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Book (stand-alone)Sustainable management of Miombo woodlands
Food security, nutrition and wood energy
2018Also available in:
No results found.The Miombo woodland is a vast African dryland forest ecosystem covering close to 2.7 million km2 across southern Africa (Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe). The woodlands are characterized by the dominance of Brachystegia species, either alone or in association with Julbernardia and Isoberlinia species. It is estimated that the woodlands – through their numerous goods and services which include various non-wood forest products (NWFPs) (e.g. insects, mushrooms, fruits, tubers, medicine, fodder, honey, seeds) and woodfuels, which, for simplicity, will be referred to as non-timber forest products, or NTFPs, throughout the publication – sustain the livelihoods of more than 100 million rural poor and 50 million urban people. The charcoal sector alone employs vast numbers of rural people and offers additional income to many poor rural families. Communities moreover rely directly on the woodlands for food and nutrition. NWFPs add vital micro- and macronutrients to local diets and contribute to diversified food systems, while woodfuel is essential for cooking and sterilizing, thus ensuring proper nutrient absorption and providing clean water for drinking. Forests and trees, if managed sustainably, are an important source of resilience for rural people in the Miombo woodlands, supporting households to absorb and recover from climatic or economic calamities and contributing to resolving the underlying causes of food insecurity, undernutrition and poverty by providing nutritious edible products and woodfuel for cooking in addition to conserving biodiversity and water resources, buffering extreme weather conditions and preventing land degradation and desertification. Generally speaking, it is now accepted that forests managed for both timber and NTFPs retain more biodiversity and resilience than forests managed solely for one aspect, e.g. timber and exotic timber plantations. However, a growing population in high need of agricultural land and unsustainable use and overharvesting of natural resources in parts of the Miombo woodlands, combined with climate change impacts (e.g. drought, fires), leave insufficient time for many trees and associated species to regenerate naturally, posing a serious threat to the products and services of the woodlands, and to the livelihoods depending on them. Compounding the problem and hindering development of the Miombo ecosystem, are: i) lack of an enabling policy environment; ii) unsustainable management; iii) limited willingness and ability to pay for and access to energy-efficiency technologies; iv) inadequate awareness and information, including technical capacity; v) high poverty levels; and vi) limited access to microcredit facilities. With the Committee on World Food Security’s endorsement of the recommendations presented in the High Level Panel of Experts Report on Sustainable Forestry for Food Security and Nutrition in late 2017 – which include promoting multifunctional landscapes, integrated food-forestry systems, and research on associated linkages, among other things – forests and trees are expected to play a greater role in future land-use decisions and related policies. This paper provides an overview of these linkages in the context of the Miombo woodlands, in the hope that future land use, policy decisions and financial investments are shaped to support the contributions of forests and trees to the health and livelihoods of communities in the ecoregion. The following key messages were formulated: • Forests and trees, if managed sustainably, are an important source of resilience for rural people in the Miombo woodlands, supporting households to absorb and recover from climatic or economic calamities and contributing to resolving the underlying causes of food insecurity, undernutrition and poverty by providing nutritious edible products and woodfuel for cooking in addition to conserving biodiversity and water resources, buffering extreme weather conditions and preventing land degradation and desertification. • Current data bases referring to the value of the Miombo must be analysed and used as evidence to improve policy-making. • Miombo woodlands may be dominant (spatially), but they have not been addressed as a single unit but as part of the region’s forests. They form part of the overall forestry strategies and no specific mention in the conventions does not suggest that their importance is underplayed. • The management of Miombo will require some changes in management structures, especially in providing benefits emerging from trade in forest products to local managers. • Local forest managers should play a greater role in allocating resources for feedstock for charcoal production. -
ProjectIncreasing National Capacities to Generate Information on Forests - GCP/SLC/205/GER 2020
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No results found.Belize, Guyana, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago all have a large area of logged forest. These forests have been harvested at least once, are mostly located in relatively accessible areas and have an original or modified species composition that includes a number of valuable timber trees. Intensified forest management can offer much needed employment opportunities in rural areas and can significantly contribute to the reduction of poverty and hunger. Apart from subsistence agriculture, forestry and forest related activities represent the only income opportunities in many hinterland communities in the four project countries. The project aimed to establish whether or not these forests could be harvested again and, if so, whether this process would be sustainable. The second crucial question was whether or not it would be possible to apply a silvicultural treatment to improve the growing conditions of the future crop and, if applied, whether such a treatment could be considered a profitable investment. -
Book (stand-alone)Trees, tree genetic diversity and the livelihoods of rural communities in the tropics
State of the World’s Forest Genetic Resources – Thematic study
2020Also available in:
No results found.This study, prepared within the ambit of The State of the World’s Forest Genetic Resources, reviews what is known about the value of trees for tropical rural communities. It focuses on non-timber products harvested from trees in natural and managed forests and woodlands, the various products and services obtained from trees planted or retained in agroforestry systems, and the commercial products of tree commodity crops. The role of intra-specific genetic variation in determining the value of trees in supporting livelihoods is discussed in each of the three contexts. The study also identifies specific points that should be given particular attention in the future to better support tree-based livelihoods of rural communities in the tropics.
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