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

Keywords:Homegardens, buffer zone, conservation planning,tropics, Africa, Asia, alien invasive speciesChapter 11The potential for agroforestry to contributeto the conservation and enhancement oflandscape biodiversityBrent Swallow and Jean-Marc Boffa, World Agroforestry Centre and Sara J. Scherr, Forest TrendsAbstractAgroforestry is increasingly being acknowledged as an integrated land use that can directly enhanceagrobiodiversity and contribute to the conservation of landscape biodiversity, while at the same timeincrease, diversify and sustain rural incomes. There are valid concerns, however, that the biodiversitybenefits of agroforestry may be misunderstood and the risks to biodiversity understated. This chaptertherefore reviews some of the growing literature on agroforestry and biodiversity in order to clarify keyrelationships, including factors and processes that amplify or limit the contributions of agroforestry tobiodiversity conservation. Four propositions are presented, with reference to evidence for the propositionsand caveats to them. We conclude that agroforestry generally produces higher biodiversitybenefits than both annual and perennial monoculture crop production, and that agroforestry is of thegreatest benefit to biodiversity when it is a component of an integrated approach to land use. Importantknowledge gaps remain, however, regarding the ways in which tree domestication and agroforestrypromotion can be designed to stimulate new agroforestry systems that have greater positive impactson wild biodiversity.IntroductionAgroforestry is increasingly being identified as an integratedland use that can directly enhance plant diversitywhile reducing habitat loss and fragmentation (Nobleand Dirzo 1997). There are major concerns, however,that the deforestation benefits of agroforestry have beenoverstated (Angelsen and Kaimowitz 2004) and thatthe risks associated with agroforestry have not beenadequately acknowledged. It is therefore more importantthan ever that both the scientific and developmentcommunities develop a more accurate and subtle understandingof the multiple links between biodiversity andagroforestry. This chapter reviews evidence that linksagroforestry with biodiversity in an attempt to clarifykey relationships. It also examines the factors and processesthat may amplify and limit the contributions ofagroforestry to biodiversity conservation. It is organizedas follows: the first substantive section presents importantorganizing concepts; the second section reviewsthe available evidence for and against four propositionsabout the relationship between biodiversity and agroforestry;and the final section discusses a number ofissues for follow-up research.Organizing conceptsThe United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity(UNCBD) defines ‘biodiversity’ as “…the variability