State forest institutions in Poland, where 80% of the forest is state-owned, bear high responsibility for the sustainable development of this natural resource and strive to fulfil economic, ecological and social goals. To examine how far these goals are met and which strategic option(s) can be identified for the future the 3L Model was applied and comprehensive performance of the State Forests National Forest Holding (State Forests) and the Ministry of Environment evaluated. The field study relied on a mix of techniques and the data, collected 2014 and 2015, showed the achievements of both institutions clearly: (i) the requirements of sustaining forest stands are met in practice; (ii) the State Forests makes profits and has enough resources for the active management of forests and goal achievement, thereby establishing some independence from the public budgets; (iii) the improved cost efficiency could vastly contribute to the stability of the State Forests, which is true for its marketing and the fact that innovative forest products have not been put forward yet; (iv) both the State Forests and the Ministry complement each other in the role of a speaker for forestry, which can contribute to making forestry more visible in media and political discussions; (v) mediating all conflicting interests in the forest is not a goal that is strongly followed by forest institutions in Poland yet.

Indigenous peoples have expressed diverging opinions on REDD in consideration of the risks and opportunities that it may provide for them. The present study examines the experience of REDD implementation in Vietnam with a view to assessing whether it has triggered changes in the recognition of indigenous peoples' rights and livelihoods, and whether they have been able to participate in REDD design and implementation. It does so by analysing documentary and secondary data through a dedicated analytical framework. The paper finds that REDD implementation has not stimulated an authentic discussion about the recognition of indigenous peoples' rights and their voice has mostly been absent. The lack of a human-rights based approach to the national REDD programme poses considerable risks to them. The extent to which they will be able to benefit from REDD will depend on how a number of key issues, including participation and local governance, are addressed.

Non-timber forest product (NTFP) commercialisation can have both detrimental and positive effects on the livelihoods of indigenous peoples yet there is a paucity of empirical studies from which to draw conclusions, especially when economic activities are linked to traditional use and knowledge. Based on research conducted in arid areas of north-western Namibia with indigenous Himba communities, this paper assesses the social and economic effects of commercialising the traditional perfume plant Commiphora wildii, used by Himba as part of a daily personal care ritual. Results show improved access to food, education and health care as a result of the income gained and increased benefits to women, but also illustrate the complexities and inter-related nature of many components and the difficulties of drawing generalised conclusions. These results concur with literature showing that NTFP commercialisation is an important strategy to diversify livelihoods and thus decrease vulnerability to climate variability and food insecurity. Although some negative effects are reported, we conclude that the enterprise contributes to the social and cultural integrity and well-being of the harvesters. We emphasise the importance of examining initiatives on a case-by-case basis and of being especially attuned to the unique circumstances of indigenous peoples in remote regions who remain one step removed from monetary economies.

The aim of the study was to evaluate the carbon storage capability of an unmanaged old-growth deciduous forest developing inside a Natural Reserve. Our research aims to emphasize how the conservative management, by determining the actual structure and species composition, resulted in a high carbon storage capability. The results highlight that the forest stores a large carbon amount (C_Tot = 418 Mg C ha^-1) with the greater pool in the aboveground biomass and in the soil (42%). In particular, among the most abundant species, Populus spp. and Quercus robur are the major carbon sink of the forest, accounting for 31% and 63% of the forest aboveground biomass. In addition, the total economic benefits from carbon storage of the forest of 11 209 $ ha^-1 was estimated. Thus, preserving this type of forest structure and tree species composition can ensure in the future the same forest contribution to the local carbon stock.

An expansion of Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification to forest ecosystem services (FES) is a potential tool to improve FES management. Certification of FES in bundles is an expected strategy because it could decrease trade-offs among FES, increase forest owners' incomes, and reduce certification costs per FES. However, there is insufficient evidence of which bundles FES would be most feasible to certify. This study assesses the adaptability of the FSC system to FES bundles through analyses of FES projects and surveys of FSC certification bodies, enabling partners, and certificate holders. Exploratory factor analysis and multiple correspondence analysis identified two bundles: 1) soil and watershed conservation and 2) cultural ecotourism with non-timber forest products or agricultural goods. These findings indicate potentially manageable FES bundles, given the current FSC system and FES projects, as well as some implementation challenges.

The governance of forest protected areas has become topical in recent years due to the realization that good governance has potential to improve conservation outcomes. Forest governance can be investigated and appropriately treated on the basis of a thorough understanding of local and national history. Understanding the application of governance principles in history and their impact on forest condition can offer insights into current and future governance arrangements that can foster sustainable forest conservation. Using historical information from published works, grey literature and interviews the study analyzed the application of seven governance principles between 1920 and 2005 for six forests in western Zimbabwe and their corresponding forest condition outcomes. Results show that governance quality was high during the pre-colonial period, deteriorated with the inception of the colonial system and remained poor after attainment of independence in 1980. Forest condition also varied in tandem with governance variations showing a positive relationship between the two variables. Participation in decision making, fairness in sharing benefits and effective rule enforcement were reported to be most critical to earn local communities' support and improve forest condition. The challenges of revitalizing traditional governance systems under contemporary conditions, the folly of the colonial centralized governance system and the prospects of implementing collaborative governance arrangements under the prevailing socio-economic and legislative environment were highlighted. The paper concluded that appropriate application of good governance principles at the forest level has potential to achieve the purpose of establishing forest protected areas.

The furniture industry is the most labor-intensive and the most important forest industry for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Indonesia. Power imbalances among actors participating in furniture value chains jeopardize the sustainability of the furniture industry. Regional and global trade agreements could worsen the situation of SMEs. From 2008 to the present, participatory action research (PAR) was conducted on furniture value chains in Jepara District to develop a ten year strategic roadmap. The multi-level governance (MLG) involves complex interactions of state, private and civil society actors at various levels, and institutions linking higher levels of social and political organization. The multi-year roadmap process facilitated a more complex approach to MLG which led to a better understanding of how policies work as instruments of governance within systems of power and authority. The roadmap process strengthened small-scale producers' bargaining positions and improved trust with local government authoritiesto achieve sustainable development goals.

We investigated the impact of population size on genetic diversity, inbreeding and mating system in small remnant stands of the Neotropical tree, Cariniana legalis, using microsatellite loci. All adult trees within three different size stands (4, 22 and 65 trees) were sampled, along with open-pollinated seeds. A number of impacts related to population size were evident. Allelic richness was significantly lower among progeny in the smallest fragment, as was outcrossing rate. Individual tree outcrossing rates were predominantly high, but several trees presented significant mating among relatives. The correlation of paternity within fruits was significantly higher than among fruits in all populations, indicating that the probability of full-sibs being produced is highest within fruits. Our results show that low population size can increase the rate of selfing in C. legalis and that open-pollinated seed from the largest populations may also include inbreeding from mating among relatives.

While gender issues are becoming increasingly integrated in international environment and development policies, the simplistic manner in which they are treated holds scant promise for real change. In the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD ) program in Burkina Faso, women are targeted in projects promoting non-timber forest product commercialisation aimed to incentivise forest conservation. Such policies are often based on essentialist assumptions about what men and women do, ignoring that social relations of inequality need to be understood in context. Drawing on intersectional theory this study analyses REDD documents, and data about resource use in two villages in Burkina Faso, showing how the participatory approach in Burkina's REDD program is unlikely to encourage currently marginalised voices to be heard in existing forest management organisations. Rather, the lack of acknowledgement of intersecting relations of inequality leads to crucial aspects of NTFP resource use being overlooked, and risks leading to increased marginalisation of certain groups.