Managing forests for food security
The management of acai (Euterpe oleraceae) forests in the estuary of the Amazon River in Brazil provides an important example of locally-developed forest management systems that preserve many ecosystem services (including biodiversity conservation) while also contributing food and other economic products to households. Production of acai fruit has recently expanded greatly as use of the fruit has moved beyond the borders of Amazonia. Local smallholder farmers have responded to the new opportunities by expanding and intensifying cultivation and management of the palm. Such smallholder-developed forest management systems have yet to be recognised by either the conservation or development communities. CIFOR scientist Christine Padoch gave this presentation on 8 September 2012 at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Jeju, South Korea, during a session co-hosted by CIFOR titled ‘Managing wild species and systems for food security’.
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Managing forests for food security
- 1. Managing Forests for Food Security IUCN World Conservation Congress Saturday, 8 September 2012 Jeju, Korea
- 2. Smallholder management of forests has been “invisible” • For millennia forests and other non‐agricultural ecosystems have been managed to better satisfy a variety of human and societal needs, including the need for food • However, these traditional forms of management have remained mostly invisible to researchers • We need to focus on identifying, understanding and evaluating their realities, potentials, and the trade‐offs they demand.
- 4. purma vieja chacra nueva platano chacra purma vieja chacra en produccion chacra en produccion frutal platano platano yucal y platanal frutal THINKING beyond the canopy purma huerta
- 5. Managed Forests in Amazonia THINKING beyond the canopy
- 6. Expansion of municipalities producing acai fruit, 1985‐2004 according to IBGE 2004 ~1985* Brondizio, E. S. 2008. The Amazonian Caboclo and the Acai Palm: Forest farmers in the Global Market. New York: THINKING beyond the canopy New York Botanical Garden Press.
- 7. Acai palm (Euterpe oleracea) raquiles broom dye fruit juice domestic animal fodder smoke rubber (coagulate) fruit fertilizer roof cover leaves “poguega” shrimp bait wrap “peconha” climbing belt general covers leaves/ crownshaft heart of palm leaflets hat paper pulp construction beams foundation for general trunk trunk construction floor boards fences walls bridges “cacuri” fixed fishing trap Construction of raised plant bed roots Medicine for stomach Figure courtesy of E. Brondizio problems
- 8. Terrain preparation Crops: Annuals Unmanaged Selective clearing Unmanaged forest Clearing & leveling Papaya bi-annuals Acai Banana Lemon grass Pineapple Thinning & Sowing Inter-cropping Intensive Managed Acai plantation Transplanting in rows Acai over bananas Pruning acai clumps Perennials Acai monoculture Acai agroforestry Acai agroforestry Figure courtesy of E. Brondizio
- 9. Average no sacks of açai (~48 kg fruit/sack) produced per month by 36 sample households in Mazagao (2000 – 2011) '! &! %! +,-./0/ $! +122,3/ 4,5/.671-8.9 #! "! ! !! !" !# !$ !% !& !' !( !) !* "! "" #! #! #! #! #! #! #! #! #! #! #! #!
- 10. Management for Multiple Products
- 11. Smallholder management of forests has been “invisible” • Is working with smallholder forest management (rather than teaching farmers conventional forestry practices) a promising way for assuring food, incomes, and sustainable landscapes?
- 12. Please visit us at www.cifor.org