Doctoral Dissertation Research: Evaluating Conservation and Livelihood Outcomes from Community-Based Forest Management

本博士论文研究项目将研究联合国“减少森林砍伐和森林退化排放（REDD+）计划的有效性，该计划是一个国际资助机制，旨在通过同时实现减排，生物多样性保护和森林改善目标来减少热带森林砍伐和退化的排放。 该项目将调查REDD+原则，即赋予当地人民管理森林资源的权利和权力，同时促进公平分享碳收入，这将可持续地避免热带森林砍伐和森林退化。 这个博士论文研究项目将评估目前在60多个热带发展中国家扩大REDD+的程度，但没有充分了解是否以及如何加强同时实现多个成果。 为了填补这些空白，博士生将对有和没有REDD+干预措施的社区进行比较案例研究评估。 他将结合联合收割机从社会和森林生态科学的混合方法，以经验探索两个研究问题：（1）具体的REDD+干预措施如何影响碳，生计和保护成果单独和联合？ (2)碳、保护和生计成果之间的权衡和协同关系是什么？ 学生将在坦桑尼亚进行REDD+实施的案例研究，坦桑尼亚是2009年开始试点该计划的首批九个国家之一。 定性叙述将使用焦点小组讨论、深入访谈、参与者观察和文献综述的数据来解释具体的REDD+干预措施。 对生计成果的评估将依靠240个家庭社会经济调查的数据。 对碳和保护成果的评估将使用来自60个系统森林清查的数据。 将使用适当的统计分析来确定村庄之间碳、保护和生计结果差异的关系和统计意义。该项目将分析两种新兴的可再生资源管理方法，环境服务付费（PES）和最近分散的社区森林管理（CBFM）方案，以评估它们在REDD+下的结合是否以及如何避免了热带森林砍伐。 成功的REDD+干预措施为工业化国家提供了负担得起的重大减排选择，同时保护了生物多样性并改善了数百万依赖森林的社区的生计。 这项研究将有助于制定经验性的政策建议，以提高在类似的生态系统服务费用支付和CBFM安排下试点联合国方案的国家的REDD+有效性。 博士生将帮助开发一个社区级森林治理教育工具，用于跟踪REDD+的影响。 作为博士论文研究改进奖，该项目将提供支持，使有前途的学生建立一个独立的研究生涯。

This doctoral dissertation research project will examine the effectiveness of the United Nations' Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) program, which is an international funding mechanism to reduce emissions from tropical deforestation and degradation by simultaneously attaining emission-reduction, biodiversity-conservation, and livelihood-improvement goals. The project will investigate the REDD+ principles that giving local people the rights and powers to manage forest resources while promoting equitable sharing of carbon revenues will sustainably avoid tropical deforestation and forest degradation. This doctoral dissertation research project will assess the degree to which current REDD+ expansion in more than 60 tropical developing countries is occurring without sufficient understanding of whether and how to enhance simultaneous achievement of multiple outcomes. To contribute in filling these gaps, the doctoral student will conduct comparative case study assessment of communities with and without REDD+ interventions. He will combine mixed methods from the social and forest ecological sciences to empirically explore two research questions: (1) How do specific REDD+ interventions affect carbon, livelihood, and conservation outcomes separately and jointly? (2) What are the trade-off and synergistic relationships between carbon, conservation, and livelihood outcomes? The student will conduct a case study of REDD+ implementation in Tanzania, which was one of the first nine countries to pilot this program starting in 2009. Qualitative narratives will be used to explain the specific REDD+ interventions using data from focus group discussions, in-depth interviews, participant observations, and review of literature. Assessment of livelihood outcomes will rely on data from 240 household socioeconomic surveys. Assessment of carbon and conservation outcomes will use data from 60 systematic forest inventories. Appropriate statistical analysis will be used to determine relationships and statistical significance of differences in carbon, conservation, and livelihood outcomes between villages.This project will analyze two emerging approaches to renewable resource management, payment for environmental services (PES) and recently decentralized community-based forest management (CBFM) programs, in order to assess whether and how their combination under REDD+ has avoided tropical deforestation. Successful REDD+ interventions promise affordable significant emissions reductions options for industrialized nations while protecting biodiversity and improving livelihoods of millions of forest dependent communities. The research will help formulate empirical policy recommendations to improve REDD+ effectiveness in nations piloting that UN program under similar PES and CBFM arrangements. The doctoral student will help develop a community level forest governance educational tool for tracking REDD+ impacts. As a Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement award, this project will provide support to enable a promising student to establish an independent research career.