The Policy Terrain in Protected Area Landscapes: Challenges for Agroforestry in Integrated Landscape Conservation

Abstract

Integrated ecosystem and landscape approaches to conservation are moving from concept to practice in many parts of the developing world. Agroforestry -the deliberate management of trees on farms and in agricultural landscapes -is emerging as one of the most promising approaches to enhance and stabilize rural livelihoods, while reducing pressure on protected areas, enhancing habitat for some wild species, and increasing connectivity of landscape components. For the potential of agroforestry to be effectively harnessed, however, the policy and institutional environment needs to provide farmers with clear incentives to plant and protect trees that contribute to both ecosystem function and rural livelihoods. This paper analyzes the policy terrain affecting agroforestry around protected areas in five very different contexts across Sub-Saharan Africa, finding both expected and unexpected similarities. Across the sites in Uganda, Cameroon and Mali, the study revealed a rough policy terrain for agroforestry -systemic market constraints, contradictions between development approaches and conservation objectives, and inconsistencies in institutional and regulatory frameworks. Making the conservation landscape approach more effective will require that both agriculturalists and conservation planners have much greater appreciation for the conservation and livelihood potential of agroforestry.

Mountain cloud forest and grown-shade coffee plantations: A comparison of tree biodiversity in central Veracruz, Mexico

“…The mitigation of tropical deforestation and biodiversity protection must address livelihoods and needs of local communities (Bhagwat et al, 2008). In this sense, agroforestry is considered as a promising approach to reduce deforestation and improve rural livelihoods in the tropics (Current et al, 1995;Ashley et al, 2006). Agroforestry is a land-use management system where trees or shrubs develop around or among crops or pas-2 habitats and provide potential movement for species among these remnants (Bhagwat et al, 2008).…”

Will Agroforests Vanish? The Case of Damar Agroforests in Indonesia

“…Implemented in buffer zones, they are expected to help protect remaining natural forests (Nyhus and Tilson 2004). The promotion of agroforestry practices fits well within current popular approaches towards environmental conservation that stress the need for managed landscapes in which agricultural areas provide ecosystem services (Shriar 2000;Scherr and McNeely 2003;Wiersum 2004;Sanchez 2004;Ashley et al 2006;Vandermeer and Perfecto 2006).…”

Supporting conservation with biodiversity research in sub-Saharan Africa’s human-modified landscapes

“…Also, genetic diversity, has not generally been considered though may be important in terms of traits valuable to humans and for conservation (Ashley et al 2006). Conservation in human-modified landscapes may be particularly important in conserving genetic diversity because the traditional fortress PA model may encompass relatively little, especially for plants (Atta-Krah et al 2004).…”

“…We have indicated several gaps in the literature on biodiversity in African humanmodified landscapes, and while much more work is required to create sensible policies that meet conservation needs and those of governments and people (Ashley et al 2006), as it stands, current research can go some way towards supporting policy-making. Studies of biodiversity persistence in different land-use options for a given region can be incorporated into scenario modeling for future development.…”