» Why an Agroforestry education network?

There is a growing interest in Agroforestry and integrated natural resource management in Southeast Asia. Farmers and communities plant trees on farms to improve their food security, increase their income and to stabilize the natural resource base.
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Trees in the agriculture landscape produces environmental services related to watershed functions, biodiversity conservation and climate change. Agroforestry farmers therefore provide services also for a range of national and international stakeholders.
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In the uplands of Southeast Asia, the small scale farmers are the main land managers. The upland poor have often been bypassed by the green revolution and the development in lowland areas. Their multiple livelihood strategy often includes use of forest resources, such as non-wood forest products and Agroforestry practices. These indigenous practices have until fairly recently received little attention in the education system.
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The growing awareness that forest resources are disappearing and that sustainable land management needs new partnerships between disciplines and between 'modern' and 'traditional'

knowledge has led to integrated approaches to natural resource management.
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Agroforestry is one such integrated approach. Agroforestry has been taught in Southeast Asia for more than 20 years. During this period, Agroforestry as a science has changed rapidly. This new knowledge need to be captured by the educational system. The traditional separation of forestry and agriculture in the educational system is a constraint to Agroforestry education. Agroforestry requires an integrated approach, combining several biophysical and socioeconomic disciplines. This in turn requires new or revised institutional arrangements. Educational policies that help institutionalize Agroforestry education are needed.
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It is the role of the higher education system to provide graduates that effectively can address these challenges, in research, development and education.
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