International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology
Volume 21, Issue 6, 2014
http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/tsdw20/current#.VIORRslLDg2

Bioenergy as a means to social and economic development in Guinea-Bissau: a proposal for a biodiesel production and use program
Manoela Silveira Dos Santos, Tito Francisco Ianda & Antonio Domingos Padula
pages 495-502
DOI:10.1080/13504509.2014.972479
Published online: 01 Dec 2014
Abstract
Given that agro-industrial activity is widely seen as a means of promoting development and the production of bioenergy has come to be considered a means of both fostering socioeconomic development and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the production of biodiesel would appear to be a means of promoting development in developing countries. The situation of Guinea-Bissau suggests the country may benefit from a biodiesel production program. Thus, this paper uses Brazil’s experience with biodiesel as a basis for proposing a framework for a Biodiesel Program in Guinea-Bissau. The proposed framework includes the following elements related to public policy, regulations, organizations and mechanisms: (i) introduction of biodiesel through the creation and implementation of laws and regulations; (ii) an Inter-ministerial Executive Committee to plan, coordinate and manage the program; (iii) promotion, incentives and support for agricultural and agro-industrial production by providing tax benefits for specific links of the chain, creating incentive programs for different oilseeds and establishing programs that support family farming; and (iv) the creation and installation of representative bodies for the stakeholders involved in the chain, such as small farmers cooperatives, national association of biodiesel producers, R&D and rural extension programs.

REDD+ comes with money, not with development: an analysis of post-pilot project scenarios from the community forestry of Nepal Himalaya
Dilli Prasad Poudel
pages 552-562
DOI:10.1080/13504509.2014.970242
Published online: 21 Nov 2014
Abstract
Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) attracts poor nations to keep their forest standing only to sequester carbon through monetary incentives. However, in countries like Nepal where forest is an integral part of social practices, communities need to keep using forests for making a living. Based on household survey, field interview, personal observation, and broad review of forestry legislations, this paper scrutinizes villagers’ experiences of changes in forest management after implementation of a REDD+ pilot project in nine Community Forestry Users Groups (CFUGs) of Nepal. Since REDD+ was not initiated by local communities but tacitly implemented by international NGOs, most villagers lacked knowledge about it and the associated benefits from the pilot project, thus fewer villagers were found to be motivated to participate in the pilot project. Consequently, it delinked villagers from their forest by implicitly tightening uses rules, which resulted in constraints to fetch forest products. In addition, REDD+ benefits were distributed to some poor households but not to all, which resulted to an antagonistic sentiment in the villages. Thus, a rigorous assessment of conditions and framework of REDD+ and an involvement of local community from the start without compromising in the uses of forest products is of the utmost importance before considering the REDD+ framework as an alternative or as similar to CFUG in Nepal. Alternatively, REDD+ can be a part or a development project under the CFUG’s framework, which could be socially as well as legally acceptable on the present situation.