The challenge of HIV/AIDS: Where does agroforestry fit in? - World ...

90World Agroforestry into the Futuretend to focus on a small number of exotictrees, putting little emphasis on theindigenous trees that would be bettersuited from an ecological perspective;• reserved species laws, originally designedto conserve indigenous treespecies, tend to provide disincentivesfor agroforestry; and• the overall policy and regulatory terraintends to have many inconsistenciesbetween forestry, environment and landpolicies.Centre scientists are following up these studieswith targeted research and developmentprojects around protected areas in severalcountries, including Cameroon, Indonesia,Kenya, the Philippines, Thailand and Uganda.The fundamental question still beingasked is: where and how do the integrationand segregation options for human–environmentinteraction have greatest potential tomeet conservation and rural developmentobjectives? (van Noordwijk et al. 1997.)Box 2. Buffer zone approaches in Nepal and the PhilippinesIn Nepal, the Worldwide Fund for Nature and the King Mahendra Trust for NatureConservation created a rosewood plantation/agroforest around the Royal ChitwanNational Park, a valuable conservation area for native forest and wildlife, including theendangered tiger. As part of the Biodiversity Conservation Network, this approach wasmonitored for its effectiveness in both conservation (reducing pressure on park resources)and contribution to local livelihoods. An additional benefit was empowerment of localcommunities in park management (WWF 1997).Environmental servicemechanismsDuring the past decade, there has been increasedinterest in mechanisms linking supplyand demand of environmental services.The environmental services of greatest interestinclude carbon sequestration, watershedprotection and biodiversity conservation.The different environmental services havelargely different populations of demandersand suppliers. Carbon sequestration is aglobal environmental service being financedby emitters of greenhouse gases in thecontext of the United Nations FrameworkConvention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)(see next section). The global benefits ofcarbon sequestration are basically the sameno matter where the carbon is sequestered.This contrasts with environmental servicemechanisms for watershed protection. Inany particular watershed, there may or maynot be specific populations (e.g. urban waterusers) or individual actors (e.g. hydro-powercompanies) who demand watershed protec-In the Philippines, the World Agroforestry Centre was part of a group of organizations thatconducted research and development around the Mount Kitanglad National Park, one ofthe most important biodiversity areas in the country. The Landcare approach to land management,which links community groups, municipal governments and research organizations,was tested in the conditions prevailing around the park boundaries. Hundreds offarmers joined sub-village Landcare chapters around the edge of the Park. After severalyears, this approach has led to improved agricultural production, increased tree cover,and a substantial reduction in encroachment into the Park (Garrity et al. 2002).tion, and specific populations of land userswho can supply those services. Biodiversityconservation falls somewhere betweenthese two extremes; those who demand biodiversityconservation often demand conservationof species and ecosystems at bothglobal and local levels.Several factors account for increased interestin environmental service reward mechanisms.Firstly, many organizations arelooking for new ways to finance conservation.Secondly, changes in the regulatoryenvironment and liberalization of marketsare resulting in increased private-sectorparticipation in conservation, domestic watersupply and carbon offsets. Private firmsappear to be more interested in marketapproaches to protect the integrity of theirresource base. Thirdly, international environmentalagreements are creating spacefor more market-oriented approaches.The Clean Development Mechanism(CDM) of the UNFCCC creates new opportunitiesfor developing-country farmers tobenefit from their contributions to carbonsequestration and renewable energy. Interestin agroforestry has increased since areport by the Inter-Centre Panel on ClimateChange (IPCC 2001) indicated that changesin land use from annual crops to agroforestryis one of the most promising approachesfor sequestering carbon throughCDM-approved afforestation. Although thecarbon sequestration value of agroforestryhas received greater attention to date, thereis also evidence that agroforestry has goodpotential to generate renewable energyin the form of biomass and biodiesel thatcould qualify for the CDM if it can beshown to replace non-renewable sources(Venema and Cisse 2004).Simple calculations show that the monetaryvalue of the carbon sequestration