Funding
Needs
Activity
II. Predict the impact
of adoption of 'best
bet' options at the
landscape scale
This
will involve understanding
the dynamics of current
land uses (through
participatory methods,
remote-sensing) at
the landscape scale
and using the methods
developed in (1 )
above, to assess the
effects of these land
uses on the landscape,
household food security
and poverty and on
the national society.
For example, analysis
of the tradeoff between
profitability and
environmental functions
within the rubber
agroforests of Indonesia
addresses the following
questions:
-
In
which part of the
landscape and at
what distance to
roads and cities
are 'permanent agroforests'
attractive to farmers?
-
For
which groups (age,
gender) of farmers
are permanent agroforests
attractive as alternatives
to rotational ones?
-
For
which types of current
vegetation is 'enrichment'
planting an alternative
to slash-and-burn
and field-level
regeneration and
replanting?
-
In
what types and size
of gaps is enrichment
planting without
slash-and-burn feasible
and which tree species
(rubber as well
as others) are attractive
in this respect?
Such
research will be approached
with a combination
of surveys, inventory
of farmers' knowledge
and preferences, ecological
simulation models
of agroforest stand
development as well
as participatory trials
of farmers' management
options. To give mixed
agroforests a real
chance against the
competition with large-scale
oil palm plantations,
a concerted effort
is needed to increase
profitability of such
systems, without diminishing
their current environmental
functions. The tradeoff
between biodiversity
and profitability
is a real issue for
farmers in these systems.
Expected
outputs for this activity
include:
-
Well-characterised,
farmer-derived land-use
mosaics and database
at all the benchmark
sites, which will
form the basis for
decision-making
and planning activities
for all levels of
land users and policy
makers.
-
Analysis
and understanding
of the dynamics
of land-use mosaics
in response to technological
interventions (e.g.
improved germplasm
and knowledge),
macroeconomic shocks,
and new markets.
-
Identification
of sustainable mosaics
of land uses at
the landscape level
which take into
account landscape-level
interactions, farmers'
livelihood concerns,
national government
priorities, as well
as buffer farmers
from economic and
environmental uncertainty.
-
Predictive
assessment of the
environmental, economic
and social effects
of the adoption
of 'best bet's at
the landscape level.
-
Training
of local collaborators
in the methods developed.
Introduction
| Goal
of the ASB Program
| The
ASB Consortium |
Management
and Operational Structure
| Donors
to the ASB Program
| ASB
Phase 1 (1994-1995)
| ASB
Phase 2 (1996-1998)
| ASB
Phase 3 (1999-2002)
| ASB
Publications | ASB
Links
BACK
Page
preparation by Dr. Erick
C.M. Fernandes, Cornell
University.
--ASB Global Coordinator
(1998-1999)-- |
