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

Chapter 23: The challenge of HIV/AIDS189knowledge. The consequence is a youngpopulation who are ill equipped to managethe impacts of the epidemic and tomaintain successful production. Communityknowledge of the environment andlocal genetic diversity are fundamental fornurturing and preserving cultural identity.Indigenous knowledge and, often, technology-relatedknowledge are typicallygendered, with some aspects passed on bymen and some by women. Gaps in knowledgewill therefore occur when a parentdies. Effective initiatives in facilitating genderedlinks in indigenous and communityknowledge in single-parent householdsneed to be designed, implemented andmonitored, and agroforestry educationneeds to be targeted to the rural youth.It is also important to strengthen formalinstitutions, since human resources arebeing lost from ministries of forestry andagriculture, thereby hampering the developmentand implementation of agroforestrystrategies. In general, the loss of all typesof government cadres is creating seriousgovernance problems in the most-affectedcountries. However, instead of developingstrategies to replace lost human resources,which is already difficult for the worst hitcountries, it is necessary to rethink governmentfunctions and streamline them toadapt to the situation. Extension workers,for example, need to be trained to addressthe emerging clientele (widows, orphans,etc.) with specific information and knowledgeto match their needs. Vocationaltraining institutions may also be requiredto review their staffing, length and priorityfoci of courses, in light of the impact of thepandemic and changing human resourcerequirements. Specific staff policies needto be developed in the relevant ministries,including awareness building, behaviouralchange, communication, stigma and discrimination,voluntary counselling and testing,modification of working conditions ofemployees exposed to high-risk situations,improved access to medicine, etc.should be reviewed to assess their effects onkey determinants of HIV vulnerability. Theseinclude social inequalities, exclusion, creationof cash economies/disposable incomes,displacement and migrant labour. A reviewprocess would assist project programmersand policy makers to identify where andfor whom prevention and mitigation effortsshould be targeted and concentrated.ConclusionsAgroforestry interventions can play aunique role in the mitigation of the impactsof HIV/AIDS. They can improve communities’long-term resilience against this andother external shocks, in a way that agriculturalinterventions on their own cannot.Strengthening institutionsStrengthening local institutions is an essentialcomponent of the sustainabilityof any agroforestry intervention. Such anapproach also marries well with the currenttrend in extension towards supportingcollective action and empowering localcommunities to design and manage theirown development initiatives. Village forestrycan be the main cash generator in acommunity, and tree resources (customarywoodlands, village plantations and trees onfarms) have seen communities through periodsof severe hardship in the past.Forestry policyEffective forestry policy needs to take theeffects of HIV/AIDS into account. For example,policy makers need to be aware oflabour availability and the labour implicationsof interventions. Extension servicesneed to adapt to a new clientele, with veryspecific knowledge and service needs.Barany et al. (2005) recommend that currentand future forest policies and programmesBox 2. Strengthening local communitiesAgroforestry technology can be carefullytuned to respond to the AIDS-affected communities’lack of labour and cash, bothin the short term and in the long term. Byproviding labour management possibilities,agroforestry technologies can reducehunger and promote food security.The capacity to generate alternative lowinputincome-generating activities andA project in Katunga, Malawi, aimed to enhance the production of woody vegetationand strengthen the capacity of local communities to manage the resource by establishingeucalypts (Eucalyptus saligna) on hillsides surrounding the village. After 13 years, thetrees were handed over to the community’s natural resource management committee.The area is relatively fertile, with a wide range of crops and trees. Trees, not agriculture,now provide the major source of cash income and the villagers have built a new schoolclassroom. HIV/AIDS is a serious problem in the area and although native medicinalplants are not readily available, funds from the trees support 20 orphans under 5 yearsold, a basic pharmacy, transport to hospital, and contribute to funeral costs.Source: Kolberg and Holding Anyonge (2002).