Forests for People

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fruit trees through participatory tree domestication

programmes coordinated by the World Agroforestry

Centre. The farmers are able to diversify what they grow

and in many cases earn extra income. In addition they

are increasing on-farm biodiversity.

In Guinea, establishing an effective system of commu-

nity/Government forest co-management and providing

livelihood alternatives to people living on the forest

fringes has had a profound influence on the management

of four large forest areas. The Landscape Management

for Improved Livelihoods (LAMIL) project has also done

much to improve the welfare of local people who are

now growing trees for food, live fences, fodder, fuel and

wood. And there has been a significant increase in the

abundance of wildlife in the forest.

In many areas that harbour the world’s biologically

richest and most threatened eco-regions, including

most of the global biodiversity hotspots, agroforestry

is an important land use. Agroforestry practices which

are designed to improve land quality and productivity

often also create habitats for wild species in agricul-

tural landscapes. Above ground, agroforestry helps to

provide diversified and connected habitats used by

wildlife while below ground, the soil biota is increased.

Indonesia has the world’s largest area planted in rubber;

some 3.3 million hectares. Much of this is in smallhold-

ings of jungle rubber, that is, rubber grown in agroforests

which contain 60-80 per cent of the biodiversity (such as

through agroforests of varying types. Agroforestry systems range from

home gardens to subsistence livestock and pastoral systems, staple

crops, on-farm timber production, tree crops of all types integrated

with other crops, and biomass plantations.

With growing recognition that agriculture needs to drastically shift to

incorporate more sustainable farming systems, agroforestry is gaining

more and more prominence. It is increasingly promoted by land-use

managers and international development organizations for its ability to

result in both livelihood and environmental benefits, especially in some

of the poorest and most degraded areas of the world.

Agroforestry lies at the very heart of the intention of the three

United Nations conventions dealing with environmental stability:

the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity; the United

Nations Convention to Combat Desertification; and the United

Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The challenge

which lies ahead is to realize the full potential of agroforestry globally.

Agroforestry and biodiversity conservation

According to the International Institute for Environment and

Development, agroforestry is among just five key biodiversity conser-

vation interventions that can actually lift people out of poverty.

As rural population densities continue to rise, natural forests and

the services they provide are increasingly threatened. Agroforestry

can make it possible for many of these goods and services to be

produced on-farm thereby stabilizing agricultural landscapes and

alleviating pressure on natural ecosystems.

Thousands of smallholder farmers in Africa, Latin America and

Asia are benefiting from growing superior varieties of indigenous

Alain Tsobeng, a researcher with World Agroforestry Centre in Cameroon holding a superior variety of njansang

Image: Charlie Pye-Smith/World Agroforestry Centre