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