Swidden practices, also known as shifting cultivation, have received bad press for many decades but more recent research has contributed to changing beliefs about the impact of rotational clearing of forested areas for cultivation on carbon stocks, biodiversity and other environmental services.
At the 6th ASEAN Social Forestry Network Conference held at Inle Lake, Myanmar, 1–3 June 2015, Dr Maria Brockhaus presented the latest findings on swidden practices on behalf of fellow researchers, Dr Moira Moeliono, Dr Thu Thuy Pham, Ngoc Le Dung, Tien Nguyen and Dr Maarit Kallio, all from the Center for International Forestry Research and the CGIAR Research Program on Forests, Trees and Agroforestry.
