biodiversity Archives - Page 77 of 82 - Resilient Landscapes (RL)

Trees on Farms for Biodiversity. Gambling and Scrambling: How much for Biodiversity on Farms?

Are farmers willing to take a financial risk by investing in trees that can boost their incomes? How long are they prepared to wait for those gains? And which attributes of trees do they value the most? Behavioral experiments in Uganda reveal farmers are willing to change their practices to increase biodiversity if given the right incentives.

Standards of practice to guide ecosystem restoration: A contribution to the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030

The United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021–2030 (hereafter “UN Decade”) aims to prevent, halt and reverse ecosystem degradation and recover biodiversity, and ecosystem integrity; enhance human health and well-being, including sustainable delivery of ecosystem goods and services; and mitigate climate change. To create a shared vision of ecosystem restoration, UN Decade partners, through a consultative process, launched ten principles for achieving the highest level of recovery possible through restoration projects. To facilitate application of these principles and thereby maximize restoration outcomes for nature and people, the Standards of practice to guide ecosystem restoration provide key recommendations for all phases of restoration projects. These recommendations are applicable to the broad array of restorative activities included as ecosystem restoration under the UN Decade, across all types of ecosystems (urban, production, cultural, semi-natural and natural) and restoration projects, from voluntary community member-led efforts to highly resourced, nationally funded projects.

Trees on Farms for Enhancing Biodiversity and Food Security in Rwanda

Over 43 percent (43%) of all global agricultural land now has greater than 10 percent tree cover which represents over 2 billion hectares of land and engages more than 900 million of people (Zomer et al., 2014). Particularly, major increase has been made in tree cover on agricultural lands in many parts of the tropics, including Rwanda. In the context of biodiversity for food security, agriculture, forestry and fishing encompass over two-thirds of the population for income generation and food security (BIOFIN, 2017). Agriculture sector accounts approximately one-third of Rwanda’s GDP with more than 80% of the total population that are practicing agriculture farming systems (NISR, 2018). Ecosystems offer a wide range of benefits and opportunities for local and national economic development, improved livelihoods and provision of environmental goods and services that vary on scale from the Albertine Rift in the West to the savannah lake and swamp systems of the Akagera region in the East¹ (GoR, 2011). Biodiversity for food security integrates crops, livestock and trees to support agriculture as the main source of employment, income and improved livelihood in rural areas (Ndayambaje, 2016).

Protocol of implementing behavioral experiments for fruit tree marketing options in Rwanda: A trust experiment

The objectives of this study are (1) to elicit trust, risk and time preferences of smallholder fruit tree farmers in eastern Rwanda using monetary incentivized experiments, and (2) to investigate key attributes or features of marketing contracts that are preferred by farmers using a discrete choice experiment (DCE). We investigate farmer preferences related to six hypothetical marketing contract attributes: sales mode, timing of payment, input/service provision, form of contract, relation to the buyer, and investment costs. To demonstrate the relation between trust, risk and time preferences and the adoption of marketing contracts, we couple these experimental data with the results from the DCE about farmers’ preferences for marketing contract attributes. We estimate a random parameters logit model, including interaction terms between contract attributes and behavioral preferences, to disentangle preference heterogeneity. Disentangling these behavioral preferences can give interesting insights on how contracts should be designed in order to meet farmers’ preferences. The results can also provide guidance for the fruit marketing development to ensure that smallholder farmers benefit from the full potential of their fruit trees.

Preliminary reflections of the potential of climate smart agriculture (CSA) in the Tshopo Province (DRC)

Agriculture is the main activity in Tshopo province and concerns about 84% of households. In the postconflict context of the Democratic Republic of the Congo where the country needs to use agriculture for food and employment, responses to climate change protection of biodiversity hotspot as it is the case in the Tshopo province cannot be ignored. The current agricultural practices are still very vulnerable to climate change and are threatening the biodiversity and carbon stock of the Tshopo forest landscapes. The challenges of the state and other stakeholders are thus to improve the productivity of this agriculture and make it resilient with less carbon footprint. Such 3 pillars (increase of productivity, provide adaptation and mitigation responses) correspond to CSA (Climate Smart Agriculture) that need to be achieved in an integrated way. Unfortunately, from the review at the national level and at the Tshopo principal scale, activities in which agriculture is involved target mainly one/two main objectives (food security, mitigation, adaptation or Biodiversity conservation) during a well-defined period and specific geographical locations. CSA could thus be a potential frame to improve the sustainability of the agricultural sector in the Tshopo Province, in the center of Congo Basin.

Exploring farmers’ vulnerability and agrobiodiversity in perspective of adaptation in Southern Cameroon

Climate change is a global phenomenon that indiscriminately affects all sectors of the economy and social life-support systems. New trends in climate change will leave high impacts on rural populations, whose livelihoods depend on agriculture and natural resources, leaving them increasingly vulnerable. Agrobiodiversity management is a promising method of facilitating adaptation to climatic changes. Hence, this study aimed to investigate the vulnerability of farmers and assess agrobiodiversity in Southern Cameroon in the context of adaptation. Focus groups and surveys were conducted in 31 villages in Ayos and Bokito in Southern Cameroon. The vulnerability index was computed for selected indicators of different components of vulnerability (exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity). Data analysis revealed that in the two communities, the majority of villages were moderately vulnerable to climate change. However, Bokito community appeared to be more vulnerable than Ayos community. Farmers adopted several climate adaptation strategies such as crop replacement, replanting, planting of trees, cultivation of crops in swampy areas, and the expansion of cocoa cultivation in savannahs. Rich agrobiodiversity was identified in both sites; however, Ayos was richer than Bokito for wild plants, wildlife, and fisheries resources. The Bokito community also had a higher dependence on agriculture. Sustainably managing the rich agrobiodiversity of the landscape can provide a critical method to build the resilience of farmers.

Forest Conservation, Rights, and Diets: Untangling the Issues

Recent research has highlighted the contributions of forests and tree-based systems to both dietary diversity and nutrition as well as agricultural production in the form of tree-based ecosystem services. Wild foods provide a significant nutritional contribution to the diets of rural dwellers, the majority of whom would be classified as some of the world’s poorest. Yet, despite the important human-forest interactions and relative degrees of forest dependency, access to much of the global forest estate is increasingly regulated under the guise of biodiversity conservation. How this restricted access plays out when the “right to food” is a deeply enshrined human right has been deeply contested, particularly with regard to land annexation. This paper outlines the critical issues related to dietary diversity and nutrition in the context of the availability of wild foods juxtaposed with the growing call for the annexation of land for conservation. We suggest that a more integrated and equitable approach to land management that embraces both biodiversity conservation and broader food security and nutrition goals can provide multiple benefits, while mitigating local conflicts. As such, a rights-based approach to conservation and an embracing of broader landscape perspectives are possible strategies to achieve these seemingly conflicting agendas.

Protocol of implementing behavioral experiments for trees on farms options in Uganda: Experiment on risk preferences

The objectives of this study are (1) to elicit both risk and time preferences of smallholder coffee farmers in eastern Uganda using lottery-based experiments, and (2) to investigate key attributes or features of companion trees in coffee agroforestry systems that are preferred by farmers using a discrete choice experiment (DCE). We investigate farmer preferences related to six companion tree attributes: tree products provided, regulating ecosystem services provided, growth rate, seedling price, provision of quality shade for coffee, and maximum tree height. To demonstrate the relation between risk and time preferences and the adoption of companion trees, we couple these experimental data with the results from the DCE about farmers’ preferences for companion tree attributes. To analyze potential strata in farmer preferences, our sample includes coffee farmers from different altitude zones. Our gendered research design furthermore allows exploring possible differences in preferences between men and women.

Tag: biodiversity