A new agenda for forest conservation and poverty reduction making markets work for low-income producers

The future of the world's forests and the future of millions of the world's poorest people are inextricably linked. Rural poverty is concentrated in many areas where the world's biodiversity is most threatened. More than a billion people now live within the world's 19 forest biodiversity "hotspots" and population growth in the world's tropical wilderness areas is 3.1 percent, over twice the world's average rate of growth. Over 90 percent of those who live on less than a dollar a day depend fully or in part on forest products for their livelihoods. The dominant models of forest management and protection are increasingly inappropriate in the face of this reality. Large-scale logging in commercial forest concessions, industrial forest plantations and public protected areas all deprive poor communities of lands and forests they traditionally controlled and contribute little, if anything, to rural livelihoods Even social forestry initiatives that do seek to restore these rights typically seek to sharply restrict commercial use by local people. A fundamental re-assessment of the role of forests in rural development, and the role of local people in forest conservation, is urgently needed. Indeed, changes in forest resources, markets, and governance offer new opportunities for low-income producers. At least a quarter of the forests in developing countries are now officially owned or administered by indigenous and other communities. Millions of smallholder farmers, especially those in forest-scarce but agriculturally less favored regions, are growing trees not only to recover local ecosystem services, but also to meet rapidly growing domestic demand for forest products. In some areas, forest and farm tree resources are the principal assets of the poor and the most proximate opportunity for poverty alleviation.

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Scherr, Sara J. autor/a, White, Andy autor/a, Kaimowitz, David autor/a
Format: Texto biblioteca
Language:eng
Published: Washington, District of Columbia, United States Forest Trends Center International Forestry Research The World Conservation Union 2004
Subjects:Conservación de bosques, Pobreza rural, Economía forestal, Madera, Política forestal, Artfrosur,
Online Access:http://www.ccmss.org.mx/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/A_new_agenda_for_forest_conservation_and_poverty_reduction_Making_Markets_Work_for_Low-Income_Producers.pdf
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Summary:The future of the world's forests and the future of millions of the world's poorest people are inextricably linked. Rural poverty is concentrated in many areas where the world's biodiversity is most threatened. More than a billion people now live within the world's 19 forest biodiversity "hotspots" and population growth in the world's tropical wilderness areas is 3.1 percent, over twice the world's average rate of growth. Over 90 percent of those who live on less than a dollar a day depend fully or in part on forest products for their livelihoods. The dominant models of forest management and protection are increasingly inappropriate in the face of this reality. Large-scale logging in commercial forest concessions, industrial forest plantations and public protected areas all deprive poor communities of lands and forests they traditionally controlled and contribute little, if anything, to rural livelihoods Even social forestry initiatives that do seek to restore these rights typically seek to sharply restrict commercial use by local people. A fundamental re-assessment of the role of forests in rural development, and the role of local people in forest conservation, is urgently needed. Indeed, changes in forest resources, markets, and governance offer new opportunities for low-income producers. At least a quarter of the forests in developing countries are now officially owned or administered by indigenous and other communities. Millions of smallholder farmers, especially those in forest-scarce but agriculturally less favored regions, are growing trees not only to recover local ecosystem services, but also to meet rapidly growing domestic demand for forest products. In some areas, forest and farm tree resources are the principal assets of the poor and the most proximate opportunity for poverty alleviation.