Increasing smallholder incomes and improving the environment are often viewed as conflicting objectives. Rotational woodlots in Tanzania appear to help farmers generate substantial income while at the same time conserving forest area. In the rotational woodlot system, farmers intercrop food crops with leguminous trees during the first 2–3 years, leave the trees to grow, harvest the trees in the 5th year, and replant food crops. Of three species planted in an on-farm trial involving 60 farmers, Acacia crassicarpa (A. Cunn. ex Benth.) performed best, attaining a height 96% higher and a root collar diameter 76% higher, than the second ranked species, Acacia jurifera (Benth.). In spite of higher costs and a longer payoff period, the crassicarpa woodlot achieved returns to land 6.3 times greater, and returns to labor 2.0 times greater, than the maize (Zea mays L.)-fallow system. Farmers use fuelwood to cure tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) and they greatly appreciate substituting relatively abundant land and slack season labor for scarce cash required for purchasing fuelwood that is harvested in the forest. Adoption of rotational woodlots in Tabora District alone can conserve 8675 ha forest per year, or 0.8% of total wooded area in the district. Farmers’ interest is high and 87% of those involved in the trial have expanded their area under woodlots. Research and development projects can benefit individual farmers and society by helping them to make the transition from depleting forest resources to planting trees on their own farms.
Tag: deforestation
Multi-species and multifunctional smallholder tree farming systems in Southeast Asia: timber, NTFPs, plus environmental benefits
The rapid increase in human population, and the corresponding worldwide enhancement of social and economical conditions, are exerting a considerable pressure to convert forests to other uses. Moreover, these phenomena raise the demand for food, fuel, wood fibers and other non-wood products, contributing to a further boost of the production pressure in the surviving forests. Simultaneously, these forests are expected to provide a diverse array of environmental services.Furthermore, smallholder forestry systems are prominent components of ‘trees outside the forest’ in Southeast Asia and they are primarily ‘planted’ systems that rehabilitate or reforest marginal lands, in order to produce tree products and services. As they traditionally are a means of producing goods for home consumption, they have become significant suppliers of products for local, national and international markets.The aim of this paper is to demonstrate that smallholder forestry systems are a viable management system which is significantly contributing to global environmental goals and local economic objectives. This paper reviews global and Asian trends of human population growth, deforestation, and demand for forest and tree products.The origin, the diversity, the adaptable management and the importance of smallholder tree-based systems are here discussed and significant details are provided on the role of smallholder tree-based systems in the mitigation of deforestation, which could be obtained by expanding regional forest resources; in supplying alternative sources of forest products and environmental benefits; and in making significant contributions to local livelihoods for rural communities.
Household Fuel Consumption Based on Multiple Fuel Use Strategies: A Case Study in Kibera Slums
Recently, it has been argued that, contrary to earlier energy ladder thinking, households in developing countries do not switch to modern energy sources but instead tend to consume a combination of fuels. This article aimed to gather a better understanding of the relative importance of fuel substitution and fuel complementation, especially among charcoal, fuel briquettes and kerosene, and the factors associated with these choices. In this paper we present results of a household survey conducted during October 2010 in Kibera slums in Nairobi, Kenya. The results revealed that widely various household characteristics influence demand for charcoal and briquettes for cooking. In addition to these factors, the household income level affects the use of kerosene for cooking. At the same time, we found the fact households tend to switch to multiple fuels strategy as their increasing in income instead of completely switching from the consumption of traditional fuels to modern energy sources
Reconstructing pre-agricultural expansion vegetation cover of Ethiopia
Landscape reconstructions can be used to define a reference condition from which to assess the magnitude of land changes caused by human influence. Since the beginning of the last century, the population of Ethiopia has increased drastically with large effects on the natural vegetation and biodiversity. However, the original land cover patterns in Ethiopia have not been precisely mapped, which hinder the identification of the biophysical and socio-economic factors that contributed to the current landscape patterns. The objective of this study was to reconstruct the past century vegetation landscapes of Ethiopia (i.e. vegetation cover before agricultural expansion) and identify which ecosystems have been most affected by land changes. First, the net primary productivity (NPP) was modelled based on the climatic constraints of natural vegetation growth (water availability, solar radiation and minimum temperature) derived from remote sensing and climate data. This analysis showed that water availability is the most critical constraint for vegetation growth for all regions and land cover types in Ethiopia. Then, the past vegetation was mapped based on predicted NPP. Our results show that i) the extent of broadleaved evergreen or semi-deciduous forest, open broadleaved deciduous forest, closed to open shrubland, mosaic forest-shrubland/grassland, sparse vegetation and grassland was 18.8%, 12.4%, 20.6%, 31.5%, and 16.8%, respectively, and ii) current agricultural landscapes were previously covered mainly by broadleaved evergreen and deciduous forest, which encompassed 38.9%. The least affected by agricultural expansion were sparse vegetation and grassland. Our study provides novel insights on pre-agricultural expansion landscapes in Ethiopia with critical information for scientists and other stakeholders working on the restoration and rehabilitation of degraded areas.
Aboveground carbon stocks in oil palm plantations and the threshold for carbon-neutral vegetation conversion on mineral soils
The carbon (C) footprint of palm-oil production is needed to judge emissions from potential biofuel use. Relevance includes wider sustainable palm oil debates. Within life cycle analysis, aboveground C debt is incurred if the vegetation replaced had a higher C stock than oil palm plantations. Our study included 25 plantations across Indonesia, in a stratified study design representing the range of conditions in which oil palm is grown. From allometric equations for palm biomass and observed growth rates, we estimated the time-averaged aboveground C stock for 25-year rotations and 95%-confidence intervals to be 42.07 (42.04-42.10) Mg C ha-1 for plantations managed by company on mineral soil, 40.03 (39.75-40.30) Mg C ha-1 for plantations managed by company on peat, and 37.76 (37.42-38.09) Mg C ha-1 for smallholder oil palm on mineral soils. Oil palm can be established C debt-free on mineral soils with aboveground C stocks below these values; neutrality of mineral soil C pools was documented in a parallel study. Acknowledging variation in shoot:root ratios, the types of vegetation that can be converted debt-free to oil palm include grasslands and shrub, but not monocultural rubber plantations, rubber agroforest, and similar secondary or logged-over forests of higher C stock.
Impacts of hunting on tropical forests in Southeast Asia
Although deforestation and forest degradation have long been considered the most significant threats to tropical biodiversity, across Southeast Asia (Northeast India, Indochina, Sundaland, Philippines) substantial areas of natural habitat have few wild animals (>1 kg), bar a few hunting-tolerant species. To document hunting impacts on vertebrate populations regionally, we conducted an extensive literature review, including papers in local journals and reports of governmental and nongovernmental agencies. Evidence from multiple sites indicated animal populations declined precipitously across the region since approximately 1980, and many species are now extirpated from substantial portions of their former ranges. Hunting is by far the greatest immediate threat to the survival of most of the region’s endangered vertebrates. Causes of recent overhunting include improved access to forests and markets, improved hunting technology, and escalating demand for wild meat, wildlife-derived medicinal products, and wild animals as pets. Although hunters often take common species, such as pigs or rats, for their own consumption, they take rarer species opportunistically and sell surplus meat and commercially valuable products. There is also widespread targeted hunting of high-value species. Consequently, as currently practiced, hunting cannot be considered sustainable anywhere in the region, and in most places enforcement of protected-area and protected-species legislation is weak. The international community’s focus on cross-border trade fails to address overexploitation of wildlife because hunting and the sale of wild meat is largely a local issue and most of the harvest is consumed in villages, rural towns, and nearby cities. In addition to improved enforcement, efforts to engage hunters and manage wildlife populations through sustainable hunting practices are urgently needed. Unless there is a step change in efforts to reduce wildlife exploitation to sustainable levels, the region will likely lose most of its iconic species, and many others besides, within the next few years. © 2016, Society for Conservation Biology..
Can Secure Tenure Help Reduce Deforestation?
While land is a crucial asset for most people in rural, hilly area of Sumberjaya, Lampung province, securing land tenure has been a long battle. Long after their establishment in the early 1970s, Forestry Department announced that 30% of the watershed area classified as protected area in 1990 (Verbist and Pasya, 2004). Farmers were demanded to stay away from their managed gardens. Both the process of policy making and the implications of the policy ignited conflict between the farmers and the government, which culminated by the government’s action of farmer eviction from their land in 1991, 1995, and 1996 (Kusworo, 2000). Negotiation support system which is based on social forestry concept was later introduced in the area in 1998, following the starting point of devolution process; a period many called as ‘reformation’ in Indonesia. The system offers more tenure security in the form of rights to manage land inside protected area by the means of preserving remaining forest (stop further deforestation) and planting new tree (‘reforestation’). This concept, generally known as HKm, was instantly accepted by farmers and implemented in 1998. Four years after the HKm enactment, 3 farmer groups, consist of total 292 households, obtained their 5 years HKm permit. Later on in 2006, 16 farmers groups also obtained their permit. Now, 8 years after the enactment of HKm, it is timely to ask whether securer tenure provided by social forestry concept really meets its conservation objectives: to reduce deforestation and to increase tree cover in Sumberjaya watershed.
Carbon emission abatement costs from reduced deforestation: introduction
Stern Report among studies concluding that avoided deforestation is a good economic investment compared to other abatement possibilities • Results from the ASB Partnership for the Tropical Forest Margins provide insight into the tradeoffs between C and NPV for alternative land uses in the tropical forest margins • Launching a new pan-tropical study of opportunity costs of avoided deforestation building on 10 years of past work
Farmers in Côte d’Ivoire value integrating tree diversity in cocoa for the provision of ecosystem services
Côte d’Ivoire produces 40 % of the world supply of cocoa but much of the plantation area is aging and declining in productivity, while opportunities for land expansion into new forest land are quickly disappearing. Rejuvenation strategies for cocoa presently coalesce either around improved varieties and greater use of agro-chemical inputs in full sun systems or eco-certification that requires trees to be integrated with cocoa. Here, we explore the possibility of uniting these approaches through building on current farmer practice of incorporating trees in their cocoa fields to improve cocoa productivity and diversify their livelihoods. We interviewed 355 farmers about trees integrated in their cocoa fields across four locations in the South-West of Côte d’Ivoire in 2012, stratified by whether or not farmers were eco-certified. Despite the massive deforestation, a rich diversity of trees was found in cocoa fields and an overwhelming majority of farmers (95 %) wanted more trees and/or more tree species, regardless of their certification status or ethnic origin. There was a consensus that most trees were compatible with cocoa, but farmers also traded off negative impacts of some species against their productive contribution to their livelihood. Farmers valued tree diversity on their cocoa plots and provided detailed information on how 32 tree species interacted with cocoa in terms of soil moisture retention, soil fertility improvement and pest and disease interactions but also had key gaps in knowledge about alternative hosts of mirids and mistletoe. The majority of farmers were not aware of the certification requirements for tree species and shade cover but a much higher proportion of certified farmers (76 %) had received information about shade trees than non-certified farmers (15 %), although advice only related to eight tree species. Scope for building on local knowledge and practice to sustainably increase cocoa productivity through promoting tree diversity while enhancing other ecosystem service provision was identified and the next steps required to realize this set out.
Farmer attitudes and intentions towards trees in cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) farms in Côte d’Ivoire
Cocoa yields in Côte d’Ivoire are low and falling each year, partly as a result of full-sun cropping systems. Thus, interest is now high in establishing sustainable cocoa agroforestry systems through the re-introduction of shade trees. This article uses data collected from a sample of 400 cocoa farmers in the Soubr_ region of Côte d’Ivoire to analyze farmers’ current and intention to plant trees in their cocoa farms in the future and the motivation for their decision. Logit regressions are used to assess the various determinants of current tree planting behaviour and future adoption intention. Results show that both current and likelihood of deliberately planting trees with cocoa in the future is significantly affected by extension and certification programs, severity of diseases affecting cocoa, and geographic zone. Future intentions to associate trees with cocoa are further influenced by the age of the farmers, household size and the average age of the cocoa farm. To increase the adoption of tree planting in cocoa fields there is the need to intensify extension messages on the benefit of shade trees in cocoa farms especially in areas where adoption intention is still low. Where awareness is high, adoption can be increased through the supply of seedlings and provision of specific trainings on planting density and management techniques to ensure that agroforestry has the maximum positive effect.