Faidherbia albida
Agroforestry Solutions to Address Food Security and Climate Change Challenges in AfricabackgroundMany parts of Africa face food insecurity and land degradation, challenges which will only be exacerbated by the impacts of climate change. The article proposes that agroforestry has the potential to improve the resilience of small farmers by enhancing soil fertility and providing food and fuel sources. However there has not been widespread adoption of agroforestry strategies across Africa. Open access copy available |
La participation communautaire au cœur du modèle de restauration de la Grande muraille verte africaine (Community participation at the heart of the model for restoration of the Great Green Wall)The authors describe the African initiative of the Great Green Wall for the Sahara and the Sahel, which is currently in process. Thay note that the initiative is gainaing visibility and includes 110 participating villages. The article concludes by calling for support for these types of initiaties.
Open access copy available |
Contribution de la Régénération Naturelle Assistée des ligneux dans l’approvisionnement en bois des ménages dans le département de Magaria (Niger)The article investigates the amount of wood villagers received from using assisted natural regeneration (ANR) techniques as opposed to wood that they bought. The authors found that in the region of Magaria, Niger, over 90% of households' wood needs were fulfilled by wood grown using ANR alone. They also provide several examples of successful agroforestry parks in the region. They article conclude by arguing that scaling up ANR will have positive impacts for agroforestry parks and that women especially should be sensitized to the benefits of ANR for agroforestry.
Open access copy available |
Régénération naturelle à faible coût dans le cadre de l’aménagement forestier en zones tropicales sèches en Afrique (Natural generation at low cost as part of forest management in African tropical dry landscapes)The author examines effective, low-cost, and often-overlooked methods of natural regeneration by root suckering and terrestrial layering in African tropical dry forests. He suggests this method of regeneration for both inside and outside of forested areas.
Open access copy available |
Parcs agroforestiers sahéliens: de la conservation à l’aménagement (Agroforestry parks of the Sahel: from conservation to management)The authors describe the history of farmer managed wooded parklands in northern Cameroon. They note that a counter-productive ban on cutting from 1950-1990 provided a disinsentive for farmers to care for and plant young trees. Finally, the authors argue for implementation of farmer managed agroforestry parklands where parkland governance is mean to fall on local villages as opposed to local forestry department officers. In doing so, the authors provide suggestions for best practices in managing these wooded parklands for agroforestry.
Open access copy available |
Etude de la régénération naturelle assistée dans la région de Zinder (Niger) (Study of assisted natural regeneration in the Zinder region of Niger)This report, which was submitted to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) by International Resources Group (IRG), discusses assisted natural regeneration (ANR) in three departments in Niger, including Magaria, Matameye, and Mirriah. The authorss spoke with cultivators employing ANR practices in these areas and thus were actively protecting and managing the regrowth of their woody species of economic value. The report concludes by discussing the many positive impacts of assisted natrual regeneration and farmer managed natural regeneration (FMNR). Open access copy available |
Burkina Faso, Greening the SahelBackgroundWeForest works in the Sahel region of north-east Burkina Faso, collaborating with Entrepreneurs without Borders to address climate change, environmental degradation, and poverty through planting trees. Goals & ApproachAs part of the Great Green Wall initiative, this project aims to fight desertfication through reforestation. The project prepares land for restoration while also working on sowing and planting various tree species throughout. Open access copy available |
Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration: The Niger ExperienceBACKGROUNDThis paper reviews the farmer managed natural regeneration (FMNR) program introduced in the Maradi region of Niger around 1983 to restore degraded parts of the lands. FMNR was started in response to past failures of restoration projects that were modeled for temperate climates and in societies and cultures different from those in West Africa. This prompted the use of more conventional traditional methods of regeneration from re-sprouts of felled trees without running expensive nurseries. Open access copy available |
