Ecological Restoration and Sustainable Agricultural Landscapes

Background

This paper summarizes the talks of 2013 symposium held in Bogota, Colombia titled Ecological Restoration and Sustainable Agricultural Landscapes. The talks center around the pressing issue of balancing agricultural demands and the need to conserve biodiversity. They discuss current initiatives throughout Latin America that seek to both conserve and restore productive landscapes. Five talks in total are summarized touching on subjects ranging from agroforestry to silvopastoral systems to capacity building.

Conclusions & Takeaways

The symposium highlights numerous approaches and existing technologies that can harmonize both conservation and production. Still though, the speakers stress that these goals will not be achieved equally in the short-term. Conventional cattle ranching is still dominant throughout Latin America, thus continuing the demand for reserving land for conservation.