Browsing by Autor "Wil de Jong"

Now showing 1 - 6 of 6

From large to small: Reorienting rural development policies in response to climate change, food security and poverty
(Elsevier BV, 2013) Benno Pokorny; Wil de Jong; Javier Godar; Pablo Pacheco; James Johnson
Future scenarios as a tool for collaboration in forest communities
(Institut Veolia Environnement, 2008) Kristen Evans; Wil de Jong; P. Cronkleton
Forest devolution is meant to provide communities with greater decision-making power over the use and future of tropical forests. However, devolution policies have not always had the intended effect; in some cases they have caused or furthered the disenfranchisement of the poor, the creation of open access conditions, resource conflict and forest degradation. These problems are likely to arise when forest communities are at a disadvantage when interacting with other local players and are unprepared for their new opportunities and responsibilities due to their physical remoteness, cultural isolation, low literacy rates or lack of experience in formal planning and negotiation. This paper discusses how a participatory method to facilitate thinking about the future -called future scenarios -can help change the way forest communities and local governments interact. The paper reviews a growing body of literature on future scenarios and shares first-hand experiences with future scenarios in forest communities in the northern Bolivian Amazon and the central provinces of Vietnam. It finds that under the right conditions, the use of future scenarios allows forest communities to collaborate more effectively with local government, better assume responsibilities when given control over forests under devolution schemes and self-organize to benefit from the opportunities that communal control over forests offers. Future scenarios help communities think about dependency, vulnerabilities and ways to prepare for the future; the methods develop organizational capacity and encourage internal democratic processes and planning. Community leaders become more vocal and assertive in meetings with local government, and marginalized groups within communities, such as women or the poorest segments, make their voices heard. However, the methods are less effective when facilitation skills are not available or where government or other interests are threatened by local constituents. Future scenarios are not without their pitfalls and do not work in all situations, but given the appropriate context they can create "break-through moments" that improve collaboration between communities and local officials.
Making Timber Accessible to Forest Communities: A Study on Locally Adapted, Motor–Manual Forest Management Schemes in the Eastern Lowlands of Bolivia
(Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute, 2025) Benno Pokorny; Juan Carlos Montero Terrazas; James D. Johnson; Karen Mendoza Ortega; Walter Cano Cardona; Wil de Jong
Forest communities around the world have great difficulties in utilizing the economic potential of their forests, especially timber, under current technical requirements and legal frameworks. The present study examines the feasibility of motor–manual timber management among indigenous Chiquitano communities in Bolivia’s Eastern Lowlands. It evaluates local practices, tests technical optimization options, and assesses their technical, financial, and environmental impacts. Findings reveal that traditional motor–manual timber production is scarcely profitable, exacerbated by burdensome legal frameworks and limited market access. However, motor–manual forest management remains an essential source of income for communities, and it constitutes an important option for rural development. Field tests demonstrate that, with the use of better equipment such as quality chainsaws, and improved maintenance and workflows, productivity and profitability of local logging can be enhanced. Despite a low environmental impact, optimized motor–manual timber management continues to be constrained by governance challenges, logistical limitations, and limited markets for locally produced timber. The study recommends optimizing these aspects, including targeted technical support, market development, simplified legal frameworks, and the setting up of robust local governance structures to replace ineffective centralized command and control approaches. These improvements would enable communities to sustainably use timber from their forests while addressing their socio-economic needs. The findings underscore the potential of logging by local communities as an alternative to large-scale mechanized logging, for Bolivia and in other tropical forest countries.
Participatory Methods for Planning the Future in Forest Communities
(Taylor & Francis, 2010) Kristen Evans; Wil de Jong; P. Cronkleton; Tran Huu Nghi
Forest devolution and government decentralization have increased community control over forests. Remoteness, low literacy, and lack of formal planning experience often leave forest communities unprepared for their new responsibilities. Forest communities need to develop skills that allow them to establish goals and make decisions transparently and democratically and to negotiate effectively with other local actors if they are to become more proactive participants in local governance processes. In Bolivia and Vietnam we tested four adaptations of scenario-based methods to assist forest communities to develop these skills. This article reflects on the strengths, limitations, and new applications of these methods. The methods encourage participation by members who have little experience with structured planning, including the most marginalized: women, elderly, and illiterate participants. The methods are useful as planning tools, for generating records of decision-making processes, and for preparing for negotiations between communities and local governments.
Social Geomatics: Participatory Forest Mapping to Mediate Resource Conflict in the Bolivian Amazon
(Springer Science+Business Media, 2010) P. Cronkleton; Marco Albornoz; Grenville Barnes; Kristen Evans; Wil de Jong
The legally allowable versus the informally practicable in Bolivia’s domestic timber market
(Elsevier BV, 2014) Wil de Jong; Walter Cano; Mario Zenteno; Marlene Soriano