Community participation in agroforestry in the Solomon Islands is helping reforestation and development efforts.

The University of Queensland website reports on how students have been learning about the challenges related to teak management and local participation in markets, as well as opportunities to integrate agroforestry principles into plantation management.

The students visited villages that were growing teak plantations in the Western Province after the area had been devastated by logging, degrading ecosystems and polluting rivers and lagoons, Through establishing and maintaining plantations on their own land, local people are contributing to reforestation and improving their economic situation.

Ongoing research hopes to inform “best practice related to agroforestry approaches and training by providing insights into the complex socio-economic, political and ecological contexts in which community forestry is undertaken, as well as considering the diverse hopes and aspirations of local communities,” says the article.

Read the full story: Reforestation efforts take UQ student to Solomon Islands