Tuesday, January 28, 2020

Sustainable Forest Management Concepts

Sustainable Forest Management Concepts CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Background of SFM The sustainable forest management idea has been promoted for the past 20 years in government of Sabah since 1989 but there had not been any serious attempt to put such idea into any effective practice. To solve this challenge, the BN State Government ensured that SFM is implemented in all future forest related activities (SFD, 1998). Seven main elements of SFM which act as a reference framework for sustainable forest management are the extent of forest resources; forest biological diversity; forest health and vitality; productive functions of forest resources; protective functions of forest resources; socio-economic functions of forests; and the legal, policy and institutional framework (Sarre Sabogal, 2013). All the main stakeholders involved in forest management such as: forest managers, government, non-government organizations (NGOs) and other stakeholders need to understand what is SFM mean in order to work together to achieve the objectives (Higman, 2005). FAO had studied almost 80 cases of successful SFM implementation which shown the economic, social and environmental benefits that can be achieved under SFM (Sarre Sabogal, 2013). One of the efforts in practice of SFM is adopted and implemented principles of sound forest management at Deramakot Forest Reserve in Sandakan. The Deramakot Forest Reserve is FMU No.19. It had covered 55,083 hectares of mixed Dipterocarp forest in the east of Sabah (Mannan, Awang, Radin, Abai Lagan, 2002). In 1989, Malaysia- German Sustainable Forest Management Project was extended to Sabah and conducted in Deramakot Forest Reserves. The main goal of this project is to apply an ecologically and scientifically substantiated forest management system (Mapa, 2003). This project was undertaken by the Sabah Forestry Department with the help of forest resource management such as stock inventory, reduced impact logging (RIL), the skyline yarding system, forest rehabilitation and silviculture. Due to the successfu l of SFM at Deramakot, in September 1997, the state Government had an agreement with 10 organizations from private sector which became active partners of the Government to ensure that the SFM practice at Deramakot is extended to other commercial forest areas in Sabah (SFD, 1998). According to Li (2014), SFM aims to ensure that the goods and services derived from forest meet peoples’ needs meanwhile maintain their continued availability and contribution to long-term development. Over the last 10 years, China has made a great amount of achievements in the forest sector based on sustainable forest management concept. For example, China had ranked the sixth in the world in terms of forest stock volume, following by Brazil, Russia, Canada, the United States of America and Democratic Republic of Congo. All these examples show that sustainable forest management concept can help to maintain ecosystem balanced. 2.2 Forest Management Unit (FMU) FMU is clearly defined as forest area which managed to a set of explicit objectives based on a long term management plan. SFM is divided all the commercial forest areas into 27 blocks called Forest Management Units (FMUs). Each FMU is about 100,000 hectares wide (Toh Grace, 2006) and every unit will be managed by selected companies (Mapa, 2003). Currently, the level of the FMU in Peninsular Malaysia is an individual state; in Sabah the FMU area will cover by each Sustainable Forest Management License Agreement (SFMLA); while in Sarawak, the FMU is an individual concession area (Ng, Tong Lim, 2002). 2.3 Forest Management Plan (FMP) FMU divided their forest area into severe compartments. Each compartment has to prepare its own FMP. A FMP is a strategic plan that can provide an overview or description of the forest area and the basis activities for monitoring the forest (Armitage, 1998). FMP can also name as medium-term forest management planning which have a minimum duration of 10 years (Kleine Heuveldop, 1993). FMP translates the forest policy and prepared a well operational program for regulating forest activities. A FMP should include description of forest resource base, the management actions of the resources, review at the mid-point of the plan, review in the final year of the plan and the preparation of a new plan when the present plan expired (Armitage, 1998). FMP is an important strategy which conducted by FMU to well manage the community forest and bring benefits to local communities. 2.4 Community Forestry Community forestry is a village-level forestry activity which also can be defined as the participation of local communities in the planning, establishing, managing and harvesting of forest crops in a forest, so they can receive a major proportion of the socio-economic and ecological benefits from the forest (Nixon, Herbohn Harrison, 2001). The participation of local community is very critical to promote sustainable livelihoods and maintain forest resources (Murdiyarso, 2006). According to Metha (2002), both India and Nepal have a wide variety of forests. At that time, the use of forest is controlled by local community’s traditions. However due to massive loss of forest, the governments of India and Nepal began to take over the forest management authority in the late 1980s. This cause the local communities lost their stewardship. As a result, the community forest programs are implemented to give communities financial stake so they have an incentive to preserve the forest. In 1988, the master plan for Nepal’s program was adopted which states that the forest administration should allow people to have full control over the forest. 2.5 Issues during implementation of SFM concept According to Hickey (2004), during evaluating progress in monitoring and reporting information for SFM, some issues related to forestry such as: trade considerations, socio-economics conditions, forest resource characteristics and forest land ownership need to be considered. There are some challenges faced by local communities who living in the forests for manage the forests sustainability. For example, lack of available land especially those peoples with no legal claim to their native customary right (NCR) of land within forest reserves. These communities are limited from clearing additional land for their use (Toh Grace, 2006). Local communities argued about the forest boundary. They are restricted to enter into the forest to collect forest products (Lintangah, 2013). According to Lintangah (2013), another issue that faced by local communities during implementation of SFM concepts is the relationship with the FMU holders. Local communities have a low level of cooperation because they lack of consultation from FMU holders and some FMU holders begin their activities without permission of local communities. Besides that, lack of understanding about SFM concept among local communities also becomes an issue during implementation of SFM. SFM implementation also brought some impacts to locals such as lack of infrastructure development and maintenance for example road; lack of provision of job opportunities to the local communities and environmental pollution. Richards Yaron (2003) stated that the main problem or issues for sustainable forest management is the failures of market and policy which cause more profitable to cut down trees than to retain or manage them. All these challenges or issues can cause limitation of use right among local communities and occurred conflicts between local communities and forest managers (Duguma, Hager Gruber, 2009). To solve all these conflicts between stakeholders, SRM approaches should be conducted. It is important to conduct a study about the perceptions of communities towards SRM approaches which can help to solve the issues during SFM implementation. Based on Wang (2008), perception is the insight or intuition gained by perceiving. It can be defined as the sixth sense of human beings. Perception is an important cognitive function that can determine personality. 2.6 Stakeholder Relations Management (SRM) The stakeholder relations management approach refers as the framework for analyzing and evaluating a corporation’s relationship with external groups to achieve â€Å"win-win† situations that can benefit everyone (Lintangah, 2013). However, there are usually occurs winners and losers in a complex situations. As a result, stakeholder management approach is conducted for planning and implementing collaborative relationship to obtain win-win outcomes among stakeholders. SRM approach is a response to the growth and progress of corporations to understand how the corporation operates with their stakeholders (Lintangah, 2013). An effective SRM can well-managed the relationship among stakeholders for mutual benefits (Post, Preston Sachs, 2002). The six steps that focus in stakeholder management approach are first identify key stakeholders, describe their stakes in the organization, determine if those stakes are significant, evaluate the opportunities and challenges, determine t he organization’s responsibility to the stakeholder, and finally create relationship strategies (Shannon Thomas, 2015). One of the examples of SRM approaches is Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) which means â€Å"a voluntary management system used by the companies to incorporate a variety of social, environmental and economic pressures into their business operations and their interaction with their stakeholders† (Lintangah, 2013, p.36). Stakeholder management approaches can help to solve problems related with SFM implementation. Most of the stakeholders feel that the dialogue is one of the useful tools in dealing with their claims and interests besides media and technology. It can solve the conflicts among stakeholders through communicating, negotiating, contracting, managing relationships and motivating (Freeman, 2004). The SRM approaches that conducted under SFM at FMU level included community forestry, joint forest management, CSR programmes, inter-agencies involvement, and contract forestry that will promote and support the SFM implementation at the FMU level. According to Lintangah (2013), the supporting tools for SRM include the Forest Management Plan, Annual Work Plan, related government policies at the state and federal level, the Forest Enactment of 1968, and the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). 2.7 Sustainable Forest Management License Agreement (SFMLA) In September 1997, Sustainable Forest Management license Agreement (SFMLA) which is valid for 100 years is formed and replaced the timber license agreement (Toh Grace, 2006). On 10 September 1997, 10 companies had signed SFMLA with the government to show their cooperation in forest management. They were: Yayasan Sabah; Idris Hydraulic (Malaysia) Bhd; TSH Resources Bhd; Sapulut Forest Development Sdn Bhd; Bugaya Forest Sdn Bhd; The North Borneo Timber Corporation Berhad; Modern Innovation Realty Sdn Bhd; Anika Desiran Sdn Bhd; Bornion Timber Sdn Bhd and Timberwell Bhd (SFD, 1998). SFMLA holders are responsible for forest planning, forest inventories, preparation of forest management plans, implementation of the SFM, the establishment and maintenance of infrastructure, the security and protection of the FMU area, the protection and conservation of the unique environment within the SFMLA area, support financial of all the expenses and the accommodation of local communities’ interests (Lintangah, 2013). Under SFMLA, licence holders have to implement community forestry (CF) projects within their respective FMUs. All the companies have to submit annual work plans and harvest plans for each logging plots based on reduced-impact logging systems. All the management and operational plans, especially monitoring the activities of licence holders had to approve by Forestry Department (Toh Grace, 2006).

Sunday, January 19, 2020

Foster Care Essay examples -- non-parental custodians

Foster Care INTRODUCTION   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  An ideal environment for the social, emotional, and developmental growth of children does not always exist in today’s society. Family units that have become separated due to family or behavior problems often contribute to delays in these areas. In order to promote continuity in the social, emotional, and developmental growth of children who have been victims of family disruption, children are often removed from the home and placed in foster care. Placement in the foster care system affects children in a unique, individual fashion. The affects of child-care by non-parental custodians, though subjective in nature, have common parameters that must be addressed and examined. Understanding foster care placement is crucial in order to fully evaluate both its advantages and disadvantages. WHAT IS FOSTER CARE?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  According to the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System, â€Å"Foster care means 24-hour substitute care for all children placed away from their parents or guardians and for whom the State agency has placement and care responsibility.† Though this definition excludes children in privately funded foster care arrangements, placement in a facility not governed by a state agency is often sought for children. Placement with either a state agency or a privately funded program can either be short-term lasting several months, or extend for a period of years as in long-term placement. The duration of time spent in the foster care system is dependent upon the existing home environment and the ability of the caregivers in the home to provide a safe and nurturing environment for the child. An evaluation of both the present and pre-existing home environment is crucial in making the decision of whether to remove the child from foster care and reunite them with their parental custodians or to continue placement in the foster care system. FOSTER CARE PLACEMENT   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Though it is difficult to separate a child from his parental custodians, foster care placement is deemed necessary in situations of abuse or neglect. Severe behavioral problems on the part of the child as well as a variety of parental problems, including abandonment, illness (either physical or emotional), incarcerations, alcohol/substance abuse, and death, are also reasons deemed legitimate to warrant removal from the home. A child, who has been sub... ... has been victimized in his or her home environment. It can, however, with proper placement, provide a safe and nurturing environment that will encourage self-growth and self-achievement. The ultimate goal of foster care placement is reunification with the family. Plans must be implemented so that this goal can be achieved. The problems leading to foster care placement need to be rectified before a safe return home is possible. Failure to fully assess the situation will reap only negative results and problems may escalate. The welfare of the child must be the primary concern. BIBLIOGRAPHY Berrier, Selena. â€Å"The Effects of Grief and Loss on Children in Foster Care.† Fostering   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Perspectives. November 2007. Conn, R. A. â€Å"Developmental Issues for Young Children in Foster Care.† Pediatrics.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  5 November 2004. Hueber, Ruth A. â€Å"The Effects of Foster Care on Children.† Child Welfare Research.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  9 November 2005. Marshner, Connie. â€Å"Reform the Nation’s Foster Care System.† Family Research Council.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  10 January 2008. Stewart, Gordon. â€Å"Safety and Stability for Foster Children: A Developmental   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Perspective.† Journal of Pediatrics. February 2007.

Saturday, January 11, 2020

A Comparison between Two Essays Essay

Paulo Freire’s essay ‘The Banking Concept of Education’ and Walker Percy’s essay ‘The Loss of the Creature’ ultimately share the same message that students without a struggle are not able to use their education to confront real-life situations. I believe that meaningful learning is a process that takes place daily. Everyone learns in a different way and at different speed. I feel that it is a gradual process in which one learns imperceptibly depending on what they have been able to grasp in or from the kind of mistakes made. I would define meaningful learning as a process in which one is exposed to new interesting information, knowledge or experience that one could use in their upcoming life if needed, and help them from committing any additional blunders related to it. One aspect that can affect meaningful learning are the preconceived notions that are built from numerous different sources; it could be media, books, other people, outings or fr om experiences that are driven by their own pure personal desire. For me, it is meaningful learning if one has used their individual perspective and critical thinking to come to a conclusion and educated them from the information acquired. I feel that having predetermined notions is not a terrible thing but it is important that one should be open to other aspects. To shed some light on my concept of meaningful learning, I would like to use the example of my visit to Red Fort, India. I went with some preconceived notions since I had heard a lot about it from my close friend. Percy states in his essay that, â€Å"the sovereign discovery of the thing before him is rather measuring up of the thing to the criterion of the preformed symbolic complex† (460). Percy, in the above statement argues that having a preconceived image through media, books or other sources can lead to false appreciation. While on the other hand, Freire’s states that education becomes an act of depositing, in which the students are the depositories and the teacher is the depositor. Instead of communicating, the teacher issues communiques and makes deposits, which the students patiently receive, memorize and repeat (318). In the above  statement, Freire claims that the banking concept of education thereby changes humans into objects. Humans have no independence and therefore no ability to rationalize and conceptualize knowledge at a personal level. Both Percy and Friere claims that any notions built on the basis of additional sources cannot lead to a meaningful experience. As per Percy, I lost sovereignty on my trip to red fort by having preconceived notions and not thinking critically about it, while as per Friere, I was the depository and my friend was the depositor, which affected my learning of a meaningful experience. From my experience, I disagree with both of them. On my trip, I found that the fort had its wall engraved with timelines and details of how and when various events took place in that fort in the historical era. The fort had old weapons preserved, which the emperor and their soldiers were using in the historical era. I captured a lot of images and videos but was also able to experi ence the site to the fullest. I spent an entire day at the fort, which was truly an amazing experience and learnt a lot more about it than what I had heard from my friend. My experience at the Red Fort made me believe that having some preconceived notions can be encouraging and productive in opposition to what Percy thinks about people having symbolic complexity and not able to experience the sight for what it truly is. According to Friere’s banking concept, my friend was the depositor and I was depositories, had I not been a depositories in this case, I do not think I would have even visited this place and would have missed out on a meaningful learning experience. From my experience, I do not agree with Percy regarding his view on how to acquire real experience. In such a tech savvy world, it is most of the time not practically possible to be unaware about things. I feel that not understanding its significance before jumping to any conclusion can lead one to disappointment and loss of sovereignty. Later another incident occurred in my life when I decided to move to the United States of America, everything was different to me. I had enrolled myself as an international student in college. I was not a fluent English speaker as compared to all the students studying here. I enrolled myself into an English course along with other four different courses. English was not easy to read or grasp the first time through but gradually after few lectures in which there was continuous communication and questions asked during the class I could comprehend. Communication between students and  their teachers is the key to learning. I remember before giving assignments, my teacher would supply us with background information as to how to begin, how to use key words, make clear sentences and etc. She was a resource for me. She not only gave information on what we were reading but called upon us to formulate an idea and share it with the class. When the teacher allowed my classmates and me to converse, we could come up with new ideas and shared with her to get her opinion. She would either say that we made an excellent point and that she never thought of it before or might even share a better knowledge with us from her experience about it. This reminds me of Paulo Friere’s quote that, Through dialogue, the teacher-of-the-student and the students of the teacher cease to exist and a new term emerges: teacher student with student-teacher. The teacher is no longer the one who teaches you but one who teaches himself in dialogue with the students. They become jointly responsible for a process in which all grow (324). Friere also states that, both should simultaneously be teachers and students. The teacher no longer knows everything and students know nothing (319). The role of students and the teachers are not necessarily what need to be altered. From my experience, I agree with Freire that the role of the teacher and the s tudent will always remain; however, it is the distance between role and authority of the two, which should change. They are now partners. This example also relates to the story of the Falkland Islander by Walker Percy, who, by himself learnt through his own actions. He took a jack knife and started digging to see for himself and learnt with a different perspective then that of a biology student who would diagnose as per given instructions. In my case, I was given that freedom to critically think and come up with ideas by different perspectives. I was exercising the sovereign right and was master of my own creation. I could have taken help from my teacher but I believed in myself that I could do it and even when in trouble, my teacher was there for me as a true guidance and subordinate to show me the path. Thus I strongly agree with Walker Percy that, â€Å"The Falkland Islander explores his dogfish and he is the person exercising the sovereign right of a person in his lordship and mastery of creation†(467). I certainly agree with Paulo Friere’s problem posing education method and Walker Percy’s studying method as both has led to a meaningful learning experience in my life. I was not only able to think and decide for myself  but it also helped me gain a lot of confidence. It made me realize that I might have missed out on certain meaningful learning experience if I had not been given a chance to think by myself. The bottom line is that education should provide tools and practice in critical thinking for students, not absolute answers. I completely agree with Freire’s argument in this chapter. In fact, I feel that it is one of the most meaningful pieces of educational literature that I have ever encountered. WORK CITED Frieire, Paulo. â€Å"The ‘Banking’ Concept of Education.† Ways of Reading. Boston: Bedford, 2011. Percy, Walker. â€Å"The Loss of Creature.† Ways of Reading. Boston: Bedford, 2011.

Friday, January 3, 2020

Emily By William Faulkner A Symbol Of A Decaying Soul

For the duration of her time alone, Emily began to lose her mind and her self. The isolation began to take over her life and her appearances began to degenerate. â€Å" Thus she passed from generation to generation-dear, inescapable, impervious, tranquil, and perverse.† Similar to her avoidance and neglect of her father’s death she avoided herself physically surrendering to the arms of death. However, she soon realized she could not escape death. Her hair was growing gray and her surrounding were disappearing. Faulkner describes Emily’s hair growing â€Å"grayer and grayer until it attained an even pepper-salt iron-gray, when it ceased turning.† Gray is interpreted as a symbol of a decaying soul. Every time death approaches Emily, she loses a part of herself. Soon after her father died her hair began to grow gray. When Homer dies, her grayish hair is intensified. Faulkner attempts to demonstrate Emily’s physical appearance as isolation takes over he r deteriorating soul. Faulkner mentions â€Å"Up until the day of her death at seventy-four it was still that vigorous iron-gray (hair), like the hair of an active man.† Faulkner attempted to portray the idea that although she was alive with the capacity to live a longer life, the essence of solitude has turned that opportunity gray. Faulkner acknowledges the similarities between Emily’s gray soul and her surroundings. The author describes her house as a â€Å"stubborn and coquettish decay.† In comparison to the elegant houses in her neighborhood,Show MoreRelatedA Rose For Emily By William Faulkner1326 Words   |  6 PagesA Rose For Emily Fiction Analysis English Literature Essay In A Rose for Emily, William Faulkner tells the story of an old and lonely lady stuck in her own timeframe. Her controlling father died some thirty years ago and she has never quite found her own ground. Her house has become the most hideous looking home on the once most select street in the city. Previously elegant and white with scrolled balconies, it was now encroached with dust and decay. The people in Miss Emily s city gossip aboutRead MoreA Rose For Emily By William Faulkner1319 Words   |  6 PagesIn A Rose for Emily, William Faulkner tells the story of an old and lonely lady stuck in her own timeframe. Her controlling father died some thirty years ago and she has never quite found her own ground. Her house has become the most hideous looking home on the once most select street in the city. Previously elegant and white with scrolled balconies, it was now encroached with dust and decay. The people in Miss Emily s city gossip about her and pity her lost soul. She soon begins d ating a youngRead MoreANALIZ TEXT INTERPRETATION AND ANALYSIS28843 Words   |  116 Pagesforward again to the middle. In still other cases, the chronology of plot may shift backward and forward in time, as for example in William Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily, where the author deliberately sets aside the chronological ordering of events and their cause/effect relationship in order to establish an atmosphere of unreality, build suspense and mystery, and underscore Emily Grierson’s own attempt to deny the passage of time itself. Perhaps the most frequently and conventionally used device of interrupting