

With the participatory building scenarios, the team should conduct negotiations with land

users to search for solutions. Then, responsibilities and tasks for the stakeholders can be

drawn.


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• Planning and implementation:

Planning can be done by the technical team and approved by joint a committee for

implementation. Indicators for successful implementation must be developed.

• Sharing results and evaluation:

During the implementation, the stakeholders must have interactive discussions to share

experience and analyze reasons for failure. Development impact assessment should be

conducted before the discussion.

• Re-negotiation and re-planning:

After reaching the end of the implementing cycle, the teams should review and share

problems to re-focus action for the next cycle which may start again at any step above

depending upon the findings and decisions of the teams. The distribution of forest types

closely follows the rainfall distribution pattern. Natural forest vegetation can be grouped into

dry, hill and moist evergreen forests types of the moister areas (totaling about 43%) and mixed

and dry dipterocarp forest in drier areas, representing 22% and 31% of the forest respectively.

The remaining 4% include primarily mangroves and pine forests (RFD, 1992). In terms of

forest fires, the forest land was affected by fire annually. The majority of the fires occurred in

the North.

Conclusion

The growing concern over the scale of deforestation and forest degradation will generate the

need for stable forest policy and restoration of degraded forests. The twelve NSED Plan

reinforced this shift with guidelines that emphasize protection of the remaining forest and the

promotion of forest rehabilitation and reforestation. In terms of forest plantations, the crucial

factors in good plantations are the selection of suitable species, the quality of seed and

seedlings and planting techniques. Additionally, the development of promising approaches

that will facilitate the collaboration is urgently needed to ensure that the rehabilitation

measures introduced will not be of a top-down nature.

Furthermore, legal adjustments regarding land ownership and user rights outside the forest are

necessary to change current short-term oriented land use attitudes towards a long-term

oriented and sustainable management. The current emphasis on the rehabilitation of degraded

forests also provides opportunities to build new relationships between the government and

local communities based on collaboration rather than confrontation. Successful programs have

to take into consideration the social reality of poor rural households to ensure an equitable

sharing of the benefits and costs.

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Impacts of Slash and Litters Management on Soil

Nutrients and Growth of Acacia auriculiformis Plantation

after Three Rotations in Southern Vietnam

Kieu Tuan Dat

Director, Forest Science Institute of South Viet Nam

Abstract: Management of organic and soil nutrients during inter-rotations is an important

matter for sustainability of plantation productivity in later rotations. Three experiments of

slash and liter management of Acacia auriculiformis plantation in Southern Vietnam were

carried out in this study including (Fl) removing all slash and litters; (Fm) remaining all slash

and litters were repeated during second and third rotation; (Fh) doubling slash and litters at

second rotation, same as Fm and plus fertilizing 300g phosphate of 16.5% P205 per tree at

planting in the third rotation. The experiments were conducted over 12 years (2002–2013).

The results indicated that bulk density in 0–20 cm soil layer were different among three

experiments. The differences were significant for bulk density soil, C, N, P, and exchangeable

K, Ca and Mg, and the highest in Fh treatment, reducing to Fm and to Fl. When remaining

slash and litters (Fm) in second and third rotation, the MAI increased 3 m3ha-1year-1

compared to Fl and aboveground biomass also increased from 6.6 to 8.7%. The MAI of Fh

increased about 6 m3/ha/year and aboveground biomass also increased from 17.6 to 18.5%

compared to Fl. The productivity of A. auriculiformis after three rotations has been improved

because of the use of good seedling sources and remaining slash and litters. In the third

rotation, total standing tree volume after 5 years reached 185.6 m3/ha, an increase of 11%

compared to the second rotation (180.4 m3/ha after 6 years) and increased by 41% compared

to the first rotation (130 m3/ha after 7 year).

It is concluded that remaining slash and litters in A. auriculiformis plantation is sustainable for

both in term of productivity and soil nutrients for the next rotation

Keywords: Biomass; standing tree volume; nutrient cycle; sustainable management.

1. Introduction

More than 1.1 million hectares of Acacia plantation have been established in Vietnam for

timber and pulp wood supplies (Nambiar and Harwood, 2014). Plantations of acacias in

Vietnam are becoming increasingly important in contributing to the national economy and

livelihood of million people in rural areas, especially in the situation of logging timber from

natural forests was prohibited in Vietnam in 2016. By 2013, 51% of total plantation areas in

Vietnam were planted with acacias, where area of Acacia auriculiformis plantation was


156

around 600,000 ha (Kien et al. 2014). Access to new land suitable for commercial plantations

remains limited. Since, government policy restricts further clearing of degraded native forests

for plantation establishment. Thus, sustainable managing the current plantation land base for

commercial plantations is becoming urgent need. The silvicultural practices, which can

sustain and increase productivity of plantations at the meantime are not deteriorating soil

fertility, are prioritizing.

However, the tendency to reduce plantation productivity through later rotations is a concern

for businesses and growers not only in Vietnam, but also in many countries around the world.

One of the most important causes is unsustainable site management in afforestation. The

research results of the project network implemented by the Center for International Forestry

Research (CIFOR) in 16 tropical and Asian tropical countries showed that: reasonable

management of organic materials after harvesting, control vegetation cover and the use of

suitable fertilizers had a positive effect on soil fertility and productivity of plantations through

the next rotations (Nambiar, 1996).

Input and output of nutrients in undisturbed natural forests are in balance, where plant demand

for nutrients is met by efficient recycling nutrient systems (Zech and Drechsel, 1995).

Nutrient storage in the short-rotation of plantations were changed and cycling processes

occur, due to harvest exports, changed distribution and quality of organic matter, and altered

patterns of nutrient input and output (fertilization, erosion, leaching, volatile losses etc.).

These factors can impact on storage and supply of soil nutrients and consequently the

sustainability of plantations.

Soil nutrition is the most essential element in sustaining the productivity of forest plantations

(Bouma, 1994). Assessment of soil quality and its alteration overtime is a primary indicator

for sustainable forest plantation management (Doran 2002). There are several studies

quantifying the extent and rate of soil fertility changes in forest plantations of different ages

(Dung et al. 2005; Hardiyanto et al, 2008). There is a clear evidence that prudent management

especially that directed enhancement of soil organic matter and soil nutrient status can result

in sustainability of plantations (Hardiyanto et al., 2000). Other studies demonstrated that site

quality and wood production can be improved over successive rotations (Nambiar, 1996).

Silvicultural operations such as slash and litter management can influence soil fertility and

hence nutrient uptake and tree growth. Retaining slash and litter had higher plantation

productivity than complete logging residue removal. Treatment of logging residues will

become an increasingly important issue for management of plantations in the future, both

from an operational viewpoint, and also for maintenance of soil fertility. Organic matter has a

large influence on the forms and temporal dynamics of nutrients in soil. Thus management of

organic matter and nutrients during the inter-rotation of fast growing plantations is critical for

sustainability of plantation productivity in later rotations (Goncalves et al, 2007; Dat et al,

2014; Huong et al, 2015).

This study was carried out from 2002-2013, in order to determine the role of slash and litter

management after harvesting to improve soil nutrition, improve plantation productivity and


157

nutritional balance of A. auriculiformis plantation through three rotations. This study will be

the premise for sustainable management of commercial acacia plantation in Vietnam. The

objectives of the case study were to (1) evaluate the changes of soil characteristics; (2)

evaluate the growth rate, standing volume, aboveground biomass and litter fall; and (3)

consider nutritional balance cycle of A.auriculiformis plantation in Southern Vietnam under

different slash and litter management.

2. Material and Methods

2.1. Site Description

The study was conducted at PhuBinh Forest Research Station (11o30’N and 107

o06’E),

belonged to Vietnamese Academy of Forest Sciences. The site is located in a flat area with

slopping < 3o and elevation above sea level of 80 m (Vu et al., 2008). Average temperature is

26.6oC with 2,330 sunny hours per year. Annual rainfall ranges from 1,671–2,319 mm and

80% rainfall focuses from May to September. Annual humidity is 80–87%. Acrisol chromic

soil dominates the study site.

2.2. Experiment Design

In the site, A. auriculiformis commercial plantation was planted in 1995 as the first rotation

and harvested in 2002. The second rotation of A. auriculiformis was 6 years (2002–2008). The

third rotation of A. auriculiformis was 5 years (2008–20013). The experiment was designed as

a completed random block with three treatments and five replicates (Fig.1) as bellow:

• Fl: remove all slash and litters after harvesting of the first and second rotation

• Fm: remaining all slash and litters after harvesting of the first and second rotation

• Fh: doubling slash and litters after harvesting of the fist rotation (all residues from Fl

were moved to Fh). In the third rotation remaining all slash and litters as Fm and plus

fertilizing of 300g phosphate of 16.5% P205 per tree at planting.

Slash and litter including leaves, barks, litter understory and branches (diameter < 5 cm were

cut into segments of shorter than 1 meter and were evenly distributed on forest floor. Then,

land preparation was applied as without plough during three rotations, digging planting holes

of 30 cm × 30 cm × 30 cm by man-power. Three month-old seedlings of 30 cm height were

planted in August 2002 and 2008. The planting density was 1,666 trees ha-1

(spacing of 3 m ×

2 m). Each plot had an area of 1,152 m2 planted 192 trees (12 × 16 tree lines). Only 96 trees

(8 × 12 inner lines) in inner plots were used for measuring growth data.


158

Fig.1. Layout of experiment

2.3. Data Collection and Analysis

2.3.1. Growth and aboveground biomass

Growth data of A. auriculiformis including diameter at breast height (DBH) and stem height

(H) were measured in inner plots in July annually.

Standing tree volume (V in m3) of each stem was estimated according to the guidance of

MARD (2001): V = 10-4

*π/4*DBH2*H*0.5. Then sum of volume of all stems in a plot was

calculated to have values of total plot standing volume and it was transferred to unit of m3/ha.

Aboveground biomass: Trees, representative of the range of diameter classes, were

destructively sampled 15 trees every year of 2nd

and 3rd

rotations. After felling sample trees,

DBH and stem length (to a top end diameter of 3 cm) were measured. The stem was divided

equally into five sections; wood and bark in each section were weighed and subsamples were

used for dry mass determination. Branches and foliage were treated similarly. Algometric

regression relationships between DBH (X) and stem plus bark, and branch (<1 cm, 1-5 cm,

and >5 cm) biomass (Ys) were established by using the exponential model: Y= aXb. Then

sum of biomass of all stems samples was transferred to unit of kg/ha.

2.3.2. Soil sampling and analysis

In the second rotation, soil samples were collected annually in July. Soil cores (0-10 cm, 10-

20 cm of soil depth) were taken, excluding the litter, from five locations in each plot, bulked

within depths per plot, air-dried, sieved and fractions <2 mm were analyzed. Soil pH, Carbon

(C), Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus extractable (P) and cation exchange capacity (K,Ca, Mg) were

measured according to Van Reewijk (2002). Soil bulk density was determined on undisturbed

soil cores, using one sample from each plot at 0-10 and 10-20 cm depth

2.3.3 Litter fall

In the second and third rotation, falling litter was collected fortnightly between ages two and

five from five litter traps (1 m2 of each) per plot in the Fm treatment. Litter was dried to


159

constant weight at 76°C, separated into leaf, twigs and other components, and weighed.

Nutrients were analyzed as above.

3. Results

3.1. Soil pH and Bulk Density

In this study site, soil pH ranged from 4.3–4.6 and was not different among three experiments.

Soil bulk density decreased by time, regardless of experiments. The difference of soil bulk

density among three experiments in soil layer 0-10cm and 10-20cm were significant at any

time (P< 0.05). The soil bulk density reduced from Fh to Fm and to Fl after 12 years. The

lowest soil bulk density was found in Fh as 1.41 g/cm3 in 2002 reducing to 1.24 g/cm

3 in 2008

and to 1.23g/cm3in 2013 (Fig.2a). In the layer 10-20cm, soil bulk density was reducing from

1.56 g/cm3

in Fh to 1.31 g/cm3 and 1.36 g/cm

3 in Fm after 12 years (Fig.2b)

Fig. 2a, 2b. Dynamic of soil bulk density in layer 0-10cm and 10-20cm after 12 years

3.2. Dynamics of Soil C, N, P and Nutrients

Resulting from planting A. auriculiformis in the first rotation (1995–2002); the second

rotation (2002–2008) and third rotation (2008-2013), nutrients including N, P, K, Ca and Mg,

soil C in 0–10cm and 10-20 cm soil layer were different among three experiments. The

differences were significant (P< 0.05) for soil C, N, P (Fig. 3a to Fig. 5b), but exchanged

cations K, Ca, Mg on both soil layers (0-10cm; 10-20cm) have little fluctuation through the

next rotation and the difference between three treatments not so much (Fig. 6a to Fig 8b).

Soil fertility was the highest in Fh, reducing to Fm and to Fl at any time. The total nitrogen

and carbon content decreased after harvested plantation but gradually increased again in the

years after the decomposition of organic materials and soil loss supplies, especially when the

following plantation were 2 years old. The phosphorus content in the soil is low and tends to

decrease gradually in all three treatments.

1.41

1,32 1.32

1,30 1.28

1.24 1.23

1

1.1

1.2

1.3

1.4

1.5

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

BD

(g/

cm3

)

Year

Dynamic of Bulk Density in soil layer from 0-10cm

Fl

FmFh

1.38

1.36

1.56

1.36

1.33 1.33 1.31

1

1.1

1.2

1.3

1.4

1.5

1.6

20

01

20

02

20

03

20

04

20

05

20

06

20

07

20

08

20

09

20

10

20

11

20

12

20

13

20

14

BD

(g/

cm3

)

Year

Dynamic of Bulk Density in soil layer 10-20cm

Fl

Fm

Fh


160

Fig. 3a, 3b. Dynamic of total Nitrogen (%) in soil layer 0-20cm after 12 years

Fig. 4a, 4b. Dynamic of total Carbon (%) in soil layer 0-20cm after 12 years

Fig. 5a, 5b. Dynamic of total P-Bray (mg/kg) in soil layer 0-20cm after 12 years

0.13

0.17

0.15 0.16

0.13 0.15 0.13

0.00

0.04

0.08

0.12

0.1620

01

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

N (

%)

Year

Dynamic of total Nitrogen (%) in soil layer 0-10cm

Fh

Fm

Fl

0.12 0.13

0.11

0.12

0.12

0.11 0.11

0.00

0.04

0.08

0.12

0.16

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

N (

%)

Year

Dynamic of total Nitrogen (%) in soil layer 10-20cm

Fh

Fm

Fl

2.01

2,34

2.04 2.09 2,08

1.94

1.76 1,94 1.74

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

C (

%)

Year

Dynamic of total C (%) in soil layer 0-10cm

Fh

Fm

Fl

1.21

1,81

1.51 1.57

1,78

1.44 1.44 1,63

1.40

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

C (

%)

Year

Dynamic of total C (%) in soil layer 10-20cm form 2002-2013

Fh

Fm

Fl

8.77

5.88 6.53

7.85

5.38 6.10

8.21

5.22 5.74

.0

2.0

4.0

6.0

8.0

10.0

12.0

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

P-B

ray

mgk

g-1

Year

Dynamic of total P-Bray (mg/kg) in soil layer 0-10cm

Fh

Fm

Fl

4.04 3,88

4.28

3.33 3,67

4.12 4.06

3,58

3.88

.0

1.0

2.0

3.0

4.0

5.0

6.0

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

P-B

ray

mgk

g-1

Year

Dynamic of total P-Bray (mg/kg) in soil layer 10-20cm

Fh

Fm

Fl


161

Fig. 6a, 6b. Dynamic of K+ exchange (cmol/kg) in soil layer 0-20cm after 12 years

Fig. 7a, 7b. Dynamic of Ca2+ exchange (cmol/kg) in soil layer 0-20cm after 12 years

Fig. 8a, 8b. Dynamic of Mg2+ exchange (cmol/kg) in soil layer 0-20cm after 12 years

3.3. Tree Growth Responds

Remaining slash and litters after logging had significant effects on survival rate of A.

auriculiformis plantation in the third rotation. After 5 years of planting, survival rate in Fh

was 94.8%, reducing to 90.8% in Fm and to 86.3% in Fl. The differences were significant (P<

0.05).

Resulting from three treatments in second and third rotation were differences of DBH (Fig.

0.28

0.27 0.36

0.27

0.26 0.35

0.28

0.25

0.32

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.420

01

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

K+

-Exc

h C

mo

l kg-

1

Year

Dynamic of exchange cation K+ in soil layer 0-10cm

Fh

Fm

Fl

0.25

0.28

0.32

0.24

0.26

0.31

0.25

0.24

0.29

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

K+

-Ex

ch C

mo

l kg-

1

Year

Dynamic of exchange cation K+ in soil layer 10-20cm

Fh

Fm

Fl

0.55 0.46

0.49 0.54

0.44

0.46

0.54

0.41 0.43

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

Ca-

Exch

Cm

ol k

g-1

Year

Dynamic of exchange cation Ca2+ in soil layer 0-10cm

Fh

Fm

Fl

0,48 0,49

0,48

0,38

0,38 0,40 0,42

0,39 0,40

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

Ca-

Exch

Cm

ol k

g-1

Year

Dynamic of exchange cation Ca2+ in soil layer 10-20cm

Fl

Fm

Fh

0.30 0.27

0.36

0.30 0.25

0.32 0.31

0.24

0.31

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

Mg-

Exch

Cm

ol k

g-1

Year

Dynamic of exchange cation Mg2+ in soil layer 0-10cm

Fh

Fm

Fl

0.21

0.20

0.28

0.22

0,21 0,19

0,24 0.19

0.26

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

Mg-

Exch

Cm

ol k

g-1

Year

Dynamic of exchange cation Mg2+ in soil layer 0-10cm

Fh

Fm

Fl


162

9a), H (Fig. 9b), Standing volume (Fig. 10a) and Aboveground biomass (Fig. 10b) of A.

auriculiformis plantation. DBH and H were the highest in Fh, reducing to Fm and to Fl at any

time. In third rotation, after 5 years of planting, A. auriculiformis plantation had DBH of 13.2

cm, 12.7 cm and 12.5 cm, and H of 19.2 m, 18.8 m and 18.4 m in Fh, Fm, and Fl,

respectively. The differences of survival rate, DBH and H led to significant differences (P<

0.05) of standing volume and aboveground biomass. Standing volume was 185.6 m3/ha, 169.3

m3/ha, and 155.4 m

3/ha in Fh, Fm, and Fl, respectively in the third rotation and higher than

second rotation at 6 years old. The aboveground biomass was 142.8 tons/ha, 129.5 tons/ha,

and 121.1 tons/ha in Fh, Fm, Fl, respectively and same as the second rotation (2002-2008).

Fig. 9a, 9b. Growths of DBH (cm) and H (m) by time during three rotations

Fig. 10a, 10b. Standing volume and aboveground biomass by time during three rotations

Comparison of growth rate of a auriculiformis after three rotations showed that (Table 01): In

the treatment of remaining slash and litters in second and third rotation (Fm), the MAI

increased 3/m3/ha per year compared to Fl, and aboveground biomass also increased from 6.6

to 8.7%. MAI of Fh increased about 6 m3/ha/year and aboveground biomass also increased

from 17.6 to 18.5% compared to Fl. The productivity of A. auriculiformis after 3 rotations has

been improved with the use of good seedling sources and remaining slash and litters. In the

third rotation, standing tree volume after 5 years reached 185.6 m3/ha, an increase of 11%

compared to second rotation (180.4 m3/ha after 6 years) and increased by 41% compared to

first rotation (130 m3/ha after 7 year).

14 13.5 13.2 14 13.3 12.7

14,0

12.5 12.5

.0

3.0

6.0

9.0

12.0

15.0

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

DB

H (

cm)

R1 R2 R3

Fh

Fm

Fl

16.7

19,2

16.5

18,8

11.7

15.8

18,4

.0

4.0

8.0

12.0

16.0

20.0

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

Ht

(m)

R1 R2 R3

Fh

Fm

Fl

130

180.4 185.6

165.2 169.3

151.9 155.4

.0

40.0

80.0

120.0

160.0

200.0

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

Sta

ndin

g v

olu

me

(m3/h

a)

R1 R2 R3

Fh

Fm

Fl

119,0 121,5 129,4 129,5

51.2

141,0 142,8

0

30

60

90

120

150

20

02

20

03

20

04

20

05

20

06

20

07

20

08

20

09

20

10

20

11

20

12

20

13

Ab

ove

gro

un

d B

iom

ass

(to

n/h

a)

R1 R2 R3

Fh

Fm

Fl


163

Tab. 01.Comparision some indicators of a auriculiformis plantation after three rotations

3.4. Nutrient cycle in the third rotation

The combined results of the nutritional balance of a auriculiformisplantations in the third

rotation show that: The treatment Fh and Fm retaining all slash and litters after harvesting,

after 3 rotations have the ability to balance the nutrition themselves and do not need to apply

additional fertilizer at planting. The treatment Fl removing all slash and litters after 2 rotations

showed a lack of nutrients such as P, K, Ca and Mg (Table 02 and Fig. 11a).

By quantifying some important links in the nutrient cycle of plantations, this case study

simulated the nutrient cycle for Fm treatment of A auriculiformis plantation at ages of 5 in the

third rotation (Fig. 11b)

Tab. 02.Nutritional balance of three treatments at age of five in the third rotation

Treat. Item Nutrient resource Biomass Nutrients composition (kg/ha)

(ton/ha) N P K Ca Mg

Fh

A Providing

1 Nutrient in the soil of layer 0 -

20cm 327.5 10.7 8.2 10.6 6.3

2 Apply fertilizer 300g P205/tree

36.0

3 Slash and litter retained in second

rotation 30.8 319.6 17.2 154.1 40.7 12.0

4 Litter fall (40 months) 24.2 339.4 44.1 173.2 17.7 12.1

Total: (1+2+3+4): 55.0 986.5 108.1 335.6 69.0 30.4

B Using

1 Nutrients of plantation after 5 years 142.8 651.4 72.2 272.7 91.2 29.0

C Balance: C = A-B

7.6 25.1 54.6 -32.8 -4.9

Fm

A Providing


20cm 298.2 9.8 7.8 9.7 5.6

2 Slash and litter retained in second

rotation 30.8 319.6 17.2 154.1 40.7 12.0

Age (year) 7

Planting stock (tree/ha) 833

Germplasm resoures Seedling from seed

Treatment - Fl Fm Fh Fl Fm Fh

Servival rate (%) 78.1 87.9 91.3 91.7 86.3 90.8 94.8

DBH (cm) 14.0 12.5 13.3 13.5 12.5 12.7 13.2

H (m) 11.7 15.8 16.5 16.7 18.4 18.8 19.2

Standing volume (m3/ha) 130.0 151.9 165.2 180.4 155.4 169.3 185.6

MAI (m3

/ha/year) 18.6 25.3 27.5 30.1 31.1 33.9 37.1

Total aboveground

biomass (tons/ha)51.2 119.0 129.4 141.0 121.5 129.5 142.8

Rotation/treatment DBH (cm)

CK2 (Fh/Fl) 4.3%

CK2 (Fm/Fl) 3.9%

CK3 (Fh/Fl) 5.6%

CK3 (Fm/Fl) 1.6%

Index

Cuting seedling

R2 (2002-2008)

Comparison ratio (%) between treatments after 3 rotations

R3 (2008-2013)

6

6.6%

4.4%

2.1%

19.4%

8.9%

5

1,667 1,667

Cuting seedling

H(m)

8.6% 8.7%

R1 (1995-2002)

17.6%

5.7% 18.5%18.8%

Volume (m3/ha) Biomass (ton/ha)

8.8%


164


Total: (1+2+3): 55.0 957.3 71.2 335.1 68.1 29.7

B Using


C Balance: C = A-B

364.1 5.6 86.9 15.9 3.4

Fl

A Providing


20cm 270.5 8.8 6.9 8.9 5.1


Total: (1+2): 24.2 609.9 52.9 180.2 26.7 17.2

B Using


C Balance: C = A-B

54.2 -8.6 -52.4 -51.5 -7.5

Fig. 11a. Chart for nutritional balance of 3 treatments in the third rotation; Fig. 11b.

Nutrient cycle of Fm

4. Lessons Learnt

• Management of slash and litters for acacia plantations is one of the sustainable forest

management approaches towards forest certification;

• Study results indicated that remaining logging residues in A. auriculiformis plantation is

sustainable both in term of productivity and soil nutrients for the next rotation. After 12

years of evaluation for remaining slash and litter after logging, no need to apply additional

-100 0 100 200 300 400

Nts

Pts

Kts

Ca++

Mg++

Nutrient content (kg/ha)

Nu

trit

ion

Fl

Fm

Fh

N P K Ca Mg

3,693 12.0 287.1 217.7 69.7

N P K Ca Mg

319.6 17.2 154.1 40.7 12.0

N P K Ca Mg

593.1 65.6 248.2 52.2 26.4

Soil nutrients layer from 0-20cm (kg/ha)

Slash, llitter, understore and vegetables (kg/ha)

Plantation absorb nutrition (kg/ha)

Litter fall (kg/ha)

N P K Ca Mg

339.4 44.1 173.2 17.7 12.1

Diagram to

simulate the

nutrient cycle

(Fm)

Rain,light,

temperature,…

Lost by erosion, leaching,

evaporation, …Animals and

Microorganisms inthesoil


165

fertilizer for plantations. If all slash and litter are removed, apply more fertilizers will be

needed, especially supply phosphorus of which an amount from 10 to 20 kgP/ha;

• In addition to the management of slash and litters after harvesting, attention should be

paid to seedling quality and silvicultural techniques to improve productivity and quality of

the plantation;

• However, remaining slash and litters after harvesting may lead to more difficult to manage

forest fire, because there are many households living in forests intermingled in Vietnam.

References

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Dat KT (2014) Effects of harvest residue management on soil and growth of A. auriculiformis

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Hanoi, Vietnam.

Dat KT, Dung PT, Quang LT (2014) Identifying nutrient sources to Acacia auriculiformis

plantation in Binh Duong. Vietnam Journal of Forest Science 3:3469–3475.

Doran JW (2002). Soil health and global sustainability: translating science into practice.

AgrEcosyst Environ 88:119–127.

Dung PT, Ngoc NV, Binh NTN (2005) Research on silvicultural practices for growing Acacia

hybrid in BinhPhuoc Province to supply pulp wood. Scientific Report, Forest Science Institute

of Vietnam. Hanoi, Vietnam.

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