Assessment of Timber Resource Exploitation in Shasha Forest Reserve, Osun State, Nigeria: Implication for Sustainable Forestry

Records on rate of timber exploitation are very essential for sustainable forestry. They help in managing the forest sustainably. Therefore, the study collected and analysed data on rate of timber exploitation in Shasha forest reserve in Osun state. Logs arranged and set to be taken out of the forest were identified and measured every Monday between December, 2017 and June, 2018 for twenty-eight (28) weeks. The species and families of logs encountered were identified. A total of 13,944 logs were assessed. Fifteen (15) families belonging to twenty-one (21) species of logs were identified. Result revealed that Sterculiaceae family with five species was the most exploited. Ricinodendron heudelotti has the highest number of exploited logs with overall frequency of 27.71%. Ricinodendron heudelotti had the highest basal area and volume with values of 18018776.71cm² and 113289.36cm³ respectively. The study concludes that the population of Ricinodendron heudelotii tree was high in Shasha forest which made it available for extraction at high rate. The study recommends strict monitoring and enforcement of sustainable forestry laws with regular inventory and up-to-date inventory of timber exploitation rate from the reserve.

Forests for Participatory Democracy: Emergent Patterns in the Interaction of Actors and Space in a Community-Based Sustainable Forestry Project in San Francisco Libre, Nicaragua

<p>The host of literature on community-based sustainable forestry initiatives cites a profound schism between theory and the actual devolution of power and conservation of natural environments. This thesis set out to analyze the workings of power in a decentralized sustainable forestry project in San Francisco Libre, Nicaragua, and to account for how the myriad relevant actors influence, and are influenced, by the interactions and opportunities that arose. Taking a co-constructivist, relational approach, the case study undertaken found sustainable forestry and participatory democracy to be co-constitutive. However, where modernity has been touted for freeing society from the constraints of the natural world through science and technology, the very democracy and sustainability these initiatives are striving for are constrained by the modern framework upon which many of our institutions are built. By abandoning such nature vs. society dichotomous frameworks, socio- political initiatives can better account for the place-based, relational agency human and non-human actors share, and therefore create more effective, participative democratic institutions.</p>

Forests for Participatory Democracy: Emergent Patterns in the Interaction of Actors and Space in a Community-Based Sustainable Forestry Project in San Francisco Libre, Nicaragua

<p>The host of literature on community-based sustainable forestry initiatives cites a profound schism between theory and the actual devolution of power and conservation of natural environments. This thesis set out to analyze the workings of power in a decentralized sustainable forestry project in San Francisco Libre, Nicaragua, and to account for how the myriad relevant actors influence, and are influenced, by the interactions and opportunities that arose. Taking a co-constructivist, relational approach, the case study undertaken found sustainable forestry and participatory democracy to be co-constitutive. However, where modernity has been touted for freeing society from the constraints of the natural world through science and technology, the very democracy and sustainability these initiatives are striving for are constrained by the modern framework upon which many of our institutions are built. By abandoning such nature vs. society dichotomous frameworks, socio- political initiatives can better account for the place-based, relational agency human and non-human actors share, and therefore create more effective, participative democratic institutions.</p>

The Forest Stewardship Council: Private Governance in Brazil and Russia

NGOs from Brazil and Russia participate in the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), a global private governance initiative that promotes sustainable forestry using certification and labeling, contributing to increases in certified forest territory and certified companies in both more democratic Brazil and less democratic Russia. The chapter argues that while Brazilian NGOs participate in FSC more robustly at the national and international levels, FSC has been a more consequential site for mediation in Russia. It argues that differences in Russian and Brazilian NGO engagement with FSC are linked in part to the timing of global governance intervention. Brazilian NGOs achieved some policy goals during earlier efforts to save the Amazon rainforest, while in Russia NGOs leveraged the FSC at a crucial moment following post-Soviet market reforms when forestry companies sought export markets.

The Tapash Sustainable Forestry Collaborative

Collaborative planning is increasingly common in the context of natural resource management in the United States. However, there is no universal way to organize collaborative groups, and, subsequently, collaborative structures vary from collaborative group to collaborative group. In order to contribute to the growing knowledge base about the implications of different collaborative structures, we conducted a case study of the Tapash Sustainable Forestry Collaborative, a group located in Washington State that is focused on forest restoration. By analyzing interviews and archival data, we documented the organizational structure of the collaborative group and explored the outcomes of that structure in terms of trust and relationship. We illustrate how the structure of the Tapash Sustainable Forestry Collaborative led to both positive and negative outcomes and additionally describe the steps the group took to address the negative outcomes. Our findings will be useful for anyone considering how to structure their own collaborative group. It can also serve to as an example for scholars interested in the characteristics that support successful collaborative natural resource planning and management. Additionally, the case study provides readers with a background information about several content areas including public participation in forest plan and management, national-level legislation related to forest planning and management, trust and trust repair, adaptive governance, and adaptive management.