Day 3 Keynotes: Conservation and Rehabilitation of Natural Resources

Achim Steiner, the executive director of UNEP, introduced the plenary. "What role can agroforestry play in a world of six and a half billion, soon to be 9 billion people?" he asked. Three keynote speakers described how agroforestry can play an important part in the battle against climate change, encourage conservation and promote a new paradigm of multi-functional agriculture.

Download the full report of Conservation and Rehabilitation of Natural Resources

Don’t blame the farmers

Midway through the plenary on Wednesday morning, Achim Steiner, the executive director of UNEP, asked: "When something is so obvious, why isn't it catching on like wildfire? There are so many reasons why agroforestry should be practiced almost everywhere."
Stephen Carr, speaking from the floor, refuted the claim, made by some people, that the conservatism of African farmers was to blame for this. "I have yet to meet a conservative African farmer," said Carr, who has had over 60 years’ experience working in Africa. The blame, instead, should be directed at agroforesters themselves. "At one time agroforesters claimed that alley cropping would be a panacea to all the problems farmers faced," he reflected during the coffee break. After 15 years, it was clear this technology wasn't going to deliver. "All too often, the wrong things have been done in the wrong places," said Carr