Role of agroforests and small-scale production forestry in employment generation and environmental conservation

摘要

This paper analyses the potential role of agroforests and small-scale production forestry (trees outside forests) in wood production, employment generation and environmental conservation in Asia and the Pacific in the next 50 years. Information was derived from a case study that examined the evolution of agrofores try systems and their role in sustainable development, leading to increased farmers ' income, employment generation and opportunities for value addition by industries in the state of Haryana, India. Haryana, in northern India, is primarily an agricultural state; only 3.5 percent of its geographical area is covered by natural forests. Subsequent to the introduction of a network of irrigation canals and adoption of a progressive farming system,Haryana farmers have achieved a significant increase in the productivity of wheat and paddy. The Haryana Forest Department introduced eucalyptus- and poplar-based agroforestry models in the 1970s, which have been well-received and adopted, initially by large and absentee farmers. The gradual establishment of backward and forward linkages has made agroforestry an economically viable activity leading to enormous development in the state. Consequently, even small and marginal farmers have recognized that it is a profitable venture. A facilitating legal policy environment and the availability of adequate infrastructure and microfinance resulted in the establishment of 300 veneer mills in the city of Yamunanagar in Haryana and another 300 units in the neighbouring states of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Uttranchal and Punjab. Today, the daily arrival of wood (grown in agroforests) in Yamunanagar alone is worth US$400 000, which after value addition in the form of plywood production rises to US$1.2 million. Further, a significant increase in tree cover (8 percent of the geographical area) has also been achieved in the state, leading to alleviation of pressure on the natural forests. This success story has been well-recognized by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, which considers this land-use system a means to achieving tree cover of 33 percent of the country s geographical area by 2025, as mandated by the Forest Policy of India, 1988. Post2003, the system has been replicated in different states, including Punjab, Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh in northern India. Thousands of farmers have adopted agroforestry, which has been further diversified bv the introduction of low-volume high-value crops (medicinal herbs and spices) as understorey species, leading to further income enhancement and conservation of valuable biodiversity in the natural forests. More recently, states have initiated a process for earning carbon credits as a Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) venture under "land use, land use change and forestry" (LULUCF), which involves reforestation and afforestation. This is leading to encashment of the environmental services provided by such forests. Finally it is argued that this model has potential for replication in Asia and Pacific countries, where recent development initiatives have resulted in a changed scenario of balance between the traditional forests and the trees outside forests.