Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.

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  Pre-colonial, Colonial and Post-colonial Forest Legislation, Forest Policies and Practices : Forest Law, Forest Policy and Enforcement Mechanisms for Protection of Forest Resources in the Sudan 

  Glover, Edinam (Helsingin yliopisto, 2020)

  Many countries in sub-Saharan Africa have seen considerable concern about the depletion and loss of natural resources due to over exploitation and other socio-economic activities. This menace of resource degradation threatens the stability of the ecosystem, food security, national and international security, and the very survival of life of people in the region. The general aim of this research is to explore how the legal development during colonial times - with forests and forest activities becoming colonial property and under colonial authority, and with the exercise of police power - in many ways contradicted and broke up the traditional customary law in the Sudan. More specifically, the study describes the major elements in the development of forest law in the Sudan: Prior to the colonization, during the colonization by the British from late 18th century to independence in 1956, and elements of the development of the forest law after independence. It seeks to analyse the legal mechanisms for enforcement and implementation in the broader context of sustainable development in the Sudan: It examines the enforcement from the perspective of its relationship with environmental laws. It examines a wide range of laws and conventions that have an indirect impact on forest conservation and development. It attempts to answer the following questions: What are the legal enforcement mechanisms that help to enhance compliance with the rule of law and promote sustainable development? What are the obstacles that hinder the enforcement and implementation of these legal mechanisms? What was the forest policy and legislation in Sudan during the colonial era? What changes, if any, occurred or should have occurred? Looking into the future, what may be expected, and how could it be made better than today? This study complements qualitative content analysis (QCA) with mono-disciplinary legal research data. Qualitative content analysis largely involved the use of data derived from a range of primary sources of Environmental Law such as domestic and regional law, early 20th-century English colonial law and customary law as evidenced by national legislation, government statements and restatements. The data have been analysed by means of content analysis. Results indicate that legal mechanism that can help to enhance compliance with the rule of law may include public awareness and participation, conservation orders, environmental permitting and licensing system, and environmental impact assessment. It has been shown in this study that the received law forms an essential or basic element of forest legislation and development in the Sudan and as far as law does not fulfil people’s needs, they do not consider it as binding. In addition, the evidence seems to indicate that the colonial era laws have not been compatible with Sudanese pre-existing social norms and have not been well received and thus implemented. Findings demonstrate that in a bid to tackle land use issues, the government of the Sudan has created the necessary enabling environment by putting in place environmental policies and legislation as well as setting up a wide range of institutions that handle various aspects of resource management such as law enforcement, policy formulation, research, and creation of awareness. The evidence seems to be strong that the government has provided some level of legal recognition to customary and state land tenure. Despite the above efforts, environmental degradation in Sudan is still a major concern. The study suggests that efforts must be made to encourage an internal process of law development and to produce a self-sustaining demand for legal innovation and change. The conclusion from the study is that the most common explanation for non-compliance is inadequate monitoring and enforcement of law. Weakness in the rule of law has grave consequences in minimizing progress towards sustainable development. Keywords: Compliance, colonialism, enforcement, environmental changes, foreign law, legal mechanisms, natural resources, sub-Saharan Africa, the Sudan
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  Forest Owners’ Willingness to Implement Measures to Safeguard Biodiversity: Values, Attitudes, Ecological Worldview and Forest Ownership Objectives : Values, Attitudes, Ecological Worldview and Forest Ownership Objectives 

  Koskela, Terhi; Karppinen, Heimo (2021)

  The effective implementation and development of conservation schemes to which participation of forest owners is voluntary, requires an understanding of forest owners’ views on measures to safeguard forest biodiversity. The Forest Biodiversity Program for Southern Finland is currently the most important instrument of voluntary forest conservation in Finland. The aim of this study is to explore what kind of methods the forest owners are willing to implement to safeguard biodiversity in their own forests and to identify forest owner groups based on these views. The aim is also to compare forest owners’ values, attitudes, endorsement of an ecological worldview and objectives for forest ownership as well as the background characteristics in these groups. The data were collected in 2015, by a nationwide mail survey sent to 3000 Finnish family forest owners (n = 1035). Five forest owner types were identified: Conservationists, Moderate conservationists, Compensation oriented, Promoters of biodiversity through forest management and Uninterested. Previous experience of implementation of voluntary measures to safeguard biodiversity and positive attitudes towards conservation were important in explaining the willingness to adopt conservation measures. The results can be utilized in developing voluntary conservation programs and in targeting advisory services related to biodiversity protection to different forest owner groups more accurately. The results support the need for flexible voluntary conservation programs, including a large variety of mechanisms to protect nature values in family owned forests.
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  At What Scales and Why Does Forest Structure Vary in Naturally Dynamic Boreal Forests? An Analysis of Forest Landscapes on Two Continents 

  Kulha, Niko Aleksi; Pasanen, Leena; Holmström, Lasse; Grandpre, Louis de; Kuuluvainen, Timo Tapio; Aakala, Tuomas (2019)

  Identifying the scales of variation in forest structures and the underlying processes are fundamental for understanding forest dynamics. Here, we studied these scale-dependencies in forest structure in naturally dynamic boreal forests on two continents. We identified the spatial scales at which forest structures varied, and analyzed how the scales of variation and the underlying drivers differed among the regions and at particular scales. We studied three 2kmx2km landscapes in northeastern Finland and two in eastern Canada. We estimated canopy cover in contiguous 0.1-ha cells from aerial photographs and used scale-derivative analysis to identify characteristic scales of variation in the canopy cover data. We analyzed the patterns of variation at these scales using Bayesian scale space analysis. We identified structural variation at three spatial scales in each landscape. Among landscapes, the largest scale of variation showed the greatest variability (20.1-321.4ha), related to topography, soil variability, and long-term disturbance history. Superimposed on this large-scale variation, forest structure varied at similar scales (1.3-2.8ha) in all landscapes. This variation correlated with recent disturbances, soil variability, and topographic position. We also detected intense variation at the smallest scale analyzed (0.1ha, grain of our data), partly driven by recent disturbances. The distinct scales of variation indicated hierarchical structure in the landscapes studied. Except for the large-scale variation, these scales were remarkably similar among the landscapes. This suggests that boreal forests may display characteristic scales of variation that occur somewhat independent of the tree species characteristics or the disturbance regime.