Community Forest Monitoring for the Carbon Market: Opportunities Under REDD, edited by Margaret Skutsch (2011), xix+188 pp., Earthscan, London, UK. ISBN 9781849711364 (hbk), GBP 60.00.

Despite the potentiality of community forests to receive payment in turn its contribution of global carbon abatement, inadequate technical difficulties and scientifc base limit the carbon estimation and claim for the payment of carbon compensation in international market. This paper intends to provide an overview of participatory biomass and carbon estimation of CF in Nepal. Synthesized methodologies of national inventory guidelines, IPCC, McDicken and literature estimates were used to execute inventory and calculate the biomass and carbon density. The study found that GPS consumes less time to mapping boundary and laying out sample plots permanently with less systematic and personal errors than using compass survey. The ground based inventory is time consuming, the study concludes that the making capable local users in handling GPS and promoting participatory inventory and carbon calculation avoids the cost thereby make CFs able to claim in access to international carbon market. Key Words: GPS, Biomass, Abatement, Compensation, International carbon market DOI: 10.3126/init.v2i1.2528 The Initiation Vol.2(1) 2008 pp91-98

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Above-ground carbon stock and REDD+ opportunities of community-managed forests in northern Thailand

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0256005 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (8) ◽

pp. e0256005

Author(s):

Siriluck Thammanu ◽

Hee Han ◽

Dokrak Marod ◽

Jamroon Srichaichana ◽

Joosang Chung

Keyword(s):

Carbon Sequestration ◽

Forest Fires ◽

Carbon Stock ◽

Deciduous Forest ◽

Carbon Market ◽

Carbon Accumulation ◽

Systematic Sampling ◽

Community Forest ◽

Northern Thailand ◽

The Impact

This study aimed to investigate the structure of two deciduous forests and assess their above-ground carbon stock in order to promote community forest management (CFM) for REDD+ opportunities in the Ban Mae Chiang Rai Lum Community Forest in northern Thailand. A systematic sampling method was used to establish twenty-five sample plots of 40 m × 40 m (0.16 ha) each that were used to survey the entire 3,925 ha area of the community forest. Cluster analysis identified two different forest types: dry dipterocarp forest and mixed deciduous forest. It was determined that the above-ground carbon stock did not vary significantly between them. An analysis of carbon sequestration in the community forest indicates that carbon stock increased under CFM from 2007 to 2018 by an estimated 28,928 t C and participation in the carbon market would have yielded approximately US $339,730.43 or US $8.66 /ha/year to the community for that 10-year period. Projections for 2028 reflect that carbon stock will experience continual growth which indicates that maintaining CFM can increase carbon sequestration and reduce CO2 emissions. However, though further growth of carbon stock in the community forest is expected into 2038, that growth would be at a lesser rate than during the preceding decade. This suggests that CFM management should address forest utilization practices with a focus on maintaining long term carbon stock growth. Additional measures to address the impact of drought conditions and to safeguard against forest fires are required to sustain tree species’ growth and expansion in order to increase their carbon accumulation potential. Thailand’s community forest involvement in REDD+ and participation in its international carbon market could create more economic opportunities for local communities.

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Adaptive value of participatory biodiversity monitoring in community forestry

Environmental Conservation ◽

10.1017/s0376892906003432 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 33 (4) ◽

pp. 325-334 ◽

Cited By ~ 24

Author(s):

ANNA LAWRENCE ◽

KRISHNA PAUDEL ◽

RICHARD BARNES ◽

YAM MALLA

Keyword(s):

Forest Management ◽

Community Forestry ◽

Forest Monitoring ◽

Benefit Sharing ◽

Community Forest ◽

Participatory Monitoring ◽

Community Forests ◽

Forest Users ◽

Direct Use ◽

Local Value

In the context of action research in community forests, stakeholders' values for biodiversity can be elicited, communicated and understood with the help of a multidimensional conceptual framework. This incorporates levels of diversity (genes, species, habitats and processes), types of values (direct use, indirect use, option and existence) and stakeholders. This paper explores the effect of using this framework on forest monitoring, learning and communication, and wider implications for conservation, in Baglung District (Nepal). Monitoring was initially an unfamiliar concept to villagers, but the process clarified its purpose, whilst helping to elicit and exchange values and knowledge amongst stakeholders. This precipitated proposals for silvicultural experimentation and social inquiry into the diversity of users' needs. The framework allowed the translation of local value statements into categories recognized by other actors. It aided external stakeholders in understanding the factors contributing to values held by community forest users. Villagers' appreciation of ‘quality’ forest did not necessarily equate to the most ‘biodiverse’ forest, but rather the greenest and densest and that stocked with useful species. Elite domination, tenure and access to markets affected values assigned and behaviour in forest management. Elicitation of these values provoked questioning of forest management decisions and benefit sharing among community forest users. This, in turn, stimulated more democratic forest management and more inclusive, wide-ranging biodiversity values. Participatory monitoring is more conceptually challenging than is usually recognized, and the links between equity and conservation merit further attention in different cultural contexts.

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