Forest and Nature Conservation Policy Group

Tropical forests hold several goods and services used by forest-dependent people as safety nets to traverse difficult periods of resource supply. These same goods and services are constantly surrounded by emerging markets linking remote communities with major urban centers nationally and internationally. How these markets affect adaptation remains unclear. This paper examines the roles of markets in non-timber forest products that normally serve as safety nets for forest communities, and the implications for climate change adaptation in the Congo Basin. Following the identification and prioritization of forest-based development sectors for adaptation by stakeholders, the types of markets and trades surrounding the identified sectors were examined in two provinces in the Democratic Republic of Congo as a case study in order to evaluate revenue flows and their potential contribution to adaptation by local communities. The distribution of the market revenue leaves local people with returns much lower than the worth of the commodity, while wholesalers and retailers reap most of the benefits and profit from the high variability in volume and market earnings for the same commodity across provinces. Markets may increase the value of a commodity as observed in this study, but their contributions to adaptation appear highly limited for local communities following their distribution among the stakeholders in the market chain. This is likely to be worse in free market settings, especially when it diminishes the safety net roles of forest goods and services. Markets should therefore complement rather than substitute forests roles for adaptation to climate change in tropical forest countries. Capturing the benefits of trade for adaptation is crucial but will require policy reforms and further research that addresses the complexity in benefit sharing.

Nowadays, adaptation has become a key focus of the scientific and policy-making communities and is a major area of discussion in the multilateral climate change process. As climate change is projected to hit the poorest the hardest, it is especially important for developing countries to pay particular attention to the management of natural resources and agricultural activities. In most of these countries such as Cameroon, forest can play important role in achieving broader climate change adaptation goals. However, forest generally receives very little attention in national development programme and strategies such as policy dialogues on climate change and poverty reduction strategies. Using a qualitative approach to data collection through content analysis of relevant Cameroon policy documents, the integration of climate change adaptation was explored and the level of attention given to forests for adaptation analysed. Results indicate that, with the exception of the First National Communication to UNFCCC that focused mostly on mitigation and related issues, current policy documents in Cameroon are void of tangible reference to climate change, and hence failing in drawing the relevance of forest in sheltering populations from the many projected impacts of climate change. Policies related to forest rely on a generalized concept of sustainable forest management and do not identify the specific changes that need to be incorporated into management strategies and policies towards achieving adaptation. The strategies and recommendations made in those documents only serve to improve understanding of Cameroon natural resources and add resilience to the natural systems in coping with anthropogenic stresses. The paper draws attention to the need to address the constraints of lack of awareness and poor flow of information on the potentials of forests for climate change adaptation. It highlights the need for integrating forest for adaptation into national development programmes and strategies, and recommends a review of the existing environmental legislations and their implications on poverty reduction strategy and adaptation to climate change.

The long term contribution of forests to the livelihoods of the rural poor had been long appreciated. More than half of Africa’s fast-growing population rely directly and indirectly on forests for their livelihoods. As the continent faces stresses from poverty and economic development, another major uncertainty is looming that could alter many of the relationships between people and forests. This uncertainty is climate change. Climate impacts such as changes in temperature and rainfall patterns resulting in drought, flooding, all exert significant effect on forest ecosystems and their provision of goods and services, which form the safety nets for many African rural poor. Building adaptation strategies becomes an option for forest-dependent households and communities, and even countries whose economies largely depend on the related sectors. The review details cases of impacts, underlying causes of vulnerability, and identified coping and adaptation strategies, as reported in their
National Communications by many African countries to the United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change.

In Cameroon and elsewhere in the Congo Basin, the majority of rural households and a large proportion of urban households depend on plant and animal products from the forests to meet their nutritional, energy, cultural and medicinal needs. This paper explores the likely impacts of climate-induced changes on the provisioning of forest ecosystem goods and services and its effect on the economic and social well-being of the society, including the national economy and the livelihoods of forest-dependent people. The analysis focuses on four identified vulnerable sectors — food (NTFPs), energy (fuelwood), health (medicinal plants) and water (freshwater) through a multi-stakeholder dialog at national and regional levels. We use a vulnerability assessment framework by combining the elements of exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity to conceptualize vulnerability in these sectors. The identified sectors in relation to the forest ecosystem are discussed in view of providing an understanding of the sector's potential adaptive capacities for policy intervention. Our analysis presents the possible implications of the vulnerability of these sectors for planning local and national adaptation strategies. Local and national adaptive capacities to respond to climate impacts in the forest sectors includes: reducing poverty, enhancing food security, water availability, combating land degradation and reducing loss of biological diversity.

Ecosystems provide important services that can help people adapt to climate variability and change. Recognizing this role of ecosystems, several international and nongovernmental organizations have promoted an ecosystem-based approach to adaptation. We review the scientific literature related to ecosystem-based adaptation (EBA) with forests and trees, and highlight five cases in which forests and trees can support adaptation: (1) forests and trees providing goods to local communities facing climatic threats; (2) trees in agricultural fields regulating water, soil, and microclimate for more resilient production; (3) forested watersheds regulating water and protecting soils for reduced climate impacts; (4) forests protecting coastal areas from climate-related threats; and (5) urban forests and trees regulating temperature and water for resilient cities. The literature provides evidence that EBA with forests and trees can reduce social vulnerability to climate hazards; however, uncertainties and knowledge gaps remain, particularly for regulating services in watersheds and coastal areas. Few studies have been undertaken on EBA specifically, but the abundant literature on ecosystem services can be used to fill knowledge gaps. Many studies assess the multiple benefits of ecosystems for human adaptation or well-being, but also recognize trade-offs between ecosystem services. Better understanding is needed of the efficiency, costs, and benefits, and trade-offs of EBA with forests and trees. Pilot projects under implementation could serve as learning sites and existing information could be systematized and revisited with a climate change adaptation lens. WIREs Clim Change 2012, 3:581–596. doi: 10.1002/wcc.195For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website.

Tropical forests are vulnerable to climatechange representing a risk for indigenous peoples and forest-dependent communities. Mechanisms to conserve the forest, such as REDD?, could assist in the mitigation of climate change, reduce vulnerability, and enable people to adapt. Ninety-eight interviews were conducted in three countries containing the Congo Basin forest, Cameroon, CAR, and DRC, to investigate perceptions of decisionmakers within, and responses of the institutions of the state, private sector, and civil society to the challenges of climate change. Results indicate that while decision-makers' awareness of climate change is high, direct institutional action is at an early stage. Adaptive capacity is currently low, but it could be enhanced with further development of institutional linkages and increased coordination of multilevel responses across all institutions and with local people. It is important to build networks with forest-dependent stakeholders at the local level, who can contribute knowledge that will build overall institutional adaptive capacity.

In this paper we compute the leading order Casimir energy for the electromagnetic field (EM) in an open ended perfectly conducting rectangular waveguide in three spatial dimensions by a direct approach. For this purpose we first obtain the second quantized expression for the EM field with boundary conditions which would be appropriate for a waveguide. We then obtain the Casimir energy by two different procedures. Our main approach does not contain any analytic continuation techniques. The second approach involves the routine zeta function regularization along with some analytic continuation techniques. Our two approaches yield identical results. This energy has been calculated previously for the EM field in a rectangular waveguide using an indirect approach invoking analogies between EM fields and massless scalar fields, and using complicated analytic continuation techniques, and the results are identical to ours. We have also calculated the pressures on different sides and the total Casimir energy per unit length, and plotted these quantities as a function of the cross-sectional dimensions of the waveguide. We also present a physical discussion about the rather peculiar effect of the change in the sign of the pressures as a function of the shape of the cross-sectional area.

Understanding vulnerability to the impacts of global environmental change and identifying adaptation measures to cope with these impacts require localized investigations that can help find actual and exact answers to the questions about who and what are vulnerable, to what are they vulnerable, how vulnerable are they, what are the causes of their vulnerability, and what responses can lessen their vulnerability. People living in forests are highly dependent on forest goods and services, and are vulnerable to forest changes both socially and economically. In the Congo basin, climate change effects on forest ecosystems are predicted to amplify the existing pressure on food security urging expansion of current agricultural lands at the expense of forest, biodiversity loss and socioeconomic stresses. The paper aimed at exploring vulnerability and adaptation needs to climate change of local communities in the humid forest zone of Cameroon. Field work was conducted in two forest communities in Lekié and in Yokadouma in the Center and Eastern Regions of Cameroon respectively. The assessment was done using a series of approaches including a preparatory phase, fieldwork proper, and validation of the results. Results show that: (a) the adverse effects of climate conditions to which these communities are exposed are already being felt and exerting considerable stress on most of their livelihoods resources; (b) drought, changing seasons, erratic rain patterns, heavy rainfall and strong winds are among the main climaterelated disturbances perceived by populations in the project sites; (c) important social, ecological and economic processes over the past decades seemed to have shaped current vulnerability in the sites; (d) Some coping and adaptive strategies used so far are outdated; and specific adaptation needs are identified and suggestions for facilitating their long-term implementations provided.

Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) is receiving increasing political and scientific attention as a climate change mitigation approach. The government of Cameroon has expressed an interest in participating in REDD+, and national deliberation on a policy strategy has attracted interest from different actors in the forest sector. This paper analyses the challenges of designing a governance structure for a REDD+ strategy in Cameroon. Theoretically, the paper builds on the literature on governance structures for resource management, focusing analytically on the interactions between actor constellations (state and non-state) and institutions (formal and informal) to produce policy outcomes. The paper draws on documentation of REDD+ policy events, policy texts and 23 in-depth interviews with members from government, civil society, research organizations, development partners and the private sector. It argues that although the actors involved in REDD+ are, to an extent, polarized around different issues and priorities, they are nonetheless increasingly distributing roles and responsibilities among themselves. The institutional arrangements within the policy process include: (1) rule-making systems for engagement; (2) expanding existing coordination mechanisms; (3) national safeguard standards; and (4) building on existing forest governance initiatives. The paper concludes that the multiple benefits promised by REDD+, such as poverty alleviation, biodiversity conservation and economic development, are critical for the legitimacy of the mechanism.

Nowadays, adaptation has become a key focus of the scientific and policy-making communities and is a major area of discussion in the multilateral climate change process. As climate change is projected to hit the poorest the hardest, it is especially important for developing countries to pay particular attention to the management of natural resources and agricultural activities. In most of these countries such as Cameroon, forest can play important role in achieving broader climate change adaptation goals. However, forest generally receives very little attention in national development programme and strategies such as policy dialogues on climate change and poverty reduction strategies. Using a qualitative approach to data collection through content analysis of relevant Cameroon policy documents, the integration of climate change adaptation was explored and the level of attention given to forests for adaptation analysed. Results indicate that, with the exception of the First National Communication to UNFCCC that focused mostly on mitigation and related issues, current policy documents in Cameroon are void of tangible reference to climate change, and hence failing in drawing the relevance of forest in Mitig Adapt Strateg Glob Change

The Natural Resources Forum -A United Nations Sustainable Development Journal is running a special series over the 2009-2011 period on themes to be considered by the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development in its 18 th and 19 th sessions: sustainable consumption and production, transport, chemicals, waste management and mining. In this issue, experts address the question: 'What would be the three key preconditions for jumpstarting or scaling up the transfer of environmentally sound technologies for climate change to developing countries?' My own research and global experience working directly with impoverished communities demonstrates that, from the perspective of sustainability, there's little lasting value to transferring any technology to another nation or culture without the following preconditions: 1. Those intended to use the technology must have the capacity to maintain it over time, adapt it to changing local conditions, and, ultimately, manufacture future generations of the technology. This implies that significant investments in capacity-building must be made prior to technology transfer. 2. Those offering the technology as a solution must justify its appropriateness in the local context into which it would become embedded -i.e., the ecological, environmental, socio-cultural, and economic setting. The burden of proof is on the proponents of the technology and sizable resources must be invested in researching how the technology might function in the local context; and 3. Authentic, locally-controlled institutions must be engaged in the process of adopting, maintaining and adapting the technology. There must be evidence of local investment in the technology and a meaningful process of community consultation in which the technology is selected voluntarily from amongst multiple options. If these preconditions are not met, our good intentions are likely to transform into technological imperialism, benefiting few.n arf_1257 334..337

It's been a long way down here! As a young boy growing up in the village, I used to idolize the idea of having one's name on the cover of a book as the author. For every book I came across in the late 80s and early 90s, I would first read their biographies to understand the paths the authors had travelled in life and their motives for writing such books. As I grew older, I became too certain that I would write at least a book in my lifetime. What I did not imagine then was the first book would be my doctoral thesis. This thesis, this book, is an evidence of the childhood dream of a young boy who fought his way through the hardships of life to get 'here' . That's why I am grateful to my Maker and the Pillar that holds my life who kept these dreams alive and gave me the grace and strength to achieve them. A thesis itself speaks to the relationships behind the writing process. For me, this thesis also represents my apprenticeship under one of the best minds I have come across -my promoter, Prof. Bas Arts. From a 3-month internship in October 2006 working on determinants of success or failure of the national forest programs in selected countries, to my MSc thesis on global policy architecture on REDD+ in 2008, and now to this PhD thesis. It's been 8 years of learning for me. Thank you Bas for your guidance and patience with me. Sometimes I thought you were too tough on me but I realized you were just doing your job, I took your constructive criticisms in good faith. You taught me how to ask critical questions and the danger of conventional thinking. To my co-promoter, Ingrid Visseren-Hamakers, my words are not enough to express how grateful I am to you. You were (and still are), a teacher, a judge, a friend and a coach all combined in one person. You encouraged me along the way and always made me comfortable to talk about life, career, family, and of course the Congo Basin forest. You taught me that if best is possible then good is not enough. I know these skills will stay with me forever. I wish you well in your future endeavours. This thesis would not have been possible without the unflinching support of Denis Sonwa, my co-promoter and former boss at CIFOR. You created a conducive environment for my ideas to thrive. You always reminded me of "the contexts of VII the Congo Basin" -to see things from the lenses of the people even if doesn't make sense to me as a researcher. Thank you Denis! I am extremely grateful for your leadership and wisdom, even during our difficult times in CIFOR.