This presentation was delivered at the third Latin American Conference of the International Union of Forestry Research Organizations in San Jose, Costa Rica.
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Forests, Ecosystems Services and Poverty Alleviation
Charting a new research agenda
Peter Dewees Forests Adviser World Bank
What are Ecosystems Services?
“….the benefits which people obtain from ecosystems”
Millenium Ecosystem Assessment
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Ecosystems Services
A metaphor
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Ecosystems Services
Stocks and Flows
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Ecosystems Services
Ecosystem Services as commodities
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Ecosystems Services
…which increase human well being
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Ecosystems Services
What about the environment’s intrinsic value?
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Categorizing Ecosystem Services
Supporting services
Provisioning services
Regulating services
Cultural services
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Conventional Wisdoms and stylized facts
Time
Environmental
degradation
Hum
an w
ell-
bein
g
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What is happening to ecosystem services?
Trend
Ecosystem Services
Provisioning Regulating Cultural
Declining supply
Fuelwood, genetic resources, fresh water, global fisheries, wild foods
Local climate regulation, erosion control, water quality regulation, pest control, pollination
Spiritual and religious values, aesthetic value
Increasing supply
Crops, livestock, agriculture
Global climate regulation
Tourism
Mixed trends in supply
Timber, cotton Water flow regulation, disease control
Recreation
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What is happening to human well-being?
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010
Human Development Index
Europe and Central Asia
Latin America and theCaribbean
World
East Asia and the Pacific
South Asia
Sub-Saharan Africa
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Why is there a disconnect? Some hypotheses
We are not measuring the right things
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Why is there a disconnect? Some hypotheses
The only services that really matters are provisioning ones
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Why is there a disconnect? Some hypotheses
There is a time lag between when ecosystems decline and when we feel the impact
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Why is there a disconnect? Some hypotheses
Technology and innovation have helped people compensate for the loss of services
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What is happening in rural landscapes?
• Global forest cover is both degrading and declining;
Source: FAO (2005). State of the World’s Forests.
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Forest loss and degradation
Drivers of Deforestation 1
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3 2
5
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What is happening in rural landscapes?
• Global forest cover is both degrading and declining; • In rural landscapes, tree cover as well as the number of trees on farms is increasing.
Source: FAO (2005). State of the World’s Forests.
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Transitions are underway 19
Trees on farms are increasing.
Why?
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Establishing boundaries… 21
Restoring productivity… 22
Increasing household consumption…
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Increasing household income... 24
Building resilience through diversification… 25
Technology and innovation?
What we are seeing is adaptation to the loss of ecosystem services on a grand scale with profound impacts on poverty
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Supporting adaptation
How can policy most effectively support adaptation at scale?
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Policies to create incentives for better landscape management
Let me just mention a few examples where positive forest-and-tree based land use changes are being made. These examples point to a number of different triggers that could help catalyze improved forest management and landscape restoration on a meaningful scale. In Ethiopia, under the Humbo Assisted Natural Regeneration Project developed by World Vision and the World Bank, seven forest cooperatives were established on the Humbo mountain to sustainably manage and reforest the surrounding land. More than 90 percent of the Humbo project area has been reforested through strategies which involved the devolution of responsibility to community institutions and the use of farmer-managed natural forest regeneration techniques. This has resulted in increased production of wood and tree products such as honey and fruit. Improved land management has also stimulated grass growth, providing livestock fodder. The project is the first large-scale forestry project in Africa to be registered with the UNFCCC. Although the prospect of carbon credits is a nice incentive, it’s really the people who mattered here: they understood that the over-exploitation of forest resources was threatening their water reserves and was making them vulnerable to deadly mudslides, and they were given the right mix of tools and responsibility to improve the management of their immediate surroundings.
Policies to create incentives for better landscape management
Loess Plateau, China
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Presenter
Let me just mention a few examples where positive forest-and-tree based land use changes are being made. These examples point to a number of different triggers that could help catalyze improved forest management and landscape restoration on a meaningful scale. In Ethiopia, under the Humbo Assisted Natural Regeneration Project developed by World Vision and the World Bank, seven forest cooperatives were established on the Humbo mountain to sustainably manage and reforest the surrounding land. More than 90 percent of the Humbo project area has been reforested through strategies which involved the devolution of responsibility to community institutions and the use of farmer-managed natural forest regeneration techniques. This has resulted in increased production of wood and tree products such as honey and fruit. Improved land management has also stimulated grass growth, providing livestock fodder. The project is the first large-scale forestry project in Africa to be registered with the UNFCCC. Although the prospect of carbon credits is a nice incentive, it’s really the people who mattered here: they understood that the over-exploitation of forest resources was threatening their water reserves and was making them vulnerable to deadly mudslides, and they were given the right mix of tools and responsibility to improve the management of their immediate surroundings.
Policies which secure local rights to land, trees and forests are important
1975 2003
Landscape recovery in Galma, Niger, over 28 year period
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Presenter
In Niger, rules regulating the use of trees on farms were revised in 1993, giving farmers a freer hand and stronger incentives to grow trees. These rules made it clear that trees belonged to farmers and not to government. Niger also established a simple land registration system, giving farmers greater tenure security. It also began a decentralization process, which made it easier for people to get technical help adapted to local needs. The results of these relatively simple policy fixes have been truly impressive. After more than two decades, over 5 million ha of “parkland” tree-farming systems have been rejuvenated by farmers, benefitting 4.5 million people. Sorghum yields have increased between 20 and 85 percent, and millet yields have increased between 15 and 50 percent in participating areas.
Policies which secure local rights to land, trees and forests are important
Parkland farming systems in West Africa
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Presenter
Many villages now have 10 to 20 times more trees in their fields than they did 20 years ago. Benefits associated with increased tree cover have increased sorghum yields by 20 to 85 percent and millet yields by 15 to 50 percent.
Zinder, southern Niger in the 1980s
Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration 32
Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration 33
Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration 34
Impact of a single Faidherbia albida on crop growth 35
Trees on farms can build resilience
Faidherbia Trial Results in Zambia
Maize Yields (tons per ha)
2008 2009 2010
With Faidherbia
4.1 5.1 5.6
Without Faidherbia
1.3 2.6 2.6
Number of trials
15 40 40
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Investing in ecosystem services
Conservation Agriculture in Zambia: 100 Faidherbia trees per ha
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Presenter
Conservation Agriculture with Trees (CAWT) National recommendations for maize in Zambia: Faidherbia Fertilizer Trees at 100 trees per ha
Trees on farms can build soil carbon
Carbon sequestration rates under different land management practices (kg ha-1 yr-1) in Africa
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Presenter
We also know that agroforestry systems are among the most effective and efficient means of increasing soil carbon. Agroforestry systems can increase soil carbon to levels which are 4 or 5 times the levels of more conventional techniques, such as mulching or no-till systems. So there is great promise in these systems as well.
Impacts would be huge if these systems could be scaled up
Adoption of systems like Faidherbia and Gliricidia on an additional 5 million ha: Value of nitrogen fertilizer produced by farmers
$500 million per year
Amount of additional maize produced
5 to 10 million tons per year
Value of additional maize produced
$1 to $1.5 billion
Amount of additional carbon captured
30 to 50 million tons per year (valued between $450 million and $1.25 billion)
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Presenter
Just think about what could be achieved if these types of systems could be scaled up. If we could successfully incorporate these types of trees into farming systems on another 5 million ha in Africa, it would generate the equivalent of $500 million of nitrogen fertilizer per year, and could produce up to 10 million additional tons of maize per year, while capturing 30 to 50 million tons of additional carbon.
Old research paradigms focused on the forest…
These boundaries
have strongly influenced the forest research agenda in the past, but…
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Presenter
The miombo is not unique in this respect. Dry woodlands the world over are similarly valued because they build resilience in farming systems, produce goods which are enormously important for rural livelihoods, and provide environmental services of local and global value – regulating watersheds, absorbing CO2 through photosynthesis, maintaining soil fertility and controlling erosion, and providing critical habitats for flora and fauna. Our old paradigms looked narrowly at the potential for interventions within the forest boundary – conserving natural habitats and managing old growth and secondary forests. These old paradigms really did not allow us to see how closely forests and agriculture are linked. But new challenges and new demands require us to look outside the forest for solutions.
… rather than on complex land-uses at scale
… new areas of emphasis will become increasingly important
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Presenter
The emerging paradigm involves taking a wider landscape approach and integrating forests, trees, and farming systems and then tackling issues at scale in the rural landscape – rather than solely within the boundaries of the forest or on the farm. This morning the CGIAR Research Program on Forests, Trees and Agroforestry was officially launched. This program should help countries and development partners better understand how to widen their focus from dense canopy tropical forests to mixed agricultural/forest landscapes, or ”mosaic” landscapes, where people and trees come into greater contact and where the challenges of addressing food security are the greatest.
We need new ways of looking at land-use….
… which better recognizes the complexities of land use systems and the ecosystems services which support them
Natural Forest
4.1 billion ha
Crop Land
1.5 billion ha
Pasture & Rangelands
3.4 billion ha
Wetlands
1.3 billion ha
Deserts
1.9 billion ha
Planted Forest
0.3 billion ha
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Data for informing policy 43
Key data quality challenges
•Data should be representative •Data can be aggregated •Definitions are credible •Data is up to date •Data is policy relevant •Data is addressing the right questions
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Poverty alleviation, forests and trees
•Role of household environmental income with respect to: • Productivity and consumption • Risk and vulnerability • Equality
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Poverty alleviation, forests and trees
•Policies and public finance • How to support farmer-based adaptation? • Identifying other points of entry: social safety nets
