Livelihoods in Forest Ecosystem Recovery
Efficiently restoring forests to meet critical needs of rural Solomon Islanders
For decades, the tropical hardwood forests of Solomon Islands have been logged at many times the sustainable rate, with deleterious socio-environmental effects. Western Province was among the first regions to be intensively harvested, with many areas severely degraded because of multiple entry logging. Despite decreasing yields, the national government continues to be dependent upon logging for revenue. Moreover, even though rural residents have rarely benefitted from logging, logging continues to promise revenue desperately needed for schooling, housing, medical care, and other expenses.
Livelihoods in Forest Ecosystem recovery is an eight-year multi-disciplinary project that addresses these pressing challenges. Recognizing that tropical forest restoration will only be successful if resource owners are partners in the project of restoration, it focuses not only on ecological outcomes but also socio-economic benefits of restoration for the people who control and depend upon the forests for their livelihoods. The biophysical component tests the economic and ecological efficiency of different restoration approaches, while the social science component seeks to understand household composition, land tenure practices, and economic strategies.
In addition to generating new knowledge, the research team is partnering with participating communities to find new markets for sustainably harvested forest resources and to build capacity in aspects of forest restoration, resource management, and financial literacy, with particular attention to equitable engagement with women who are often excluded from resource industries.
Benefits
The expected project outcomes include
- Identifying effective routes to forest restoration, including methods to broaden participation in forest resource decision-making and management
- Building capacity in forest restoration of SI smallholders, especially women; forest-dependent communities; NGOs, and the public sector
- Building skills in forest restoration, advocacy, project management, and market research of participating organisations in the Solomon Islands
- Gaining skills in practical forest restoration methods that improve short- and long-term returns from regenerating forests.