TRI Fellows 2003 Research Project Abstracts
 North America
Alexandra Ponette, PhD 2006
Managing the Matrix with Agroforestry: A Strategy for the Conservation of Woody Tree Species in Tropical Forest Remnants.
Location: North America, Mexico
Tropical montane cloud forest fragments play a crucial role in biodiversity conservation, erosion ontrol, and watershed protection in central Veracruz, Mexico. In the municipality of Coatepec, the second largest coffee-producing region in Mexico, isolated fragments are nested within a matrix of coffee plantations of varying sizes and land use intensity. The majority of coffee farms is small (i.e., less than 10 hectares) and is managedunder a system of "specialized" (i.e., one to three Inga spp.) or diversified (i.e., greater than three species, native and introduced) shade. Variation among farms is great, however, and the number of tree species on plantations ranges from one to thirty.
Due to the current "coffee crisis," small-scale farmers in Coatepec, often those maintaining traditional polycultures, are choosing to replace their shade coffee farms with sugar cane fields and/or cattle pasture, or to abandon their farms and migrate North. This change in land use/land cover will radically alter the abundance and diversity of trees in the Coatepec landscape and the existing ecological interactions taking place between local agroecosystems and cloud forest patches.
The goal of this study is to explore how and in what ways the matrix influences the process of tree regeneration and water capture in tropical montane forest remnants. It seeks to evaluate the landscape level conservation value of both cloud forest remnants and shade coffee plantations.
Central America
Kenichi Shono, MEM 2004
Effects of sivicultural treatments on establishment, growth and survival of mahogany.
Location: Central America, Belize
Mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla King) is one of the most commercially valuable tropical timber species in the neotropics. Overexploitation in the last 300 years has led to a depletion of mahogany trees from natural forests, and there is a general concern for the future of the species as indicated by its recent listing on Appendix II of the CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species). Rapid loss of mahogany trees from much of its range in Central America and Amazonia reflects both the intensity of logging and the failure to regenerate after logging under current harvesting schemes. In spite of its commercial importance, management options are insufficiently tested and documented.
This research on growth of mahogany will be conducted in Belize as part of a major ongoing project on sustainable mahogany forestry, which was initiated in 1995 with the primary objective of determining how to sustain yields of mahogany. The project is sponsored by CIFOR (Center for International Forestry Research) and is taking place at the Hill Bank Research Station in the Rio Bravo Conservation and Management Area (RBCMA) in northern Belize. The 260,000-acre reserve is owned and managed by the Belizean non-profit organization, Programme for Belize.
This research will analyze growth rates and patterns, and volume production of mahogany trees, as well as evaluate effects of silvicultural treatments on levels of shoot borer attack on the mahogany seedlings. It will also continue on the long-term data collection on mahogany seedling growth and survival under different silvicultural treatments, natural regeneration and seed production study. The results from this study will be an important component of a sustainable mahogany forest management plan that allows for sustained harvest of mahogany while ensuring sufficient regeneration.
South America
Corrina Steward, MESc 2004
The Prospect of Soybean Cultivation in the Brazilian Amazon: Mapping the social, economic and ecological factors in southern Amazonia.
Location: South America, Brazil
Soybean cultivation in Brazil is an important source of national economic development and plays a significant role in international trade. To support soybean production the Brazilian government is implementing an infrastructural development program, Avança Brasil, which includes paving the Cuiabá-Santarém Highway (BR-163) to reduce transportation costs and expedite soybean exportation. In anticipation of paving the BR-163, the multinational agricultural corporation Cargill built a port on the Amazon River in Santarém, Pará to receive and export soybeans. Cargill's arrival to Santarém encourages soybean farmers from Southern Brazil to settle in the region.
Research conducted in the region from June-August 2003 evaluated the national and local in the Santarém region with respect to socio-economic and environmental factors. In addition, the data collected analyzes the political-economic framework that supports and encourages soybean cultivation in the Amazon. Five case-study communities are profiled to demonstrate the impact of international trade and soybean farming on local communities. Research methods also included informal interviews with smallholder farmers, community leaders, soybean producers, local and national government officials, Cargill and other agribusinesses, family agriculture-based non-governmental organizations and farmers' unions.
Findings demonstrate that the lack of local governance and programs directed at the most vulnerable populations compromises the potential socio-economic gains for communities and the conservation of the Amazon rainforest. As a result, the process of agricultural development in Santarém contributes to wide-spread smallholder displacement, illegal deforestation, water contamination and regional land-use change from smallholder farming to mechanized agriculture. Additionally, the political-economic framework supporting mechanized agriculture favors historically large landowners and incoming soybean farmers; promotes a process of development that excludes smallholder agriculture; and heightens smallholders' socio-economic insecurities.
Africa
Robin Barr, MEM 2004
Enabling small landholder evaluations on the potential of benefitting from carbon credit payment projects in Meru, Kenya
Location: Africa, Kenya
Agroforestry and access to local forests play important roles in the livelihood strategies and land management techniques of smallholder farmers. By understanding how smallholders use and view on-farm and off-farm trees, agroforestry and forestry initiatives can be better developed to benefit the smallholder.
In this study the role of both agroforestry and forest access in smallholder livelihood strategies was investigated in Meru District, Kenya. Qualitative methods including informal interviews with local government leaders, non-governmental leaders and key informants, group interviews with local self-help organizations and participatory observation were employed to understand how different sectors of society manage (and would like to manage) public land and District forests.
In addition, a survey of forty households living within one kilometer from Imenti Forest was also performed to investigate what trees people had planted on their land, how they used the trees, how they used the forest and how these uses were changing after the recent ban on entering the local forest was imposed by the new government in January 2003.
It was discovered that in addition to relying on trees as important sources of timber, fuelwood, fruit and fodder, smallholders also credit trees with a variety of climatic influences, including keeping the land moist and bringing rain. The ability to have extensive on-farm trees was largely seen as a luxury, since land for seasonal crops was the top priority among most farmers and most farmers felt that they did not have enough timber for themselves, let alone enough to sell. However, many farmers do sell trees in times of financial crisis.
Asia
Raji Dhital, MESc 2004
Rural production and urban consumption in Biratngar, Nepal.
Location: Asia, Nepal
Almost 75 out of every 100 people from Nepal is involved is involved in farming. The majority of farmers are small farmers with a very small landholding about 0.5 to 1 hectares. Nonetheless, they are the people who are involved in the agriculture marketing system in the various levels. Collectively they meet almost 80%( check) of the nation's food needs.
In the summer of 2003, I did field work in two villages of Nepal, Rangeli and Katahari adjacent to Biratnagar Metropolitan city, the second biggest city in Nepal after the capital. The main focus of my research were farmers and I sought to understand what it means being a farmer in that part of Nepal given their specific social and political context. My major research question was: what are the major socio-economical impacts of rural-urban agricultural system on farmers situated in the periurban area near Biratnagar?
My work over the summer suggested that the impact of market system on farmers is determined by (thus farmers involved in the marketing system are affected by) not only the economic processes of the agriculture market system but also social and political processes that occur in local, regional and to some extent, even global level. In social hierarchy, these farmers are the “Madhesis” or people from plains who voice their dissent against their treatment by mainstream Nepali politics primarily dominated by "Pahadis" or "Nepali", the people from hills. This social hierarchy, which has its origin in historical pretext, is also a crucial factor in determining the nuances of market system.
Geologically the area is situated adjoined to the border of India and is highly affected by the flow of goods from across the border and the Indian marketing policies like the rest of Nepal. The farmers living in this part of the country however share strong socio-cultural ties with the Indians on the other side.
India
Nikhil Anand, MESc 2004
Developing visions: Understanding alternative paradigms for the governance of natural resources.
Location: Asia, India
At the last World Summit on Sustainable Development, India showcased its National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) as an ambitiously decentralized exercise that involved a wide range of participants and actors. I focus on these planning processes in the state of Uttaranchal, a newly recognized state in the Indian Union. The state was part of at least four NBSAP processes — one each at the state and ecoregional levels and two at the substate level — each coordinated either by a state agency, NGOs or a University.
Given the recent popularity of decentralized, non-state controlled policy processes, this research will examine NBSAP experiences in the state of Uttaranchal. It will explore the convergences as well as the divergences that emerged in the participation of different actors in this process.
Depending on how biodiversity crises were understood by the coordinators, it finds significant overlap between the plans that emerged from these different processes. Although repeatedly underscoring the need for popular participation, every plan failed to engage the local communities in the planning process. Finally, this paper questions the ability of these processes to be relevant to larger state agendas of development and conservation.
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