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Environments
Special Issues
Tropical Forests and Climate Change: Impacts, Adaptation and Mitigation
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Tropical Forests and Climate Change: Impacts, Adaptation and Mitigation

A special issue of Environments (ISSN 2076-3298).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2017) | Viewed by 21498

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. John Herbohn

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Tropical Forests and People Research Centre, University of the Sunshine Coast, Maroochydore DC, QLD 4558, Australia
Interests: tropical forest restoration; forest economics; tropical mixed species plantations; socio-economic aspects of tropical reforestation; hydrological and nutrient impacts of reforestation; small-scale and community forestry; carbon dynamics in tropical forests; climate change policy and forests; multi-dimensional reporting systems; management of tropical forests
Dr. Sharif Ahmed Mukul

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Tropical Forest and People Research Centre, University of Sunshine Coast, Maroochydore, QLD 4558, Australia
Interests: biodiversity conservation; ecosystem functioning and processes; land-use/cover dynamics; forests; rural livelihoods; socio-economic aspects of forestry
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Tropical forests are rich in biodiversity and are important in regulating global climate, including its role as a major reservoir of atmospheric carbon. More than 500 million people also live in tropical forests and are somehow dependent on it for their livelihood. Despite its significant role in people’s life and climatic regulation, deforestation rates are still high in the tropics, accounting for almost 20 percent of the global anthropogenic emission. At the same time, a rapid change in the composition, structure, and function of tropical forests is currently taking place due to the changing global climate.

This Special Issue is aimed to attract case studies and evidence from across the tropics about how climate change is impacting tropical forests and the livelihood of forest dependent people. Submission can cover, but is not limited to: the impact of climate change on forest biodiversity; ecosystem services, and function; the role of tropical forests in mitigating climate change by carbon sequestration and storage in the context of REDD+ and other global initiatives; and how tropical forests are helping to adapt local people in a changing climatic situation with its role in improving households’ resilience during the time of adversity.

Prof. Dr. John Herbohn
Dr. Sharif Ahmed Mukul
Guest Editors

 

 

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Environments is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • deforestation
  • tropical forests
  • climate change
  • forest dependent
  • REDD+

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

227 KiB  
Article
Implementing REDD+ in a Conflict-Affected Country: A Case Study of the Democratic Republic of Congo
by H. Carolyn Peach Brown
Environments 2017, 4(3), 61; https://doi.org/10.3390/environments4030061 - 5 Sep 2017
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 6189
Abstract
Due to their carbon sequestration potential, tropical forests are a focal point for mitigation of climate change through Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+). The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) contains the largest part of the Congo Basin, the second largest [...] Read more.
Due to their carbon sequestration potential, tropical forests are a focal point for mitigation of climate change through Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+). The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) contains the largest part of the Congo Basin, the second largest rainforest in the world, and has become a main focus for REDD+ initiatives. However, DRC’s ongoing instability and conflict threatens the peace and security of local people, and outcomes of such global initiatives. Content analysis of 102 documents from four major REDD+ initiatives intervening in DRC, sought to understand how civil conflict is being integrated into the discourse on REDD+ and its implication for climate change mitigation. Results showed that discussion of how conflict and political instability might impact REDD+ outcomes was limited. Concrete approaches to address the reality of civil conflict were not evident. Governance reform was, however, an important emphasis of REDD+ in DRC. Since REDD+, peace-building and development initiatives are often funded by the same institutions, it is important to begin a dialogue as to how they can be more intentional in harmonizing approaches in conflict-affected, forest-rich countries like DRC. Finding synergies has the potential to improve overall outcomes for the global climate, the forest, and the lives of local people. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Tropical Forests and Climate Change: Impacts, Adaptation and Mitigation)
2755 KiB  
Article
Hydrological Consequences of Timber Harvesting in Landscape Zones of Siberia
by Alexander Onuchin, Tamara Burenina and Igor Pavlov
Environments 2017, 4(3), 51; https://doi.org/10.3390/environments4030051 - 19 Jul 2017
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 6558
Abstract
Despite a large number of publications covering various aspects of the influence of climatic factors on runoff, this direction in hydrological research acquires a new meaning in connection with global climate change and the increase in anthropogenic press on river systems. The authors [...] Read more.
Despite a large number of publications covering various aspects of the influence of climatic factors on runoff, this direction in hydrological research acquires a new meaning in connection with global climate change and the increase in anthropogenic press on river systems. The authors of this work focused on the impact of anthropogenic factors on river runoff. Many rivers of Siberian taiga drain areas have experienced a dramatic land-cover change, with a decrease in overall forest area and a relative increase in deciduous trees. Land cover change in forest catchments impact water balance and accordingly, river flow. The study areas, the West Sayan and Northern Angara regions located in Central Siberia, are now a mosaic of forest regeneration sites including both post-human and post-fire regeneration patterns. Data of our own hydrological experiments conducted on clear cuts of different ages and reference materials for regular hydrological observations were analyzed. Dynamics of river flow under influence of timber harvesting were studied for 11 river basins in different landscape zones of Siberia. The studies showed that, in Siberia, forest cover changes lead to either reduction of, or increase in water yield depending on forest structure and climate. Dynamics of river flow after forest logging differ for continental and humid climates. Where precipitation is excessive, water yield increases twice that of control plots during the first several post-cutting years, due to reduction of transpiring phytomass. It takes 30–40 years and sometimes even over 50 years, depending on forest succession trajectories, for water yield to recover to the pre-cutting level. In an extremely continental climate, extensive forest cutting results in decreasing water yield during the first post-clearcutting years, because wind activity increases and enhances snow evaporation on vast clear cuts. Water yield exhibited an average annual decrease of 0.5–1.0 mm during the first two decades after cutting, i.e., until when clear cuts began to regenerate. With further development of forest vegetation, water yield increased by 1.5–3 mm annually. Obtained results show that at the regional level in conditions of anthropogenic press on the forests at the catchments of medium and small rivers, the climatic trends are offset by the felling and subsequent reforestation dynamics at clear cuts. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Tropical Forests and Climate Change: Impacts, Adaptation and Mitigation)
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4624 KiB  
Article
Are Protected Forests of Bangladesh Prepared for the Implementation of REDD+? A Forest Governance Analysis from Rema-Kalenga Wildlife Sanctuary
by Md. Habibur Rahman and Md. Danesh Miah
Environments 2017, 4(2), 43; https://doi.org/10.3390/environments4020043 - 13 Jun 2017
Cited by 29 | Viewed by 7946
Abstract
The present study investigates the forest governance structure for REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) implementation in a protected forest of Bangladesh, namely Rema-Kalenga Wildlife Sanctuary (RKWS). The study analyses the key aspects of forest governance, focusing on drivers of deforestation [...] Read more.
The present study investigates the forest governance structure for REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) implementation in a protected forest of Bangladesh, namely Rema-Kalenga Wildlife Sanctuary (RKWS). The study analyses the key aspects of forest governance, focusing on drivers of deforestation and forest degradation, governance deficit, institutions and social networks, co-benefits, and opportunities and challenges of REDD+ in RKWS. Focus group discussions and key informant interviews were used for primary data collection from different forest stakeholders, including forest-dependent communities, Forest Department (FD) and co-management project staffs. The survey revealed that REDD+ not only on technical issues but even more on how the evolving mechanism is governed on various levels, ranging from local to international. Although a majority (69.5%) of the respondents were motivated to engage in REDD+, indigenous communities were less interested in fear of loss of access to and use of land and forest resources, ownership and rights, and traditional customs and knowledge. There remained a degree of ambiguity of FD, community and co-management projects in field operations, which conflicted with the notions of cooperation, transparency, and accountability of the overall initiatives. Moreover, there is a strong local power structure that has major control over the community, locality and even over a local administration that is a crucial issue to the RKWS authority. However, REDD+ will open up the opportunity to manage the RKWS’s forest resources in a sustainable way, increase the level of protection, and expand the area protected, hence REDD+ must align with the interests of all stakeholders to fulfil its goal. Further research is necessary to inform the governance of REDD+ in Bangladesh to better understand the interplay, interactions and linkages between existing institutions, actors and policy processes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Tropical Forests and Climate Change: Impacts, Adaptation and Mitigation)
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