Foreword

Trees outside forests have meshed with the everyday lives of men and women everywhere from time immemorial. The designation covers a range of situations, from fruit trees to trees growing in fields, hedgerows, parks, and as amenities, trees in the wild and in woodlots. Countless tree terms refer back to myth, symbol and past civilizations. All down the millennia, Trees outside forests have been a providential source of fuel, food and drink, medicines and materials.

Policy-makers and managers have for the most part long ignored these familiar trees and shrubs, probably because the resource involves so many sectors. Forest resources are usually routinely assessed and well-known, but data and information on trees growing outside forest lands are still fragmentary, dispersed, and unincorporated into databases. And they appear likely to remain so.

Concern for the world's forests has climbed to the top of the international policy agenda over the last fifteen years. But because Trees outside forests are intrinsically intersectoral and multipurpose, attention tended to focus on the various components of this rather diffuse resource: agroforestry, silvopastoralism, urban and rural forestry, and other related disciplines. Trees outside forests were also overlooked in natural resource assessments, absent from statistics, policy and legislation, and barely mentioned in the public discourse. The research sector, however, did turn its attention to these trees because of the growing importance of agroforestry, and certain specific traits such as nitrogen fixation and the supply of fodder and browse.

With time, policy-makers and planners also came to express interest in the issue of Trees outside forests. Concern for the future of these tree resources in the face of burgeoning population growth and a mounting demand for wood and non-wood products prompted a review of the interaction between changing forest patterns and the dynamics of trees growing in urban and rural areas. The great promise of the sector for sustainable natural resource development and integrated forest, agricultural, pastoral and urban land management gradually became clear, prompting an explosion of questions in search of an answer. People became curious to explore the untapped backlog of local rural community lore and management practices concerning Trees outside forests, and the potential contribution of these trees to rural development, the quality of life, and the environment. The dynamics of Trees outside forests and the interaction with the utilization of forest trees, the significance of their advance or regression on farmland, how their role and evolution were affected by resource appropriation, land ownership rules and policy, and why and how to assess them attracted interest as well.

The stakes involved in the issue were so high that FAO deemed it necessary to review present knowledge of the sector -all the more urgently in that the 1996 expert consultation on Trees outside forests (Kotka III), held in Kotka, Finland, had expressed concern over the lack of hard data, and recommended that steps be taken in this sense. These recommendations were approved and confirmed by the 1997 and 1999 sessions of the FAO Committee on Forests. FAO therefore asked CIRAD-Forests to collaborate on this paper, in cooperation with experts from various countries. Their contributions concretely illustrate off-forest tree resources in a range of specific situations. Justification for the production of this document comes from the increasingly important role of Trees outside forests in the organization of living space, landscape management, enhanced production and food security. This collaborative, multidisciplinary, two-part work is built around documentary research and case studies. Part One describes the issue of Trees outside forests and its various niches within integrated rural and urban management. Part Two describes the situation of Trees outside forests in selected countries, with the emphasis on assessment.

The paper addresses a broad audience of policy-makers and planners, as well as technicians and scientists in the fields of research, education, development, resource and landscape conservation, and their institutions. While it cannot claim to be exhaustive at this point in time, it does pave the way for enhanced knowledge and sustainable management of trees in our rural and urban landscapes.

Policy-makers, planners and donors may find the arguments they need to develop and sustain policies and strategies to promote and support off-forest tree systems.

This issue in the FAO Conservation Guide Series thus hopes to help bring Trees outside forests into their own and rightful place. Readers are invited to send observations and comments to FAO, for careful consideration in future studies on the topic.

El Hadji Sène
Director
Forest Resources Division

Acknowledgements

FAO and CIRAD wish to thank the ministries, companies and institutes of the countries participating in the preparation of the case studies for this paper, in particular: Costa Rica: David Morales (CATIE): France: Frédéric Coulon (Solagro) and Thierry Bélouard (National Forest Inventory), India: Devendra Pandey (Forest Survey of India, Dehra Dun), Kenya: James Legilisho-Kiyiapi (Moi University), Mali: Harouna Yossi (Institut d'Economie rurale, Bamako) and Amadou Mr. Koyuyaté (PRF, Sikasso), Morocco: Omar M'Hirit and Mohamed Et-Tobi (Ecole nationale forestière d'ingénieurs, Rabat), Namibia: H.O. Kojweng and M. Chakanga (Ministry of Environment and Tourism, Windhoek), Sudan: William M. Glen (Forest Inventory Consultant).

FAO thanks CIRAD (France), its technical and financial partner in the preparation of this paper. A number of CIRAD departments and programmes participated: CIRAD-Forests, CIRAD-CP, CIRAD-emvt, CIRAD-tera. The Coordinators Ronald Bellefontaine, Sandrine Petit, Michelle Pain-Orcet, Philippe Deleport and Jean-Guy Bertault (CIRAD-Forests) benefited from the contributions of Laurence Boutinot, Hélène Dessard, Jean-Michel Harmand, Alain Karsenty, Gaël Legros, Dominique Louppe (CIRAD-Forests), Geneviève Michon (IRD-Development Research Institute), Nicole Sibelet and Emmanuel Torquebiau (CIRAD-tera), Bernard Toutain (CIRAD-emvt), Philippe Vaast (CIRAD-cp).

CIRAD thanks Isabelle Amsallem (FAO), Thierry Belouard (NFI), Dominique Berry (CIRAD-cp), François Grison (CIRAD-tera) and Bernard Masllet (CIRAD-Forests) for their advice. Thanks also to Martine Barale, Laurence Bellemin, Catherine Gérard, Micheline Lebrun, Marc Malmejean, Christiane Mellet-Mandard and Sylvie Vago (CIRAD-Dist.) for their bibliographical support, and Martine Bourcier, Jacqueline Martin-Julian, Annie Molina, Jean-François Trebuchon (CIRAD-Forests and Véronique Verdier (CIRAD-emvt) for their willing help.

Agnès Le Magadoux (FAO) was responsible for document production, including the editing and publication of case studies originally written in French, Spanish and English. The Publications and Multimedia Branch of CIRAD were responsible for editorial review and make-up.

This English version was revised and coordinated by Syaka Sadio and Patricia Negreros-Castillo. Thanks to them.

The project was launched and coordinated by Tage Michelson, Chief of the Forest Conservation, Research and Education Service of FAO's Forest Resources Division. Michelle Gauthier supervised the work from start to finish. Patrick So, Michel Malagnoux and Mohamed Saket offered valuable advice and participation. El-Hadji Sène, Director of the Forest Resources Division who has given special attention to this complex topic, read the entire document with great care. This paper is the fruit of collaboration among several FAO services. Among the many people who collaborated were Sally Bunning of the Department of Agriculture, Dominique Lantieri of the Department of Sustainable Development, Laura Russo of the Department of Forestry and Ali Mekour of the Legal Office.

FAO and CIRAD thank the authors of the photographs: R. Bellefontaine, C. Cossalter, R. Faiduti, B. Toutain, D. Depommier, A. Bertrand, P. Sarlin, T. Hofer, A. Ichaou, A Aubréville, A. Fabre, D. Louppe, A. Odoul, W. Gschladt, J.M. Harman, M. Balderi, L. Rivière, R. Jones, S. Braatz.

Presentation

This two-part document has deliberately focussed on two very different but complementary viewpoints, the general panorama and the detail. This approach, which makes it possible to establish the link between local situations and general trends, is also part of a recurring discussion.

Part One, Trees outside forests, a key to integrated rural and urban land management, attempts to review the backlog of knowledge concerning tree and shrub resources outside forests, based on existing databases and work done in related sectors.

Part Two, Trees outside forests, transmitting a universal lore, looks at these resources in concrete, localized situations based on national case studies.

Both sections focus on the characteristics and potential benefits of this highly dispersed, mostly cultivated, multi-purpose, non-forest tree resource which has been widely appropriated for its wealth of products and environmental services. Both sections appraise the contribution to local economies, suggest the impact at the country level, and give some hint of the impact at the international level. At this point it becomes apparent that Trees outside forests are very well-known to peasants, poorly-understood by managers, and mostly overlooked by national statistics and aid to development. The most prominent characteristics emerging from both the detailed and more general review are a certain blurriness of image concerning these resources (for lack of hard facts and figures -- apart from their obvious potential and despite specific efforts to assess them), plus their clear and unquestionable importance in the struggle to achieve food security, reduce poverty and find a positive response to the challenge of environmental degradation.

List of abbreviations and acronyms

AOC	Guarantee of origin (Appellation d'origine contrôlée)
BCCR	Central Bank of Costa Rica (Banco Central de Costa Rica)
CAP	Common Agricultural Policy
CATIE	Centro Agronómico de Investigación y Enseñanza /Tropical Agricultural Research and Training Centre (Costa Rica)
CAUE	Conseil en architecture, urbanisme et environnement /Architecture, Urban Planning and Environmental Council (France)
CBD	Convention on Biological Diversity
CDER	Centre de développement des énergies renouvelables/Centre for the Development of Rural Energy (Morocco)
CECI	Centre d'étude et de coopération international /International Study and Cooperation Centre (Canada)
CFIC	Canadian Forest Inventory Committee (Canada)
CIRAD	International Cooperation Centre on Agrarian Research for Development (France)
CITES	Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species
CMTD	Compagnie malienne de développement des textiles/Mali Textile Development Corporation (Mali)
COFO	Committee on Forestry
COSEFORMA	Cooperación en los sectores forestal y maderero/Forest and Wood Sector Cooperation (Costa Rica)
CPS	Cellule de planification et des statistiques/Planning and Statistics Group (Mali)
CRIAA	Centre for Research Information and Action for Development in Africa
CTE	Contrat territorial d'exploitation
CTS	Continuous transects sampling
DDAF	Direction départementale de l'agriculture et de la forêt/Departmental Division of Agriculture and Forests (France)
DIREN	Direction régionale de l'environnnement/Regional Division of the Environment (France)
DNCN	Direction nationale de la conservation de la nature/National Division of the Conservation of Nature (Mali)
DPAE	Direction de la planification agricole et de l'environnement/Agricultural Planning and Environment Service (Morocco)
FAO	Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
FCFA	Franc of the African Financial Community
FINNIDA	Finnish International Development Agency (Finland)
FNC	Forests NationalCorporation (Sudan)
FRA 2000	Forest Resources Assessment 2000
FONAFIFO	Fondo Nacional de Financiamiento Forestal/National Forest Fund (Costa Rica)
FSI	Forest Survey of India
FTPP/SSA	Forests, Trees and People Programme, sub-Saharan Africa
GAC	General Agricultural Census
GPS	Global Positioning System
GTS	Guided Transects Survey
GTZ	German Agency for Technical Cooperation
ICFFRE	Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education
ICRAF	International Council for Research in Agroforestry
IFF	Intergovernmental Forum on Forests
IER	Institut d'Economie rurale/Institute for Rural Economy (Mali)
IGN	Institut géographique national/National Geographic Institute (France)
IGPCC	Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
IICA	Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture
IITA	International Institute for Tropical Agriculture
IRD	Institute for Research and Development
IUCN	International Union for the Conservation of Nature
IUFRO	International Union of Forestry Research Organizations
KEFRI	Kenya Forestry Research Institute
KFMP	Kenya Forestry Master Plan
KFRI	Kerala Forest Research Institute (India)
LAC	Latin America and the Caribbean
MWS	Main Woodland Survey (U.K.)
NFP	National Forestry Programme
NWS	National Inventory of Woodland and Trees (U.K.)
NWFP	Non-wood forest products
ONF	Office national des fôrets/National Forestry Office (France)
ONF	Oficina nacional Forestal/National Forestry Office (Costa Rica)
PDPEO	Projet de développement pastoral et de l'élevage de l'Oriental/Eastern Pastoral and Livestock Development Project (Morocco)
PIN	Périmètre d'interêt national/zone of national interest
PEFC	Pan-European Forest Certification
RDMS	Relational Database Management System
SADC	Southern African Development Community
SCEES	Service central des études et des enquêtes/Central Bureau of Surveys and Studies (France)
SOFO	Situation of forests in the world
SPR-SWC	Soil protection and rehabilitation - Soil and water conservation
SRAAD	Sudan Reforestation and Anti-Desertification - Sudan Resource Assessment and Development
SSWT	Survey of Small Woods and Trees (U.K.)
Teruti	Enquête sur l'utilisation du territoire/Land Use Survey (France)
TROF	Tree Resources Outside Forests
UNCCD	United Nations Convention on the Control of Desertification
UNCED	United Nations Conference on Environment and Development
UNDP	United Nations Development Programme
UNFCCC	United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
UNFF	United Nations Forum on the forest
WRIP	Wood Resources Inventory Programme