ITTO guidelines for the restoration, management and rehabilitation of degraded secondary tropical forests ITTO ITTO guidelines for the restoration, management and rehabilitation of degraded and secondary tropical forests ITTO Policy Development Series No 13 ITTO ITTO Policy Development Series No 13 International Tropical Timber Organization in collaboration with the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Conservation Union (IUCN) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) International GUIDELINES FOR THE RESTORATION, MANAGEMENT AND REHABILITATION OF DEGRADED AND SECONDARY TROPICAL FORESTS 1 ITTO Policy Development Series No 13 ITTO guidelines for the restoration, management and rehabilitation of degraded and secondary tropical forests International Tropical Timber Organization in collaboration with the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Conservation Union (IUCN) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) International ITTO GUIDELINES FOR THE RESTORATION, MANAGEMENT AND REHABILITATION OF DEGRADED AND SECONDARY TROPICAL FORESTS 2 3 ITTO guidelines for the restoration, management and rehabilitation of degraded and secondary tropical forests International Tropical Timber Organization in collaboration with the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Conservation Union (IUCN) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) International ITTO is an intergovernmental organization promoting sustainable development through the sustainable management, use and conservation of tropical forests. It has 57 member governments, which collectively represent about 80% of the world’s tropical forests and 90% of the global tropical timber trade. Development projects in member countries are one important mode of operation; the Organization has funded more than 400 such projects at a total value of about US$240 million. At any one time it employs, through its project program, about 500 field staff in the tropics. ITTO has developed a series of internationally agreed policy documents for achieving sustainable forest management and forest conservation and assists tropical member countries to adapt these to local circumstances and to implement them in the field. In addition, ITTO collects, analyzes and disseminates data on the production and trade of tropical timber and funds a range of projects aimed at developing value-added industries at both the community and industrial scales. Cover photos: Top left and right, and back: A. Gaviria Bottom left: R. Thomas Middle: A. Sarre ITTO Policy Development Series No 13 © International Tropical Timber Organization 2002 This work is copyright. Except for the ITTO logo, graphical and textual information in this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part provided that it is not sold or put to commercial use and its source is acknowledged. ISBN 4 902045 01 X Printed on recycled paper. ITTO GUIDELINES FOR THE RESTORATION, MANAGEMENT AND REHABILITATION OF DEGRADED AND SECONDARY TROPICAL FORESTS 2 3 Table of contents Foreword ................................................................................................................................... 5 Acronyms .................................................................................................................................. 6 1 Scope of the guidelines ........................................................................................................... 7 2 What are degraded and secondary forests? ............................................................................ 10 Definitions ......................................................................................................................... 10 Degraded and secondary forests in tropical landscapes ....................................................... 13 Extent and distribution of degraded and secondary forests ................................................. 14 Functions, roles and uses of degraded and secondary forests ............................................... 15 Socioeconomic and cultural aspects ................................................................................... 17 Ecological context .............................................................................................................. 17 Silvicultural context ........................................................................................................... 19 Policy, legal and institutional framework ............................................................................ 20 3 Management strategies for degraded and secondary forests ................................................... 23 Restoration of degraded primary forests ............................................................................. 26 Secondary forest management ............................................................................................ 27 Rehabilitation of degraded forest land................................................................................. 29 Prioritizing restoration, management and rehabilitation within tropical landscapes ............ 30 4 Principles and recommended actions .................................................................................... 32 Section 1: Policy, planning and management principles and recommended actions ............ 33 Section 2: Stand-level principles and recommended actions ............................................... 44 5 Looking ahead ...................................................................................................................... 50 Further actions ................................................................................................................... 50 6 References and further reading ............................................................................................. 52 7 Glossary ............................................................................................................................... 57 Annexes Annex 1 Characterization of forestry use potential of primary, managed natural, primary degraded, secondary and planted forests ............................................... 60 Annex 2 Characteristics of the different situations of degraded and secondary forests in the three tropical regions ..................................................................... 62 Annex 3 Examples of promising species to use in the restoration, management and rehabilitation of degraded and secondary forests in the tropics .................... 67 Annex 4 An example of a typology of secondary forests ................................................... 70 Annex 5 Conceptual framework for the restoration, management and rehabilitation of degraded and secondary forests ................................................ 73 Annex 6 Specifics of forest restoration in the dry tropics .................................................. 78 Annex 7 Related definitions from other organizations and processes ................................ 82 Figures Figure 1 The missing middle: the restoration, management and rehabilitation of degraded and secondary tropical forests ........................................................... 8 Figure 2 Scope of the guidelines for the restoration, management and rehabilitation of degraded and secondary tropical forests ..................................... 9 Figure 3 Conceptual dynamic model of the formation of different forest and non-forest conditions .................................................................................. 12 ITTO GUIDELINES FOR THE RESTORATION, MANAGEMENT AND REHABILITATION OF DEGRADED AND SECONDARY TROPICAL FORESTS 4 5 Figure 4 The different land-use types and forest conditions in a schematized tropical landscape ........................................................................... 13 Figure 5 Context for determining management strategies for degraded and secondary forests ......................................................................................... 23 Figure 6 Principal management strategies and possible pathways to promote forest-based land-use options in degraded and secondary forests ........................ 25 Tables Table 1 Differences between the three major categories of degraded and secondary forests ......................................................................................... 11 Table 2 Use patterns that lead to a continuum of degraded and secondary forests and their approximate occurrence throughout the tropics ....................... 13 Table 3 Estimated extent of degraded and secondary forests by category in tropical Asia, tropical America and tropical Africa in 2000 ............................ 15 Table 4 Factors determining the potential development of degraded and secondary forests ................................................................................................ 21 Table 5 The four basic silvicultural questions for determining the management strategy for degraded and secondary forests ................................... 24 Table 6 Some constraints to managing degraded and secondary forests .......................... 65 Table 7 Open-ended list of promising species for enrichment planting in the restoration of degraded primary forests ........................................................ 67 Table 8 Open-ended