Preface
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The layout of this document originates from overview documents
presented at the FAO Expert Consultation on the Role of Forestry
in Combating Desertification which took place from 24 to 28 June
in Saltillo, Mexico as a satellite meeting to the Ninth World
Forestry Congress.
A summary report containing the recommendations and action
proposals to enhance the role of forestry in rural development
and the fight against desertification was published in 1985. This
has generated a number of requests for the Consultation's papers
and overview documents which could not be met from the available
copies in hand. The synthesis and publication of these overviews
proved essential, first to meet the increasing present demand for
information on dry land forestry experiences, and second to serve
as a guide to better orientate future development programmes at
the national, regional and global levels in this field.
To this end, this document was prepared and organized into 5
sections:
- Section I summarizes the main element for a strategy on
the role of forestry in combating desertification as well
as in developing arid lands, identifies the main
objectives of an arid zone forestry programme and action
proposals to enhance the contribution of forestry to
rural development.
- Section II presents an overview of recent developments in
three main areas, namely: i) production, utilization and
processing system, ii) conservation and restoration
systems and iii) policy, institutions and socio-economic
aspects.
- The section on production systems reviews forestry,
silvopastoral systems, agrisilviculture and wildlife
production systems.
- The section on conservation and restoration highlights
approaches and techniques for the control of wind
erosion, watershed management, water harvesting, land
restoration and revegetation, rehabilitation of saline
environments, wildlife conservation and genetic resources
conservation.
- The section on policy, institutions and socio-economic
considerations examines the characteristics of policy and
legal orientations, administrative and financial
implications, and the status of research, extension,
dissemination of information and education as related to
dry zones.
Action proposals for each area are identified.
- Section III contains selected papers on various aspects
of arid zone forestry.
- Section IV summarizes the state of knowledge and
experience in the world's arid region covering North
America, Latin America and the Caribbean, the
Sudano-Sahelian region, Eastern Africa, North Africa,
Near East, India, Pakistan, China, the Asian part of the
USSR and Australia.
- Section V analyses the role of arid zone forestry and its
contribution to rural development.
This document, while summarizing the state of knowledge and
experiences in the various arid regions of the world, should be
completed with specific practices for particular areas by
consulting special references for individual regions, many of
which are listed in the extensive bibliography provided at the
end of each paper in section III.
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