Suchergebnisse

In Bolivia's Northern Amazon, forests long used for the extraction of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) are now experiencing increased logging. The extraction of timber and economically important NTFPs such as Brazil nuts (from the emergent forest tree Bertholletia excelsa) is occurring in the same forests and provides a clear opportunity to integrate management decisions and planning. Bolivia's forestry legislation allows, in principle, the management of multiple forest resources. However, there is little evidence that the opportunity has led to greater integration of management decisions and practice. Actually, management of each resource is typically carried out by different stakeholders with resident families responsible for Brazil nut gathering while logging companies carry out the timber harvest. This paper analyzes community forest management plans in Northern Bolivia to examine whether community residents participated in the development and implementation of the timber management plans, and the extent to which proponents of timber management plans attempted to integrate Brazil nut management into timber harvesting. The research draws on analysis of approved timber management plans for community forests and focus group interviews with residents in selected forest communities. Based on observations, the paper concludes that multiple-use management in these forests could be improved by strengthening community level institutions by confirming their authority over timber management operations and by building capacity to oversee and monitor the extraction activities of loggers working on their land.

Multiple-use forest management, which includes timber, non-timber forest products, and environmental services, is considered a promising tropical conservation and development strategy. In the tri-national frontier region of Madre de Dios (Peru), Acre (Brazil), and Pando (Bolivia) in Western Amazonia, we evaluated perceptions of representatives from four stakeholder groups – communities, industries (Brazil nut and timber), non-governmental organizations, and government agencies – on integrated management of timber and Brazil nuts (from the tree species Bertholletia excelsa) at multiple scales. A strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis in combination with an analytic hierarchy process (AHP) was used to accomplish this task. Overall, results showed distinct differences in perceptions among stakeholder groups both within and among countries in pursuing multiple-use forestry strategies. Although many stakeholder groups held positive perceptions about multiple use of Brazil nuts and timber, several limitations were associated with implementation of this model. For instance, policy barriers and high management costs were considered the main weaknesses throughout the region. In Madre de Dios and Pando, logging damage to Brazil nut stands was the dominant threat, whereas in Acre, the main threat was reinvestment of forestry income into cattle. Our work shows that despite the high potential for and positive views of many stakeholders in pursuing integrated management of Brazil nut and timber, specific policy, economic, and technical limitations must first be addressed. To this end, we provide recommendations for promoting this multi-use forestry model in the future.

This Spanish language book provides an overview of Bolivia's Amazonian department of Pando, its geography and the conditions faced by rural residents and local government. The book's six chapters provide detailed analysis of regional poverty and the government agencies and civil society actors responsible for poverty alleviation. Key topics include how Bolivia conceptualizes poverty, how data on poverty in the country are collected and reported, and how this information results in specific poverty reduction activities. The first three chapters provide a comprehensive overview of Bolivia's policies and legislation related to poverty reduction. Central to these are the Poverty Reduction Strategy and the National Dialogue Law that define the mechanisms that guide actions at the local level. The first three chapters form the introduction to a detailed analysis of poverty in the Amazon region of northern Bolivia, a region that relies largely on forestry production, and where CIFOR has been conducting social research since the mid 1990s. The book provides an excellent introduction to readers interested in poverty at the forest margins in Bolivia.