Vanessa's blog

Forests in Sub-saharan Africa are crucial to the well-being of hundreds of thousands of people who rely on their services for daily support. They are also vital carbon sinks and biodiversity zones, and must therefore be a priority to the international community as it strategizes about climate change and other global challenges. How can we make sub-Saharan African forests work for people and nature? This question is at the heart of a new policy document launched at the World Agroforestry Congress on Wednesday.

“Making sub-Saharan African Forests Work for People and Nature”(PDF) was developed jointly by the Special Project on World Forests, Society and Environment (WFSE) of the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO), World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) and the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR). Its key messages can help guide Africa forward in harnessing its rich natural resources for economic development and participation in global markets and mechanisms.

Peruvian agronomist and forestry expert Marc Dourojeanni put himself in a policy-maker’s shoes and asked “what would I be thinking if I were designing agroforestry legislation in Latin America?” A lawmaker is constrained by political trends and timelines, the economic bottom line, public opinion, and catering to his constituents and supporters.

Too many laws, he said, are ‘declarative’ – based on a priori assumptions that agroforestry is appropriate and or feasible in a given landscape. However, a law is not a policy document but the consequence of a policy. The environmental and social functions of agroforestry must be taken into account for financing. If agroforestry is so profitable, then why do we need to promote it? Serious but simple economic feasibility studies must take place. And laws must be precise, clear and enforceable.

On 26 August at the World Congress of Agroforestry, the ASB Partnership for the Tropical Forest Margins convened a symposium on High Carbon Stocks Development Pathways. Land use change and deforestation are critical drivers to climate change, contributing to 20 - 25% of gas emissions.
Smallholder carbon agroforestry, such as Jungle Rubber in Indonesia (left) can be critical in reducing deforestation while restocking deforested lands. Smallholder farmers in the tropical forest margins can potentially benefit from global carbon markets and contribute to fighting climate change, by implementing agroforestry practises that store carbon, bring short term economic returns, and fit with local traditional practises.
Click to read the full story on the ASB Blog

Congress Day 1 – 24 August 2009 – 12:30 pm Water is at the heart of the crisis facing Africa today, emphasized Dr. Richard Leakey, and agroforestry provides some of the tools for restoring tropical aquifers which have been destroyed by years of deforestation and poor land management.

Dr. Leakey, Chairman of Wildlife Direct, a lifelong conservationist and activist, also pointed to the limitations of technologies for restoring ecosystems, and suggested that we must control destructive human activities before trying to control nature. Dr Leakey was delivering his Keynote address on the Congress' second theme, Conservation and Rehabilitation of Natural Resources.

24 August, 12:00pm
Africa needs an ‘ever-green’ revolution to sustainably feed itself while dealing with the adverse impacts of climate change. So said MS Swaminathan, father of the green revolution in India in the 1960s, and founder of the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation.

Radio France Internationale has posted an interview with ICRAF scientist Dr. Peter Akong Minang, on the new agroforestry assessment report Trees on Farm: Analysis of Global Extent and Geographical Patterns of Agroforestry by Robert J. Zomer, Antonio Trabucco, Richard Coe and Frank Place. The interview begins about 5 minutes into the programme.

New agroforestry study shows that almost half of all farmed landscapes worldwide include significant tree cover.

Released on Monday 24 August 2009 at the opening of the 2nd World Congress of Agoforestry being held in Nairobi Kenya, this is the first study to quantify the extent to which trees are a vital part of agricultural production in all regions of the world. It reveals that on more than 1 billion hectares-which make up 46 percent of the world's farmlands and are home to more than half a billion people-tree cover exceeds 10 percent.

I work at the World Agroforestry Centre managing communications for the ASB Partnership for the Tropical Forest Margins and the project Pro-poor Rewards for Environmental Services in Africa. I'm looking forward to creating a community of virtual participants for the congress, and reporting on some of the interesting activity that takes place in-between sessions and in the hallways.