Sacred forests represent an important long-held tradition of conserving specific land areas that have cultural, and often religious, significance. India, with its diversity of cultures and traditions, has over 100 000 sacred forests. Many of these groves are forest fragments in agricultural landscapes. In most cases, community members are at least aware of these fragments, if not actively invol...

We illustrate a strategy for valuation of forest ecosystem services by studying the demand for its weak complement, agricultural labor –a commodity that has market prices. In our case study forest protection in Ruteng Park of Flores, Indonesia, provides soil conservation benefits to farmers living near the protected area. Econometric analyses of forest hydrology and household data shows that so...

Brazil is the world largest producer of sugarcane ethanol, an alternative to gasoline. Large players, including international oil companies, are aware of the potential of Brazilian ethanol and are investing in the production and expansion of sugarcane plantations in the country. The growing ethanol market imposes some conservation challenges on Brazil to meet the increasing demand. The market p...

Forests situated on slopes in mountainous areas can provide protection against natural hazards such as avalanches and rockfall. Quantifying this mitigating effect requires accurate mapping of forest stands and estimation of their dendrometric characteristics. However, steep terrain and lack of accessibility hamper field surveys. Airborne Laser Scanning (ALS) is a remote sensing technique whose ...