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03 December 2014 Ghana
Ghana is the world’s second producer of cocoa but the productivity and quality of cocoa and farming systems are decreasing. Producers and others involved in the cocoa commodity chain are concerned about the future of cocoa supplies given the uncertainty on the quality and quantity of cocoa. Cocoa farmers are concerned about their income because of the decreasing yields and the fluctuating price of cocoa on the world market. And biodiversity is at stake due to expansion of the cocoa area at the cost of remaining forests and the removal of trees from farms. On the positive side, Ghana’s government has the intention to prevent further forest conversion to cocoa farming, the intention is to intensify cocoa production while restoring forest cover.
03 December 2014 Colombia
Pragmatic and experiential knowledge of women and men living in direct contact with natural resources and ecosystem services is a fundamental part of the cultural heritage of local communities. Such knowledge is translated into decisions that are taken on a daily basis by farmers and other inhabitants of the territory. This local knowledge is transmitted through generations, sometimes it includes variations and sometimes it is actively built and renewed in face of adaptation challenges, in terms of environmental factors or the appearance of new actors.
01 December 2014 Ghana
Reformed Chainsaw Operators now engaged in agroforestry have reaped a total of ten (10) mini bags of rice from a one acre experimental plot established to assess the viability of the agroforestry project being promoted as an alternative livelihood for former chainsaw operators by Tropenbos International (TBI) Ghana.
19 November 2014 DR Congo
The provincial minister of natural resources, Paulin Odiane, presented the comic book titled “Together for legal timber” during an event to launch an awareness campaign on legal timber organized by TBI DR Congo on November 14, 2014.
17 November 2014 the Netherlands
Domestic and regional timber trade in developing countries is important for economic development. It offers a lot of employment and timber for (re)construction purposes. The supply of lumber to the domestic market in developing countries is very often informal because of an inadequate legal framework and unclear tenure arrangements. During a workshop organized by Tropenbos International in cooperation with CIFOR at the Forest Governance Forum in Cameroon (Yaounde, 22-24 October 2014) it was discussed how this trade can be effectively addressed within FLEGT VPAs.
04 November 2014 Suriname
A three-dimensional map of the upper Suriname River has been developed through participatory mapping by local communities of the Saramaccan ethnic group in Suriname. Children, women, men and elders worked together during 10 days to build the map that represents their territory in 34 aspects relevant for their orientation, livelihoods and culture.