TheImprovement ofTropical and Subtropical Rangelands

CRlTERlA FOR PLANT SELECTION 187
• What are the principal constraints in establishment and in
management?
• Is the project or program technically and economically feasible,
and is it eocially acceptable?
The purpose of a revegetation project may be single or multiple,
simple or complex. Some examples are given below:
• To rehabilitate depleted rangelands and pastures;
• To establish multiple species for both agroforestry and sylvopastoral
usesj
• To establish fodder-shrub plantations as drought buffer reservesj
• To stabilize watersheds, which will achieve a combination of
goals;
• To develop a program for the reclamation ofsalt- or alkalin~
affected land (in either rainfed or irrigated conditions to produce
fodder, fuel, amenities, etc.)j
• To provide windbreaks and shelterbelts for the protection of
agriculturallandsj
• To stabilize sand dunes, preventing encroachment upon productive
lands;
• To establish fuelwood plantationsj
• To increase the potential for timber production by planting
highly productive species and ecotypesj
• To reclaim mined land, quarries, and min~wastedumps;
• To establish protective plantations that will arrest erosion
or sedimentation in order to reduce the maintenance costs of highways,
bridges, airports, reservoirs, and settlements, without other
envisaged direct benefitsj and
• To establish amenity plantings-for example, in aB8OCiation
with settlements or highways.
SOCIOECONOMIC AND MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS
IN PEASmnITY STUDIES
Larg~scale projects should be the subject of feasibility studies
clarifying the cost-benefit ratios of the proposed undertaking. Such
studies, however, should depart from conventional economic analysis
to the extent that social values, informal-sector economics, "the
cost of doing nothing,· and other factors that might affect project
relevance and success are taken into consideration. Unfortunately,
this broader approach to project definition is seldom employed in