Understanding illegality and corruption in forest governance

Energy justice, democracy and deforestation

This paper contributes to the debate on the determinants of deforestation, a menace that is posing threat to sustainable development particularly in tropical developing regions. Specifically, the paper focuses on the effect of energy justice and democratization. The main contribution to the literature hinges on the emphasis on energy justice - operationalized as rural-urban equality in access to electricity and clean fuels and technologies for cooking - and its interaction with democracy. Using a panel data of 47 sub-Saharan African countries over the period 2000-2020 and the dynamic two-step generalized method of moment estimator, the results generally indicate that improvement in rural-urban equality in access to electricity and clean fuels and technologies for cooking is associated with a reduction in deforestation. Democracy is similarly found to be associated with reduction in deforestation. The conditional effect analysis largely depicts an intensified reducing effect of energy justice on deforestation in the presence of improved democratic practices. The results though robust to an alternative estimator, the Driscoll-Kraay estimator, differ when sub-regional analysis is considered. The paper aligns with the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly Goals 7, 13, 15 and 16.

Do corporate anti-bribery and corruption commitments enhance environmental management performance? The moderating role of corporate social responsibility accountability and executive compensation governance

This study aims to examine the potential impact (substantive or symbolic) of firms' anti-bribery and corruption commitments (ABCC) on environmental management performance (ENVS). We also seek to explore whether this link is contingent on corporate social responsibility (CSR) accountability and executive compensation governance. To achieve these aims, we use a sample of 2151 firm-year observations representing 214 FTSE 350 non-financial companies from 2002 to 2016. Our findings support a positive association between firms' ABCC and ENVS. In addition, our evidence shows that CSR accountability and executive compensation governance are significant substitutes for ABCC to engender enhanced ENVS. Our study highlights practical implications for organisations, regulators and policymakers, and suggests several avenues for future environmental management research. Overall, our findings are unsensitive to alternative measures of ENVS, different types of multivariate regression methods, namely ordinary least squares (OLS) and two-step generalized method of moments (GMM) regressions, and controlling for industry environmental risk and the implementation of the UK Bribery Act 2010.

Environmental Kuznets curve for biodiversity loss: evidence from South and Southeast Asian countries

This study aims to explore the income-biodiversity loss nexus in South and Southeast Asian countries covering the period between 2013 and 2019. Negative Binomial regression models are used to deal with the count regressand variable with specific emphasis on different taxonomic groups of threatened species, namely, mammal, bird, reptile, amphibian, fish, mollusk, other invertebrate, plant, and total threatened species. We find strong support of an inverted U-shaped relationship between income and biodiversity loss in all taxonomic groups of threatened species examined. Additionally, agricultural land has a significant and positive effect on biodiversity loss. Control of corruption and biodiversity loss are found to be negatively associated. The inverted U-shaped EKC suggests that South and Southeast Asian countries are required to identify policy priority areas that could achieve robust economic growth while reducing biodiversity loss. Our findings also provide valuable policy insights to assist the policy makers to better cope with the problem of biodiversity loss via corruption control and agricultural land use.

Uncovering patterns of public perceptions towards biodiversity crime using conservation culturomics

This paper examines aspects of the relationship between (1) the recently typified form of biodiversity crime, (2) information made available to the public through the Internet, and (3) cultural dynamics quantified through info-surveillance methods through Culturomics techniques. We propose two conceptual models: (1) the building-up process of a biodiversity crime culturome, in some language, and (2) a multi-stage biodiversity conservation chain and biodiversity-crime activities relating to each stage. We use crowd search volumes on the Internet on biodiversity crime-related terms and topics as proxies for measuring public interest. The main findings are: (1) the concept of biodiversity-crime per se is still immature and presents low penetration to the general public; (2) biodiversity-crime issues, not recognized as such, are amalgamated in conservation-oriented websites and pages; and (3) differences in perceptions and priorities between general vs. niche public with particular interest(s) in environmental issues- are discernable.

Assessing Forest Governance in the Countries of the Greater Mekong Subregion

The forest landscapes of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) are changing dramatically, with a multitude of impacts from local to global levels. These changes invariably have their foundations in forest governance. The aim of this paper is to assess perceptions of key stakeholders regarding the state of forest governance in the countries of the GMS. The work is based on a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the perceptions of forest governance in the five GMS countries, involving 762 representatives from government, civil society, news media, and rural communities. The work identified many challenges to good forest governance in the countries in the region, as well as noting reasons for optimism. Generally speaking, there was a feeling that the policies, legislation, and institutional frameworks were supportive, but there are numerous challenges in terms of implementation, enforcement, and compliance. The work also presents a program of activities recommended by the research participants to address governance challenges and opportunities in the GMS countries. These include the development of a forest governance monitoring system, and initiatives that support informed decision-making by forest product consumers in the region as well as the implementation of a capacity development program for non-state actors (e.g., civil society, news media) to ensure they are more able to support the diverse, and often demanding, forest governance initiatives.

Approaching Local Perceptions of Forest Governance and Livelihood Challenges with Companion Modeling from a Case Study around Zahamena National Park, Madagascar

Community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) is a widely used approach aimed at involving those utilizing resources in their management. In Madagascar, where forest decentralization has been implemented since the 1990s to spur local resource users’ involvement in management processes, impacts remain unclear. This study aimed to investigate farmers’ perceptions and practices regarding forest use under various forest governance systems, using a participatory gaming approach implemented in the Zahamena region of Madagascar. We report on (i) the conceptual models of the Zahamena socio-ecological system; (ii) the actual research tool in the form of a tabletop role-playing game; and (iii) main outcomes of the gaming workshops and accompanying research. The results allow the linking of game reality with real-world perceptions based on game debriefing discussions and game workshop follow-up surveys, as well as interviews and focus group research with other natural resource users from the study area. Results show that the Zahamena protected area plays the role of buffer zone by slowing down deforestation and degradation. However, this fragile barrier and CBNRM are not long-term solutions in the face of occurring changes. Rather, the solution lies in one of the main causes of the problem: agriculture. Further use of tools such as participatory gaming is recommended to enhance knowledge exchange and the development of common visions for the future of natural resource management to foster resilience of forest governance.