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Saving Kafuga Forest
20 Million Trees for Kenya’s Forests Global Trees Campaign
Mali’s Trees 4 Livelihoods
Fruit-full Communities
Protecting Tanzania’s Miombo Woodlands
JournalAutumn 2016 VOLUME 73
International Tree Foundation
FARMER MANAGED NATURAL REGENERATION IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF ST BARBE
Introduction
While the Paris Climate Agreement and the Sustainable
Development Goals have generally been welcomed
as a step in the right direction we are still waiting for
any practical sign that the necessary resources will be
provided or actions taken to begin to implement these
commitments. In a year where month on month the
planet has experienced record temperatures, will these
turn out to be just more hot air?
At International Tree Foundation we have set our own
ambitious target for our Centenary Campaign to work
with local communities to plant 20 Million Trees for Kenya’s
Forests by 2024. We need to raise £4 million to turn this
into reality. Thanks to the generous help of existing and
new supporters we have been able to start phase one in
Mount Kenya Forest and you can read about what our
partner, Mount Kenya Environmental Conservation, has
achieved over the first 9 months on page 6.
We also faced an unexpected challenge this year when one of our
Ugandan partners, Pro-Biodiversity Conservationists in Uganda
(PROBICOU), told us that they could not continue with the forest
restoration project we were funding as there was a threat to cut down
the entire forest! Although the delightfully named Kafuga Pocket Forest is
small at just 250 hectares, it plays a crucial role for local communities and
acts as a buffer for the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. Following discussions
with PROBICOU and other local organisations we agreed to launch a
campaign and set up a petition (something we have never done before) to
persuade the Minister of Environment in Uganda to protect Kafuga Forest.
We were delighted when Rainforest Rescue also launched a petition which
quickly gathered over 160,000 signatures. Most importantly, the forest has
been saved for now and, thanks to our crowdfunding campaign, we can
continue to support PROBICOU’s efforts to ensure a forest conservation
plan is agreed and implemented. They will then be able to continue
with the original plan to restore the forest with 30,000 indigenous trees.
PROBICOU’s Director, Robert, writes about saving Kafuga Forest on page 4.
In the UK, we are a partner in a new programme called Fruit-full
Communities, working with Learning through Landscapes, YMCA England
and The Orchard Project. This is a really important and interesting initiative
that widens our education work with young people. You can find out
more on page 20.
Andy Egan Chief Executive Officer, International Tree Foundation
Heading in the right direction?
IN THIS ISSUE 3 Foreword
4 Work on saving Kafuga Forest begins
5 The legacy of a lady, a friend and a colleague
6 Six months and 240,000 seedlings are taking root
9 Global Trees Campaign
11 Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration
13 Book: A Group Photograph
16 Richard ‘St Barbe’ Baker
18 Food security in Mali’s dryland villages
20 Young people gain fruit-full skills
22 Quantifying effective fire management in Tanzania
26 Get involved
PATRONHis Royal Highness the Prince of WalesFOUNDERDr Richard St Barbe Baker OBEPRESIDENT Professor Sir Ghillean Prance VICE PRESIDENTSProfessor Julian EvansEdward Green MBESusan HampshireThe Earl of LindsayWilliam E Matthews OBE
CHAIRTimothy HornsbyVICE CHAIRProfessor Roger LeakeyTRUSTEESRichard DenyerMichael HoareKate SchreckenburgDavid GoreMaria GrecnaJamie HollowayMardi McBrienBland TomkinsonCHIEF EXECUTIVEAndy Egan
EDITORNaomi Hope and Misty OosthuizenDESIGN Rather Fine DesignPRINTBucks (TVP)MAILING HOUSE Bucks (TVP)
International Tree FoundationMayfield House256 Banbury RoadOxford OX2 7DETelephone:01865 318836Email:info@international treefoundation.orgwww.international treefoundation.orgRegistered Charity number 1106269
Like us on FacebookInternational Tree FoundationFollow us on Twitter@ITF_Worldwide
Trees is published by International Tree Foundation (ITF), a registered charity (no. 1106269). The opinions expressed in it do not necessarily reflect ITF policy and ITF does not hold itself responsible for any of those opinions. Trees is printed on recycled paper.
Autumn 2016
2
The convention in modern
agriculture, especially in the
industrial countries of the world,
is to consider that land should
be cleared for farming because
trees are not compatible with
highly productive food production.
However, convention isn’t always
based on fact. The scientific
evidence is that trees actually
play a critical role in maintaining
a naturally functioning on-
farm ecosystem, critical for the
maintenance of soil fertility and
health; important for weed, pest
and disease control, and for
processes like insect pollination –
all of which increase productivity
without the need to buy chemical substitutes.
Increased productivity is of course crucial if we are to
feed the growing world population. So, the fact we
now know that we can do this in ways that are good
for the environment is positive news. Better still, is that
these new tree crops produce traditionally-important
food and medicinal products such as fruits, nuts and
leaves, which stimulate local markets and new business
which can raise people out of poverty. This is especially
important in the tropics and sub-tropics where the vast
majority of farmers have to feed and provide all the
day-to-day needs of their families with a daily income
of about £1. Furthermore, they have to do this on an
area of seriously degraded land that is typically less
Foreword
This issue’s contributorsJULIAN WANJA
Julian is Project Manager for
Mount Kenya Environment
Conservation, our partner for
20 Million Trees in Kenya’s
Forests (page 6).
JASPER MAKALA
Jasper is CEO of Mpingo
Conservation & Development
Initiative, a successful
community-based organisation
in Tanzania (page 22)
CAMILLA ALLEN
Camilla is a PHD student at
Sheffield University researching
the work of Richard St. Barbe
Baker (page 16).
PIERRE DEMBELE
Pierre is Executive Director
of Sahel Eco, working in the
drylands of Mali (page 18).
than 4-5 acres. On top of all this, planting trees
is a way to lock-up carbon in the vegetation
and its associated healthy soils, so slowing the
events leading to climate change.
By supporting these tree-based farming systems
in Africa, International Tree Foundation is at
the forefront of efforts to create a better, fairer,
more productive and sustainable agriculture.
The health of our planet will also benefit
if climate change can be slowed or even
halted. ITF is also helping to create new and
appropriate businesses based on new tree
products that most of us have never even heard
of. If we can achieve all this, then we will also
be helping to reverse deforestation by creating
productive wildlife-friendly farm land, and so
conserving the small remaining areas of natural
forest and woodlands.
ITF’s field programme in Africa is growing –
currently we have 19 projects in 9 countries
and we have recently launched our Centenary
Campaign to plant 20 million trees in the
highlands of Kenya by 2024. This issue of trees
will give you an insight into the work of ITF
and our partners which is based on the philosophy
of building from the grassroots and supporting and
investing in local communities who are striving to
protect and restore the land on which they live.
There is a big challenge to raise awareness and to
change the mind-set of many policy and decision-
makers around the world who do not understand
the important role of trees in sustaining healthy
ecosystems rich in biodiversity.
Please play your part by supporting ITF in all its work.
Professor Roger Leakey Vice Chair, International Tree Foundation
www.internationaltreefoundation.org
3
Kafuga Forest
Work on saving Kafuga Forest begins
Kafuga Pocket Forest is an area of astounding beauty about 35km from Kisoro town at the Southern point of the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in South Western Uganda.
Kafuga Pocket Forest lies in one of the country’s most
densely populated rural areas. Almost all households
use firewood as a source of energy and use the forest
for products such as stakes, poles, beehives, ropes and
pasture for cattle. Kafuga Forest acts as a catchment
for streams and rivers that serve the local community.
Kafuga Forest was never included in the Bwindi
Impenetrable National Park when this was established,
and has long suffered from over-exploitation and lack
of management.
Earlier this year, we became aware of a plan to cut the
entire forest down and turn it into a tea plantation.
This would have a devastating knock-on effect for the
Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, home to an incredible
biodiversity, including many rare birds and near-extinct
mammals. Bwindi is notably home to 400 of the
880 remaining mountain gorillas in the wild. Local
people are dependent on the forest, and would have
no choice but to start using the Bwindi Impenetrable
forest for their day-to-day needs.
Thanks to generous donations and to the efforts of local
community members to halt forest clearance, PROBICOU
(Pro-Biodiversity Conservationists in Uganda) can now
begin the slow process of helping the community to
protect, manage and eventually restore Kafuga.
Restoring Kafuga Forest
PROBICOU is working with local farming communities,
agencies and government to agree on what is best for
the forest and the livelihoods of those who depend on it.
Before restoration work can begin, PROBICOU is
mobilising the community – more than 600 of whom
have petitioned the local government, claiming their
right to public ownership of Kafuga Forest. They’ll
need to get the support of the local council (who
own the forest) and state agencies like the Ugandan
Wildlife Authority and the Ugandan Forest Authority.
The work doesn’t stop there, PROBICOU will need to
lobby the central government for support, develop a
community forest management plan and ensure it is
approved by local authorities – because without their
approval, nothing will move forwards.
Following this, the forest boundaries need to be
mapped out in detail (with help from Rainforest
Rescue). Then there’s the matter of a training plan to
ensure the community’s engagement, responsibility
and accountability. Meanwhile PROBICOU is also
helping local farmers improve their livelihoods through
activities such as passion fruit farming and beekeeping.
Robert Tumwesigye, PROBICOU project manager in
Uganda tells us “when the forest is finally restored, the
communities will benefit from environmentally friendly
activities like fruit growing, bee-keeeping and
eco-tourism and their income will be improved.”
It’s an ambitious plan, but a very worthy challenge.
Autumn 2016
4
In memory of Dorothy Freeland
The legacy of a lady, a friend and a colleague
Have you seen our new website? It’s tablet and mobile friendly! If you spot something wrong let us know and we’ll send you an ITF pen with our thanks!
www.internationaltreefoundation.org
In June this year, ITF received
a generous gift from a
lady called Miss Dorothy
Freeland, who had left us
this money as part of her
estate. Dorothy was a
member of the International
Tree Foundation branch in
Northern Ireland. Her dear
friend, Mrs Willa Robinson
sent us a beautiful eulogy
which was read at Dorothy’s
funeral. Extracts of which
we’d like to share with you.
Dorothy was born in Belfast on 8 January 1933 and later moved
to Dublin where she attended Wesley College, Dublin University.
She obtained an Honours Degree in History and Political Science,
furthering her studies at Trinity College, Dublin, before starting a
career as a teacher.
She began teaching in 1956 in Armagh and was later appointed
Head of History in Enniskillen in 1960. In 1966, she accepted
several short-term contracts and left for St Hilda’s in Jamaica,
where during school holidays she would visit other islands in the
Caribbean like St Kitts, Barbados and Trinidad.
Dorothy decided to return to Ireland and took up a post at the
Queen’s University as Ashby Librarian, and later transferred to
Omagh College. She enjoyed working as a librarian and studied
for the Diploma in Information and Library Science at Queen’s
University. Dorothy remained at Omagh College until she retired
in 1992.
Have you thought about leaving a legacy?
Turn to page 26 to find out how you can leave a legacy for generations to come.
www.internationaltreefoundation.org
5
Xyxy yxy yyxy yyxy yxyxy
Six months and
240,000 seedlings are taking root
20 Million Trees for Kenya’s Forests
Take a look at this snap shot from the survey
It’s been over six months since the launch of International Tree Foundation’s 20 Million Trees for Kenya’s Forests Campaign in March this year.
Getting in touch with the community
Julian and her team undertook
a household survey to better
understand the needs of the local
community. Based on the results,
MKEC can ensure not only that
the slopes of Mount Kenya are
reforested, but that the families
receive trees to plant on their
smallholdings, increasing household
income and improving soil quality
and nutrition.
Ƅ Grevillea = timber, fuelwood, soil improvement, micro-climate improvement = better crop yields
Ƅ Cordia, Vitex, Croton, Markhamia = fine native trees with similar uses to Grevillea
What do these trees do?
Name AgeHouse-
hold size
Number of cattle
Number of
chickens
Size of land
farmed (acres)
How many more
trees do you plan to plant?
Choice of tree to plant A
Choice of tree to plant B
Choice of tree to plant C
Augustine Njiru Njue 50 2 0 5 1.2 10 Avocadoes Passion fruits Grafted mangoes
Brigit Ciamati 64 5 1 3 2.5 10 Cordia Croton Grafted mangoes
Elias Ireri 50 5 1 5 0.5 10 Avocadoes Passion fruits Grafted mangoes
Angelica Muthanje 54 9 1 2 0.5 15 Grevillea Calliandra Acrocarpus
Consolata Wambui 74 8 1 18 1.5 100 Grevillea Calliandra Acrocarpus
Gilbert Gitonga 42 5 1 5 0.5 30 Grevillea Acrocarpus Markhamia
Justa Ciamwari 70 11 2 10 3 100 Grevillea Vitex Cordia
Lenity Ciambaka 64 6 2 7 2 20 Grevillea Avocadoes Mangoes
Lewa Njagi 85 6 1 4 5 100 Grevillea Tree tomatoes Acrocarpus
M’kenya Murua 78 13 5 40 2 50 Grevillea Calliandra Calliandra
Peter Mugambi Mugo 30 1 2 4 0.4 20 Grevillea Croton Cordia
Aiming to plant 20 Million Trees by 2024, the project
will conserve Kenya’s highland forests, which are
known as ‘Water Towers’ for the vital role they play
in conserving the country’s rivers, lakes and drinking
water. The initiative will also help combat climate
change and protect forest habitats for rare birds and
mammals – while improving food security for some of
Africa’s most vulnerable people.
The Mount Kenya Forest Landscape Restoration
Project is the first phase in the campaign, aiming to
restore the forested upper slopes of Embu County,
to the South-East of the Mount Kenya National
Park. Communities living in the area whose main
agricultural crops include tea and coffee, are keen to
restore damaged parts of the forest and to plant more
trees on their own land.
Ms Julian Wanja, Project Manager for Mount Kenya
Environmental Conservation (MKEC), who is running
the project on the ground, explained their work so
far. “We have identified six community groups and
trained them in tree nursery establishment, seed
collection and gathering wildings – wild seedlings -
from the forest.”
Tree planting takes place in the rainy seasons in
November and April. “So far, over 350 participants
from local Self-help Groups and Community Forest
Associations are involved in growing seedlings”, says
Julian. “We are growing indigenous species which are
very important for restoring natural ecosystems and
are a link to our cultural heritage”.
Autumn 2016
6
My 20 Trees and Me – Growing up Together
Another part of the 20 Million
Trees Campaign is My 20
Trees and Me – Growing up
Together. This school greening
project aims at nurturing
Kenya’s tree planting and
forest conservation culture, and
involving young people over
the duration of the 10 year
campaign. The children from
the first six schools selected are
aged 7 or 8 this year. They will
each plant 20 trees and take
care of them with their class
mates until they leave school.
Photographs taken every year
will show how the children
and their trees are growing up
together, and will provide an
opportunity for them to tell
their stories as their landscape
gradually changes.
Achievements so far
The team have raised over
240,000 seedlings – both
indigenous and agroforestry
species. Six schools are
participating in the ‘My 20
Trees and Me: Growing up
Together’ initiative, and 350
group participants are actively
involved in tending for the
seedlings in nurseries.
What has been hardest and how did you overcome the challenge?
Julian says it’s been tricky getting
to some of the remote areas
due to poor roads, but thanks
to some motorbikes – nothing
stops them now!
Ƅ Calliandra = fodder, fuel, nitrogen fixing = soil fertility and better crop yields
Ƅ Acrocarpus = very fast growing tree for fuelwood, shade, poles and soil improvement
Ƅ Fruit trees for nutritious food and income from fruit sales
What do these trees do?
Name AgeHouse-
hold size
Number of cattle
Number of
chickens
Size of land
farmed (acres)
How many more
trees do you plan to plant?
Choice of tree to plant A
Choice of tree to plant B
Choice of tree to plant C
Augustine Njiru Njue 50 2 0 5 1.2 10 Avocadoes Passion fruits Grafted mangoes
Brigit Ciamati 64 5 1 3 2.5 10 Cordia Croton Grafted mangoes
Elias Ireri 50 5 1 5 0.5 10 Avocadoes Passion fruits Grafted mangoes
Angelica Muthanje 54 9 1 2 0.5 15 Grevillea Calliandra Acrocarpus
Consolata Wambui 74 8 1 18 1.5 100 Grevillea Calliandra Acrocarpus
Gilbert Gitonga 42 5 1 5 0.5 30 Grevillea Acrocarpus Markhamia
Justa Ciamwari 70 11 2 10 3 100 Grevillea Vitex Cordia
Lenity Ciambaka 64 6 2 7 2 20 Grevillea Avocadoes Mangoes
Lewa Njagi 85 6 1 4 5 100 Grevillea Tree tomatoes Acrocarpus
M’kenya Murua 78 13 5 40 2 50 Grevillea Calliandra Calliandra
Peter Mugambi Mugo 30 1 2 4 0.4 20 Grevillea Croton Cordia
www.internationaltreefoundation.org
7
Mount Kenya Environmental Conservation
A bit about Julian
Julian loves spending time around
children. She enjoys travelling and
exploring the world and discovering
all the different trees and plants.
Julian longs to see Kenyan wildlife
and endangered species return to
how they once were. She loves
her work and is known for her
enthusiasm and perseverance in
achieving her goals.
Why the good work must continue
Only 7% of Kenya is covered
by trees which equates to 67
trees per person compared to a
global average of 420. It’s one of
the countries most affected by
deforestation in Africa.
MKEC and the local community
groups work hand in hand with
the Kenya Forest Service and the
Community Forest Association.
Without their efforts, Julian says
that “most degraded areas within
Mount Kenya Forest will not be
restored, water volumes in rivers will continue to
decline, biodiversity and threatened species will not
recover”. Furthermore, she adds “the impact of
climate change will continue to affect the region, and
communities will continue to invade the forest for
timber, firewood and charcoal”.
“At the end of the project we want to see Kenyan
forest cover increase to 10%. We want to ensure all
degraded areas are restored within the five key ‘Water
Towers’ in Kenya, creating a habitat for wild animals
and reducing human-wildlife conflicts. With 20 million
trees planted across the whole country, 400,000 tons
of carbon will be sequestered.”
Plan for 2017
Ƅ Enable 1,500 vulnerable households of on average 5 people to plant fruit trees and agroforestry trees to help increase income in Embu County.
Ƅ Support the development of agroforestry, improving farm productivity, nutrition and food security.
Ƅ Improve agriculture practices including kitchen gardening, composting, use of green manure and nitrogen fixing species to reduce reliance on inorganic fertiliser.
Ƅ Support the creation of forest-friendly income generating activities such as beekeeping and fish farming.
Ƅ Train community tree nursery groups to produce high value products such as grafted fruit trees, that will be a source of income and will sustain nursery operations.
Ƅ Work towards long-term impacts of improved water catchments and healthy forest and farm ecosystems.
Autumn 2016
8
Global Trees Campaign
1.To identify and prioritise the tree species of greatest conservation concern
To empower partners and practitioners to undertake effective conservation for threatened trees
3. 4.To mobilise other groups to act for threatened trees
2.To ensure that the world’s most threatened tree species are protected with populations recovering in the wild through conservation action
A bit about Kirsty Shaw:
Kirsty is Head of Ecological
Restoration and Tree Conservation
at BGCI. She has worked on the
Global Trees Campaign for four
years and is responsible for tree
conservation projects in Africa.
Global Trees Campaign
Saving the World’s Threatened TreesWritten by Kirsty Shaw: Botanic Gardens Conservation International
What is Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI)?
BGCI is the world’s largest plant
conservation network, comprising
more than 500 botanic gardens in
100 countries. BGCI is a partner
in ITF’s Centenary Campaign – 20
Million Trees for Kenya’s Forests.
They help Julian and the MKEC
team to carry out site assessments,
and train them on forest restoration
and tree seed collection methods.
Over 9,600 tree species are threatened with extinction. Of greater concern, over 1,900 trees are critically endangered, and are likely to become extinct unless urgent action is taken to save them.
Despite the huge range of economic,
ecological and cultural values that different
trees provide, very few conservation
programmes deliver targeted conservation
action for threatened tree species.
The Global Trees Campaign aims to prevent
all tree species extinctions in the wild,
ensuring their benefits for people, wildlife
and the wider environment.
The Global Trees Campaign (GTC) is a
partnership between two international
conservation organisations: Botanic Gardens
Conservation International (BGCI) and Fauna
& Flora International (FFI). FFI works with
more than 500 partners in 40 countries,
including local NGOs and community groups.
The combined and complementary expertise
and the sites that GTC partners hold result in
a powerful force for tree conservation.
The Global Trees Campaign has four objectives:
www.internationaltreefoundation.org
9
Global Trees Campaign
Identifying and prioritising the tree species of greatest conservation concern
Effective conservation of threatened trees depends
on accurate information about their distribution,
population size and threats. To date, there is no world
list of tree species. GTC is working on a list of all of the
world’s tree species that will be complete with country-
level distributions by the end of 2016.
GTC Specialist Group carries out conservation
assessments for tree species which are published on
the International Union for Conservation of Nature
and Natural Resources’ (IUCN) Threatened Species
Red List. GTC aims to have conservation assessments
for all tree species uploaded through the Global Tree
Assessment system by 2020. In addition, GTC identifies
which threatened trees are represented (or absent) from
botanic gardens, arboreta and seed banks - collectively
referred to as “ex situ” collections.
By identifying the distribution of tree species, their
conservation status both in the wild and in ex
situ collections, we identify which trees should be
prioritised for conservation action. This work not
only underpins the rest of the GTC programme,
it also guides the tree conservation work of other
conservation organisations around the world.
Ensuring that the world’s most threatened tree species are protected with populations recovering in the wild
We carry out direct and practical conservation
interventions for identified trees of highest conservation
concern. We work in collaboration with botanic gardens,
arboreta, conservation NGOs, and protected area
managers to identify and implement conservation to
avoid tree species extinctions. We currently have active
practical projects with partners in over 20 countries,
implementing conservation actions for more than 50 of
the world’s most threatened trees. In each project we
run trials, new approaches and develop a model that can
be replicated by other conservation partners for more
threatened trees.
Empowering partners and practitioners to undertake effective conservation for threatened trees
We support our growing network of partners to
develop the technical skills and knowledge required
to conserve threatened trees. We deliver training
programmes to project partners and local communities,
and facilitate links between tree conservation experts
and the people managing the sites where threatened
trees exist. We also make a wide range of resources
available to freely download from our website:
www.globaltrees.org/resources
Mobilising other groups to act for threatened trees
With over 9,600 trees threatened with extinction,
there’s a lot of work to do! Though trees offer us
medicine, timber, food, and a host of ecological and
cultural values, they are often under-valued, even by
the conservation sector. Many species are also slow-
growing which means that conservation efforts need
time to come into fruition.
GTC works to inspire others to consider threatened
trees, targeting conservation institutions that don’t
have a specific focus on threatened trees to include
them in their projects, reaching out to policy makers
and funders, and encouraging everyone to have a
wider appreciation of the value of trees for people and
the planet, and the need for their conservation.
Keen to find out more about the world’s threatened trees and our work to prevent them going extinct? Visit our website to find out more!
www.globaltrees.org
Magnolia omeiensis, assessed as Critically Endangered in the updated Red List of Magnoliaceae (BGCI, 2016). Credit: Li Cehong.
Autumn 2016
10
Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration
Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration – the treasure lies dormant beneath your feet Written by Tony Rinaudo, Principal Advisor
Natural Resources for World Vision
There’s a saying that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Tony Rinaudo, Principal Advisor Natural Resources for World Vision, couldn’t agree more.
An Australian missionary in Niger, with a new way of thinking
In the 1980s, Tony Rinaudo left his native Australia
to work as a missionary in Niger. Tony discovered
what he called an underground forest, a deep root
system which allowed shrubs to regrow into trees
when pruned properly. Tony persuaded a number of
farmers, despite the scepticism of the custom in Niger,
to start cultivating the root systems underneath the
Sahel’s barren soil, firstly into shrubs which re-sprouted
through pruning and then into trees.
Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR), as
the process became known, contradicted the existing
techniques of cleaning the land, digging holes and
trying to grow trees in the drought-endemic area of the
Sahel belt. “Most people thought I was a mad, white
farmer” Tony says, when he began his regeneration of
old root systems. But as his efforts began to yield trees,
news of the success of his techniques began to spread
from farm to farm, and trees reforested the area whilst
crops grew in their shade. Thirty years later, FMNR has
spread to over five million hectares and the changes
can be seen from space.
Reasons for the rapid spread
The benefits of FMNR quickly became apparent and
farmers themselves became the chief proponents as
they talked amongst themselves. FMNR can directly
alleviate poverty, rural migration, chronic hunger and
even famine in a wide range of rural settings.
Villagers experimented, project staff who lived in the
villages were supportive, teaching, encouraging and
standing alongside farmers when disputes or theft of
trees occurred. This support was crucial, particularly in the
early days when there was much opposition to FMNR.
As trees began to colonise the land again, excited
government forestry agents nominated lead farmers
and even project staff for regional and national
awards. Often these nominees won prizes, lifting the
profile of FMNR. As news began to spread, national
and international NGOs, church and mission groups
received training and began promoting the method
across Niger.
www.internationaltreefoundation.org
11
Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration
Future challenges
Further investigation is still needed into various
technical aspects, such as the most beneficial spacing,
species mix, age to harvest, or type of harvesting,
for specific purposes. What most entities working
in reforestation have failed to recognise is that vast
areas of cleared agricultural land in Africa retain an
“underground forest” of living stumps and roots.
Consequently, millions of dollars have been spent on
unsuccessful tree planting schemes.
By simply changing agricultural practices, this
underground forest can re-sprout, at little cost, rapidly
and with great beneficial impact. Ironically, the success
of FMNR has emboldened some farmers to plant
certain valued species of trees which will not appear
through regeneration and to take the extra care
required to succeed.
To find out more please go to the contact page of the
FMNR Hub:
http://fmnrhub.com.au/contact-us/
A bit about Tony:
Growing up in beautiful North East Victoria, Australia Tony always loved
the bush. His extended playground was the rolling tree covered hills,
complete with abandoned mining caves just 100m from his front gate.
He fondly recalls visiting a farmer friend of his father one day who was
working in his farm shed. As they approached him, Tony was lured
by a large pile of books on the floor in the middle of the man’s shed –
being a keen reader and already having a love for trees. Tony flipped
through a few books and picked up two of interest: I Planted Trees and
Sahara Challenge, both by Richard ‘St Barbe’ Baker. Borrowing them, he
read them cover to cover and was spellbound by the stories. An inner
conviction grew in Tony that he and his wife would do something along
those lines in Australia.
What is FMNR exactly?
Farmer managed natural regeneration is a cheap and rapid method of re-vegetation, which can be applied over large areas of land and can be adapted to a range of land use systems. It’s simple and can be adapted to each individual farmer’s unique requirements, providing multiple benefits to people, livestock, crops and the environment, including physical, economic and social benefits to humans.
Through managing natural regeneration, farmers can control their own resources without depending on externally funded projects or needing to buy expensive inputs (seed, fertilizers, nursery supplies) from suppliers. Its beauty lies in its simplicity and accessibility to even the poorest farmers, and once it has been accepted, it takes on a life of its own, spreading from farmer to farmer, by word of mouth.
Autumn 2016
12
A Group Photograph
A Group Photograph - Before, Now & In-Between
Andrew Tatham is author of this marvelous book about the 8th Battalion of the Royal Berkshire Regiment, with a curious link to ITF… Writer and artist, Andrew has spent the
last 21 years researching what really
happened to all 46 men pictured above
and his findings are recorded in this book
through words and photographs. They
were also part of a major Art and History
exhibition at In Flanders’ Fields Museum
in Ypres last year.
The process led him not just to the family
trees of the men in the battalion, but also
to the Men of Trees and ITF. The roots
and branches of the Group Photograph
project connected with ITF through a man
called Donald Fenwick Stileman, pictured
in the above photograph (number 20).
Tatham tells us how Stileman was
wounded at his first action in Loos, only
to return to the Battalion in January
1916 to take a bullet in his right arm on
the Somme…that left him with what he
termed a “dud hand.”
Of all the stories he traced, it was Stileman’s
that Tatham found most inspiring. After the
war, the veteran switched from studying
history to forestry, and subsequently
dedicated his life to trees, working for
the Indian Forestry Service and then the
Forestry Commission in the UK.
Tatham was struck by the similarities
between Stileman and our founder, Richard
St. Barbe Baker who also fought and was
wounded in the First World War before
establishing Men of the Trees. Tracing our
organisation’s own genealogy, Tatham
recently sent ITF a generous donation
towards the Save Kafuga Forest campaign
and has pledged 10% of the money from
his book sales in further support.
About Andrew Tatham’s book
The Book ‘A Group Photograph
- Before, Now & In-Between’
tells the stories of the men in this
group photograph - not just their
shared history in the First World
War but also the bigger picture of
their families before the War and
through to the present day.
The book is large-format to do
justice to the pictures (and
there are over 2000 pictures
in the book)
£21.80 BUY THE BOOK www.groupphoto.co.uk
“ So interesting, your ‘Group Photograph’. So well researched & produced” - Michael Morpurgo
“ The book really is a glorious achievement and completely fascinating” - Gyles Brandreth
www.internationaltreefoundation.org
13
Much of today’s medicine contains extracts from forest plants, some of which could be irretrievably lost through deforestation.
Forests are a largely untapped medical resource
30.8% of the earth’s surface is forests1, which is an average of 6,200 m2 per capita2
What is Agroforestry?Agroforestry is a farming method combining trees with crops. This often improves soil fertility as the trees provide nitrogen releasing nutrients that the crops need to grow. It’s a win/win!
Sources Key:
1 World Bank 2 FAO 3 www.rainforestconservation.org 4 www.tropicalforestnetwork.com/biodiversity-02.html
5 nature.org 6 WWF 7 UN (world forest day) 8 Vital forest graphics: http://www.unep.org/vitalforest 9 conservation.org
l 1,300,000 square km of forest cover was lost between 1990 and 2015 globally1
l 1/2 of the topsoil on the planet has been lost in the last 150 years due to the transition from natural vegetation to agriculture6
l 1.2 billion people rely on agroforestry farming systems that help to sustain agricultural productivity and generate income1
l On a global scale, vegetation and soils are estimated to trap 2.6 gigatonnes of carbon annually8
l Forests are the 2nd largest stores of carbon after oceans7
l Estimates indicate that converting forests to agricultural land can cause a 40% reduction in soil carbon levels3
Forests and trees provide vital habitats for the majority of the world’s plant and animal species. The density of biodiversity in forests acts as a gene reservoir, and as logging and agriculture divides large areas of forest into small sections, members of the same species become isolated. ITF plants, promotes and protects trees and forests in order to prevent the extinction of species and promote biodiversity.
Did you know?l Forests contain more than 80% of the world’s terrestrial species but the survival of many of them is threatened8
l It is estimated that deforestation over the last century has led to a 30% reduction in the number of forest species8
Trees provide essential habitats for diverse wildlife
l There are almost 40,000 animal species in the world’s forests8
l Rainforests – just one type of forest – cover less than 2% of the Earth’s total surface area and yet are home to 50% of the Earth’s plants and animals5
Deforestation accounts for almost 20% of all human-made greenhouse gas emissions
of poverty and malnutri
tion
Tre
es help break the cycle
Can you imagine what the world would look like without trees? We wouldn’t have to because we
simply wouldn’t be around to see it. Here’s a simple infographic to remind us
why trees are critical to sustaining life on earth.
What’s so important
about ?trees
Did you know?
Trees help mitigate human impact on climate change
Deforestation and the burning of fossil fuels have caused an increase in carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that has caused the Earth’s temperature to rise.
But we can do something to slow this down! Plant trees! Because trees absorb and store CO2 from the atmosphere, the more trees we plant, and the more we slow down and reverse deforestation, the greater the Earth’s ability to lock carbon out of the atmosphere and slow global warming.
Scientists believe that this has led to more extreme and damaging weather as well as the melting of polar ice caps at a greater rate than ever recorded before.
1 in 4 ingredients in our medicine come from rainforest plants3
Did you know?
Did you know?
Forests contribute to the lives of 1.6 billion people
(1 in 6 people)1
l Aspirin was originally derived from a compound found in the willow tree
l Less than 1% of all plant species have been screened by chemists to see what bioactive compounds they may contain6
l Some parts of the world could lose over 4000 plant species by 2050 as a result of climate change8.
Forests across our planet are estimated to
filter high quality water for
50% of the population (3.5 billion people)9
Much of today’s medicine contains extracts from forest plants, some of which could be irretrievably lost through deforestation.
Forests are a largely untapped medical resource
30.8% of the earth’s surface is forests1, which is an average of 6,200 m2 per capita2
What is Agroforestry?Agroforestry is a farming method combining trees with crops. This often improves soil fertility as the trees provide nitrogen releasing nutrients that the crops need to grow. It’s a win/win!
Sources Key:
1 World Bank 2 FAO 3 www.rainforestconservation.org 4 www.tropicalforestnetwork.com/biodiversity-02.html
5 nature.org 6 WWF 7 UN (world forest day) 8 Vital forest graphics: http://www.unep.org/vitalforest 9 conservation.org
l 1,300,000 square km of forest cover was lost between 1990 and 2015 globally1
l 1/2 of the topsoil on the planet has been lost in the last 150 years due to the transition from natural vegetation to agriculture6
l 1.2 billion people rely on agroforestry farming systems that help to sustain agricultural productivity and generate income1
l On a global scale, vegetation and soils are estimated to trap 2.6 gigatonnes of carbon annually8
l Forests are the 2nd largest stores of carbon after oceans7
l Estimates indicate that converting forests to agricultural land can cause a 40% reduction in soil carbon levels3
Forests and trees provide vital habitats for the majority of the world’s plant and animal species. The density of biodiversity in forests acts as a gene reservoir, and as logging and agriculture divides large areas of forest into small sections, members of the same species become isolated. ITF plants, promotes and protects trees and forests in order to prevent the extinction of species and promote biodiversity.
Did you know?l Forests contain more than 80% of the world’s terrestrial species but the survival of many of them is threatened8
l It is estimated that deforestation over the last century has led to a 30% reduction in the number of forest species8
Trees provide essential habitats for diverse wildlife
l There are almost 40,000 animal species in the world’s forests8
l Rainforests – just one type of forest – cover less than 2% of the Earth’s total surface area and yet are home to 50% of the Earth’s plants and animals5
Deforestation accounts for almost 20% of all human-made greenhouse gas emissions
of poverty and malnutri
tion
Tre
es help break the cycle
Can you imagine what the world would look like without trees? We wouldn’t have to because we
simply wouldn’t be around to see it. Here’s a simple infographic to remind us
why trees are critical to sustaining life on earth.
What’s so important
about ?trees
Did you know?
Trees help mitigate human impact on climate change
Deforestation and the burning of fossil fuels have caused an increase in carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that has caused the Earth’s temperature to rise.
But we can do something to slow this down! Plant trees! Because trees absorb and store CO2 from the atmosphere, the more trees we plant, and the more we slow down and reverse deforestation, the greater the Earth’s ability to lock carbon out of the atmosphere and slow global warming.
Scientists believe that this has led to more extreme and damaging weather as well as the melting of polar ice caps at a greater rate than ever recorded before.
1 in 4 ingredients in our medicine come from rainforest plants3
Did you know?
Did you know?
Forests contribute to the lives of 1.6 billion people
(1 in 6 people)1
l Aspirin was originally derived from a compound found in the willow tree
l Less than 1% of all plant species have been screened by chemists to see what bioactive compounds they may contain6
l Some parts of the world could lose over 4000 plant species by 2050 as a result of climate change8.
Forests across our planet are estimated to
filter high quality water for
50% of the population (3.5 billion people)9
Our History
Sahara Challenge map
St Barbe Meeting the Morans from the Dance of the Trees held in 1922
The life and work of Richard St. Barbe Baker, founder of the Men of the Trees (now International Tree Foundation in the UK), one of the world’s greatest foresters, environmentalists and conservationists, spans most of the twentieth century.
Richard ‘St Barbe’ Baker: ITF’s visionary and pioneering founder
He was a prodigious and innovative writer and
broadcaster, bringing his message about the importance
of trees in creating and regulating the world’s atmosphere
to audiences around the world.
So wide-ranging were his achievements, taking in such
a breadth of countries, cultures and figures, that to
address all their aspects could be daunting. But Camilla
Allen from the University of Sheffield is looking to
bring Baker’s achievements to new audiences by
focussing her PhD research on his most visionary
proposal: the Great Green Wall.
The Great Green Wall
Unrealised in his lifetime, The Great Green Wall is gaining
momentum in Africa today as political will gathers behind
this ambitious landscape project with international backing
from bodies including the European Union and World Bank.
The Great Green Wall aims to protect communities in
the Sahel from a growing humanitarian crisis, one
that Baker warned against long before others in the
international community had recognised it: the
complex issue of desertification.
Camilla’s research will also examine the organisations
and individuals who took up the cause and continued
the projects he conceptualised as the Green Front and
the Sahara Reclamation Programme, as well as later
interpretations of the Great Green Wall by figures
like Burkino Faso’s Socialist President Thomas Sankara
in the 1980s.
Autumn 2016
16
Baker’s children’s book Kamiti
Not a fantasy, but a tangible reality
Richard St. Barbe Baker’s conception of the Great
Green Wall was a band of trees planted from the east
to the west coast of Africa, thirty miles deep and able
to hold back the Sahara – a prevalent belief at the
time - but it is unlikely to be realised as such. Instead,
the Great Green Wall is more likely to embrace new
approaches to agriculture and other activities that
include agro-forestry, social-forestry and agronomy.
Baker’s view of the Great Green Wall is emblematic of
his grassroots approach. As the project stands today
however, it could be interpreted by some as a lofty,
top-down environmental planning or greenwashing
project masking land grabbing and the unsustainable
intensification of agriculture in what is a very fragile
and changeable environment.
Key to Camilla’s thesis will be the examination of
previously unstudied documents and artefacts that
relate to Baker and the Men of the Trees which she
got to view at the University of Saskatchewan in
Canada. Through close study of this material, Baker’s
unique method of developing ways of distilling and
disseminating concepts regarding the role of trees in all
aspects of life will be explored and can be linked to the
creation of the Great Green Wall.
Richard ‘St Barbe’ Baker: ITF’s visionary and pioneering founder
A bit about Camilla
Camilla’s first degree was in illustration and she went on to spend four years working in children’s books publishing before taking the decision to study landscape architecture. She wrote her masters dissertation on Richard St. Barbe Baker and was awarded a scholarship from the University of Sheffield to continue her research. Now in the second year of her PHD, Camilla is looking forward to a busy couple of years researching and writing about this fascinating subject and is very excited about visiting Kenya and Ethiopia to see sites associated with ITF’s beginnings as well as active Great Green Wall sites.
Twitter: @CamillaAllen | www.radicalsylviculture.com
A deep connection
Previously working in childrens’ books publishing,
Camilla’s interest in Baker’s vision for the Great
Green Wall was first sparked when she discovered
his children’s book Kamiti. The story is so rich in
optimism and vision that even in its idealistic form
she felt there were lessons to draw out; ways in
which people could be reinvigorated with the
passion that Baker instilled around the world to
plant and protect trees.
Already a year into her studies, with two years to
go, Camilla is excited to have the opportunity to
Rejuvenate interest in this extraordinary man, and is
looking forward to finding ways to share the story and
message of Richard St. Barbe Baker to a wider public.
Upon completion of her thesis she hopes to continue
her research by writing a biography to coincide
with the Centenary of ITF, as well as working on
landscape design and restoration projects.
www.internationaltreefoundation.org
17
Trees 4 Livelihoods
Trees for Livelihoods, or T4L for short, is funded by the
Big Lottery Fund and aims to achieve its aims through
improved forest and agricultural land management.
Nearing the end of the project, we caught up with
Pierre Dembele, Executive Director of Sahel Eco, to
find out what difference T4L has made so far.
What were the aims of the project set out in 2013?
T4L was conceived to contribute to strengthening
communities’ means of subsistence. The project aims
to increase food security and reduce poverty, as well as
increasing resilience to long-term climate change and
climate shocks in these dryland areas.
The current food crisis in Mali fundamentally results
from a weakening of household resilience. We set
out to address the underlying causes, such as the use
of unsustainable land management practices and
reduced soil fertility.
What changes have you seen in the past three years?
The project has restored areas of degraded lands;
agricultural production has increased and tree cover is
being restored. Systems have been developed within
communities to mobilise resources and to help each
other. Furthermore, non-timber forest products such as
fruits are being used as a source of income, and capacity
building activities have increased the local communities’
ability to sustainably manage forest resources…
Can you give us some concrete examples of the achievements to date?
Ƅ 1,225 hectares of land have been treated through FMNR. We’ve trained people in techniques such as zai pits, which are dug in degraded land, filled with compost and topsoil, and planted with crops which can be highly productive. Earth bunds (or dykes) and stone lines have been constructed along contour lines so that they catch runoff rain water which will then infiltrate the soil.
Ƅ 143 vulnerable people have been allocated agricultural land including 36 women and 54 internally displaced people.
Ƅ 437 members of 20 women’s groups have increased their incomes through processing and sales of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) such as henna, desert dates and tamarind.
Ƅ 60% of the members of these groups are able to demonstrate improved management of natural resources.
Food security in Mali’s dryland villages Interview with Pierre Dembele,
Executive Director of Sahel Eco, Mali.
In 2013, International Tree Foundation and Sahel Eco Mali launched a four year project to tackle poverty and food insecurity in 29 villages in the drylands of Mali.
One of the faramers assisted by the T4L project in the village of Takoutala (KONNA Commune) marking out ‘yield quadrats’ (sample plots) in a previously degraded field, restored through a range of techniques promoted by T4L (Zaï pits, addition of compost, FMNR) to assess the impact of these techniques on agricultural yields.
Autumn 2016
18
Ƅ 20 womens’ groups have organised themselves into ‘Saving for Change’ groups, mobilising a total of 3,196,834 Francs CFA (over £4300) in their own savings, and distributing loans of about 1,849,000 FCFA (almost £2500) to group members, enabling them to start economic activities of their own. This is a substantial figure given the local context.
What challenges have you faced during the implementation of this project?
The major challenge that we have encountered has been
the insecurity in the flood plains of the project zone, part
of which lies along the Niger River. Many of the people
move away from the area for 5 to 6 months of the year
either due to transhumant pastoralism (taking their
livestock to distant grazing areas) or rural outmigration.
Another issue has been the pressure from grazing small
livestock, especially goats, on young tree seedlings which
farmers are trying to regenerate. In order to reduce
the grazing pressure, the project is supporting the
communes of Konna and Borondougou to develop and
put into practice a local by-law or ‘convention’ on the
management of trees.
2017 is the final year. What remains to be done?
We plan to continue promoting the sustainable land
use practices I mentioned before in the communes
of Konna and Borondougou. Furthermore, we will
organise two exchange visits to share the experiences
of those who have already used FMNR techniques and
experienced their benefits.
Women have been one of the main target groups
of T4L, and will continue to be in 2017. The first
women’s forest plot will be launched in the village
of Diambacourou, and we plan to establish five
‘conservation gardens’ to conserve plant and tree
species that are becoming scarce.
The women’s income generation groups have been a
great success! We will promote networking to share
best practice. We’ll provide better equipment for
processing NTFPs to support their development and we
are planning a local fair to raise awareness of these
products and to promote their commercialisation.
The communes of Konna and Borondougou are
drawing up local agreements on environmental
management, and we will continue to support them
to finalise and then disseminate these.
And finally, we will be concentrating on
communicating and sharing the project achievements.
We’re planning radio broadcasts and a documentary
film about the project. We’ll also present T4L’s
achievements during the ‘Environmental Fortnight’
organised by the government of Mali.
And what are the plans for project sustainability once T4L comes to a close?
The linchpin for the future sustainability of all the
activities supported by the project are the local
‘Commissions for the Promotion of Trees’, composed
of farmers and representatives of the key stakeholders.
These groups constitute a pool of local resource people
to continue promotion of the new methods with their
peers even after the project ends.
The T4L story is a great example of the power of
Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration and other
simple techniques to change landscapes and lives
in the Sahel. The women groups working with T4L
take the FMNR story a step further by processing and
marketing fruits and other products from remarkable
dryland tree species to show what an important role
they can play in supporting better livelihoods.
Demonstration of tree management methods in FMNR
www.internationaltreefoundation.org
19
Fruit-Full Communities
Young people gain
fruit-full skillsWritten by Sue Pitt, Fruit-full Communities Project Officer
The project is run by Learning through Landscapes in
partnership with YMCA, International Tree Foundation
and The Orchard Project.
In practical terms, young people from 50 YMCAs will
design and plant orchards in their neighbourhoods.
As well as engaging with their local community,
participants are already connecting with young people
planting trees in African countries and gaining a
better understanding of the importance of trees for
sustainable futures across the globe.
Fruit-full Communities is just one of 31 projects funded
by the Big Lottery Fund under the umbrella of Our Bright
Future. Run by a consortium of eight organisations, Our
Bright Future is led by The Wildlife Trusts and defines
itself as ‘a forward-thinking social movement that
supports young people to lead progressive change in
their communities and local environment’.
Planting trees, building confidence
This chimes well with the approach that ITF takes in
supporting local community groups to bring about
change that is appropriate to their lives and their local
environment. And yet the desire to allow the young
people themselves to take the lead in shaping the project
is one of the major challenges. Most of the participants
have faced huge difficulties in their own lives and so may
lack confidence in their own abilities and in the belief
that their ideas will be listened to and taken seriously.
It is precisely because of this that the project has the
potential to hugely impact their lives. After one group
was taken on a visit to an existing orchard, their youth
worker commented that she had ‘never seen them more
engaged’ than they were that day.
It is an often observed phenomenon within the Forest
Schools movement that when people are taken out
of their normal context and given the opportunity for
practical, hands-on activity outdoors they can respond
in ways that surprise everybody – not least themselves.
Photo above: Astbury Mere Trust Community Orchard, Angie Turner
The Fruit-full Communities project is an ambitious one! Over three years, 6,000 young adults living at or attending YMCA centres across England will develop the confidence and skills they need to consider work in horticulture, arboriculture or related fields.
Autumn 2016
20
Fruit-full Communities provides an opportunity for
people who may not have found school to be a very
positive experience to learn and develop in ways that
they might never have thought possible.
The facilitators working on the project provide just
enough input to build skills and understanding, but
then stand back and allow people to take their own
ideas forward.
Normally, residents of the YMCA move on within two
years, but many will continue to live locally and so
may continue their involvement with the orchards. The
skills that they will pick up are just a foundation, but
some may go on to take more specialised training if
they find an interest in this field.
Engaging with the wider community
The key to ongoing success will also lie in engaging
local people who have some knowledge of growing
trees and are keen to work with young people in the
local YMCA as volunteers.
Local community support is crucial for the long-
term impact of the Fruit-full Communities project.
It would be relatively easy to design a project that
would result in fifty orchards being planted across the
country. But the trees will continue to bear fruit for
years to come, and who will care for the trees and
eat the fruit once the young people have moved on?
This kind of local community support is not easy to
generate on the scale that is required for this project
without knowing the local community beforehand.
Residents of the YMCA are less likely to have such
connections because it is the breakdown of family and
community ties that often leads to people becoming
homeless in the first place. The project will depend on
the development of community relationships already
established by the YMCA.
Connecting young people across the globe
A key part of ITF’s role within the project is to develop
links between the young people involved in Fruit-full
Communities and those working on other projects that
ITF supports in several African countries. This approach
has the potential to greatly enrich young people’s
experiences, by encouraging them to understand the
connections that they have with one another.
This will involve bringing together people whose lives
are very different in many ways, but who share a
common purpose of working with trees to improve
their lives and their environment. It will be interesting
to see how they cope with the challenges of
communicating across such a cultural divide.
The project has great potential to change the lives of
some young people who have had a tough start in life,
but it will only do so if it speaks to them rather than
about them. Its success will depend upon the extent to
which we place our faith in them – because people can
achieve amazing things when we do.
This unique project is a collaborative partnership
established by outdoor learning and play specialists,
Learning through Landscapes, YMCA, International
Tree Foundation and The Orchard Project.
A bit about Sue Pitt
Sue started out as a doctor, then did a PhD on the history of childbirth before raising her own children. Sue has also worked with a social enterprise developing innovative ways of growing food in the city using agroforestry techniques. That was just for six months, but it set her on the path to where she now is – working with ITF. A keen allotment gardener, Sue says being in the garden gives her the best therapeutic sessions ever!
For more information please visit www.fruitfullcommunities.org
To read more about Our Bright Future please visit www.OurBrightFuture.org.uk
www.internationaltreefoundation.org
21
REDD+
Reduced Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) is an international mechanism that was launched in 2007 with the aim of mitigating climate change by creating financial value for carbon stored in forests.
Quantifying effective fire management in TanzaniaWritten by Jasper Makala, CEO Mpingo Conservation & Development Initiative
The aim of REDD is to provide a financial incentive
to governments, companies and communities to
maintain rather than reduce forest cover. REDD
has subsequently developed into REDD+, which
goes beyond reducing deforestation and forest
degradation to include promoting conservation and
sustainable management of forests.
Mpingo Conservation & Development Initiative
(MCDI) was established in 2004 to support the
development of community forestry in South-
Eastern Tanzania. Specifically, the organisation
helps communities to own, manage and benefit
from their forests, primarily through sustainable
timber production, and raises awareness about
the socio-economic benefits of responsible
forest management. MCDI supported the
first ever commercial timber harvest from a
community-managed natural forest in Tanzania,
and holds the first and still the only Forest
Stewardship Council (FSCTM) certificate for a
natural community forest in Africa. In just 12
years, MCDI has brought 350,000 hectares of
natural forests under the protection of 30 rural
villages, and supported 15 of these villages to
generate more than $349,000 from sustainable
timber sales.
Low African representation in REDD+ despite high natural forest resources
There are approximately 300 forest carbon projects registered worldwide, but the share of global carbon credits generated in Africa remains relatively small despite the continent harbouring an estimated 17.6% (580 million hectares) of remaining natural forest cover globally. Annual net forest loss in Africa is also the second highest in the world. Tanzania has expansive forests, covering around 37.8% of the country’s land mass (34 million hectares). It is
home to Africa’s largest number of mammals, second largest number of plants (10,000 species), third largest number of birds (1,035 species), and fourth largest number of reptiles (245 species) and amphibians (123 species), all harboured by forests.
Autumn 2016
22
Members of Mpingo Conservation & Development Initiative Team measure girth of a growing Blackwood Tree
Tanzania’s forests also provide over 92% of the
country’s energy resources, and have significant
potential to mitigate climate change due to the
carbon they store and sequester. Despite this,
Tanzania experienced one of the largest global annual
net losses of forest cover from 2010-2015, primarily
due to forest fires, conversion to agriculture, illegal
logging and charcoal production.
In 2008, Norway and Tanzania signed a Climate
Change Partnership Agreement. The Agreement
focused on supporting REDD+ pilot activities, capacity
building, and national REDD+ strategy development
and implementation. MCDI was one of nine NGOs
in Tanzania chosen to pilot REDD+ projects in the
country from 2009 to 2014.
MCDI developed an innovative new methodology for
quantifying carbon emission reductions from effective
fire management in local Miombo woodlands. By
pioneering its own methodology, MCDI was able
to ensure that the approach is properly aligned to
the context of its project. This is not insignificant, as
several projects have encountered difficulties with top-
down methodologies which turn out to have some
small criterion that proves insurmountable. MCDI’s
method was accepted by the Verified Carbon Standard
in 2015, and can now be used to quantify certified
carbon offsets from improved fire management in East
African Miombo Woodlands. The method could easily
be adapted to suit dryland forests elsewhere.
Developing this method from scratch was a highly
technical and demanding undertaking. Despite its
many achievements and lessons learned, MCDI was
unable to reach its goal of supporting communities to
sell carbon offsets before funding for its REDD+ pilot
project came to a close. Nonetheless, the organisation
is continuing to support community-based and
managed early burning as an important activity to
tackle deforestation and carbon emissions from
uncontrolled forest fires. With a small grant from the
Finnish Fund for Local Cooperation, two communities
were supported to protect 17,330 hectares of forests
from wildfires in 2015. And 3 additional villages
decided to reinvest a portion of their timber revenues
in early burning efforts of their own accord.
To succeed in selling carbon offsets, MCDI probably
needs another 2-3 years of funding to cover a number
of key steps, including writing a detailed Business plan,
obtaining project validation from the Verified Carbon
Standard and Climate, Community and Biodiversity
Alliance Standard and marketing offsets to customers
prepared to pay a premium price for the strong
biodiversity and community development benefits
associated with the project.
References
Romero et al 2013. Economics of forest and forest carbon projects: Translating lessons learned into national REDD+ implementation. Report for United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Riso Centre, UNEP and UN-REDD: Nairobi, Kenya.
FAO 2015. Global Forest Resources Assessment 2015. Food and Agriculture Organization of The United Nations: Italy, Rome, 2015
MNRT 2010. National Forestry Programme 2001–2010. Tanzania Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism: Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
UNEP 2002. Integrated Assessment of Trade Liberalization and Trade-related Policies. Country Projects - Round II - Synthesis Report. United Nations Environment Programme: New York and Geneva, United States of America.
www.internationaltreefoundation.org
23
Nkhata Bay Natural Way
Community stewardship brings about
food securityThe Nkhata Bay Natural Way (NBNW) is a four year programme implemented by Temwa Malawi, Deki Ltd. and International Tree Foundation to embed community stewardship of natural resources in the Nkhata Bay North district - one of the most underprivileged areas of Malawi. More than 60% of the population live below the poverty line and 16% of 15 – 49 year olds are HIV positive.
Project Outcomes
Ƅ Improving food security and nutrition for disadvantaged households through the adoption of environmentally sustainable farming
Ƅ Improving community stewardship of forest conservation and management, by promoting tree planting, reforestation and fair and sustainable access to forest resources
Ƅ Increasing income for disadvantaged households through the establishment of forest-friendly businesses and micro-enterprises, supported by loans and skills training
Ƅ Strengthening of relationships with local governance structures with increased ability to advocate for sustainable natural resource management and livelihood choices at a district and national level
NBNW works alongside local communities
to develop district-wide sustainable natural
resource management and resilience,
improving food security and livelihoods
for the most disadvantaged households in
Nkhata Bay. NBNW is working with 3,300
people from 110 villages in the Upland and
Lake Shore areas through carefully designed
and targeted training, capacity building
and financing for integrated conservation,
agroforestry and income generation activities.
A year on
The NBNW project has been running for
a year, and its focus remains clearly about
the people it serves; the community – and
a vulnerable one at that. Vulnerability in
this case refers to large households with
eight or more dependents, female headed,
orphan hosting or those with a member
with HIV/AIDs, and young people aged 18-
30 years.
In its first year the project has helped the communities set up 18 tree nurseries, plant more than 70,000 trees, establish 25 demonstration vegetable gardens, and form 70 village savings and loans groups.
Autumn 2016
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Tackling Food Poverty
In a country where food shortages and
malnutrition are at an all-time high, the
progress that NBNW is making is very
encouraging and has been noticed by the
Government of Malawi. “The population is
on the rise”, says Emmanuel Banda, Temwa
Malawi Programme Manager. “The pressure
on the environment to sustain rampant
population growth is immense”.
Communities understand the forest is essential
for natural water sources, building materials,
fuel and forest-friendly income generating
activities, for example bee keeping. They are
invested and engaged in the reforestation
process, but the NBNW team want to reach
out to an additional 750 participants.
They plan to establish more demonstration
gardens to showcase well-adapted and
sustainable methods of farming. This is in
a bid to improve food security, improved
nutrition and the general resilience of
households. There will be an increased
emphasis on agroforestry, soil conservation
and sustainable farming methods as well as
the introduction of environmentally sound
income generating activities.
We asked Emmanuel what Nkhata Bay would
look like when the project finishes in 2019.
“If the project is successful, the inhabitants of
Nkhata Bay will be practicing environmentally
friendly agricultural practices”, says
Emmanuel. “The community will be vigilant
when establishing and managing their natural
resources, which in turn will be able to
support the livelihoods of their households”.
The Nkhata Bay Natural Way is supported with funding from the Big Lottery Fund and JJ Charitable Trust. Temwa Malawi implements the project together with ITF and Deki Ltd. At national and district levels, the project is supported by the Ministry of Agriculture, Department of Forestry, Department of Fisheries and the District Council.
A bit about Emmanuel
When not buried with work,
Emmanuel is a poet and a song-
writer. He also loves to travel – to
see the beautiful nature of Africa.
www.internationaltreefoundation.org
25
How you can help
Without you, we couldn’t do what we do
Here are some easy ways you can help us continue our work across Africa and here in the UK.
We’re the perfect gift
Know someone who has everything? Offer them ITF membership! Apart from supporting us to plant more trees in the UK and abroad, they’ll also receive a copy of this magazine, our Impact Report, a voice at our AGM and a Welcome Pack with your personal message. Subscriptions start from £15 for concessions and £25 for adults.
Give regularly to support us in the long run
Giving little and often is easy and can make a huge difference to our work. £10 a month will allow our African partners to plant 50 trees. Over a year, that’s 600 trees! You can make a regular direct debit donation on our website, or get in touch with us to find out more.
Volunteer and gain great experience
We’re always looking for volunteers to help with communications, marketing and administrative duties.
We don’t expect you to commit forever! A couple of hours a week could improve your CV and contribute to our work. Volunteering is rewarding and we’ll find something to make the best of your skills and help you learn along the way.
Remember us in your will
Leaving a legacy to ITF is a gift to future generations. It will help us to support communities to plant trees, secure livelihoods, meet nutritional needs and protect the planet for generations to inherit and enjoy.
Help us raise funds!
Every pound helps… £1 is FOUR trees planted in Africa, so never think any amount is too small.
Perhaps you could get your school involved? Or your local walking group or cricket team? If you’re a runner, join us at a marathon!
Mount Kenya Tree Challenge
How many trees can you plant? We’re challenging you to plant at least 100 trees on the slopes of Mount Kenya next spring! We have two spaces available for a week of challenge and discovery! Get in touch to find out more.
www.internationaltreefoundation.orgEmail: [email protected]: 01865 318836International Tree FoundationMayfield House, 256 Banbury Rd, Oxford OX2 7DE
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AS WE’RE NEARING 100 YEARS OLD, IT’S FITTING OUR CENTENARY CAMPAIGN TAKES US BACK
TO WHERE IT ALL BEGAN - KENYA 1922
Visit internationaltreefoundation.org/donate/ today, write to us at International Tree Foundation, Mayfi eld House, 256 Banbury Road, Oxford, OX2 7DE or phone 01865 318836
Forests are vital in conserving Kenya’s rivers, lakes and drinking water. By planting 20 million trees, our community partners will also protect forest habitats for rare birds and mammals and improve food security for some of Africa’s most vulnerable people.
Can you give £25 today to plant 100 trees? Your donation will help to reforest Kenya’s highlands and improve thousands of people’s lives.
Laveda Nyawira, 8 years old, planting
her 20 trees at school.