Projects per year
Abstract
Recent discussions on forests and climate change have highlighted the potential for conservation of tropical forests to contribute synergistically to both mitigation (reducing emissions of greenhouse gases) and adaptation (increasing capacity to cope with changing climate conditions). Key mechanisms through which adaptive advantages might be gained include the potential for forest resources to support livelihoods in the context of climatic strains on agriculture and the protection that intact forest ecosystems might provide against landslides, flash floods and other hazards related to extreme weather. This paper presents findings from field research with forest communities in three areas of the Congo Basin in Central Africa, in which the adaptive role and potential of forests in these respects is critically analysed. The investigation was carried out through a combination of structured and semi-structured qualitative techniques within six villages in Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea and Rwanda. The findings of the research highlight the need to understand both the limits of synergy, and the constraints and trade-offs for rural livelihoods that may be associated with a forest conservation agenda driven by the additional impetus of carbon sequestration. The search for synergy may be conceptually laudable, but if forest management actions do not take account of on-the-ground contexts of constraints and social trade-offs then the result of those actions risks undermining wider livelihood resilience.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 851–863 |
Journal | Regional Environmental Change |
Volume | 17 |
Issue number | 3 |
Early online date | 21 Nov 2016 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Mar 2017 |
Keywords
- Adaptation
- Forests
- Climate change
- Trade-offs
- Livelihoods
- Congo Basin
Profiles
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Roger Few
- School of Global Development - Professorial Research Fellow
- Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research - Member
- Water Security Research Centre - Member
- Area Studies - Member
- Climate Change - Member
- Global Environmental Justice - Member
- Health and Disease - Member
- ClimateUEA - Steering Committee Member
Person: Research & Analogous, Research Group Member, Research Centre Member
-
Adrian Martin
- School of Global Development - Professor of Environment and Development
- Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research - Member
- Global Environmental Justice - Member
- ClimateUEA - Member
Person: Research Group Member, Academic, Teaching & Research
Projects
- 1 Finished
-
Climate Change and Forests in the Congo Basin: Synergies between Adaptation and Mitigation (COBAM)
Locatelli, B., Martin, A. & Few, R.
1/09/10 → 31/12/14
Project: Research