Land cover changes have not been well documented in Vietnam. This paper presents new information relevant to land cover modifications and to resource inventory such as forest management and wildlife habitats. Formed in 1991, Bach Ma National Park and its buffer zone is one of the richest regions for biodiversity in Asia, providing habitat for endangered species. The paper assesses the major forest cover changes using Remote Sensing Imagery (Landsat: MSS, TM, ETM) between the years prior to the establishment of national park status and the years following. Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) was used across sensors; for the study area five regions were identified where major land-cover changes have occurred. Between 1973 and 2001 it is estimated that approximately 45 % of the buffer zone was modified, or lost its forest cover, with most changes occurring around 1989, just prior to the park establishment. These changes can most likely be attributed to forest and resource extrapolation that coincided with a high human population density and is supported by extensive road building in the surrounding region. More research is needed to improve presented approaches in order to better safeguard forested landscapes in Vietnam.

The paper presents the results and main conclusions of an assessment of compliance with technical guidelines for Reduced Impact Harvesting (RIH) in terra firme forests of the Brazilian Amazon. The assessment was carried out in two certified timber enterprises in the State of Para, Brazil applying the RIH-guidelines for a period of over three years. From a tool developed for Amazonian forest enterprises to monitor the sustainability of their harvesting operations, which uses a set of criteria and indicators (C&I), a total of 190 verifiers were selected for assessing the 61 RIH-guidelines. The assessment revealed valuable information with regard to the state of implementation and quality of the forest operations in the two enterprises and important insights for improvement of the RIH-guidelines. Two thirds of the RIH-guidelines were fully implemented. Their acceptance, however, differed according to the situation and interest of the enterprises. Among the reasons for incomplete implementation of the RIH-guidelines, the lack of systematic monitoring, insufficient training and qualification, and inadequate equipment appeared to be most important. The study also showed the need for the continuous assessment of the quality and relevance of RIH-guidelines.

Drum making is an important economic activity in Mpigi district, central Uganda. Scarcity of the desired tree species for drum making has raised concern about the future of the business. A study was carried out to assess the demand and supply of wood for making drums and ascertain whether the supply of logs from the wild is sustainable. Drum makers in 28 stalls were interviewed to collect information on the volume of wood required for making drums. Thirty sample plots were established in Degeya, Lufuka and Mpanga forests to determine the potential supply of logs. A combined Huber and Newton's formulae and Von Mantel's method were used to compute the volume of wood that could be obtained from the forests. The wood used in drum making is in critical supply and the annual demand exceeds supply by 610 m³. Harvesting of the tree species desired for drum making from the forests is not sustainable. On-farm cultivation of the trees by the local communities is recommended in order to supply logs for drum making and reduce pressure on the forests.

Community Forestry (CF) initiatives took place in Myanmar after a series of forest policy reforms and decentralisation arrangements during the 1990s. The Forest Department has been instrumental in the introduction of CF in degraded areas with primary objectives of afforestation and meeting the local consumption of forest products. Despite the policy reforms and initiatives by the Forest Department, the Myanmar CF program suffers from serious setbacks due to lack of social skills and professional attitude among local forest staff, the uncertainty of land tenure policy and lack of a community empowerment approach. A local empowerment approach supplemented with transparent and accountable land tenure and a viable common property regime is recommended to overcome the growing constraints. The empowerment approach should emphasize promoting a local voice and representation within the local socio-economic context, developing local networks towards federalised institution and honouring local decisions.

The Ottotomo Forest Reserve in the Central Province of Cameroon is one of the protected areas in the country where several management strategies have been tested with varying degrees of success (e.g., the Tropical Shelterwood System (TSS) silvicultural technique was piloted in this forest more than 30 years ago). From 1994 with the enactment of the new forestry legislation in Cameroon, the management strategy shifted considerably, moving away from the classical ‘fences and fines’ to a collaborative approach whereby the aspirations of the local communities are taken into consideration. This paper attempts to provide an account of a collaborative management efforts facilitated by CIFOR in the reserve. Using a series of Participatory Action Research (PAR) tools, this paper identifies specific management problems, attempts to analyse those problems and establishes collaborative arrangements for future management inputs into the reserve. The paper ends with a series of lessons learned from this exercise.

An ethnobotanical survey was carried out to collect information on medicinal plants and gender roles in sustainable use by urban communities of Morogoro and Iringa districts, Tanzania. A total of 99 and 75 medicinal plant species distributed in various genera and vascular plant families, curing about 72 and 57 human diseases, were reported in the two districts respectively. Results showed significant gender roles difference in sustainable use of medicinal plants. Most men herbalists used roots while women preferred barks. Uprooting during plant harvesting was agreed to exist by most men herbalists in Morogoro. The majority of men and women herbalists supported the idea of conserving medicinal plants in order to ensure their sustainability in future. Since medicinal plants play an important role in the livelihoods of urban dwellers, their loss due to unsustainable exploitation will obstruct the existing health care system unless conservation measures are taken. There is a need to sensitize and train herbalists and other users on sustainable ways of harvesting medicinal plants, encourage traditional conservation methods and domestication possibilities in home gardens. Emphasis on domestication should be a priority to women considering their marginal economic status and special interest in plant resources. Government legislation regarding plants protection should be strengthened to control harvesting of medicinal plants in the wild. Studies to validate safety and efficacy, assess harvesting sustainability and wild status of medicinal plants is recommended to improve the health care system and strengthen conservation abilities in Tanzania.

A review of the potential for biotechnology to contribute to the management and conservation of forest resources in the Congo Basin suggests that biotechnology needs to be seen as a complementary tool to the traditional management programme not as a substitute. In addition, there is a pressing need to support human and material capacity building linked to the application of biotechnology for forestry resource management in the Basin.

The forests of Serbia have always been an important national asset serving many functions and attracting the interest of a wide array of stakeholders. As Serbia is a country with an economy in transition it is expected that it will formulate a National Forest Programme (NFP) within two to three years. The main objective of this paper is to highlight the process of formulation or revision of an NFP in future forest policy in the country. As such particular account is taken of the authority, the existing structure and the activity of the Directorate of Forestry, as well as the forest ownership pattern in Serbia.