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National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis

Project Description

How do we achieve the greatest conservation and human well-being outcomes in tropical timber production landscapes? This is an important question because (i) tropical forests under timber production cover more than twice the area under strict protection, (ii) loggers are the gatekeepers to most of the remaining remote forests, and (iii) forest conversion to timber plantations is a leading driver of deforestation. The urgency of this question is amplified by the emergence of major forest-carbon financing and policy processes that are driving policies in tropical countries to achieve forest conservation outcomes by 2020, in the midst of growing demand for tropical timber. Should countries segregate land use to achieve timber and climate targets in different places (intensification/sparing), or should they integrate (share) land uses for both timber and conservation outcomes? How do our answers change depending on the conservation outcomes we prioritize (i.e. carbon, water, biodiversity), where we are located, and the concerns of local communities (e.g. jobs, equity, flood control, etc.)? We propose to address these questions with data on carbon, water, biodiversity, timber yield, and human welfare in three geographies where TNC and WCS have large scale conservation programs: Berau, Indonesia; Southern Mexico; and Peten, Guatemala. In each geography we will address this question for two stakeholder groups: 1) forest managers and certifiers and 2) policymakers. We will synthesize a set of “best practices” across the range from low to high intensity timber production systems and estimate carbon, water, and biodiversity benefits. Results will be fed into landscape modeling analyses of “land sharing vs. sparing” scenarios. Our written products will be implemented as part of TNC & WCS conservation programs by (i) testing best practices with partnering land managers, and integrating them into certification standards, (ii) advocating for adjustments to forestry and climate policies to achieve an optimal balance of conservation, human well-being, and timber production outcomes.

Principal Investigator(s)

Bronson W. Griscom, Mark Ashton, Francis E. Putz

Project Dates

Start: July 1, 2014

End: December 31, 2017

completed

Participants

Mark Ashton
Yale University
Pascual Blanco Reyes
Tim Boucher
The Nature Conservancy
Zuzana Burivalova
Swiss Federal Institute for Environmental Science and Technology (ETH)
Rane Cortez
The Nature Conservancy Africa
Gary Dodge
Forest Stewardship Council U.S. (FSC-US)
Edward A Ellis
Universidad Veracruzana
Peter Ellis
The Nature Conservancy
Juan Francisco Torres Origel
The Nature Conservancy
Edward T. Game
The Nature Conservancy
Rosa Goodman
Yale University
Bronson W. Griscom
The Nature Conservancy
Craig Groves
The Nature Conservancy
Herlina Hartanto
The Nature Conservancy
Justine Hausheer
The Nature Conservancy
Alexander Hovani
The Nature Conservancy
Joseph M. Kiesecker
The Nature Conservancy
Art Klassen
Tropical Forest Foundation
Julie Kunen
Wildlife Conservation Society
Sara M. Leavitt
The Nature Conservancy
Ruben Lubowski
Environmental Defense Fund
Delon Marthinus
The Nature Conservancy
Maria Martinez Murillo Cuervo
The Nature Conservancy
Daniela Miteva
The Nature Conservancy
Yvez Paiz
The Nature Conservancy
Sebastian Palmas Perez
University of Florida
Subhrendu Pattanayak
Duke University
Hugh P. Possingham
University of Queensland
John Poulsen
Duke University
Sebastien Proust
The Nature Conservancy
Francis E. Putz
University of Florida
Saipul Rahman
The Nature Conservancy
Steve Rhee
Ford Foundation
Dawn Rodriguez-Ward
University of Florida
Claudia Romero
University of Florida
Rebecca K. Runting
University of Queensland
R Ruslandi
University of Florida
Musnanda Satar
The Nature Conservancy
Erin Sills
North Carolina State University
Kei Sochi
The Nature Conservancy
Oscar Venter
University of Northern British Columbia
Bambang Wahyudi
The Nature Conservancy
James E. M. Watson
Wildlife Conservation Society
Jessie A. Wells
University of Queensland
Mark Wishnie
Timberland Investment Group
Nicholas H. Wolff
The Nature Conservancy
Zhang Yuchen
National University of Singapore

Products

  1. Journal Article / 2021

    The sound of logging: Tropical forest soundscape before, during, and after selective timber extraction

  2. Data Set / 2016

    Lidar and RDMs for 5 logging concessions in East Kalimantan, Indonesia

  3. Journal Article / 2016

    Mapping selective logging impacts in Borneo with GPS and airborne lidar

  4. Report or White Paper / 2016

    VM0035: Methodology for improved forest management through reduced impact logging (RIL-C)

  5. Journal Article / 2014

    Carbon emissions performance of commercial logging in East Kalimantan, Indonesia

  6. Journal Article / 2015

    Commentary: Reframing the sharing vs sparing debate for tropical forestry landscapes

  7. Data Set / 2015

    Forest carbon flux data for Berau, Indonesia

  8. Journal Article / 2016

    Synthesizing Global and Local Datasets to Estimate Jurisdictional Forest Carbon Fluxes in Berau, Indonesia

  9. Journal Article / 2017

    Carbon and biodiversity impacts of intensive versus extensive tropical forestry

  10. Report or White Paper / 2015

    Protokol Audit Performa Emisi Karbon Dari Pembalakan Pada IUPHHK-HA

  11. Journal Article / 2017

    Remnant trees in enrichment planted gaps in Quintana Roo, Mexico: Reasons for retention and effects on seedlings

  12. Journal Article / 2018

    An experiential, adaptive, inexpensive, and opportunistic approach to research capacity building in the tropics

  13. Journal Article / 2019

    Larger gains from improved management over sparing- sharing for tropical forests

  14. Journal Article / 2017

    Financial viability and carbon payment potential of large-scale silvicultural intensification in logged dipterocarp forests in Indonesia

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