IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON PRIVATE PLANT NURSERY BUSINESS: A CASE STUDY OF SYLHET DISTRICT, BANGLADESH

The Plant nursery industry is an integrated section of the afforestation program in Bangladesh. Around 18000 plant nurseries are playing a vital role in employment creation and income generation. But due to Covid-19 shutdown, this industry faced a lot of difficulties. Considering the importance, this research was performed in Sylhet district to trace out the pandemic impact on private plant nursery business. Randomly 31 nurseries were selected to fulfill the objective and data were collected using semi-structured questionnaires through direct interviews. In the questionnaire, 5 points Likert scale was used to collect responses of nursery traders. The study analyzed the socio-economic attributes of nursery traders. The conducted survey found out nursery input, transport, and selling tasks were affected most owing to the pandemic and it forced them to adopt several strategies to manage the loss. The study also revealed important suggestions and recommendations for the betterment of the nursery industry which are expected to help students, researchers, policymakers, and entrepreneurs. KEYWORDS: Covid-19, Impact, Nursery, Case study, Sylhet, Bangladesh.

Poverty and Prosperity: Impact on Livelihood Assets of Billion Trees Afforestation Program in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), Pakistan

In this study, we assessed the impact of the Billion Trees Afforestation Program (BTAP) on the livelihood of local household in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province (KPK). BTAP is the largest ban-logging afforestation program in Pakistan, which aims to conserve natural forests, promoting rural livelihoods and reducing poverty. Primary data from 360 local inhabitants were collected and analyzed using descriptive and econometric methodologies that include ordered logit model and ordinary least squares (OLS) respectively. In specific, a wealth index, household income, and five assets of sustainable livelihood have been considered to measure the impact of BTAP. We found that there is a strong and positive contribution of BTAP to the improvement of a rural community’s livelihood. Results showed that BTAP based households earn 4% more income and possess around 35% more assets. These findings suggest that BTAP has considerable effect on increase in livelihood assets. This study continues the discussion with several practical implications of this along with recommendations for future research.

Socioeconomic Impacts of the Billion Trees Afforestation Program in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province (KPK), Pakistan

In recent decades, the terrestrial ecosystem in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province (KPK), Pakistan, has undergone tremendous destruction. To restore environmental conditions, the government implemented the Billion Tree Afforestation Program (BTAP), with a high target to impact multidimensional aspects of the terrestrial ecosystem. The government claims that it is local residents who have benefited the most from the BTAP. Hence, the objective of this research was to examine the socioeconomic impact and local rural perception of the BTAP in three districts of KPK. Primary data were collected from 406 households. Fundamental orientation theory was used to assess the social impacts of the BTAP, while cost–benefit analysis was applied to examine its economic impact. The results show that the overall social impacts of the BTAP are satisfactory and beneficial, increasing social sustainability by 69% between 2014 and 2018. Additionally, based on the cost–benefit analysis and perception-based analysis, it was found that the BTAP positively affects the economic conditions of rural households. The community livelihood increased during the program, with a total net income of 6.9 million USD in the three districts of KPK. It is concluded that the majority of respondents have benefited from participation in the BTAP. The sustainability of rural livelihood is one of the main concerns related to the establishment of the BTAP. Effort is needed by the government and other parties to both increase rural household income and to protect the environment.

A Review of Egyptian Afforestation Program and its Effect on Agriculture

Egypt has been famous as agricultural country since ancient times. Most Egyptian horticultural and food crop plants are shrubs or small trees with shallow root systems. These plants are susceptible to drought and have a little or no hydrological effect. Egyptian agriculture is mostly dependent on the Nile water (82.59%). Desert areas can be ecologically reclaimed or restored to agronomically productive areas if socioeconomic, cultural, and political factors permit the restoration. Afforestation is when a desert is turned into a woods or forest as a climate change agent and water reservoir. This survey found that Egyptian land was greener than Indonesian land. The availability of the Nile water should be managed as effective as possible to accelerate Egyptian afforestation projects. Egypt may imitate Indonesian success in re-greening the Gunungkidul region of Jogyakarta with the Wanagama forest. The afforestation program affects agricultural practices in Egypt in both the near- and long-term.

A review on Air Pollution Tolerance Index (APTI) and Anticipated Performance Index (API)

Now a day’s air pollution is one of the serious problems around the world. Plants can filter the air via-aerial elements particularly through twigs, stems, leaves, etc. Afforestation program is the best way to control the air pollution. Air pollution tolerance index (APTI) is an intrinsic quality of trees to control pollution problems, which is currently of major concern of urban localities. The trees having higher tolerance index rate are tolerant towards air pollution and can be used as a source to control air pollution, where as the trees having less tolerance index can be used as an indicator to know the rate of air pollution. By combining biochemical and aggregate factors the Anticipated Performance Index is prepared, which is also helpful in green belt development. The present review is based on the assessment of APTI and API potential of different plants for mitigating air pollution

Assessment of the World Largest Afforestation Program: Success, Failure, and Future Directions

The Three-North Afforestation Program (TNAP), initiated in 1978 and scheduled to be completed in 2050, is the world’s largest afforestation project and covers 4.07 x 106 km2 (42.4%) of China. We systematically assessed goals and outcomes of the first 30 years of the TNAP using high-resolution remote sensing and ground survey data. With almost 23 billion dollars invested between 1978 and 2008, the forested area within the TNAP region increased by 1.20 × 107 ha, but the proportion of high quality forests declined by 15.8%. The establishment of shelterbelts improved crop yield by 1.7%, much lower than the 5.9% expected once all crop fields are fully protected by shelterbelts. The area subjected to soil erosion by water decreased by 36.0% from 6.72 × 107 to 4.27 × 107 ha; the largest reductions occurred in areas where soil erosion had been most severe and forests contributed more than half of this improvement. Desertification area increased from 1978 to 2000 but decreased from 2000 to 2008; the 30-year net reduction was 13.0% (4.05×106 ha), with 8.0% being accounted for by afforestation in areas with only slight, prior desertification. In addition to its direct impacts, the TNAP has enhanced people’s awareness of environmental protection and attracted consistent attention and long-term commitment from the Chinese government to the restoration and protection of fragile ecosystems in the vast Three-North region. The significant decline in forest quality, limited success in reducing desertification, and low coverage of shelterbelts are aspects of the TNAP in need of re-assessment, and additional ca. 34 billion dollars will be needed to ensure the completion of the TNAP.

Using the Contingent Grouping Method to Value Forest Attributes

This paper presents the first application of a recently proposed stated preference valuation method called contingent grouping. The method is an alternative to other choice modeling methods such as contingent choice or contingent ranking. It was applied to an afforestation program in the northeast of Spain. The attributes included (and the marginal values estimated per individual) were allowing picnicking in the new forests (€2.47), sequestering 1000 tons of CO2 (€0.04), delaying the loss of land productivity by 100 years, due to erosion in the new forests area (€0.783), and allowing four-wheel driving (€6.5), which is perceived as a welfare loss.