The impacts of COVID-19 on the sustainable management of the forestry sector in Southern Africa

The objective of the study was to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sustainable forest management in southern Africa. The study employed a targeted approach, also referred to as purposive sampling, to select respondents from the various sectors. The results show that COVID-19 had an 80% impact on forest management operations. The COVID-19 pandemic did not have a significant effect on the conversion of land from forest to other land uses. However, there was severe illegal logging and moderate to severe fires. The COVID-19 pandemic also had a severe impact on the agriculture, environment and ecotourism sectors, with nature reserves completely closed. From the forest production perspective, the impact of COVID-19 on production, supply, demand and the price of timber was generally low due to the commercial nature of the forestry sector in South Africa; the largest economy in SADC being classified as an essential sector.

Learning from Community-Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) in Ghana and Zambia: lessons for integrated landscape approaches

Land use in much of sub-Saharan Africa is dominated by legislative frameworks based on a strong colonial legacy, focusing strongly on state control and minimal devolution of management responsibilities to local communities. However, attempts to reconcile conservation and socio-economic development by increasing stakeholder engagement in community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) have been undertaken since the late 1980s. Based on a review of published literature on historical land-use trajectories, the evolution of CBNRM, and key respondent interviews with NRM experts in Ghana and Zambia, this paper asks: What lessons can be learned from CBNRM to inform integrated landscape approaches for more equitable social and ecological outcomes? The paper discusses the positive characteristics and persistent challenges arising from CBNRM initiatives in both countries. The former being, improved rights and resource access, an established institutional structure at the local level, and a conservation approach tailored to the local context. The latter include the absence of multi-scale collaboration, inadequate inclusive and equitable local participation, and limited sustainability of CBNRM initiatives beyond short-term project funding timelines. The paper argues that integrated landscape approaches can address these challenges and improve natural resource management in Ghana and Zambia. We urge landscape practitioners to consider how the lessons learned from CBNRM are being addressed in practice, as they represent both challenges and opportunities for landscape approaches to improve natural resource management.

From European forestry strategies to implementing local policies: a study on public forest workers in the Tuscany region of Italy

Even though forests represent almost half of the EU territory, the implementation of forestry strategies is delegated to local government institutions. This study proposes an overview of the main European forestry strategies, national (Italian) guidelines and local implementation instruments (in Tuscany). This approach made it possible to identify the actual executors of forestry policies, i.e., the public forest workers. The paper provides a framework of the recent dynamics of regional forestry instruments, their effects on available financial resources and their technicaloperational consequences. Furthermore, Tuscan public forest worker profiles were defined through an online questionnaire. The results show that it is essential to activate constant monitoring of local actions in order to verify the effectiveness of superordinate forestry policies.

What does Brazil know about the origin and uses of tree species employed in the housing sector? Perspectives on available species, origin and current challenges

Timber consumption is a complex discussion for the industry, in part because the issue has been marked by doubts about lineage and origin. This paper aimed to identify challenges related to species, origins and wood use in the Brazilian construction sector. Searches on corporate websites and face-to-face interviews were used to identify involvement by species and origin in the domestic production of timber for housing. Relevant results were obtained for both methods since their margins of error were low. Forty exotic and nine native species were revealed to contribute significantly to the construction sector. 'Grapia' and 'Angelim pedra' native woods and eight eucalypt and pine species were shown to be the most popular through both methodologies. Pine timber was found to be in greater demand than that of Eucalyptus species. Despite some lack of clarity relating to the origin of certain species, the sector's status was better than expected. However, it still requires assertive actions to increase the use of legalized wood in order to favour product certification and integration into foreign markets.

The Fast Track Land Reform Programme and its effect on the loss of forests: the case of the Mafungabusi Forest Reserve in Zimbabwe

Land reform in Zimbabwe, commonly known as the Fast Track Land Reform Programme (FTLRP), was established in early 2000. Since the inception of the FTRLP, loss of forests and biodiversity has been on the rise. In this paper, an analysis of the rate of forest loss pre-FTLRP, during and post-FTLRP to date (1995–2019) is presented for the Mafungabusi Forest Reserve. Data were collected from semi-structured questionnaires, interviews, satellite imagery and fieldwork. Land Cover, Land-Use Change Maps were obtained from supervised classification of satellite imagery and regression graphs for the rate of change of forest area were also obtained. Results show that the forested areas decreased at a rate of 308 ha per year (2.4%) during the FTLRP and at a rate of 481 ha per year (5.2%) post FTLRP. The inception of FTLRP and the withdrawal of funds to support the Community Involvement in Forest Management (CIFM) resulted in forest loss as the population grew and demand for land increased. Given the current rate of forest loss, the Mafungabusi Forest will probably disappear in the next 20 years if no measures are taken to reduce the rate of forest loss. Thus, there is need for the Zimbabwe Forestry Commission, Environmental Management Agency and other relevant stakeholders to engage resettled farmers in sustainable co-management of natural resources. Such efforts will help in combating effects of climate change and conserving biodiversity.

China's Natural Forest Protection Program: evolution, impact and challenges

In order to improve environmental conditions and the well-being of its population, China has implemented one of the world's largest ecological rehabilitation projects of the early twenty-first century: The Nat ural Forest Protection Program (NFPP). This program aims to prevent deforestation and conserve natural forests, mainly by banning logging. With heavy central government financing, the NFPP has profound global ecological and socioeconomic impacts. While most previous studies have focused on the positive aspects of the NFPP, some negative aspects should also be examined. Chiefly, the NFPP does not fully address the untapped potential of the natural forest and the uses of this sustainable economic resource, which should be approached using nature-based solutions. Some major policy points in the NFPP, such as forest management, institutional design, diversified funding resources, and comprehensive monitoring, need revision. This study of the NFPP can provide significant insights for other countries addressing urgent environmental issues.

Operations and improvement needs in the informal charcoal sector: a participatory value stream analysis

Developing profitable and sustainable charcoal supply chains in Sub-Saharan Africa requires good knowledge about their properties, input needs and impacts. Charcoal supply chains in Taita Taveta and Kwale counties, Kenya, were analysed to identify operational and sustainability improvement opportunities. Using operations man agement, lean engineering and participatory research, charcoal value streams' processes, resources, and outcomes were analysed. Charcoal production and trade have low entry barriers, slow-paced innovation, and thin profit margins for value chain actors. Production is labour intensive, and the actors need specific skills, knowhow, and resources for proper business performance. The value chain's profitability and sustainability can be improved by regenerating exploited quality tree species, improving operation efficiency and safety, promoting market development, and appropriate policies on charcoal production and trade. The study's findings can guide the development of enabling policies and regulatory frameworks for the charcoal industry and improve the actors' performance in the charcoal value chain.

Sustainability certification and legality verification in Indonesian natural forest-based wood products value chains

Indonesian natural forest concessions and value chains are governed by a mandatory Timber Legality Verification System (SVLK), which includes assessment of Sustainable Production Forest Management (PHPL). Concessionaires and processors may also pursue voluntary forest certification. This study explores actors' compliance with these instruments along wood product value chains originating primarily from natural forests. Empirical results demonstrate that SVLK fostered legality compliance in domestic as well as export value chains, but still allows some possible loopholes. It is easier for actors to comply with SVLK than with Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification, because SVLK has less stringent requirements, and uses an assessment system that allows poor field performance and does not foster continuous improvement of practices. These results identify weaknesses in the architecture and implementation of the regulatory instruments, and suggest measures to strengthen Indonesia's sustainable forest management and timber legality systems.

The politics of forest governance failure in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC): lessons from 35 years of political rivalries

The promotion of good governance in the forestry sector in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) was one of the major components of the policy reforms initiated by international organisations in the mid-1980s. This paper analyses concepts of 'good governance' in the forestry sector in the DRC between the mid-1980s and 2020 and highlights the recent history of forest policy reforms. From an empirical perspective, our analysis builds both on an extensive review of policy documents and field observations, as well as interviews with actors who have been involved with forest policy reforms or seen how they were implemented. The paper also describes the key actors involved in those reforms and investigates the coalitions formed between some of them to influence the forestland governance in the country. The paper demonstrates that international organisations have often played a decisive and intrusive role in the promotion of 'good governance' in the DRC forestry sector. Their strong involvement is sometimes seen as interference and has aggravated rather than alleviated the governance crisis. In some cases, politicians, military and administrative officers have used political and security unrest as a scapegoat to benefit from forest governance failure and the related business-as-usual in the DRC.