Under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the world has pledged to “leaving no one behind”. Responding to goal No. 7 on the agenda, efforts to provide modern energy to all the world population must be pushed forward. This is important because electrification in the rural area can indirectly support opportunities for social and economic development resulting in an acceleration of the eradication of poverty. The research goal of this study is to contribute insights about the scale of energy demand in unelectrified villages in the Southeast Asian countries and to discuss some factors that might influence the energy demand growth. This is done by making projections based on surveys and interviews, including a time-use survey, in three off-grid villages located in Myanmar, Indonesia, and Laos. Our analysis presented the living condition, highlight the types of energy sources, how, and in what rhythms people use energy on a daily basis in those villages. The demands in each case study villages were then projected based on several constructed scenarios. It was found that the factors of household size, proximity to the city, climate, and topography may influence the present and future growth of energy demands in the villages. The estimated energy demand may be useful for project managers to design a pilot off-grid energy system project in a similar environment and pointed out important factors to consider when formulating off-grid energy policies in the region.

The delivery of sustainable development goals (SDGs) through a participatory land and forest conservation initiative was evaluated in South Kalimantan Province, Indonesia. The initiative focused on the rehabilitation of a 410 ha forest that was managed by local villagers. A forest rehabilitation and management initiative was developed through participatory action, establishing a well-managed rubber plantation that provided new livelihood opportunities. Poverty reduction was promoted, evidenced by a reduction in inequality amongst the local community. Between 2010 and 2018 the Gini coefficient of inequality declined from 34.6% to 31.3%, demonstrating a contribution to SDGs 1 (No Poverty) and 10 (Reduced Inequalities). In addition, forest rehabilitation resulted in improved carbon stock and biodiversity management contributing to SDG15 (Life on Land). This was attributed to successful forest rehabilitation and the reduced incidence of forest fires. Cooperation amongst local villagers categorized as living in poor households was improved, facilitated by capacity building. This focused on rubber plantation management, cooperative action, and firefighting activities. This capacity building contributed to the delivery of SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals). Results from a socio-economic survey demonstrated that group activities and cooperation amongst stakeholders were essential to improve both livelihoods and forest management practices.

The Satoyama landscape is a mosaic system of land use in Japan, comprising secondary forests, croplands and settlements. The various ecosystem services provided by the interactions between humans and the environment at the landscape level are together known as the “Satoyama system”. Land use and structural changes in secondary forest were quantitatively evaluated based on analysis of land and forest distribution and dynamics in 1961, 1975 and 2016 within the Satoyama landscape of Saitama prefecture, central Japan. Most secondary forests were replaced by settlements, which was driven by typical socio-economic factors (i.e. a rise in land value) and land use change largely relating to the decline in the agricultural demand for compost made from forest litterfall. The dynamics and structural changes of land and forest revealed that land use in the Satoyama landscape had become more uniform as a result of changing human activities and land use. Organic carbon and nitrogen contents were smaller in secondary forest that was still being managed by the collection of litterfall than abandoned secondary forest with no litterfall collection, especially to a depth of 0.25 to 0.30 m. This has resulted in a decline in CO₂ sequestration in managed secondary forest although abandoned secondary forest and/or plant-derived organic matter inputted cropland keep or increase CO₂ sequestration. Considering a mosaic system of land use comprising secondary forests, croplands and settlements, an adaptive management procedure suited for present-day needs, is therefore required to maintain sustainable use of the Satoyama landscape in the future.

The aim of this study is to identify trends in social capital-focused studies on community-based forest management and collective actions related to forests (collectively CBFM) and how social capital affects forest management by reviewing studies on this topic in Asian developing countries. We found an increased number of studies over the last decade using various approaches in terms of social capital positioning, types of structural social capital, and analysis methods. Four main social capital positionings were identified in their research designs: (a) as features found in communities; (b) as a factor influencing CBFM; (c) as an effect of CBFM; and (d) as an agent in a dynamic process involving CBFM. The studies we reviewed did not extend to assessing forest conditions. Given the contextual nature of social capital, integrative approaches combining qualitative and quantitative techniques with assessment of forest conditions present challenges in relation to social capital studies on CBFM.

There has been an expansion of the fallow areas in the mountainous terrain of Northern Laos, resulting in a significant effect on greenhouse gas emissions in the region. This study estimated living biomass of variously aged fallow areas (4–35 years old) in mountainous terrain. The living biomass of study sites, which was estimated by applying original allometric equations in each plant component, ranged from 49.4 to 390.1 Mg ha⁻¹. Using individual biomass data, we then developed a growth model based on a correlation between stand age (years after slash-and-burn) and living biomass in fallow areas >20 years old. The developed growth model was well fitted by a theoretical formula of Mitscherlich (Living biomass = 372.9 × [1 – 1.117 × exp(−0.05556 × stand age)]) (R² = 0.670). In addition, the area of each aged fallow area was estimated by analysis of time series of satellite imagery and change-detection analysis to detect past fire events (slash-and-burn). All of the living biomass of the fallow areas in each age were estimated using the developed model and were analyzed. The age-classed weighted mean value of living biomass in fallow areas was estimated as 111.4 Mg ha⁻¹. These results clarified that living biomass in fallow areas was dependent on age, and estimation methods including age data are essential for improving the estimation accuracy of forest carbon stocks in fallow areas during long-term Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation projects in Northern Laos and surrounding regions.