دانلود رایگان مقاله انگلیسی شکست زیست محیطی جنگلداری به عنوان یک مدل مدیریت جنگل بومی - الزویر 2018

ABSTRACT

Deforestation and forest degradation are problems common to many tropical countries, including Papua New Guinea (PNG). These problems are often a result of the environmentally unsustainable logging practices of industrial logging companies. Beginning in the 1990s, six organizations attempted to mitigate the deforestation and forest degradation occurring in PNG by facilitating small-scale native forest management by Indigenous forest landowners. All six organizations utilized an ‘eco-forestry’ approach, involving selective harvesting of timber combined with the milling of timber by Indigenous forest landowners using portable sawmills. The lumber produced was sold into local and international markets as sustainable certified under Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) principles. The use of portable sawmills was also intended to provide the landowners with a greater financial return compared to the timber royalty payments they could receive from logging companies. This study used a literature review and interviews with key informants from the eco-forestry organizations and the PNG Forest Authority to assess the effectiveness of variants of the portable sawmilling model. We found that each of the six organizations were unsuccessful in developing a financially viable model for small-scale native forest management by Indigenous forest landowners in PNG. All the Indigenous landowners were unable to continue their portable sawmill operations once the donor funding of the eco-forestry organizations ceased. In addition, the operators of portable sawmills struggled to produce lumber that met the quality and quantity demands of buyers, who ultimately ceased purchasing the lumber. Furthermore, the Indigenous landowners struggled to adhere to the FSC principles, resulting in a loss of FSC certification. The study identifies a need for a new small-scale native forest management model in PNG. We recommend that future research involve collaboration with private sector businesses and professionally trained operators to inform the development of a small-scale forest management model which is financially profitable while also adhering to the principles of ecoforestry.

Discussion

We found that all six eco-forestry organizations ultimately failed to facilitate sustainable small-scale native forest management in PNG using the eco-forestry management model. Financial viability was the greatest challenge experienced by all organizations and the failure to establish a financially sustainable eco-forestry business ultimately resulted in all the organisations failing. All organizations received funding from donors to facilitate their operations over the period of two decades. Total funding was estimated to be in excess of $26.8 million (2016 USD). Some of the organizations developed revenue streams through commission or levy payments to assist with meeting operational costs. However, none of these revenue streams were sufficient to enable the eco-forestry organizations to attain financial sustainability and ultimately, they all ceased to operate when the donor funding declined. The cessation of operations by the portable mill produces quickly followed, due to their strong reliance on the eco-forestry organizations for support. The second challenge experienced by the six organizations was related to the quality and quantity of the lumber produced. The issue of lumber quality is likely related to the numerous portable mill producers involved. Invariably, each of these producers had varying degrees of training and experience, and the type and condition of portable sawmills was also likely to be highly variable throughout these operations. With these variations, a lack of consistency in the quality of the aggregate lumber is to be expected. Furthermore, the lumber produced by the eco-forestry operations was competing against lumber produced by industrial-scale sawmills utilizing modern processing technology and equipment. In the global marketplace, lumber is considered a commodity product and meeting standard moisture and grade specifications of the market is the minimum requirement for lumber producers to participate.