This project aimed to identify the potential of various management practices to decrease the immediate and rapid soil carbon loss during land clearing and for management activities for farming immediately following clearing. The team did a literature review and meta-analysis (analysis of findings across multiple published studies), along with a visit to Indonesia, to synthesise existing research on the amounts and types of greenhouse gas emissions that arise when peatlands are converted into agricultural land.

This project aimed to inform and engage policy makers for forest plantations in Lao PDR and Viet Nam to improve regional and national economic impacts of forest plantations. Governments in Lao PDR and Viet Nam aim for national development through building human capacity, developing industry and sustaining the environment. Forest plantations play a key role in achieving these development aims, and both countries have policies to increase plantation areas to support national goals.

Improving livelihoods and wellbeing of small ruminant farming families. Women inclusion through strategies for sustainable production and value chain engagement.

A project aimed at improving the livelihood of farmers in the Central Dry Zone of Myanmar who keep goats and sheep, by increasing the productivity and profitability of their herds and flocks. 

This project aimed to make the value chain of planted wood in the Lao PDR more efficient. This improved both the international competitiveness of Lao wood industries and the livelihoods of farmers and processing workers. Laos has an emerging forest plantation industry. The timber industry has rapidly grown over the past three decades, based on both smallholder and corporate growers. The Lao PDR government envisages a substantial forest plantation estate, with 500,000 hectares of tree plantations by 2020.

The furniture industry is one of the 'big four' Indonesian pillars for export (along with rubber, palm oil, and footwear). The industry relies heavily on timber as its raw material, with an annual requirement of up to 7.5 million cubic metres. Wood species used as raw material for furniture (mainly teak and mahogany) come from natural forest and plantation/community forests. Jepara in Java is particularly known for its crafted wooden furniture, and the industry there involves 15,000 companies, mostly small-medium sized enterprises (SMEs).

Improving policies for forest plantation industry development in Lao PDR and Vietnam.

This project aimed to increase the incomes and strengthen local food security of small-scale farmers and their families in central Myanmar through improved fertiliser use and associated crop management practices.  In Myanmar, rice growers have shifted from subsistence to semi-subsistence production, growing rice for household consumption and selling any surplus to boost their income.  With good prospects for increasing rice exports and profits, there is incentive to improve rice yields. The same is true for maize, a higher-value crop. 

A project aimed at improving the profitability of smallholder farming households in Pakistan’s Punjab and Sindh provinces, through on-farm efficiency gains and development of dairy and beef market opportunities.

Supporting the development of innovative wood-processing industries to enhance markets for planted timber resources within Lao PDR and Australia.

Value-added wood processing methods using forest resources have been created through this ACIAR project in Papua New Guinea (PNG). Opportunities for economic growth, employment, and increased value-added processing of harvested logs, will greatly improve national and local markets.  More than 60% of PNG’s total land mass is forested and owned by traditional landowners. Closed forest in PNG covers 29 million ha, of which 10 million ha have been allocated by the PNG Government under timber permits for commercial development. 

Adoption of agricultural technologies and best practices in Battambang and Pailin provinces, Cambodia.