Anastasia L Yang

The University of Edinburgh | UoE · School of Social and Political Science

Adopting a ‘multilevel’ governance system and environmental prioritization for the Rural Development Policy (RDP) in Europe are key actions recommended by the European Commission. Member States can decide how and to what extent these actions are incorporated into their RDP design. Through 61 semi-structured in-depth interviews with institutional st...

This report is part of UKRI South Asian Nitrogen hub (SANH) actions towards building the nitrogen policy arena for South Asia. It is specifically focused on the evaluation of policies, progress, and barriers across different scales within each of the eight countries. Our approach firstly looked at the regional scale. National-level reports have sin...

This policy brief is produced by the UKRI GCRF South Asian Nitrogen Hub (SANH). It provides an overview of the patterns and trends in synthetic nitrogen (N) fertiliser use in crop production, import, export and emission in the South Asian Region (SAR) and its member countries; Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, India, Maldives, Pakistan, and S...

The report has three key sections. Firstly, the background of the study presented in this report is outlined followed by the country profile and priorities. Secondly, an overview of the current nitrogen emissions and trends, drivers and impacts for the Maldives, within the context of South Asia is presented. Thirdly, a summary of the collection and...

This report provides an overview of the Nitrogen related policy report for Sri Lanka (2022). This report is the first of its kind providing a necessary step to understanding the current nitrogen policy landscape for Sri Lanka within the broader South Asian context. It highlights the issues and challenges around nitrogen pollution and management, wi...

This report provides a necessary step to understanding the current nitrogen policy landscape for Nepal within the broader South Asian context. It highlights the issues and challenges around nitrogen pollution and management at the global and national scale. This document provides an overview of the full country report for Nepal.

Despite the projected sharpest decline in remittances in history due to the global economic crisis induced by the Covid-19 pandemic, remittances are expected to remain an important source of external financing for many developing countries. The Philippines is among the top five recipients of remittances worldwide, while outmigration is an important...

Assessing and managing nitrogen sustainably is imperative for achieving the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) targeted for 2030. South Asian countries, aware of the environmental and health impacts of nitrogen pollution, regionally as well as globally, piloted the 2019 UN resolution on Sustainable Nitrogen Management, calling for urgent po...

This briefing identifies the multiple roles of Scotland's forests, including their role in reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045, and addressing ongoing biodiversity declines. Insights from interviews with key experts are also provided. The briefing provides an overview of policy related to forests, and policy changes in Scotland.

Forest landscapes in tropical and subtropical areas support the livelihoods of their inhabitants through subsistence use of products, and cash income obtained from the sale of products. Despite its contribution to livelihoods, it remains unclear how forest products play a role in forest use strategies and what affects different forest use strategie...

The concept of forest landscape restoration (FLR) is being widely adopted around the globe by governmental, non‐governmental agencies, and the private sector, all of whom see FLR as an approach that contributes to multiple global sustainability goals. Originally, FLR was designed with a clearly integrative dimension across sectors, stakeholders, sp...

The findings in this report highlight the importance of understanding migration and remittances beyond assumed nationwide trends. When the results were aggregated, the nuances between the two regions were hidden. When the results were disaggregated between the regions, assumed patterns – such as the majority of migrants being external labor migrant...

REDD+ was designed globally as a results-based instrument to incentivize emissions reduction from deforestation and forest degradation. Over 50 countries have developed strategies for REDD+, implemented pilot activities and/or set up forest monitoring and reporting structures, safeguard systems and benefit sharing mechanisms (BSMs), offering lesson...

Key messages •• REDD+ is an inherently multilevel process that requires attention across diverse levels and sectors of governance to bring about change on the ground. •• REDD+ strategies often focus on direct drivers of deforestation (and local actors). Effectively addressing the underlying causes likely requires challenging more powerful actors an...

The concept of forest landscape restoration (FLR) is being widely adopted around the globe by governmental and non-governmental agencies, and the private sector, all of whom see FLR as an approach that contributes to multiple global sustainability goals. Originally, FLR was designed with a clearly integrative dimension, across sectors, stakeholders...

This chapter explores how social ecological systems (SES) frameworks provide a fitting conceptual approach to decision-making and can support Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR) design, implementation and monitoring. SES can help establish a holistic understanding of both social and ecological interactions at nested scales, in a spatial and temporal...

Reduction of Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) was originally conceived to address the global problem of climate change by reducing deforestation and forest degradation at national and subnational levels in developing countries. Since its inception, REDD+ proponents have increasingly had to adapt global ideas to local dema...

Policy instruments for implementing the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation and the enhancement of forest carbon stocks (REDD+) mechanism operate within an orchestra of policy mixes that affect the forest and other land sectors. How will policymakers choose between the myriad of options for distributing REDD+ benefits, and...

This paper focuses on the assessment of legislative considerations and local perceptions of equity in Vietnam's Payments for Forest Ecosystem Services scheme (PFES). Equity perceptions are powerful determinants of human behaviour and, consequently, many environmental conflicts arise from contested visions of what constitutes as ‘equitable’ environm...

Who makes land-use decisions, how are those decisions made, and who influences whom, how and why? This working paper is part of a series based on research studying multilevel decision-making institutions and processes. The series is aimed at providing insight into why efforts to keep forests standing, such as initiatives like Reducing Emissions fro...

Key messages • Despite the promising benefits that reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, and foster conservation, sustainable management of forests, and enhancement of forest carbon stocks (REDD+) offers through incentives to conserve forests and/or change behavior, it also risks excluding women, exacerbating gender inequaliti...

Migration is not new. In recent decades however, human mobility has increased in numbers and scope an has helped fuel a global shift in the human population from predominantly rural to urban. Migration overall is a livelihood, investment and resilience strategy. It is affected by changes across multiple sectors and at varying scales and is affected...

What are the roles and responsibilities of different levels of government over forests and land use in Vietnam? Over the last two decades how have government priorities shifted? How has decentralisation been realised through changing land laws and forest protection and development programs? Which powers and responsibilities are centralized, and wh...

The analysis and evaluation of European Rural Development Policy (RDP) is challenging because of its delivery at multiple scales by multiple actors. To address this challenge the Common Monitoring and Evaluation Framework (CMEF) indicators were introduced. However, these quantitative indicators are limited by data gaps and their inability to addres...

There are currently five payment distribution models implemented in Dien Bien and Son La provinces under the national payment for forest environmental services (PFES) program for community forests: (1) equal distribution to all households within a community, (2) payment for forest protection groups, (3) building infrastructure, (4) community invest...

If REDD+ benefit-sharing mechanisms (BSMs) are to be equitable, they require clear objectives with appropriate strategies or indicators. Private sector schemes related to standards, whose objective is the equitable distribution of the benefits generated through certification, tend to lack adequate rules and guidelines for operationalizing an equita...

In environmental policy, good governance is pertinent when inclusive decision making is recurrently associated with effective outcomes. This paper explores the European Union's good governance principles and the extent to which these have been adopted in the Rural Development Policy in Scotland. For the programme period 2007-2013 Scotland's Rural P...

This presentation by Pham Thu Thuy, Grace Wong, Anastasia Yang, Le Ngoc Dung, Karen Bennett, Vu Tan Phuong given during a workshop in Hanoi, Vietnam analyses the Payments for Forest Environmental Services (PFES) policy in Vietnam through the lens of achieving effectiveness, efficiency and equity. http://www.cifor.org/lessons-learnt-cifor-research-p...

This study aims to evaluate Rural Development Policy (RDP) and its ability to meet environmental objectives at European, national and regional levels. Policy evaluation is necessary to assess the processes and impact of policies and programmes to meet desired outcomes, to further ensure accountability of public funds. There a number of evaluation a...

In environmental policy, good governance is pertinent when inclusive decision making is recurrently associated with effective outcomes. This paper explores the European Union’s good governance principles and the extent to which these have been adopted in the Rural Development Policy in Scotland. For the programme period 2007�2013 Scotland’s Rural P...

Key Findings  This briefing highlights findings from a study that evaluates SRDP performance of the Rural Priorities scheme in efforts to promote 'good governance' and prioritise regional needs.  Findings indicated that difference between the three delivery organization Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), Forestry Commission Scotland (FCS) and Rural...

Key Findings  This briefing presents spatial modelling as a potential tool for Rural Development Policy (RDP) evaluation of uptake and payments, based on a study on determinants of Scotland's agri-environmental measures (AEM) and at a parish level.  AEM is one of the most widely supported RDP measures and includes 69 management land management op...

Madagascar is a global biodiversity hotspot threatened by forest loss, degradation and fragmentation, all of which are detrimental to the future survival of forest-dwelling organisms. For conservation purposes it is essential to determine how species respond to habitat disturbance, specifically deforestation. In this study we investigated the impac...