demystifying the role of agroforestry in biodiversity conservation mohamed i bakarr
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Demystifying the Role of Agroforestry in Biodiversity Conservation
Mohamed I Bakarr
ICRAF’s Scientific Renewal Seminar Series
Creates livelihood options for poor farmers and their families in conservation landscapes
‘Agroforest’ forms of tree crop production form a matrix that matters for conservation of biodiversity
Principles can be applied in landscape approaches to biodiversity conservation
Agroforestry….
…..needs to be mainstreamed.
Why mainstream agroforestry in biodiversity
conservation?
Global Biodiversity Conservation
• The message is clear and consistent --– Maintaining representative networks of natural
habitats – Protected Areas– Eliminate threats to species– Sustainable use of natural resources– Access and benefit sharing
• But, the extent to which we are integrating these efforts in broader landscapes remains questionable
Agroforestry and Biodiversity Conservation
• Agroforestry contributes to biodiversity conservation through three major pathways:1. Reducing pressure on natural forests,2. Providing habitat for native plant and animal
species, and3. Serving as a benign matrix land use for
fragmented landscapes
Schroth et al. 2004
Fragmentation is deleteriousLoss of habitat results in:
– wildlife population declines
– local “extinctions” --particularly large mammals
– Increased in marginalized habitats
Miss Waldron’s Red Colobus, aWest African endemic believed to be extinct across its range.
• Edge effects can be pronounced by “harshness” of the matrix == >– incidence of fires --
changes in biotic and abiotic features
– exotic and invasive species
• Receding edges lead to increased impoverishment of the habitat interior
Fragmentation causes forest edges to recede
Gascon et al. 2000
The Future of Biodiversity is in Landscape-scale approaches
• Livelihood options for local people – top priority in forest management and conservation
• Effective linkages between protected areas and other land use practices – “beyond boundaries”
• Innovations in land use practices to create alternative sources of income
• Opportunities to recognize and reward land use innovations (e.g. payments for environmental services)
• Participatory processes for integrated natural resource management
Landscape-scale Conservation• Integrating the
management of:– Protected Areas– Watersheds – Degraded forests– Farms and Plantations
• To accommodate:– Species and habitat
conservation needs– Ecological processes– Effects of biophysical
changes such as climate – Traditional or
subsistence livelihood practices
The science and practice of agroforestry embodies several conservation principles that are amenable to
landscape approaches
Principle 1:
Maintaining genetic diversity of exploited species through in situ
and ex situ conservation
Domestication of high value indigenous trees
1. Product development
2. Business development
3. Marketing
Principle 2:
Protecting biodiversity and enhancing ecological
processes
‘Shade coffee’ supports diversity of avifauna in the landscape.
Agroforestry for Biodiversity: ‘Shade’ coffee
AF in the Humid Tropics & C Stocks
100
0
100
200
300
400Primary Forest
Managed forest
Tree-based systems Crops, Pastures, GrasslandsVe
geta
tion
Car
bon
Soil
Car
bon
(Mg
ha-1
)
From ASB Climate Change Working Group,Palm et al.
Principle 3:
Management and conservation of belowground biodiversity
Tephrosia candida fallow: Nutrient Cycling by: Leaf Litter; BNF; Deep capture
Principle 4:
Improvement and sustainable management of landscapes for
livelihoods and biodiversity
Improved fallows
Grass fallow
Improved fallow
continuous cropping
Poor yields
Improved yields
Miombo woodlands
Clearing
NPK Fertilizer
Fencing is a major cause of deforestation in drier areas.
Live fences are alternatives to dead fences—limit tree clearance—and are sources of income .
LIVE FENCES
Jatropha
Harvey et al. 2005
Rotational Woodlots Acacia species yield approx 100t/ha after 5 years
Principle 5:
Addressing livelihood needs in the margins of conservation areas
Effective management of protected buffer zones to reduce encroachment
e.g. ICRAF’s work in Philippines
How can Agroforestry be mainstreamed in Biodiversity
Conservation?
Option 1• Linking agroforestry
science to landscape conservation planning– targeting agroforestry
innovations for habitat connectivity
– landscape reclamation or restoration
– improving land productivity and habitat quality for wild species
Strategic alliances with mainstream conservation NGOs
Option 2
• Use of INRM approaches for defining livelihood priorities and tree-based options in conservation landscapes – Tradeoff analysis in the forest margins (e.g.
ASB Matrix)– Negotiation support systems for conflict
management– Collective action for improved natural
resource management (e.g. Landcare)
Option 3• Engaging conservation
biologists in the science and practice of agroforestry – defining biodiversity targets – analyzing metapopulation
dynamics – mitigating impacts of climate
change – types of trees, spatial
configurations of trees, densities of trees
Option 4• Expanding the range
of agroforestry options offered to farmers to enhance conservation values– enhance the use of
multiple species of trees, especially indigenous species,to diversify production landscapes
Option 5• Harnessing and
maintaining complex agroforestry systems for biodiversity conservation – rewards and incentive
mechanisms for poor farmers engaged in conservation-friendly practices (e.g. shade coffee, rubber agroforests)
Option 6• Promoting more
systematic studies of species interactions and ecological processes in agroforestry systems – understanding the risks of
invasiveness for alien tree species
– habitat use by wild species, including corridors
– watershed management
Option 7• Integrating agroforestry into Conservation
Biology Curricula, with topics such as:– Domestication of high value tree species– Managing trees for improved landscapes– Managing trees to mitigate the effects of biophysical
changes – Integrating trees in landscapes to enhance
environmental services– Assessing and rewarding environmental stewardship in
agroecosystems– Value-adding for tree-based practices to create options
for improved livelihoods in conservation areas
Option 8• Linking agroforestry science to global and
regional environmental policy process– Millennium Ecosystem Assessment
endorsement – major achievement!– CBD Programmes of Work on agricultural
biodiversity; Global Strategy for Plant Conservation
– UNCCD – reversing land degradation in the drylands
– UNFCCC – climate change adaptation and mitigation; clean development mechanism
– NEPAD Environment Initiative
Implications for ICRAF’s ‘Emerging Science’
Emerging Science? (1)• Are we putting agroforests or agroforestry
systems into landscape contexts? – Value-adding options for linking “farms” at
landscape scale – Restoration or recovery of degraded lands– Optimizing land use practices for native
biodiversity (plants, animals)– Optimizing land use practices to mitigate
alien invasives– Climate change adapation
Emerging Science? (2)• How does agroforests or agroforestry
systems influence landscape scale patterns/processes and vice versa? – Hydrological processes - watersheds– Agroforestry “stepping stones” as biological
corridors – Erosion control on slopes– Climate change mitigation - Carbon
sequestration
Mainly SE Asia, some work in Western Kenya
Strategic Alliances• ICRAF-CIFOR Biodiversity Platform
– Understanding tropical landscape mosaics to improve livelihoods and conserve biodiversity
• ICRAF-CI Hotspots Alliance– Science for climate change adaptation, habitat
recovery and sustainable livelihoods in tropical hotspots and high biodiversity wilderness areas
• ICRAF-WWF Carbon Alliance– Delivering cost-effective greenhouse gas emission
reductions, while promoting biodiversity conservation, sustainable land use and improvements in rural livelihoods
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