Miombo woodlands cover vast areas of southern Africa. Of comparatively little interest for export-oriented commercial logging, they are part of a complex system of rural land use that integrates woodland management with crops and livestock. There is also evidence that woodland resources are extensively used for household consumption, greatly reducing the risk of households falling deeper into poverty as a result of environmental or economic stress. New opportunities for improving the management of miombo woodlands, with poverty mitigation in mind, suggest four policy options. First, communities are becoming more active in managing local natural resources, a result of decentralization and land reforms, which suggests that there may be good scope for strengthening related policy and legal frameworks and the measures to implement them. Second, new and integrated conservation-development approaches are emerging, which suggests possible scope for providing payments for environmental services to increase the value of managed woodlands. Third, markets throughout the region are developing and expanding, which suggests great scope for enhancing forest-based markets by removing restrictive legislation and by supporting local producers and forest enterprises. Fourth, all these opportunities suggest that public forest institutions can be revitalized by strengthening their service delivery orientations, with poverty mitigation as a main objective.

Mangroves could be key ecosystems in strategies addressing the mitigation of climate changes through carbon storage. However, little is known regarding the carbon stocks of these ecosystems, particularly below-ground. This study was carried out in the mangrove forests of Sofala Bay, Central Mozambique, with the aim of quantifying carbon stocks of live and dead plant and soil components. The methods followed the procedures developed by the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) for mangrove forests. In this study, we developed a general allometric equation to estimate individual tree biomass and soil carbon content (up to 100 cm depth). We estimated the carbon in the whole mangrove ecosystem of Sofala Bay, including dead trees, wood debris, herbaceous, pneumatophores, litter and soil. The general allometric equation for live trees derived was [Above-ground tree dry weight (kg) = 3.254 × exp(0.065 × DBH)], root mean square error (RMSE = 4.244), and coefficient of determination (R 2 = 0.89). The average total carbon storage of Sofala Bay mangrove was 218.5 Mg·ha , of which around 73% are stored in the soil. Mangrove conservation has the potential for REDD+ programs, especially in regions like Mozambique, which contains extensive mangrove areas with high deforestation and degradation rates.

Charcoal production for urban energy consumption is a main driver of forest degradation in sub Saharan Africa. Urban growth projections for the continent suggest that the relevance of this process will increase in the coming decades. Forest degradation associated to charcoal production is difficult to monitor and commonly overlooked and underrepresented in forest cover change and carbon emission estimates. We use a multitemporal dataset of very high-resolution remote sensing images to map kiln locations in a representative study area of tropical woodlands in central Mozambique. The resulting maps provided a characterization of the spatial extent and temporal dynamics of charcoal production. Using an indirect approach we combine kiln maps and field information on charcoal making to describe the magnitude and intensity of forest degradation linked to charcoal production, including aboveground biomass and carbon emissions. Our findings reveal that forest degradation associated to charcoal production in the study area is largely independent from deforestation driven by agricultural expansion and that its impact on forest cover change is in the same order of magnitude as deforestation. Our work illustrates the feasibility of using estimates of urban charcoal consumption to establish a link between urban energy demands and forest degradation. This kind of approach has potential to reduce uncertainties in forest cover change and carbon emission assessments in sub-Saharan Africa.

Stringer, L. C., Dougill, A. J., Thomas, A. D., Spracklen, D. V., Chesterman, S., Speranza, C. I., Rueff, H., Ridell, M., Williams, M., Beedy, T., Abson, T. J., Klintenberg, P., Syampungani, S., Powell, P., Palmer, A. R., Seely, M. K., Mkwambisi, D. D., Falcao, M., Sitoe, A., Ross, S., Kopolo, G. (2012). Challenges and opportunities in linking carbon sequestration, livelihoods and ecosystem service provision in drylands. Environmental Science and Policy, 19-20, 121-135.Changes in land use and management practices to store and sequester carbon are becoming integral to global efforts that both address climate change and alleviate poverty. Knowledge and evidence gaps nevertheless abound. This paper analyses the most pressing deficiencies in understanding carbon storage in both soils and above ground biomass and the related social and economic challenges associated with carbon sequestration projects. Focusing on the semi-arid and dry sub-humid systems of sub-Saharan Africa which are inhabited by many of the world?s poor, we identify important interdisciplinary opportunities and challenges that need to be addressed, in order for the poor to benefit from carbon storage, through both climate finance streams and the collateral ecosystem service benefits delivered by carbon-friendly land management. We emphasise that multi-stakeholder working across scales from the local to the regional is necessary to ensure that scientific advances can inform policy and practice to deliver carbon, ecosystem service and poverty alleviation benefits.authorsversionPeer reviewe

eprints@whiterose.ac.uk https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/ Reuse Unless indicated otherwise, fulltext items are protected by copyright with all rights reserved. The copyright exception in section 29 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 allows the making of a single copy solely for the purpose of non-commercial research or private study within the limits of fair dealing. The publisher or other rights-holder may allow further reproduction and re-use of this version -refer to the White Rose Research Online record for this item. Where records identify the publisher as the copyright holder, users can verify any specific terms of use on the publisher's website. TakedownIf you consider content in White Rose Research Online to be in breach of UK law, please notify us by emailing eprints@whiterose.ac.uk including the URL of the record and the reason for the withdrawal request. AbstractReducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) has emerged as a promising climate change mitigation mechanism in developing countries. This paper examines the national political context in 13 REDD+ countries in order to identify the enabling conditions for achieving progress with the implementation of countries' REDD+ policies and measures. The analysis builds on a qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) of various countries' progress with REDD+, conducted in 12 REDD+ countries in 2012, which highlighted the importance of factors such as already initiated policy change, and the presence of coalitions calling for broader policy change A follow-up survey in 2014 was considered timely because the REDD+ policy arena, at international and at country levels, is highly dynamic and undergoes constant evolution, which affects progress with REDD+ policy making and implementation. Furthermore, we will now examine whether the 'promise' of performance-based funds has played a role in enabling the establishment of REDD+. The results show a set of enabling conditions and characteristics of the policy process under which REDD+ policies can be established. The study finds that the existence of broader policy change, and availability of performance-based funding in combination with strong national ownership of the REDD+ policy process may help guide other countries seeking to formulate REDD+ policies that are likely to deliver efficient, effective, and equitable outcomes.Policy relevance: Tropical forest countries struggle with the design and implementation of coherent policies and measures to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation. Evidence on which factors and configurations are crucial to make progress towards these challenging policy objectives will be helpful for decision makers and practitioners at all levels involved in REDD+. Key findings highlight the importance of already initiated policy change, and the availability performancebased funding in combination with strong national ownership of the REDD+ process. These findings provides guidance to REDD+ countries as to which enabling conditions need to ...