Complex Tenure and Deforestation: Implications for Conservation Incentives in the Ecuadorian Amazon

Holland, Margaret B.; Koning, Free de; Morales, Manuel; Naughton‐Treves, Lisa; Robinson, Brian E.; Suárez, Luis

doi:10.1016/j.worlddev.2013.01.012

Cited by 99 publications

(53 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…More than 100 published papers explore the relationship between preexisting tenure security and/or tenure type on the one hand and forest cover on the other (20,21,(33)(34)(35). Two recent meta-analyses conclude that, in general, preexisting tenure security is associated with lower rates of forest cover change regardless of the form of tenure (36,37).…”

Section: Evidence Basementioning

confidence: 99%

Titling indigenous communities protects forests in the Peruvian Amazon

Blackman

Corral

Lima

et al. 2017

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

255

138

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Developing countries are increasingly decentralizing forest governance by granting indigenous groups and other local communities formal legal title to land. However, the effects of titling on forest cover are unclear. Rigorous analyses of titling campaigns are rare, and related theoretical and empirical research suggests that they could either stem or spur forest damage. We analyze such a campaign in the Peruvian Amazon, where more than 1,200 indigenous communities comprising some 11 million ha have been titled since the mid1970s. We use community-level longitudinal data derived from highresolution satellite images to estimate the effect of titling between 2002 and 2005 on contemporaneous forest clearing and disturbance. Our results indicate that titling reduces clearing by more than threequarters and forest disturbance by roughly two-thirds in a 2-y window spanning the year title is awarded and the year afterward. These results suggest that awarding formal land titles to local communities can advance forest conservation.

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Section: Evidence Basementioning

confidence: 99%

Titling indigenous communities protects forests in the Peruvian Amazon

Blackman

Corral

Lima

et al. 2017

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

255

138

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…In Ecuador, most of the studies have focused on the Amazonian lowlands [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22] and coastal [5,8,23,24] regions, while land cover change in the Andes has been studied less, due, among other reasons, to the inaccessibility of the region. It is obvious that in remote areas like the Ecuadorian Andes, wide analysis of land cover change would not be possible without the use of remotely sensed data.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Land Cover Change in the Andes of Southern Ecuador—Patterns and Drivers

et al. 2015

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Abstract:In the megadiverse tropical mountain forest in the Andes of southern Ecuador, a global biodiversity hotspot, the use of fire to clear land for cattle ranching is leading to the invasion of an aggressive weed, the bracken fern, which is threatening diversity and the provisioning of ecosystem services. To find sustainable land use options adapted to the local situation, a profound knowledge of the long-term spatiotemporal patterns of land cover change and its drivers is necessary, but hitherto lacking. The complex topography and the high cloud frequency make the use of remote sensing in this area a challenge. To deal with these conditions, we pursued specific pre-processing steps before classifying five Landsat scenes from 1975 to 2001. Then, we quantified land cover changes and habitat fragmentation, and we investigated landscape changes in relation to key spatial elements (altitude, slope, and distance from roads). Good classification results were obtained with overall accuracies ranging from 94.5% to 98.5% and Kappa statistics between 0.75 and 0.98. Forest was OPEN ACCESSRemote Sens. 2015, 7 2510 strongly fragmented due to the rapid expansion of the arable frontier and the even more rapid invasion by bracken. Unexpectedly, more bracken-infested areas were converted to pastures than vice versa, a practice that could alleviate pressure on forests if promoted. Road proximity was the most important spatial element determining forest loss, while for bracken the altitudinal range conditioned the degree of invasion in deforested areas. The annual deforestation rate changed notably between periods: ~1.5% from 1975 to 1987, ~0.8% from 1987 to 2000, and finally a very high rate of ~7.5% between 2000 and 2001. We explained these inconstant rates through some specific interrelated local and national political and socioeconomic drivers, namely land use policies, credit and tenure incentives, demography, and in particular, a severe national economic and bank crisis.

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“…Peru granted tenure rights to smallholders and indigenous communities but also aggressively fostered agricultural, mining and oil investments, which led to further social conflict [60]. Ecuador regularized land ownership in forestlands but progress was slow in both indigenous and non-indigenous lands and some conflicts persisted [61].…”

Section: First Wave Of Forest Reformsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Smallholder Forestry in the Western Amazon: Outcomes from Forest Reforms and Emerging Policy Perspectives

Pacheco

Mejía²,

Cano³

et al. 2016

Forests

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Abstract:The forest reforms unfolding during the last two decades in the western Amazon have embraced policy regimes founded on the principles of sustainable forest management. The policy frameworks adopted for smallholder forestry aimed to clarify forest rights including those of the indigenous people and smallholders, support the adoption of sustainable forest management and put a system in place to assure a legal timber supply. The emerging forest policy regimes have significantly shaped who has access to the forest, how the forest resources are used and the benefits that are utilized. We argue that forest reforms have not addressed some critical constraints facing smallholders in managing their forests either individually or collectively. Informal timber extraction persists with contradictory effects on smallholders and forests. Local participants continue to make a significant contribution in meeting a growing demand for timber through vigorous market networks that combine legal and illegal sources of timber supply. Some recent changes to forest policy frameworks emphasize approaches towards additional integrated forest management, simplification of regulations and incentives for improved forest management. We critically reflect on the scope, implementation and expected outcomes of these policy frameworks.

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Complex Tenure and Deforestation: Implications for Conservation Incentives in the Ecuadorian Amazon

Cited by 99 publications

References 45 publications

Titling indigenous communities protects forests in the Peruvian Amazon

Titling indigenous communities protects forests in the Peruvian Amazon

Land Cover Change in the Andes of Southern Ecuador—Patterns and Drivers

Smallholder Forestry in the Western Amazon: Outcomes from Forest Reforms and Emerging Policy Perspectives

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