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

Chapter 10: Agroforestry and environmental governance91benefits of most tree production systemsare small in relation to the value of thetimber produced. However, Chaco etal. (2002) and Tomich et al. (2002) haveused data from the Alternatives to Slashand Burn (ASB) programme in Indonesiato predict how carbon sequestration paymentswould change the relative returns toalternative land use systems. Their resultsindicate that carbon payments could besufficient to increase returns to smallholderagroforestry systems to levels comparableto those generated by oil palm plantations.This makes agroforestry attractive toCDM since projects must be shown to addvalue to the existing situation. Pilot carbonsequestration schemes with smallholderfarmers are currently in progress in severaldeveloping countries, with the most experienceaccumulated in Latin America. TheCentre is currently involved in pilot carbonsequestration schemes in Kenya, the Philippinesand Uganda.Experience to date shows that institutionaland governance factors determine thefeasibility, performance and impacts ofenvironmental service mechanisms. Formalinstitutions are often designed in ways thatrequire market participants to incur transactioncosts that cannot be feasibly metby individual smallholders (Landell-Millsand Porras 2002; Krey 2004; Chaco et al.2002). Moreover, where land rights are unclear,environmental service mechanismsmight compel powerful people to usurpotherwise marginal lands and evict poorland users (Grieg-Gran and Bann 2003).The Rewarding Upland Poor for EnvironmentalServices (RUPES) project wasestablished in 2001 to address possibilitiesfor environmental service mechanisms inAsia, with particular emphasis on potentialfor the upland poor to benefit from themechanisms. The project conducts actionresearch at pilot intervention sites acrossAsia to examine the provision of environmentalservices, decide who benefits andwho pays, and determine the institutionaland policy environment to enable fair andequitable distribution. An inclusive view istaken on payment, including rewards thatprovide upland farmers with enhancedland tenure security in exchange for followingland use agreements (RUPES 2004).Global environmentalgovernanceThe Rio Convention of 1992 marked asharp increase in the importance of globalenvironmental governance, includingseveral conventions and mechanisms thathave direct and indirect relevance for agroforestry.The United Nations Convention onBiological Diversity (UNCBD), the UNFC-CC and the United Nations Convention onCombating Desertification (UNCCD) arethe most important for agroforestry.The UNCCD has a Thematic ProgramNetwork (TPN) in Asia and Africa on agroforestryand soil conservation. The WorldAgroforestry Centre has provided technicalinput on agroforestry to the TPN forAfrica and is increasing its links with theTPN for Asia. The TPNs can also benefitfrom greater consideration of the links withenvironmental governance. In other words,while tree-based solutions have great technicalpotential for the problems of landdegradation, harnessing that potentialrequires institutional arrangements that appropriatelyshare benefits and costs, fosterlocal collective action in tree managementand provide individual farmers and farmcommunities with appropriate incentives.Comparative studies on agroforestry inthe drylands of South Asia and Africa canprovide valuable information. One successstory that may be replicated is the ‘Ngitili’system for farmer-managed natural regeneration(Barrow and Mlenge 2003).The UNCBD has adopted an expandedprogramme of work on forestry that hasmany connections with agroforestry, includingraising awareness of the problemsof invasive alien species. Recent Centreresearch in the Baringo area of Kenya isexploring how policies and institutionscan shape the benefits and costs associatedwith the alien invasive tree speciesProsopis juliflora. One approach to moreeffective management of P. juliflora wouldbe to organize collective harvesting andprocessing of charcoal made from itswood.The Centre has been engaged in the UN-FCCC for over 5 years. In 2001, the IPCCissued its third assessment report on climatechange, with a strong endorsement ofthe potential for agroforestry to contributeto increased carbon stocks in agriculturallands, while contributing to the welfareof smallholder farmers: “Agroforestry canboth sequester carbon and produce a rangeof economic, environmental and socioeconomicbenefits. For example, trees inagroforestry farms improve soil fertilitythrough control of erosion, maintenance ofsoil organic matter and physical properties,increased nitrogen, extraction of nutrientsfrom deep soil horizons and promotion ofmore closed nutrient cycling” (IPCC 2001).The Centre influences CDM policy processesin several ways. Firstly, we seek to providescientific data and information on therelations between agroforestry systems andgreenhouse gases, including carbon andnitrogen compounds. Secondly, we seekto understand the potential for agroforestryto buffer farmers against climate risks.Thirdly, we seek to evaluate how smallholderfarmers could be involved in carbon