The purpose of this research is to contribute to the identification of appropriate forest tenure and governance designs that are in congruence with Aboriginal values, interests and rights. The research is highly relevant to current societal deliberations on sustainable forest management as well as to the future of the forest sector in Canada. First Nations culture and ways of life are intimately and inextricably tied to the land. Some eighty percent of Canada’s First Nations communities are situated in productive forest regions (NAFA 2003). Even so, First Nations have been largely excluded from forest development and planning activities. Furthermore, the provincial policy emphasis on industrial timber production may not be consistent with Aboriginal forest values. This community-based research takes a participatory approach to forest policy analysis. The work is conducted in partnership with the Stellat’en First Nation and Carrier Sekani Tribal Council in central British Columbia. Stellat’en criteria for forest tenure and governance are identified in a series of workshops and interviews. These criteria are then applied in the analysis of four alternative models: the Community Ecosystem Trust, the Gitanyow joint land use planning model, BC Community Forest Agreements and Aboriginal reservations in the United States. The results indicated that Stellat’en have three main goals regarding forest tenure and governance: protect the traditional territory for future generations, protect Stellat’en culture and support Stellat’en economic self-determination. Implementation of the Stellat’en vision calls for a greater emphasis on ecological and cultural values in forest management, devolution of decision making authority to First Nations, reallocation of harvesting rights and redistribution of wealth generated by forest activities. The Stellat’en perspective emphasizes co-existence and stewardship. Evaluation of the four alternative models provided useful insights for progressive tenure and governance design. All four models had positive aspects to contribute, as well as shortcomings. The models are not mutually exclusive. Since each model addresses different management and institutional functions, they could be combined into a new system for the future.

The purpose of this research is to contribute to the identification of appropriate forest tenure and governance designs that are in congruence with Aboriginal values, interests and rights. The research is highly relevant to current societal deliberations on sustainable forest management as well as to the future of the forest sector in Canada. First Nations culture and ways of life are intimately and inextricably tied to the land. Some eighty percent of Canada’s First Nations communities are situated in productive forest regions (NAFA 2003). Even so, First Nations have been largely excluded from forest development and planning activities. Furthermore, the provincial policy emphasis on industrial timber production may not be consistent with Aboriginal forest values. This community-based research takes a participatory approach to forest policy analysis. The work is conducted in partnership with the Stellat’en First Nation and Carrier Sekani Tribal Council in central British Columbia. Stellat’en criteria for forest tenure and governance are identified in a series of workshops and interviews. These criteria are then applied in the analysis of four alternative models: the Community Ecosystem Trust, the Gitanyow joint land use planning model, BC Community Forest Agreements and Aboriginal reservations in the United States. The results indicated that Stellat’en have three main goals regarding forest tenure and governance: protect the traditional territory for future generations, protect Stellat’en culture and support Stellat’en economic self-determination. Implementation of the Stellat’en vision calls for a greater emphasis on ecological and cultural values in forest management, devolution of decision making authority to First Nations, reallocation of harvesting rights and redistribution of wealth generated by forest activities. The Stellat’en perspective emphasizes co-existence and stewardship. Evaluation of the four alternative models provided useful insights for progressive tenure and governance design. All four models had positive aspects to contribute, as well as shortcomings. The models are not mutually exclusive. Since each model addresses different management and institutional functions, they could be combined into a new system for the future.

Thesis (MSc (Forest and Wood Science))—University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / The present study investigated double sampling with regression estimators as a quest for efficiency and effectiveness in forest inventory in Namibian woodlands. Auxiliary data used were obtained from Standard QuickBird satellite scenes (phase 1) for Hans Kanyinga Community Forest from October and November 2004 covering an area of 12,107 hectares, amplified with terrestric data (phase 2) of 2002. The relationships between auxiliary and terrestric variables are described and prediction models were constructed. According to the results of the stepwise procedure with the Mallow’s Cp statistic as the selection criteria, photogrammetric stand density and a combination of the photogrammetric crown area with photogrammetric stand density were the best candidates for predicting the stand volume. The resulting volume model explains 56% of the variation. Photogrammetric stand density was found to be highly correlated to the terrestric stand density with the resulting model explaining 81% of the variation. Photogrammetric crown diameter was found to be correlated with the diameter at breast height measured from the plots which were assessed for spatial tree positions, which enabled the derivation of the diameter distribution. The diameter distribution model explains 43% of the variation. In addition, the actual tree positions were determined using the GPS and surveying techniques (polar positions) involving distance and bearings. GPS tree positions showed a considerable shift of up to 8.67 m. However, only the distance measurements of tress from the plot centre using the infield surveying methods were more reliable. Nevertheless, the influences of the tree positional errors are not of high concern for temporary based sample plots which are normally used in Namibian forest inventories. A reduction in inventory cost was found to be 24% i.e. N$25.79 to N$19.67 per hectare. The results of this study are valid for Kavango region or any other region with similar set of physical and climatic conditions, but caution must be exercised in implementing these results elsewhere under different physical and environmental conditions.

Cette thèse a pour objectif de fournir une analyse compréhensive des composantes de jure et de facto de la sécurité foncière des communautés locales en regard du cadre législatif, ainsi qu’une évaluation approfondie de l’interaction entre REDD+ et les accords fonciers actuels. La Thaïlande, pays dans lequel semblent coexister les droits fonciers de facto et les propriétés d’état de jure, fut sélectionnée comme cas d’étude.Deux résultats principaux ressortent de cette étude. Tout d'abord, le cadre juridique ne reconnaissant pas le droit à la propriété ancestrale a conduit à différentes situations foncières de facto pour les communautés. Certaines communautés jouissent d’une occupation de leurs propriétés foncières de facto comparativement plus sécurisée que d'autres. Deuxièmement, il apparaît que le mécanisme REDD+ n’a pas représenté une incitation suffisante pour le gouvernement Thaïlandais à résoudre rapidement ces litiges fonciers. En outre, les risques inhérents à l'insécurité foncière décourage les investissements REDD+, pouvant aller jusqu’au retrait des financements. Ainsi, cette thèse complète la littérature existante sur le mécanisme REDD+ et le foncier sur trois aspects majeurs: (1) cadre légal et foncier, (2) foncier et déforestation et (3) concurrence entre la titularisation du foncier et la mise en place de REDD+.Les implications politiques tirées de l'étude comprennent des mesures à long terme pour une réforme du régime foncier et à court/moyen terme pour une réévaluation des priorités du gouvernement afin d’assurer la cohérence des politiques vers la mise en œuvre de pilote REDD+ sous forme de paiement pour les services environnementaux (PES) et l'amélioration des structures institutionnelles. / This thesis aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of de jure and de facto tenure security of local communities in relation to domestic legal framework and a thorough assessment of how REDD+ and current tenure arrangement interacts. Thailand, a country where there is an apparent coexistence of de jure state property and de facto tenure rights, was selected as a case study.There are two primary findings emerging from the study. Firstly, the legal framework with non-recognized customary tenure led to different de facto tenure impacts in different communities. Some communities were found to have their de facto tenure comparatively more secure than others. Secondly, REDD+ could not provide sufficient incentive for the government to expedite tenure clarification. Moreover, the embedded risks of tenure insecurity discouraged REDD+ investment and led to withdrawal of the fund. The thesis contributes to the existing literature on REDD+ and tenure in three main aspects: (1) legal framework and tenure, (2) tenure and deforestation and (3) tenure clarification and REDD+ competing agendas.Policy implications drawn from the study comprise of long-term measures namely comprehensive tenure reform and short to medium-term measures, including re-assessment of government priorities for policy consistency and pilot implementation in form of payment for environmental services (PES) and improvement of REDD+ institutional structure.

The purpose of this research is to contribute to the identification of appropriate forest tenure and governance designs that are in congruence with Aboriginal values, interests and rights. The research is highly relevant to current societal deliberations on sustainable forest management as well as to the future of the forest sector in Canada. First Nations culture and ways of life are intimately and inextricably tied to the land. Some eighty percent of Canada’s First Nations communities are situated in productive forest regions (NAFA 2003). Even so, First Nations have been largely excluded from forest development and planning activities. Furthermore, the provincial policy emphasis on industrial timber production may not be consistent with Aboriginal forest values. This community-based research takes a participatory approach to forest policy analysis. The work is conducted in partnership with the Stellat’en First Nation and Carrier Sekani Tribal Council in central British Columbia. Stellat’en criteria for forest tenure and governance are identified in a series of workshops and interviews. These criteria are then applied in the analysis of four alternative models: the Community Ecosystem Trust, the Gitanyow joint land use planning model, BC Community Forest Agreements and Aboriginal reservations in the United States. The results indicated that Stellat’en have three main goals regarding forest tenure and governance: protect the traditional territory for future generations, protect Stellat’en culture and support Stellat’en economic self-determination. Implementation of the Stellat’en vision calls for a greater emphasis on ecological and cultural values in forest management, devolution of decision making authority to First Nations, reallocation of harvesting rights and redistribution of wealth generated by forest activities. The Stellat’en perspective emphasizes co-existence and stewardship. Evaluation of the four alternative models provided useful insights for progressive tenure and governance design. All four models had positive aspects to contribute, as well as shortcomings. The models are not mutually exclusive. Since each model addresses different management and institutional functions, they could be combined into a new system for the future. / Forestry, Faculty of / Graduate

No description available.

Sous l’injonction internationale à la participation, de nouvelles modalités de gouvernance sont apparues, invitant de nouveaux acteurs dans la gestion des aires naturelles protégées et remodelant les politiques de conservation à l’échelle internationale comme nationale.Le Mexique n’est pas exempt de ces remises en question et ses nouvelles orientations stratégiques pour la gestion des aires naturelles protégées se concentrent désormais sur la «gouvernance ». De nouveaux programmes d’appui aux communautés ont ainsi été développés pour les inciter à participer à la gestion des ressources naturelles communes. Pour contourner les restrictions liées au statut de Parc National, une vingtaine d’aires naturelles protégées ont ou vont ainsi changer de statut d’ici 2018. Le Parc National Nevado de Toluca représente l’un des premiers espaces protégés à avoir été déclassifié au statut d’Aire de Protection de la Faune et de la Flore, afin de permettre aux 54 communautés agraires réparties sur le territoire de mettre en place des projets productifs et participer in fine à la conservation de l’espace protégé. Mêlant action publique, modèles de gestion locale et dynamiques écologiques, le Nevado de Toluca constitue ainsi un laboratoire in situ qui permet de comprendre comment les notions de gouvernance environnementale et de participation mises en avant dans les programmes gouvernementaux se traduisent sur le terrain. Ce laboratoire permet d’évaluer plus spécifiquement comment les instruments de gestion participative, tels que la gestion forestière communautaire et les paiements pour services environnementaux ont modifié les pratiques locales de gestion et in fine, les dynamiques écologiques forestières. Puis, l’analyse des processus participatifs établis dans le cadre du changement de catégorie et de l’élaboration du plan de gestion permet de mieux comprendre l’appropriation de l’injonction internationale à la participation par le gouvernement mexicain ainsi que ses effets, attendus ou non, sur la gouvernance de l’aire naturelle protégée. Les paiements pour services environnementaux présentés généralement comme une stratégie de conservation plus efficiente que les projets intégrés, semblent être, sur le Nevado de Toluca, des instruments moins performants socialement et écologiquement que la gestion forestière communautaire. Les instruments de gestion participative ont néanmoins en commun de reproduire les injustices sociales du système agraire mexicain. Par ailleurs, malgré des processus participatifs limités, la recatégorisation a conduit à des controverses, alliances et innovations sociotechniques, qui reconfigurent les modalités de gouvernance du territoire. Si le gouvernement ne cède pas pour autant son pouvoir de décision, des arrangements informels viennent s’insérer dans cette nouvelle configuration et constituent des formes de contre-pouvoirs. L’institutionnalisation de la participation ne conduit pas à l’éradication des conflits et à la production d’un consensus. Au contraire, elle met en lumière la dimension agonistique des politiques de conservation. / Under the international context of supporting participation for the co-management of natural resources, new governance arrangements have emerged, inviting new actors in the management of natural protected areas and reshaping conservation policies. Mexico has not been exempted from this process with the new strategic directions for protected natural areas having focused on "governance". New community support programs have been developed to encourage local forest communities to participate in the management of their natural resources. To bypass the restrictions related to the status of a National Park, twenty Mexican natural protected areas have changed or are going to change of status by 2018. The Nevado de Toluca National Park is one of the first protected areas to have been declassified to the status of Wildlife and Flora Area Protection, to allow the 54 agrarian communities established in the territory to implement productive projects and ultimately participate in the conservation of the protected area.Combining public action, local management models and ecological dynamics, the Nevado de Toluca constitutes a laboratory for understanding how the concepts of environmental governance and participation, promoted in government programs, are being applied on the field. This empirical laboratory allows for the evaluation of how participatory management instruments, such as community forest management and payment for environmental services, have modified local management practices and, ultimately, forest ecosystems. Moreover, the analysis of participatory processes, a key part in the process of change in the protection category of the protected natural area, allows us to better understand the appropriation of international premises into effective participation by mechanisms held by the Mexican government. These mechanisms will, in turn, potentially have an effect on the governance of the protected natural area. Payments for environmental services, generally presented as a more efficient conservation strategy than integrated conservation and development projects, seem to be on the Nevado de Toluca, less socially and environmentally efficient than community forest management. However, these two participatory management instruments have reproduced the social injustices of the Mexican agrarian system. Besides, despite limited participatory processes, the reclassification resulted in controversies, alliances and socio-technical innovations that are reshaping the governance of the territory. As a response to the non-transfer of decision-making power by the government, informal arrangements are appearing as a new governance configuration and as a form of countervailing-power. The institutionalization of participation has not led to the eradication of conflict or to a consensus. Instead, it highlights the agonistic dimension of conservation policies.

Le monde rural gabonais est un espace en grande partie vidé de ses populations, soumis depuis longtemps aux pressions de l’exploitation forestière et, depuis une vingtaine d’années, à une politique de conservation très volontaire. Nous avons voulu étudier l’impact de ces pressions sur le monde rural contemporain en nous centrant plus particulièrement sur les aires de conservation. C’est dans la province de l’Ogooué-Ivindo, autour de trois parcs nationaux (Ivindo, Mwagné et Lopé), que nous avons examiné les activités de conservation, de production, les acteurs impliqués ainsi que les conflits qui en résultent. En dépit d’une histoire largement défavorable au monde rural, en dépit aussi de la mauvaise répartition des richesses, des infrastructures et des services, profitant presqu’exclusivement aux villes au détriment des zones rurales, et en dépit enfin de politiques de conservation très contraignantes pour les populations rurales, les villages continuent à exister – en grande partie grâce à la tradition. Les solutions proposées telles que l’attribution des forêts communautaires initiée récemment par l’état gabonais, peuvent-elles permettre de raviver les villages et de faire participer les populations rurales au processus de développement de leurs localités ? Au-delà de cette question, cette thèse permet d’engager des réflexions sur des actions possibles pour éviter l’extinction des villages gabonais. / Gabonese rural world is an area largely emptied of its populations, subjected for a long time to the pressures of the forestry development and, for about more than twenty years, to a very voluntary conservation policy. We have wanted to study the impact of these pressures on the contemporary rural world by focusing our work particularly on the conservation areas. It is in the province of Ogooué-Ivindo, around three national parks (Ivindo, Mwagné and Lopé) that we examined the activities of conservation and production, the actors involved as well as the conflicts which result from them. The history widely unfavorable to the rural world, the unequal distribution of wealth, infrastructures and services, benefiting almost exclusively the cities to the detriment of the rural areas and the conservation policies too binding for the rural populations have made it difficult for villages to survive. In despite of all this, they still exist - largely thanks to the local tradition. But, can possible solutions such as the attribution of community forests, introduced recently by the Gabonese state, bring villages back to life and make rural populations participate in the process of developing their localities? Beyond this question, this thesis seeks to initiate a process of reflection on possible actions to stop the extinction of the Gabonese villages.