Research needs for restoring tropical forests in Southeast Asia for wildlife conservation: framework species selection and seed propagation

ABSTRACT: Some governments in Southeast Asia, such as those of Thailand and Vietnam, have clear policies to restore large areas of degraded land to native forest. However, knowledge needed for the success of these ambitious programmes is still inadequate, and considerable further research is required. Furthermore, very little literature is available to conservation practitioners about the restoration of tropical forests for biodiversity conservation. This paper introduces the framework species method of forest restoration, which is being developed to restore forests in Thailand. It examines the potential for adoption of this technique in different forest types across the Southeast Asia region, and identifies priorities for future research needed, before the method can be widely implemented. These include the identification of forest types, the selection of candidate framework species, maintenance of genetic diversity and development of methods of seed collection and germination.