This paper assesses the existing reforestation and forest conservation policies and strategies in Southeast Asia and how they have impacted people’s lives. Southeast Asia contains 11 countries and is home to 20% of the world’s species. Unfortunately, the region has been practising deforestation at an alarming rate. The main cause of deforestation in the region is the creation of land for agriculture, with forest fires and the growing demand for timber also contributing. As a result, the region has lost 376,000 km² of forest in the last 30 years. Parts of the region have been involved in international efforts to protect forests, such as the 2016 Paris Agreement. However, some of these policies have not made much difference because most countries are not willing to support the necessary strategies. From the study findings, the main strength of the existing polices and strategies is that they are being amended to suit different changes in demographics and the practical needs of the sector. The sector has been able to shift from the initial state forestry management to making forests a multi-sectoral economic development agent. On the other hand, there are few polices at the national level that ensure every citizen participates in tree planting and that they understand the need to stop deforestation. In addition, many countries in the region are less willing to join the international communities in fighting climate change; that is, they do not agree with international partnerships like the Pris Climate Change Agreement.

Traditional medicine has deep historical linkages and cultural roots. In a rural community, it is practice based on the ethnological, medical and heritage of the practitioners. Temiar indigenous tribe of Orang Asli in Kelantan, have their traditional way of beliefs and healing practices. This study examines the remedies using medicinal plants and herbs among the tribe members in Kampung Pasik, Kelantan, Malaysia. A structured questionnaire and in-depth interviews were conducted with 250 respondents. A total of 18 species of medicinal plants was recorded preferably used by the tribes. Results indicate that traditional phytoremedies practices play an important role in helping their healthcare system with the help of the tribe healers. Cultivated medicinal plant species represent 94% of the source, whereas 4.4% were found wild in the forest and 1.6% grown around their settlement. This study revealed that five preparations methods such as boiling (27.56%), pounded (27.45%), squeeze (21.60%), drying (14.17%) or concoction of various part of medicinal plants (9.22%). The most applied were by drinking (35.29%), chewing (32.70%) and 19.89% rubbing, poultice (6.40%) and shower ingredients (5.72%).

Agroforestry practices evolve with the development of basic and advanced facilities, changes in natural and artificial factors of land, and land use trade-offs. This study aims to examine the farmers’ socioeconomic characteristics and perception of land use changes that define optimal agroforestry practices in Khost Province, Afghanistan. Data were collected from 662 farmers and analyzed using univariate Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA). The results found that forest and vegetable products, including fruits, berries, herbs, mushrooms, wild animals, oils, wood, honey, okra, eggplant, carrot, cucumber, pine nuts, pepper, and timber, have different impacts in terms of satisfaction with basic and advanced facilities, knowledge of land use changes, satisfaction with natural and artificial resources of land, and barriers to and economic benefits of land use. The limitations of this study included an absence of exogenous factors in the model such as climate change, financial conditions, market fluctuations, regulatory system, the area in which this study is selected, research design, and current condition of endogenous factors. Overall, this study defined a set of optimal agroforestry practices (expressed as crops and products) based on the farmers’ perception of land use changes in Khost Province, Afghanistan. This study provided useful insights for policymakers and development practitioners to promote agroforestry practice adoption and improve the socioeconomic development of agroforestry-dependent communities. Future works could explore the implications of agroforestry practices on the socioeconomic development of other dependent communities in Afghanistan.

This systematic review examines the current state of knowledge and research trends in agroforestry in the South Asian region. The study analyzed 150 scholarly publications on agroforestry techniques and their ecological, financial, and community benefits. The results show that the proportion of agroforestry-associated papers focusing on the South Asian region is rapidly increasing, but it remains tiny in comparison to the literature on the topic worldwide. The most frequently studied agroforestry systems are schemes focused on simultaneous implementation, such as planted agriculture combined with tree administration and species/natural management sanctuaries combined with genetic diversity/gene pool processes. In comparison to the West, where silvopastoral technologies are widely used, South Asia has paid less attention to agrosilvopastoral and silvopastoral systems. Ultimately, the study identified and highlighted the types, volumes, and characteristics of agroforestry and ecological facilities research in South Asia. The findings suggest that agroforestry is a crucial strategy for improving the ecological, financial, and community benefits of a region's social-ecological systems.

Agroforestry practices evolve with the development of basic and advanced facilities, changes in natural and artificial factors of land use change. The study aims to examine the socioeconomic characteristics and compare satisfaction levels across forest products and vegetable farming of the agroforestry community in Khost Province. Data were collected from 662 farmers and was analyzed using univariate Analysis of Variances (ANOVA) and Multivariate Analysis of Variances (MANOVA). The results found that forest and vegetable products, including fruits, berries, herbs, mushrooms, wild animals, oils, wood, honey, okra, eggplant, carrot, cucumber, pine nuts, pepper, and timber has different impact in terms of satisfaction with basic and advanced facilities, knowledge about land use and impacts, natural and artificial factors of land use change, and positive and negative impact of land use change. The limitation of the study included an absence of exogenous factors in the model such as climate change, financial conditions, market fluctuations, regulatory system, an area in which the study is selected, research design, and current condition of endogenous factors. Overall, agroforestry practices can improve the socioeconomic development of agroforestry-dependent communities in Khost Province, Afghanistan. This study provided useful insights for policymakers and development practitioners to promote agroforestry practice adoption and improve the socioeconomic development of agroforestry-dependent communities. Future works could explore the implications of agroforestry practices on the socioeconomic development of other dependent communities in Afghanistan.