Community forestry （CF） was introduced in Cameroon in 1994 as a way to reduce poverty and enhance sustainable forest management. CF activities have primarily focused on timber exploitation rather than non-timber for...Community forestry （CF） was introduced in Cameroon in 1994 as a way to reduce poverty and enhance sustainable forest management. CF activities have primarily focused on timber exploitation rather than non-timber forest product （NTFP） collection, processing or marketing. The study reports on a two year participatory action research project that aimed to test ways of increasing access to income from NTFPs for women and people of the Baka ethnic group in nine CFs around Lomie, East Cameroon. After a participatory diagnosis of problems and stakeholders harvesting NTFPs, approaches to enhance processing, packaging, marketing, monitoring and data collection were evaluated. This led to the development of a market information system that aimed to balance supply and demandby providing information lines on market prices between buyers and sellers. Training support was provided for sustainable harvesting, and to aid harvesters to negotiate prices. This led to 100% price increase in group sales; an increase in selling prices by 39% and an increased sales volume of six NTFPs： Irvingia gabonensis, Ricinodendron heudelotii, Pentacletra macrophylla, Baillonela toxisperma, Tetrapleura tetraptera, Pleurotus tuber-regiumresulting in a sales revenue increaseof 210% （to ε772,500） between 2010 and 2012. In a context where logging is restricted to men, supporting access to NTFP markets has led to increased income for women and Baka. These results suggest that support to sustainably harvest and market NTFPs can aid development and access to markets for women and minority ethnic groups. The implications for the revision of the law on small scale commercialization, and the ability of the CFs to continue this system without support from development NGOs are discussed.展开更多
Massive investments in climate change mitigation and adaptation are projected during coming decades.Many of these investments will seek to modify how land is managed.The return on both types of investments can be incr...Massive investments in climate change mitigation and adaptation are projected during coming decades.Many of these investments will seek to modify how land is managed.The return on both types of investments can be increased through an understanding of land potential:the potential of the land to support primary production and ecosystem services,and its resilience.A Land-Potential Knowledge System(LandPKS)is being developed and implemented to provide individual users with point-based estimates of land potential based on the integration of simple,geo-tagged user inputs with cloud-based information and knowledge.This system will rely on mobile phones for knowledge and information exchange,and use cloud computing to integrate,interpret,and access relevant knowledge and information,including local knowledge about land with similar potential.The system will initially provide management options based on long-term land potential,which depends on climate,to-pography,and relatively static soil properties,such as soil texture,depth,and mineralogy.Future mod-ules will provide more specific management information based on the status of relatively dynamic soil properties such as organic matter and nutrient content,and of weather.The paper includes a discus-sion of how this system can be used to help distinguish between meteorological and edaphic drought.展开更多
文摘Community forestry （CF） was introduced in Cameroon in 1994 as a way to reduce poverty and enhance sustainable forest management. CF activities have primarily focused on timber exploitation rather than non-timber forest product （NTFP） collection, processing or marketing. The study reports on a two year participatory action research project that aimed to test ways of increasing access to income from NTFPs for women and people of the Baka ethnic group in nine CFs around Lomie, East Cameroon. After a participatory diagnosis of problems and stakeholders harvesting NTFPs, approaches to enhance processing, packaging, marketing, monitoring and data collection were evaluated. This led to the development of a market information system that aimed to balance supply and demandby providing information lines on market prices between buyers and sellers. Training support was provided for sustainable harvesting, and to aid harvesters to negotiate prices. This led to 100% price increase in group sales; an increase in selling prices by 39% and an increased sales volume of six NTFPs： Irvingia gabonensis, Ricinodendron heudelotii, Pentacletra macrophylla, Baillonela toxisperma, Tetrapleura tetraptera, Pleurotus tuber-regiumresulting in a sales revenue increaseof 210% （to ε772,500） between 2010 and 2012. In a context where logging is restricted to men, supporting access to NTFP markets has led to increased income for women and Baka. These results suggest that support to sustainably harvest and market NTFPs can aid development and access to markets for women and minority ethnic groups. The implications for the revision of the law on small scale commercialization, and the ability of the CFs to continue this system without support from development NGOs are discussed.
文摘Massive investments in climate change mitigation and adaptation are projected during coming decades.Many of these investments will seek to modify how land is managed.The return on both types of investments can be increased through an understanding of land potential:the potential of the land to support primary production and ecosystem services,and its resilience.A Land-Potential Knowledge System(LandPKS)is being developed and implemented to provide individual users with point-based estimates of land potential based on the integration of simple,geo-tagged user inputs with cloud-based information and knowledge.This system will rely on mobile phones for knowledge and information exchange,and use cloud computing to integrate,interpret,and access relevant knowledge and information,including local knowledge about land with similar potential.The system will initially provide management options based on long-term land potential,which depends on climate,to-pography,and relatively static soil properties,such as soil texture,depth,and mineralogy.Future mod-ules will provide more specific management information based on the status of relatively dynamic soil properties such as organic matter and nutrient content,and of weather.The paper includes a discus-sion of how this system can be used to help distinguish between meteorological and edaphic drought.
