Linkages of Sustainability Assessment

90 Sustainability Assessment

For example, decision on land use in agricultural policy may be detrimental to forest land use. Daniere and Takahashi (1997) indicated that where urbanization or urban migration is high, environmental policy might be hampered due to government attention to other policies linked to maintain the problem of migration and arrangement of urban amenities. Fiscal policies, exchange rates, terms of concession of public land, price controls, transport networks, land and tree tenure, tariff and nontariff barriers to international trade, investment incentives, agricultural sector’s strategies, and other macroeconomic policies may affect economic motivation in the management and conservation of forests. Therefore, the influences of the cross-sectoral linkages, linkages among cultural values, attitudes, and behavior are important to the design and implementation of sustainability aspects of a policy. However, consideration of the strength and nature of linkages are also important for deciding the justifiable level of investment and admirable effort of sustainability assessment. Bamberger (1991) has described sectoral policy areas, specific types of instruments influencing the policies, linkages affecting forestry, possible effects on forest development, and option for actions. Depending on the aspect and strength, the following linkages of forest land use practice with other policies/sectors may be considered for evaluation.

7.2 PARALLEL LINKAGE

Parallel linkages show how resource sectors are directly related to other sectors, e.g., environment and forest land use, tourism and forest land use. Such linkages are also known as sectoral linkage. Parallel linkages generally involve sectors related to a single frame— here it is land use. For example, tourism and forest production may be developed on the same frame of land. Assessment of such linkages gives equivalent emphasis of the sectors and may include aspects of common usage, economic output, and interdependent relationships.

7.3 LINKAGE OF ASCENDANCY

This linkage involves the evaluation of policy issues, which are not related to the same frame. This sort of linkage is more common in policies that influence the frame. This means, instead of considering a common frame, one of the policies considered in linkage analysis could

be a frame policy itself. For example, land use and tenure. If the linkage of forest resource is considered with land tenure policy (not land use policy), then the relationship will be a linkage of ascendancy. This is also called tenurial linkage. In those cases, decisions may need to be made on a priority basis. The common denominator of almost all resource-base policies is the land resource; as a result, land tenurial aspects overlap. This means the tenure may be considered as a frame policy. For example, oil exploration, coal mining, or agriculture within the forest area produce land tenurial conflict. Those conflicts need to be addressed in the analysis of land use whether the conditions for use of land for one aspect could ensure the conservation or reestablishment of other aspects as well.

7.4 LINKAGE OF DESCENDANCY

Linkage of descendancy mainly developed when requirements of one policy imposed and influenced the decision of other policies unrelated to the frame. For example, in forestry cases, they might happen from the competitiveness of the investment in the forestry sector resulting from the variation of economic efficiencies set out in the policies or changing in the value of currencies. Thus, the linkage may be named as economic linkage as well. As an example, deMontalembert (1995) indicated that the actual rent received by the Filipino government during 1979 1982 from the forest was much lower than the potential rent. As a result, to accrue the targeted revenue, more forest than the expected area was felled. Thus, economic incompetence of policy implementation descended down to extent (area) of forest land, use affecting sustainability.

7.5 LINKAGE OF HIERARCHY

Linkage of hierarchy connotes the linkages between the administrative bodies of organizations under the same policies or different policies. This may also be termed as administrative linkage. For example, in Bangladesh, a forest intruder, if caught, is handed over to the police and thereby an efficient control of illegal activities within the forest requires help and cooperation from the police department. This is not a policy linkage between two policies as such but a linkage between two administrative bodies that ensures the success and sustainability of forest policy.