Paolo Omar Cerutti, CIFOR researcher comments on his new study that

found lack of transparency and c orruption are reducing the impact of an initiative in Cameroon that channels a portion of national timber levies to rural forest communities. “Cameroon has established a potentially transformative mechanism for sharing tim ber revenues with poor communities but we found that the AF distributions, a ver y promising concept, are not yet realizing their full potential,” he said.

CIFOR scientist, Esther Mwangi gives her comment on women role in forest management. “It is worrying that despite women’s increasingly recognized contribution to forest management, they are not yet at the forefront of forestry decision-making.” Women are the main users of forests in developing countries gathering food and firewood but they continue to be sidelined in how the forests are managed despite years of efforts to mainstream their involvement.

The article also appears in China Daily, istockanalyst and society of American forester webpage at http://www.istockanalyst.com/business/news/4929429/women-should-be-given-greater-role-in-forest-management-activists.

Center for International Forestry Research cite in Van Vollenhoven Institute (VVI) report title Tenure Justice in Indonesian Forest Areas: A Comparative Study of Community Forestry in Central Kalimantan, Lampung and Yogyakarta”. CIFOR data from 2004, 10.2 million people out of a total of 48.8 million who live in forested areas are poor, and most are unable to utilize forest resources to improve their living conditions. The report concluded that many local governments imposed tough licensing procedures on community forestry projects while simultaneously handing over permits to many ineligible groups.

Christopher Barr, CIFOR senior associate scientist cite in an article review about Asia Pulp and Paper (APP), one of the world’s largest pulp and paper business.

Krystof Obidzinski, CIFOR scientist gives his comment on South-east Asia deforestation rate over the past 20 years. “By the late 1990s, an estimated three million hectares of forest land were being cleared each year, said Dr Krystof Obidzinski at the Centre for International Forestry Research. Decentralised approval of land permits and rampant corruption made it harder to stop runaway forest destruction. Also, large- scale clearing by fire, with its resulting haze, added to the environmental damage.”

The story also appear in Jakarta Globe with title “The Battle to Save Indonesia’s Disappearing Forests”, reprinted courtesy of Straits Times Indonesia

Two new reports look at REDD in Cameroon from slightly different perspectives. The first, by the Forest Peoples Programme, focuses on indigenous peoples’ rights in the REDD processes in the country. The second, by CIFOR, looks at context of REDD, including reference scenarios, mechanisms for funding, monitoring, reporting and verification and political reforms.

CIFOR’s Carol J. Pierce Colfer, co-author of the new book Collaborative Governance of Tropical Landscapes, shares the story of how her research team responded when a Lao village participating in targeted research was relocated.