Shimona Quazi

Designing agroecosystems that are compatible with the conservation of biodiversity is a top conservation priority. However, the social variables that drive native biodiversity conservation in these systems are poorly understood. We devised a new approach to identify social-ecological linkages that affect conservation outcomes in agroecosystems and in social-ecological systems more broadly. We focused on coastal agroforests in Fiji, which, like agroforests across other small Pacific Islands, are critical to food security, contain much of the country's remaining lowland forests, and have rapidly declining levels of native biodiversity. We tested the relationships among social variables and native tree species richness in agroforests with structural equation models. The models were built with data from ecological and social surveys in 100 agroforests and associated households. The agroforests hosted 95 native tree species of which almost one-third were endemic. Fifty-eight percent ...

In the last few decades, the natural resource base of most developing countries has decreased alarmingly because of enormous population pressure and extreme poverty. Bangladesh is no exception, having lost most of its forest in the last 30 years. The ...

Banj oak (Quercus leucotrichophora A. Camus) is an important hardwood species of the Central Himalayas that is heavily used for fuelwood, fodder and as an agricultural mulch. Disturbed sites that create large canopy openings and exposed topsoil are widely reported to promote stands of chir pine (Pinus roxburghii Sarg.). However, under some circumstances, observations contradictory to these findings suggest that stands of banj oak can also originate after agricultural abandonment in this region. To investigate this, a chronosequence of agricultural terraces, that had been subjected to differing levels of post-abandonment disturbance (grazing, fuelwood, fodder and litter collection), were sampled to record changes in regeneration size and density of chir pine and banj oak. Regeneration and soils on the flat parts of the terraces were compared to that on the risers of the terraces. Banj oak density was found to be higher than chir pine on terraces under both high and low post-abandonment disturbance for the chronosequence. Banj oak was also found to predominate on the terrace risers. Oak diameter was negatively affected by increased disturbance, but height was not affected. Chir pine was found to grow equally well in terms of height, diameter and stem density on all parts of the terrace, with a preference for sites with high post-abandonment disturbance. The length of time since field abandonment had no effect on stem density for either species. No significant differences were detected in nitrogen and soil carbon status between the flats and the risers of the terraces. Soil moisture content was found to be higher on the risers of the terraces, with soils on the risers higher in clay content. Results from this study show that management practices used on fields while they are still under cultivation are the main agent responsible for the release of large numbers of banj oak seedlings and sprouts on the risers of the terraced fields. Terraced lands thus act as a nursery for the subsequent release and development of future stands dominated by banj oak. Widespread abandonment of property in the late 18th century due to war and epidemics may therefore have led to the formation of many of the old banj stands existing today.

Community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) is a rather recent and widely promoted, and hence, accepted paradigm for managing protected areas in most developing countries. Protected area managers in Bangladesh face challenges because of the complex sociocultural and political dynamics that result from the high population densities and extreme poverty of people living in or near lands designated for conservation. In recent years the government of Bangladesh, with active support from international aid and conservation agencies, has tried to develop a holistic approach to protected area management involving forest communities and user groups. This study seeks to explore the initial response to such intervention in a newly declared protected area in order to gain insights about wider implications in other parts of the country. The study was conducted between January 2006 and January 2007 in four villages located in or near Satchari National Park. Results suggest considerable change took place in household forest resource collection patterns, and people's dependency on non-forest income increased significantly during the project implementation period. The study also indicated that although changes occurred slowly, they brought improvements to the livelihoods of those relying on local forests.