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Challenges to upscaling community ecoforestry and community-based reforestation in Papua New Guinea
Conference paper   Open access   Peer reviewed

Challenges to upscaling community ecoforestry and community-based reforestation in Papua New Guinea

Robert J Fisher, Norlie Miskaram, Alfred Faitelli, John L Herbohn, Jack Baynes, David Smorfitt and Hartmut Holzknecht
Proceedings of the 2014 Promoting Responsible Sustainable Development Through Research, Science and Technology Conference, Vol.2, pp.32-39
Promoting Responsible Sustainable Development Through Research, Science and Technology Conference: The PNG Way, 2014 (Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, 17-Nov-2014–21-Nov-2014)
University of Papua New Guinea
2015
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Abstract

Forestry Sciences ecoforestry community forestry forest restoration small scale forestry
Various approaches to forest management, which can generically be referred to as 'community forestry', have become widely promoted in much of Asia in recent decades, but they have had mixed success in providing genuine benefits to the rural populations involved. One major limitation has been the limited recognition of local tenure and the associated lack of decision-making power which limits the effective control of forest resources by the communities. Unlike the situation in most of Asia, rural people in PNG have legally recognised rights to land and forests under the Constitution. However, most commercial use of forests has been through concessions managed by the PNG Forest Authority. Royalties to communities are not always regarded as satisfactory by landowners and advocates, and much forest harvesting by concessionaires is frequently regarded as silviculturally unsustainable. One alternative approach that has been developed is 'ecoforestry' which involves sustainable management (including harvesting) by communities. Despite the obvious potential, there are a number of barriers to increasing income flows and to enabling wider practice of ecoforestry. A second approach to community forestry is community-based reforestation in grasslands. This has also faced challenges. This paper identifies some of the challenges to both these forms of community forestry, based largely on a review of the literature and the experiences of a project funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research and implemented in partnership between Australian and PNG based partners. Among the key challenges identified are poorly understood market chains, economies of scale and limited cooperation between landholding groups. Some possible ways in which these challenges might be addressed through action-oriented research are suggested.

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