Community Forestry Management for Climate Change Adaptation
摘要
The devolution of forest management to local people through Community Forestry had resulted in both positive and negative ecological outcomes. Studies on Community Forestry’s impact in many countries indicate that community involvement in forest governance can generate positive outcomes in terms of reducing deforestation and increasing biodiversity protection. This chapter will analyze the impacts of Community Forestry on forest conservation thus for climate change adaptation. A Community Forest in Lombok Indonesia is considered as a case study, through a mix quantitative and qualitative research approach. This study concludes that Community Forestry rules allow forest farmers to plant crops and Multipurpose Tree Species (MPTS) together with conservation trees. Similar to the endemic forest trees, MPTS can provide ecological benefits such as water protection, carbon sequestration and flood control, yet MPTS lack the benefits of biodiversity protection. MPTS are beneficial for the livelihood of the forest farmers since they can produce fruits—as a nontimber forest product—that can be a source of income for the forest farmer. Thus, planting MPTS on community forest land generates dual benefits for the economy and watershed conservation, which can be an incentive for the forest farmers to maintain the forest cover for climate change adaptation.