1,720,994 research outputs found
Data for "Variable linkages between afforestation programs and tree cover outside of forests in India"
No full textExpanding tree cover outside forests is central to India’s climate and restoration goals, yet the effectiveness of public programs driving these efforts remains uncertain. We examine eight major government schemes aimed at promoting trees on farmlands and other non-forest lands, linking program funding data (2013–2019) with observed tree cover change (2017–2023) across three complementary datasets: the Forest Survey of India (FSI), MODIS Vegetation Continuous Fields, and the Brandt et al. (2024) high-resolution individual tree maps. This dataset includes funding information at the state level for the following Indian government programs, derived from government reports and websites, and combined with the aforementioned published remote sensing datasets:
- Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act
- Sub-Mission on Agroforestry
- National Bamboo Mission
- Green India Mission
- National Horticulture Mission
- Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana
- National Afforestation Programme
- Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning AuthorityNASA-80NSSC22K1363Pandey, Spriha; Choksi, Pooja; Howarth, Rich; Fleischman, Forrest. (2025). Data for "Variable linkages between afforestation programs and tree cover outside of forests in India". Retrieved from the Data Repository for the University of Minnesota (DRUM), https://doi.org/10.13020/keyh-6b60
Data for Decades of tree planting in Northern India had little effect on forest canopy cover and rural livelihoods
No full textThis contains data from three sources:
1. Remote sensing-based analysis of land cover and land use change in the Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh, India, with a focus on government run tree plantations we mapped in the region that had occurred between 1980 and 2018, were located in 60 randomly sampled panchayats (local governments), and were at least 5 HA in size. We also have supplemental information on these plantations provided by the local informants who helped map them (e.g. such as the date of establishment and the involvement of local communities in planting them)
2. A survey of Panchayat characteristics across 60 randomly sampled panchayats in Kangra District
3. A random sample survey of 40 households in each of the 60 panchayats, focusing on household livelihood needs and their relationship to forests and tree plantations in terms of both livelihood related uses (e.g. fuelwood, fodder, and grazing) and forest governance.
Viewing these data sources together enable us to understand the relationships between land use change as driven by government plantations, local governance, and livelihoods.
This dataset and the published article referencing it have slightly different titles. The dataset is "Data for Decades of tree planting in Northern India had little effect on forest canopy cover and rural livelihoods" and the journal's version is "Limited effects of tree planting on forest canopy cover and rural livelihoods in Northern India"“Impacts of Afforestation on the Provision of Ecosystem Services to Rural Communities in India (ROSES 15).” National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Award #NNX17AK14G.Coleman, Eric; Schultz, Bill; Ramprasad, Vijay; Fischer, Harry; Rana, Pushpendra; Filippi, Anthony; Güneralp, Burak; Ma, Angdong; Rodriguez Solorzano, Claudia; Guleria, Vijay; Rana, Rajesh; Fleischman, Forrest. (2021). Data for Decades of tree planting in Northern India had little effect on forest canopy cover and rural livelihoods. Retrieved from the Data Repository for the University of Minnesota (DRUM), https://doi.org/10.13020/j6sj-jw18
US Forest Service Planning, Appeals, and Litigation Data on NEPA compliance, 2005-2021
No full textThis dataset records metadata on every decision made by the US Forest Service under the National Environmental Policy Act between 2005 and 2021. The data is derived from metadata recorded in the US Forest Service's Planning, Appeals, and Litigation System Database, which is not easily accessible to the public. See the Readme for more information.“Collaborative Research: Understanding Drivers of Innovation in the Use of Science in Federal NEPA Decision-Making.” National Science Foundation (NSF) Award #1829255Fleischman, Forrest; Struthers, Cory; Dockry, Michael; Scott, Tyler; Arnold, Gwen. (2020). US Forest Service Planning, Appeals, and Litigation Data on NEPA compliance, 2005-2021. Retrieved from the University Digital Conservancy, https://doi.org/10.13020/3xfe-2m18
Interactions between plantations and pastoralists in Himachal Pradesh, 2018
No full textThis data provides information on the migratory routes of Gaddi pastoralists and their relationships to plantations in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh“Impacts of Afforestation on the Provision of Ecosystem Services to Rural Communities in India (ROSES 15).” National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Award #NNX17AK14G.Fleischman, Forrest; Ramprasad, Vijay; Joglekar, Abha; Gupta, Ajay Kumar. (2020). Interactions between plantations and pastoralists in Himachal Pradesh, 2018. Retrieved from the University Digital Conservancy, https://hdl.handle.net/11299/214818
Historical tree planting data from Himachal Pradesh
No full textThis dataset records information about tree planting activities in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh from 1979-2015. Data were obtained from "Annual Plantation Brochures" Published by the Himachal Pradesh Forest Department. The brochure for 1983 could not be located, thus the year 1983 is missing. Contains detailed information about species and government programs that are responsible for planting each tree. Two data files are included, a statewide dataset and a dataset focusing only on Kangra Circle“Impacts of Afforestation on the Provision of Ecosystem Services to Rural Communities in India (ROSES 15).” National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Award #NNX17AK14G.Fleischman, Forrest; Ramprasad, Vijay; Rana, Pushpendra; Rana, Rajesh; Guleria, Vijay; Fischer, Harry S. (2020). Historical tree planting data from Himachal Pradesh. Retrieved from the Data Repository for the University of Minnesota (DRUM), https://doi.org/10.13020/jcgj-5077
Indian Forest Governance during the COVID-19 Pandemic
No full textMixed outcomes were observed in terms of the effectiveness of forest bureaucrats' handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Many forest officers were able to adapt and improvise new solutions to saving forests, wildlife and local livelihoods.
Several officers failed to control forest offenses and did not support forest-based livelihoods.
Old and outdated forest laws, exigencies-driven forest management and professional decay reduced administrative performance.
Strengthening forests as a safety net, reforming forest laws, empowering communities and adopting proactive governance can help forest authorities and managers better respond to unpredictable events.
The unexpected nature of COVID-19 tested the institutional strength and resilience of state agencies across the world. Preliminary evidence is presented on how reduced mobility due to COVID-19 affected the functioning of the Forest Department in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh and triggered changes in forest use by local communities as perceived by forest officials. Our evidence shows mixed outcomes in terms of the effectiveness of the forest bureaucrats in handling the COVID-19 pandemic as assessed through their own perceptions and other forestry records. The positive and negative elements relating to the bureaucratic forest administration during the COVID-19 lockdown are presented, and some possible reasons behind these varying patterns across the state of Himachal Pradesh are suggested. Lessons drawn from the COVID-19 crisis that can help guide forest bureaucracies to deal effectively with unpredictable events in the future are presented.Rana, Pushpendra; Fleischman, Forrest. (2023). Indian Forest Governance during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Retrieved from the University Digital Conservancy, 10.1505/146554823836838727
After the vote: climate policy decision-making in the administrative state.
No full textWhile the science-policy interface has been a major focus of recent climate policy research, the
role of agency practices and bureaucratic behavior has been largely overlooked. With a focus on
U.S. federal agencies and similar bureaucratic contexts, we review the literature on how
administrative decision-making influences the acquisition and application of climate evidence,
including information provided by both scientists and stakeholders. We show that administrative
procedures (requirements for gathering and analyzing information), agency characteristics (such
as mission and institutional design), and bureaucrat attributes (an individual’s expertise and
values) shape agencies’ use of climate evidence. Given the key role of the administrative state in
policymaking, our review calls for greater attention to public administration and its
consequences for climate responsiveness.This work was supported by the National Science Foundation (grant #1829255)Struthers, Cory L.; Arnold, Gwen; Scott, Tyler A.; Fleischman, Forrest. (2021). After the vote: climate policy decision-making in the administrative state.. Retrieved from the University Digital Conservancy, 10.1016/j.cosust.2021.06.014g/
Laws, markets, and local politics drive outcomes of Minnesota’s county managed forests
Full text linkThere are frequently calls to increase local government control over forests in the US. Minnesota’s county forests contain approximately 30% of all local government managed forests in the United States. These forests are managed in ways that protect public access while providing a stable timber supply to mills. This happens because of the intersection of law, markets, and local politics. County forests are legally obligated to provide revenue to local tax districts while paying for management from money earned from timber sales. This pushes counties towards managing with the goal of providing a stable revenue stream from their lands, a goal which is supported by local politics in timber dependent counties. The result is that counties are more production-oriented than other public forestland managers, however they provide more consistent public access than private forest owners.USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, (McIntire-Stennis Project # 1013165)Fleischman, Forrest; Schmitz, Marissa; Poljacik, Kelsey. (2021). Laws, markets, and local politics drive outcomes of Minnesota’s county managed forests. Retrieved from the University Digital Conservancy, 10.1093/jofore/fvab040
Why carbon offsets may fail in complex systems: A causal inference perspective
No full textSocial-ecological system dynamics present a fundamental challenge to the attribution of changes in carbon stocks to actions taken by carbon offset sellers. We illustrate this challenge by demonstrating theoretical limitations to causal attribution in two cases from Brazil and India. We show that carbon outcomes in these nature-based carbon offset projects emerge from non-linear and independent dynamics that are the result of the inherent complexity of social-ecological systems, where large numbers of variables jointly influence causal processes. This creates high levels of uncertainty about the causes of outcomes, and thus makes it very difficult to attribute changes in carbon storage to specific causes, such as offset-funded programs. Furthermore, the predominant solution to this problem suggested in the literature, improved causal inference methods, fails to address the challenge because these methods are designed to estimate average effects across many cases, not to measure causality in specific cases. Even well-designed and resourced projects, such as our two cases, must demonstrate their own measurable impact to serve as offsets, and our analysis suggests that current methods are unable to overcome the joint challenges of causal complexity and methods that estimate average, not individual effects. The need for offsets to demonstrate individual causality makes them quite different from analogous conservation tools such as Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES), highlighting why project-based offsetting consistently struggles to meet the expectations of credibility. To achieve effective climate change mitigation, policymakers need to focusRana, Pushpendra; Fleischman, Forrest; Sharma, Amit. (2026). Why carbon offsets may fail in complex systems: A causal inference perspective. Retrieved from the University Digital Conservancy, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2026.104325
Predicting wasteful spending in tree planting programs in Indian Himalaya
No full textTree planting is widely promoted as a cost-effective natural climate solution, yet there are few evaluations of the implementation of tree planting. Our analysis of a unique dataset on tree planting in the Indian Himalayan state of Himachal Pradesh shows that over half of the state’s budget for tree planting is wasted on plantations that are unlikely to survive and/or are poorly designed to achieve the state’s goal of increasing forest cover. Himachal Pradesh (and India more generally) has been identified as a high potential area for natural climate solutions due to high government capacity, adequate funding, and government agencies with extensive planting experience. We combine data on the location and financial outlay for plantations, which allow us to analyze the relationship between plantations and social and biophysical conditions, with a machine learning model, trained on past land cover change, which predicts the likelihood of future tree cover loss in plantation areas. Our finding that even in this high potential area tree planting programs involve considerable wasted expenditure on ineffective plantations raises questions about optimistic assessments of the potential for tree planting to serve as a cost-effective natural climate solution. We suggest deemphasizing the target-based approaches that dominate present policy-making and high-profile scientific publications, which we argue are the cause of wasted expenditures in Himachal Pradesh. Instead policy-makers and scientists interested in natural climate solutions should focus on developing solutions that respond to local biophysical, social, and economic realities, and are implemented through transparent procedures that increase accountability to and reinforce the rights of forest dependent people.Rana, Pushpendra; Fleischman, Forrest; Ramprasad, Vijay; Lee, Kangjae. (2022). Predicting wasteful spending in tree planting programs in Indian Himalaya. Retrieved from the University Digital Conservancy, 10.1016/j.worlddev.2022.105864.
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