China forest landscape restoration for asia pacific forests 2016 04 eng

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3.4.3 Myanmar

Forest cover restoration in Myanmar has mainly occurred through the establishment of plantations. Various types of plantations have been introduced including commercial plantations of native species teak, Xylia, Pterocarpus, pine etc. and industrial plantations fast-growing species of mostly exotics to afford watershed protection and to meet local fuelwood supply. The taungya system is still widely used for rehabilitating degraded forests; with declining interest in intercropping, this system however, requires modification to attract communities to practise it. While teak, Xylia and Pterocarpus are commonly used for commercial plantations, more drought-resistant species such as Azadirachta, Albizzia and Acacia are employed with intensive ground preparation in the dry zone areas. While the targets for plantations have been set high, the annual averages are in the range of 20 000 to 30 000 ha. Besides plantations, rehabilitation enrichment planting of logged natural forests continues. While the original forest policies, based on the 1894 Indian Forest Policy, focused mainly on timber production, the Myanmar Forest Policy Act of 1995 requires managers to take a broader approach and take account of environmental and social objectives and not only production goals Box 5. Community forests owned by communities on a long-term lease from the state have received the highest attention in areas that are highly degraded and vulnerable to climate change such as the dry zone regions and the Shan Plateau. This led to the establishment of the Dry Zone Greening Department for supporting the establishment of “forest plantations for local supply and greening of the environs.” Despite all these restoration efforts, forests are still declining at about 1 percent annually. However, policy changes, particularly those related to community forestry and efforts to meet the local needs of people, are currently under consideration. In the mid-2000s, privately-owned teak and hardwood plantations were allowed and they are likely to increase in the future.

3.4.4 Nepal

During the 1950s, Nepal nationalized its forest estate, resulting in heavy loss of forests. The subsequent land degradation caused Nepal’s foresters to look towards forest plantations as a means of reversing forest losses. Research as early as the 1950s favoured planting the exotic Pinus roxburghii on degraded hill sites. These early studies also suggested Schima wallichii and Shorea robusta could be useful species for forest restoration because they are capable of regeneration by coppicing and, even if damaged, can grow back if protected from fire and grazing. In the 1970s, plantations of these species were the main forms of forest restoration. Over time it became evident that plantings under the control of communities tended to be more successful than those established by the government. As a result, the role of community forestry grew into a major platform for forest restoration. Several policy steps were involved. Following heavy deforestation and soil damage, more conservation-based policies were formulated with strategies and programmes to arrest deforestation. The 1976 National Forestry Policy Plan of Nepal addressed deforestation and gave emphasis to industrial development, but also recognized people’s participation in forest management. The Master Plan for the Forestry Sector 1989 forwarded many strategies and programmes, including the community forestry and the leasehold forestry programmes as effective interventions to reverse deforestation and forest degradation. The Revised Forestry Sector Policy 2000 provided clear options for management of degraded and open Box฀5.฀Focus฀areas฀of฀Myanmar’s฀Forest฀Policy฀Act฀1995฀ •฀ Protection of soil, water, wildlife, biodiversity and the environment. •฀ Sustainability of forest resource use. •฀ Basic needs for fuel, shelter, food and recreation. •฀ Efficient use, in a socially and environmentally friendly manner, of the full economic potential of forest resources. •฀ Participation of people in the conservation and use of forests. •฀ Public awareness of the vital role of forests in the well-being and socio-economic development of the nation. Based on these focuses, the National Forest Master Plan was developed to cover the period 2001-2030 with regard to, inter alia, conservation, harvesting of natural forests, exports, NWFPs, forest regeneration and rehabilitation, and watershed management. Source: Ba Kaung see p. 79 dominated agencies paying greater attention to programmes that are geared towards conservation and protection of ecosystem services. Source: Nawir and Rumnoko 2007 22 It is obvious that Nepal’s forests began to stabilize only following the implementation of community-based forestry regimes, which helped to restore denuded landscapes while improving livelihood opportunities for rural people. In this context, supporting forest policies, appropriate tenurial arrangements and greater emphasis on forests as a means to alleviate poverty proved to be an excellent model.

3.4.5 Philippines

There has been no lack of forest restoration initiatives and the key ones are outlined in Box 7. They have included rehabilitation, forest plantations, ANR and agroforestry. These were initially managed by the Reforestation Administration which was created in 1972. Such restoration works were strongly driven by the government, which received considerable international donor assistance. Restoration work in the 1990s focused on fast-growing species like mahogany, gmelina, acacia and eucalyptus that were thought to be able to thrive even under minimal maintenance and inhospitable conditions Chokkalingam et al. 2006. Box฀7.฀Major฀forest฀restoration฀techniques฀developed฀in฀the฀Philippines •฀ Forest plantations using fast-growing hardwoods – species such as gmelina, acacia and albizzia which thrived in poor sites with minimal maintenance. •฀ Enrichment planting in residual forests – improving forest stand stocking with indigenous and exotic species. •฀ ‘Rainforestation’ – a term used to describe a form of multispecies planting using mainly indigenous timber and fruit tree species in open areas. •฀ ANR – a simple, low-cost technique based on enhancing the growth of natural regeneration in grassland areas. •฀ Agroforestry – using trees as hedgerow crops, intercropping with agricultural crops. •฀ Fuelwood plantations – planting fast-growing fuelwood species. •฀ Riverbank rehabilitation – planting to stabilize riverbanks with economic species such as bamboo, fuelwood varieties. •฀ Muyong – an indigenous system of forest management; a woodlot maintained for providing food, fuel, lumber, medicines etc. Source: Guiang and Aragon see p. 125 Box฀6.฀The฀major฀forest-related฀policies฀in฀Nepal •฀ National Forestry Policy Plan 1976 – the plan envisaged development of forest and forest industries for self- reliance in timber and fuelwood. In order to achieve this, the plan placed a restriction on export of raw logs. The plan also provided the objectives for forest management that included restoration of natural balance, economic mobilization, development of scientific technology, promotion of public cooperation etc. These national policies form the basis for implementing the five-year national development plans. •฀ Fifth 5-year Plan 1975-1980 – this represented a landmark in Nepal’s forestry sector following the formulation of the National Forestry Plan 1976 and the Panchayat Forest and Panchayat Forest Rules 1978. •฀ Sixth 5-year Plan 1980-1985 – the need for people’s participation in the conservation and management of forestry was highlighted. The Hill and Terai Community Forestry Projects were launched. •฀ Seventh 5-year Plan 1985-1990 – emphasis was placed on meeting people’s daily needs, afforestation on a large scale with people’s participation, agroforestry and protection of watersheds. •฀ Eighth 5-year Plan 19921993-19961997 – included stable supply of people’s needs, raising productivity of forests for forest-based industries and increased income and employment for underprivileged families. •฀ Ninth 5-year Plan 1997-2002 – the main objective was poverty alleviation by providing economic opportunities for poor people and encouraging their participation in development activities. •฀ Tenth 5-year Plan 2002-2007 – the role of forest resources in reducing poverty was elaborated through forest- based enterprises, income and employment generation, and the promotion of private forestry. •฀ Three-year Interim Plan 2007-2009 – proposed the need for legal and institutional reform, poverty reduction, and equitable distribution of forest resources, especially for Dalit discriminated communities and women. Source: Tamrakar and Mohns see p. 103 forests in the plains and mountain areas. With strong support from international donor agencies, Nepal was able to hand over 1.25 million ha of forests approximately 25 percent of the forest area to over 14 000 forest user groups. The main forest-related policies are highlighted in Box 6.