FOREWORD

Between the 11th and the 15th of June, 1984, an International Round Table on Prosopis tamarugo Phil. was held in Arica, Chile, attended by over 90 participants from 21 countries. It was organized by two Chilean institutions, the Tarapacá University and the National Forestry Corporation, under the sponsorship of FAO and UNESCO/MAB.

The main purpose of this Round Table was to congregate scientists and technicians from different parts of the world interested in the development of arid and semi-arid zones, to analyze and discuss the Chilean experience in desert development based on the utilization of man-made Prosopis tamarugo plantations by livestock, and to share the experiences of other countries in the use of other species of the genus Prosopis.

Additionally, working committees for Africa, the Near and Far East, America, and Chile, were established with the purpose of proposing international programmes for the utilization and multiple-use of the genus Prosopis.

This publication, which has been prepared jointly by the FAO Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean and the FAO Agriculture Department in Rome, Italy, presents the conclusions arrived at by the Working Committees, and the transcription of the papers presented by the participants to the various panels in which the Round Table was divided. It is published simultaneously in two versions, English and Spanish, in order to reach a greater amount of readers. We hope it will serve as a practical and useful tool to all those engaged in the struggle against desertification.

HONORARY BOARD

A group of participants in the tamarugo forest.

Committee Agreements

COMMITTEE FOR AMERICA

Committee Members

José Inácio da Silva, proposed for president by the Mexican delegate, is appointed for the post by wide approval of the participants; Karlin Ulf, from Argentina, is appointed vice-president, as proposed by Chile, and Lorenzo Maldonado is appointed rapporteur after a proposal from the United States of America.

To start activities, the aims and functions of the Committee are established as follows:

The primary aims of this committee will be to coordinate the exchange of information generated as knowledge on the genus increases; to promote development and research lines among regions and/or countries; to serve as inter-institutional link among the countries; to maintain horizontal coordination with the remaining committees in the world and respond, in turn, to the general coordination.

The committee functions will be in the hands of the organizers of the coming meetings on Prosopis and will have the mission of promoting the action of such committee through its members and in coordination with the proposed international organization.

Once the aims and working mechanisms have been established, an agenda is formulated to call the meeting to order, this agenda being as follows:

Considering that this type of meetings is necessary for the economic development of arid zones, a follow-up of the agreements reached herein is recommended. The Brazilian delegation, concurrent with this position, offers that, under the auspices of their government, the second international meeting on Prosopis be held at the Brazilian Northeast; the motion finds unanimous approval by the Committee for America. The motion is then put to the consideration of the plenary meeting, which if it passes the approval, will appoint Brazil as the host for the next international meeting. If necessary, the rationale can be submitted upon request. Likewise, and as an advance for the organization thereof, the Argentinian delegation, through the Vice-President of the Committee for America, offer their country as host for a third meeting on Prosopis. This motion is also put to the consideration of the Honorable Assembly.

Once this initial subject had been thoroughly reviewed, the Prosopis situation in America was analyzed and the following conclusions were arrived at:

• That, in the Second International Meeting on Prosopis, businessmen and producers involved with the genus be invited to exhibit their products.
• That the participating countries contribute with the technical, traditional, current and potential knowledge on the use of Prosopis, for which the Committee, headed by Peru, has formulated a guideline for data collection.
• That it is highly recommendable that each of the countries promote the formation of a national Prosopis association with a view to its internationalization.
• That for an active and efficient communication it is necessary to count on an executive board formed by a representative and a deputy, subordinated to the Committee; this executive board has been formed as follows: Argentina: Ulf Karlin and Enrique Marmillón; Bolivia: Robert T. Paterson; Brazil: José Inácio da Silva; Chile: Jaime Latorre Alonso; United States of America: Robert D. Kirmse; Mexico: Lorenzo J. Maldonado; Peru: Carlos López Ocaña.
• The University of Chile offers its infrastructure for the establishment of a documentation centre on the genus, which was approved by this Committee. Certainly, this offer is extended to all countries wishing to participate in the project.
• The Committee sets forth the convenience of a permanent and continued release of an informative newsletter on general aspects on Prosopis, with the possibility that Brazil, with its infrastructure, be encharged with it. FAO offers to release such newsletter together with their annual publication on Forest Genetic Resources, edited in French, English and Spanish.
• General coordination by FAO is essential, to which the Committee will report.
• The Committee for America will seek to invite the various American countries which have the Prosopis species but are not represented here now, to join this Committee.
• To establish germoplasm and rhizobiologic banks at each country, taking into account provenance, progeny, standards, and in situ and standard trials and tests.
• The following is proposed in the realm of “horizontal collaboration”:
  • Studies on, or taxonomic classification of, the genus Prosopis.
  • Exchange of human resources.
  • Interdisciplinary Nomenclator of institutions, persons and researchers.
  • A Bank of Projects and Research Lines.
  • Standardization and establishment of a working methodology.
  • Resource inventories and prospects.
  • Multiple uses and management practices for the resource.
• The Committee proposes to design a logotype with the outline of the American continent, as background to an arboreal Prosopis spanning the continent; the design will be made by Brazil.

The Executive Board of the International Prosopis Association, IPA.
From left to right: Lorenzo J. Maldonado, second Vice-president;
José Inácio da Silva, President; and Karlin Ulf, first Vice-president.

COMMITTEE FOR AFRICA, NEAR AND FAR EAST

Committee Members

Proposed International Program for the Utilization and Management of the Genus Prosopis for Multiple Use in Arid and Semi-Arid areas of Africa, Near and Far East Regions.

I. JUSTIFICATIONS

1. The majority of the total and areas in Africa, Near East and India are utilized for grazing by livestock and wildlife species. These lands provide the bulk of the feed consumed by the millions of heads of animal kept under various husbandry systems. Unfortunately, these lands and the grazing resources they support have been misused and turned into man made deserts.

2. The above regions are characterized by erratic and highly fluctuating rainfall, long dry seasons and frequent prolonged drought. Under such environmental conditions forage productivity is subjected to large variations, causing sharp changes on the health condition, reproduction and production of herds and flocks. Thus, there is a need for range improvement methods that will result in rapid increases in forage quantity and quality. Since the probabilities of successfully seeding grasses in these low rainfall areas is limited, a logical alternative is establishment of agro-silvopastoral systems that utilize adaptable fodder tree and shrub species.

3. There are several successful examples of the worldwide utilization of members of the genus Prosopis for fuel, forage, construction wood, edible products, bee forage, soil fertility regeneration, shelterbelts, modification of micro-environments, soil erosion control, and afforestation of wastelands. These multiple uses and the wide adaptation of the different Prosopis species makes this high-potential genus a qualified candidate for achieving the required improvement in both amount and feeding value of forage produced in arid and semi-arid areas.

II. RECOMMENDATIONS

It is recommended that research, demonstration and development activities pertain to the following:

1. Cooperative Research and Development Network. Development and research related to these species should be undertaken through an international cooperative network involving national and regional institutions and on-going projects. This will result in a more effective use of the financial and human resources. Some suggested institutions include the Desert Institute in Egypt, ACSAD, Agricultural Research Corporation in Sudan, Central Arid Zone Research Institute, Institute du Sahel in Mali.

   It is further recommended that a consultant visit these and other institutes to determine their interest in participating in the network and to determine their possible contribution. The consultant will also identify a Lead Centre to function as a coordinating body for the various activities, material and information exchange.

2. Identification of Prosopis species with potential for multiple use in the arid and semi-arid parts of Africa, Near and Far East. The following species having multiple use potential could be checked as possible choices to meet the objectives sought:
   Prosopis tamarugo
   P. cineraria - synon. P. spicigera
   P. strombulifera
   P. juliflora
   P. chilensis

   Concurrently, planting of Acacia albida and/or A. tortilis should be carried so that they would act as reference species.

3. Adaptation and Behaviour. It is necessary to know and demonstrate the adaptability and behaviour of the recommended leguminous trees and shrubs under agro-silvo-pastoral systems in order to increase productivity in terms of crop yield, livestock production and soil protection. It is also required to determine the nutritive value and yield of each component, e.g. leaves, fruits and twigs during the grazing season and cropping period. Regular assessment of parameters such as persistence, tolerance to direct grazing and/or lopping, natural regeneration and seed viability should be attempted.

4. Techniques for the evaluation of fodder species proposed in respect to their adaptability, behaviour, productivity, nutritional values and other such items are limited. Thus there is a need to develop appropriate techniques and to standardize them among participating institutions and projects to facilitate comparative analysis.

   The successful establishment of plantations for practical use requires the planting of healthy seedlings. There is therefore need for the formulation of standardized techniques under the various situations regarding the rearing of seedlings. This will entail studies regarding such subjects as: seed selection and storage (protection), germination inducement and requirements, growth media, kinds and sizes of growth containers, effective nursery facilities and appropiate stages of seedling development for transplanting. The success of transplanting depends upon the amount of water available to the seedlings; therefore, there is a need to determine how water supplies can be increased through runoff water harvesting techniques.

5. Management: Establishment of fodder trees and shrubs incurs in relatively high costs and takes a few years before reaching the utilization stage. Such factors dictate that management and use of these species for animal feed and other purposes as fuel, construction wood, edible products, etc. should be done on a rational way. It is thus necessary to consider the inter-relationships between the various uses and the woody perennials in order to develop utilization systems that will compromise between the needs of the planted species to grow and regenerate, and the functions they perform. Key uses in successful management would be protection from felling, control of livestock population using the area and the proper timing of defolation. Protection of planted areas from intrusion by man and/or animals is a must. Technical guidance should be provided to protect the young plantations and to outline and demonstrate their proper use. Realizing the fact that rangelands in Africa and the Near East Region are used for communal grazing by an expanding livestock population, it would be practically impossible to establish and maintain plantations without solving the problem of ownership. It follows that beside the adoption of such systems as cooperative ranches and state grazing perimeters, consideration should be given to the establishment of privately-owned forest farms. Such holdings could be developed on parts of village grazing perimeters or on abandoned grazing lands. A similar approach can be considered by countries implementing agrarian reform.

6. Agro-Silvo-Pastoral System: Package of Agro-Silvo-Pastoral systems with lopping intensity and lopping cycle, spacing of tree species for inter-cropping with other species suitable for the region to be worked out.

   Grazing systems to be standarized as per carrying capacity of the rangeland with adoption of rotational or deferred grazing systems.

   Since inflorescence of Prosopis species has a lot of potential for apiculture, there is justification for its involvement and development.

   Prosopis wood is strong and durable and also has potential as fuel, charcoal and as construction material and hence there is a need to regulate the felling cycle.

7. Training Courses and materials and demonstration: There is a large amount of information regarding the raising, value, utilization and management of these species, but it is not widely disseminated. This information, as well as any new information generated by the network, should be used for the preparation of practical and well-illustrated training manuals. Simple extension material should also be prepared and made available to land users.

   Regular training courses for technicians and extensionist from the participating countries should be conducted. It would be beneficial to rotate these between the institutions and projects, so that the participants from other countries can also gain from local experiences.

   Field demonstrations are required to promote the establishment and use of the species among the land users. The land users should be involved in the formulation and implementation of these demonstrations.

A noteworthy example of how institutions and projects could be used for training and demonstration purposes is the FAO “Forestry Development and Reforestation” project in Cabo Verde (Africa); refer to appendix. In countries where specialized national institutions do not exist, field projects can play a major role in meeting the above recommendations.

APPENDIX

The FAO “Forestry development and reforestation” project in Cabo Verde (Africa), initiated in 1978, implements the following activities:

• Adaptability trials with various species of trees and shrubs.
• Testing of establishment techniques using water run-off systems complemented with investigations on water movements in the ground and on the effects of watershed management.
• Improvement of nursery management.
• Establishment of soil maps in order to identify the most suitable areas for reforestation.
• Biomass measurements.
• Identification of selection criteria in Prosopis juliflora.
• Management of reforested areas including juridical reglamentation.
• Technical support to the National Forestry Division.
• Training of national staff.
• Dissemination of planting and management techniques.
• Economic analysis of reforestation inputs and outputs.
• Reforestation of 1,000 ha/year.

The structure and achievement of the above mentioned project could serve as an example of what can be done in a rather limited period of time, providing that the objectives are clearly identified and that necessary funds are made available.

COMMITTEE FOR CHILE

Committee Members

ALFONSO AGUILERA
GUILLERMO ALVAREZ
JUAN CARLOS ARAYA
RAFAEL AVARIA
GABRIEL COGOLLOR
FERNANDO DE LA RIVA
JOSE DE LA TORRE
JAIME GAETE
PEDRO GALLO
JORGE GANDARA
ROLANDO GARRIDO
MAURICIO JIMENEZ
ITALO LANINO
RAUL MENESES
MAURICIO MEYER
JAIME RODRIGUEZ
JORGE RUBIO
CARLOS SIERRA
EUGENIO SOTOMAYOR
IVAN SOZA
FUSA SUDZUKI
LUIS TAPIA
RUDOLF THOMANN
AMADOR TORRES
JOSE TRIVELLI
IVAN ULLOA
MAGALY VASQUEZ
JOHANNES WRANN

CONCLUSIONS

The Committee for Chile, taking into consideration that the Tamarugal Pampa is an eco-system embedded in a set of interacting ecological environments, characterized by the fragility inherent to desert zones, has deemed it basic that every intervention into the existing natural resources be made in accordance with the framework of a regional natural resource conservation and development strategy, concurrent with the modern concept of Multiple Use of the Resources, established by the World Conservation Strategy (IUCN,1980).

The available information leads the Committee to recognize that the tamarugo forest constitutes a unique resource in the world, making it mandatory to perpetuate its existence, preserve it as a valuable genetic resource and promote its utilization within the framework of the sustained multiple use concept. All of this points to the need of creating a National Reserve under State tuition and control.

Next, the Committee recommends the following lines of action:

• To continue and enlarge, if necessary, observations tending to characerize the physical environment at the Tamarugal Pampa.
• To diagnose the present condition of the plantations and natural forests.
• To conserve, select, reproduce and distribute genetic resources.
• To encourage the utilization of the available information about the management of the resource.
• To continue with the assessment of the productivity of the Tamarugal Pampa System.
• To establish the research studies necessary to develop the application of technology to the resource.
• To continue with the study of silvicultural and protection treatments for the management of the forest, within the concept of multiple use.
• To explore the ancestral utilization patterns of the resource, particularly the transhumant activities and the interactions with their respective ecosystems.
• That multi-disciplinary teams participate in the design and supervision of the planning process for the area.

In light of the foregoing, and of the often expressed need of counting on an intellectual and physical centre for desert zone development, the Committee suggests requesting the Tarapacá University to consider the possibility of becoming a centre for the study of desert zones in the Southern Cone of America in general, and the Atacama Desert in particular, where the various researchers and experts from Chilean and foreign universities and institutions related to research on zones of extreme aridity may contribute with their experience.

FINAL PLENARY SESSION

1. By the agreement of all participants the recommendations of the three committees were approved.

2. It was agreed, by the participants, to establish The International Prosopis Association (IPA). Mr. José Inácio da Silva (Brazil) was elected as President. First Vice-president was appointed Mr. Karlin Ulf (Argentina); and Second Vice-president, Mr. Lorenzo J. Maldonado (Mexico).

3. Mr. José Inácio da Silva, in the name of the Brazilian Minister of Agriculture, proposed the Brazilian Northeast as seat of the Second Prosopis Meeting. This proposal was approved by the participants. Mr. Karlin Ulf proposed Argentina for the third meeting, which was also approved.

4. The Principal of the Tarapacá University, Mr. Carlos Raúl Valcarce, closed the Round Table. Diplomas were distributed to each of the participants.

A section of the participants attending the International Round Table Closing Session.