Jungho Suh

Socio-economic factors affecting smallholder tree planting and management intentions in Leyte Province, Philippines

Survey data have been collected from four rural communities in Leyte Province, the Philippines, on household tree planting and management intentions, as well as the socio-economic characteristics, attitudes to tree planting and management, farming practices and the number of trees planted. In relation to intended tree planting and management activities, respondents were asked a series of structured questions as to what tree species they intend to plant, how many individual trees of each of those species they plan to plant, and for what purpose they propose to plant each of the tree species. This paper reports the results of analyses of the stated tree management intentions of households in the four communities and identifies the socioeconomic factors that influence householders’ tree management intentions. Respondents were generally enthusiastic about the possibility for further tree planting on their land, 75% indicating they would undertake planting. About 60% indicated an interest in commercial tree farming, with no significant differences in this level of interest between communities. It was found that a number of socio-economic variables indicating higher levels of land ownership and previous experience in the forestry industry are related to the intention to plant trees to produce timber for sale. These include the use of materials from public lands, participation in community organisations and community forestry programs, and the present management of trees to produce timber for sale.

Progress and prospects of community forestry in developing and developed countries

Community forestry is practiced in various countries throughout the world, with respect to both native forests and plantations, for livelihood and forest protection purposes and also for urban amenity values. While forests have been managed to some extent by communities for thousands of years, modern models of community forestry have been practiced widely for only about 30 years. Community forestry takes many forms; there is no unique definition or categorisation, although a number of characteristics are frequently present. There is in general, involvement of a local community in forest planning as well as management, for a form of forestry which is usually relatively small-scale, motivated by multiple objectives, and receiving some financial support and organisational assistance by government and non-government organisations. Where plantations are established, these may be managed as common property, individual property rights may apply, or there may be a combination of both. Analysis of the specific research studies included in this issue reveals that community forestry systems have been refined over time as experience is gained in program designs, and notable successes have been achieved. However, ‘the jury is still out’ on whether community forestry has lived up to the optimistic expectations of its proponents.

Towards Sustainable Agricultural Stewardship: Evolution and Future Directions of the Permaculture Concept

This paper traces the origins of the concept of permaculture and discusses the sustainability of permaculture itself as a form of alternative agriculture. The principles of permaculture are shown to have many views and perspectives in common with Taoism and with Buddhist ecology and economics. The amalgamation of these Oriental traditions can be translated into the Kaya equation and beyond. It is argued that future permaculture movements should focus on revitalising the communitarian spirit of traditional farming villages instead of building intentional communal communities. The paper also calls for more aggressive environmental-policy measures that support permaculture and internalise the non-market value of reduced fossil-fuel energy consumption and waste recycling.

Community forestry for poverty alleviation in China with reference to Huoshan County, Anhui Province

Increasing attention has been paid to the question of whether and how community forestry links with poverty reduction in the mountainous regions in developing countries. Household-based community forestry was first implemented in Yunnan and spread over other parts of China in the 1980s. In this forestry management system, rural households are the main actors. Household forestry is a form of small-scale community forestry and suits the rural areas of China, where social overhead capital and skilled human resources are lacking. Community forestry has played a remarkable role in guiding and facilitating rural poverty alleviation in Huoshan County, Anhui Province. This paper describes how the community forestry project in Huoshan County has helped the farmers improve their livelihoods through the creation of a forestry model involving science and technology demonstration households and independent farmers’ organisations. The sustainable poverty alleviation model developed in Huoshan has proved to be effective in poverty alleviation and environmental protection, featuring the participatory forestry components of the project, namely household forestry, science and technology demonstration households, and independent farmers’ organisations. With technological and financial aid from government, the local farmers were able and willing to establish this small-scale forestry management system, planting fast-growing multiple-use tree species with substantial economic benefits.

The Past and Future of Community-Based Forest Management in the Philippines

Community-based forest management (CBFM) schemes are often cited as ideal for rehabilitating denuded forestlands and alleviating upland poverty in developing countries. This article examines the Philippine CBFM in the context of the forestry industry: It tracks the outcome of community-based reforestation and undertakes a simple input-output analysis. It presents three propositions for the future success of CBFM in the Philippines. First, it must secure farmers’ access to financial returns from tree plantations. Second, industrial policy must link the demand for timber from other industries to the forestry industry. Third, CBFM needs to be integrated with livelihood opportunities for the poor.

Agriculture and sustainable communities: Reflections from a comparative case study

Abstract The ecovillage movement places emphasis on the holistic sustainability of living. This study undertakes a comparative analysis of two forms of ecovillage development: establishing new intentional communities and retrofitting existing traditional villages. This article describes the achievements and limitations of intentional communities, with a special reference to the Findhorn Ecovillage in Scotland, Crystal Waters in Australia, and Ecovillage at Ithaca (EVI) in the US. For comparison purposes, this article introduces Mundang Ecovillage, a traditional village located in South Korea. The three intentional communities have given priority to building low-impact housing and relying on renewable energy sources. Mundang Ecovillage has strengths in the aspects of agricultural sustainability and social cohesion. This study posits that collective and cooperative communal work on organic farms generates social interactions and enhances integrity among community members. Thus, a great deal of synergy can be generated from the co-development of traditional and intentional communities.

Sustainable Agriculture in the Republic of Korea

This chapter provides an overview of rural landscape changes in the Republic of Korea (hereafter Korea) over the last five to six decades, paying attention to the role of sustainable agriculture in the holistic sustainability of rural society. Korea has witnessed a similar pattern of rural changes experienced by developed economies in more than a hundred years. However, the landscape changes that rural Korea has experienced have barely been documented. The chapter reviews the relevant literature and derives a lesson for the future direction of rural development in Korea. To this end, this chapter divides the Korean agricultural history into three topical periods: permanent agriculture before the 1960s, agricultural industrialisation in the 1960s and onwards, and the emergence of post-productivism in the 1990s. Korean agriculture was depicted as ‘permanent agriculture’ by Franklin Hiram King (1848–1911), who travelled through the Far Eastern Asian countries in 1909. The American agricultural scientist reported that farmers in China, Korea and Japan had been able to maintain soil fertility for thousands of years by practising resource recycling in a closed nutrient system. Permanent agriculture used to be prevalent in Korea until the 1960s.