3 Workshop results — Working groups

3.1 Linkages at the local or "on-the-ground" level

Positive linkages The groups easily identified a number of products and services that forestry provides to agriculture. These included energy and water provision (micro and macro levels), pollination and dispersal mechanisms, non-timber forest products, genetically-rich germplasm, habitats for useful flora and fauna, watershed protection, reduced soil erosion and siltation, a number of climatic benefits, as well as an infinite number of undiscovered assets.

In terms of positive impacts of agriculture towards forestry, intensive and profitable agriculture (green revolution) may reduce the need for converting additional forest land for cultivation. Agricultural communities provide biodiversity that can either complement or substitute forest biodiversity and thus increase the demand for its sustainability. Agriculture encourages sedentary lifestyles and collective action from which improved local forest management can develop.

At a production level, agroforestry or farm forestry provides a direct intersection for agriculture and forestry. An example is the Taungya system, whereby farmers are allowed to cultivate forested land for a period in exchange for planting trees. This is practised to some extent in Tanzania. Similarly on agricultural land, farmers are planting trees to serve a wide range of product and functional roles. These actions help to increase the degree of forest biodiversity within agricultural landscapes.

From these examples, it is clear that agriculture and forestry are closely related through their impacts on natural capital and poverty reduction. Forests provide ecological functions, which help in maintaining and replenishing key agricultural, soil and water resources. When these are well maintained by farmers, they lead to high levels of agricultural productivity reducing the pressure on forest land and forest resources. Agriculture and forestry can thus be viewed as complimentary systems in maintaining and improving the livelihood of households. The theme of poverty reduction in rural areas therefore encompasses both agriculture and forestry, and the biodiversity capital within each.

Negative linkages The links from agriculture to forestry include conversion of forests and wooded land for cultivation, consequently reducing forest size, species diversity and potential ecological benefits. Other negative impacts may be externalities arising from use of agro-chemicals, agriculturally induced fires, trampling and seedling destruction from livestock grazing, and over-harvesting of forest products by communities around the forest. An example was given in terms of the focus on commercial crops such as tea, coffee, and sugarcane, which require a large acreage and are therefore rarely integrated with trees. Large and small scale farmers are thus encouraged to grow a narrow range of fast-growing exotic trees to serve their immediate energy needs, at the expense of a greater diversity.

On the other hand, forests harbour pests and animals that may reduce agricultural yields. This constitutes a negative link from forest to agriculture. The tsetse fly, for example, poses a threat to both livestock and human health. There may also be negative tree-crop interactions along farm-forest boundaries from bush encroachment, and, ultimately, forests utilize potential land for agriculture. Lastly, conservation of forests may be interpreted by some stakeholders as restricting the amount of land open to settlement and cultivation.