With increasing scarcity and spatial dispersion of tree resources, Uganda's forest sector – similarly to several other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa – has experienced a shift from the large-scale concessionary model historically used to access and harvest forests, to more
versatile models involving smaller-scale operators. The timber they produce is sold not only locally in producer countries but also across borders and beyond. Yet small-scale operators largely work outside established regulatory frameworks and as such remain invisible to national and international

Abstract

Despite two decades of advancing the understanding of valuing ecosystem services, the global biodiversity crisis continues to face challenges in integrating nature's diverse values into decision-making. Barriers include powerful interests shaped by existing norms and legal rules, such as property rights.

The Values Assessment (VA) of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services shows that while a wide range of valuation methods exist to include nature's values in diverse decision-making contexts, uptake of these methods remains limited. Building on the VA, this paper reviews five critical steps in the evaluation of project or policy proposals that can improve the inclusion of nature’s values in decisions.

Abstract

Global change has led to significant impacts on ecosystem services, posing a threat to the livelihoods of local communities worldwide. It is essential to assess these services to integrate them into regional planning, and policy design. We conduct ecosystem services assessments to inform spatial decision-making in a transboundary catchment. We focus on Mira-Mataje (11617 km2) transboundary catchment as an example of a natural unit, rich in natural resources that hosts an important cultural heritage of Indigenous and Afro-descendant ethnic groups.

AbstractBiodiversity decline in the tropics requires the implementation of comprehensive landscape management where agricultural systems are necessarily an integral element of biodiversity conservation. This study evaluates the potential for taxonomic biodiversity conservation within an intensive livestock-agricultural-forest mosaic landscape in Catacamas, Honduras. Tree sampling was performed in 448 plots set up within different forest and agricultural land uses: secondary forests, agroforestry coffee plantations, agriculture, pastures, live fences and riparian forest.

Abstract