Spatial and temporal variation in crop diversity in agroforestry homegardens of southern Ethiopia

A key assumption in many homegarden studies is that homegardens are ecologically and socio-economically sustainable due to their species diversity. The precise relation between diversity and sustainability is still heavily debated, however. A basic question is how diversity in homegardens can best be characterized in view of the various dimensions of species diversity and their variation in time and space. This paper assesses different types of species diversity in the homegardens of Sidama region of southern Ethiopia. In a survey of crop species in 144 homegardens a total of 78 cultivated crop species (excluding trees) belonging to 10 functional groups were recorded; there were on average 16 crop species and 8 functional groups per farm. Within homegardens, plots differ in species composition and crop diversity. Four types of homegarden systems are distinguished differing in both type and area-share of dominant species, relative orientation at subsistence or cash production and overall crop diversity. The gradual replacement of enset by maize and of coffee by more financially attractive cash crops khat and pineapple causes a decrease in overall crop diversity. Our data demonstrate that it is incorrect to consider homegardens as generic systems with a uniform distribution of species diversity: important within and between homegarden variation exists. Ecological and socio-economic sustainability is not just related to species diversity per se, but rather to more specific features such as presence of keystone species and diversity in functional species groups. Socio-economic sustainability in terms of adjustment to socio-economic change implies dynamics in species diversit

De verbinding tussen ecologische infrastructuur en biocultureel erfgoed gebied

Het natuurbeleid is volop in discussie. Enerzijds geldt officieel nog steeds het credo ‘Natuur voor mensen, mensen voor natuur’ maar anderzijds geldt de ontwikkeling van de ecologische infrastructuur meestal nog als ijkpunt geldt voor het natuurbeleid. Deze paradox weerspiegelt verschillende visies over de vraag in hoeverre natuurbeheer gebaseerd moet zijn op ecologische processen of op maatschappelijke processen. Dit artikel beschrijft hoe de praktijk van natuurbeheer vaak een meer integrale visie vertoont dan de visies die aan bod komen in beleidsdiscussies. Met aandacht voor de Renkumse Poort als ecologische verbindingszon

Seeing the wood for the trees: the role of woody resources for the construction of gender specific household cultural artefacts in non-traditional communities in the Eastern Cape, South Africa

There is a growing wealth of data capturing the direct-use values of the environment and recognition of forests and wild resources as representing ‘‘the poor man’s overcoat’’. This focus has however resulted in an emphasis on the utilitarian values of wild resources for rural livelihoods and has for the most part overlooked their cultural values. In tangent to these developments within the field of anthropology there has been increased attention directed towards the relationship between biodiversity and human diversity over the past decade. This has resulted in the recognition of what the Declaration of Belem calls an ‘inextricable link’ between biological and cultural diversity. The term bio-cultural diversity has been introduced as a concept denoting this link. Consequently there is a need for more elaborate assessments of the various ways in which different groups of people find value in biodiversity. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the cultural significance of wild harvested plant resources for the maintenance of two gender specific cultural artefacts for amaXhosa people in South Africa, to assess the persistence of these practices in rapidly modernizing communities. We demonstrate the endurance of these ancient cultural artefacts in present-day peri-urban communities and suggest that they point to the need for improved understanding of the significance of bio-cultural diversity. The findings of the study should not be interpreted as illustrating stagnation in the traditional past, but rather as pointing at the need for improved understanding of the significance of bio-cultural diversity in a dynamic sense

Bosbouw en plattelandsontwikkeling in Europa

Typologie van plattelandsontwikkeling en plattelandsvernieuwing, de verschillende visies op de gewenste richting van plattelandsvernieuwing (agri-ruraal; utilitair; hedonistisch), en de rol die bosbouw en vergroting van het bosareaal in Europees verband hierbij kan spele

Sustainable management of African rain forest 210 NON-TIMBER FOREST PRODUCT RESOURCES: ABUNDANCE, DISTRIBUTION, AND THE IMPACT OF TIMBER EXPLOITATION

SUMMARY The integration of NTFP resource management is regarded as an important dimension of multiple use forest management. It should focus on securing local needs, conservation of forest resources and the development of extraction. Moreover, effective resource management should take into account the balance of competitive forest utilisation, especially commercial timber exploitation. This paper examines the interests of logging companies and of local people for certain forest resources, as well as the impact of logging on the NTFP plant resource base. It is argued that logging does not always affect the availability in negative sense. Ecological data demonstrated a good regeneration of the majority of species after logging operations, as well as the appearance of other frequently used species. Many important NTFPs are provided by highly productive species reaching their maximum densities in secondary forest types. Some of these species even prefer the habitat of logged-over forest. A clear negative impact, however, may be expected for those species that occur in very low densities. Sustaining the production levels and effective control of damage of logging with an emphasis on rare species are proposed as management directions for natural forests, whilst the development of extraction should focus on anthropogenic vegetation types. Keywords: Non-Timber Forest Products, resource inventory, logging, forest management, Cameroon. RESUME L'intégration des produits forestiers autres que le bois (NTFP) dans la gestion des ressources forestières est perçu ici comme une dimension importante de cette gestion à visage multiple. Elle doit s'intéresser à la sécurisation des besoins locaux, à la conservation des ressources forestières et au développement de l'extraction. De plus, une gestion efficiente des ressources doit tenir compte du caractère conflictuel des besoins vis-à-vis de la forêt, en particulier en ce qui concerne l'exploitation du bois d'oeuvre. Cette communication examine les intérêts des compagnies forestières et des populations locales au point de vue de certaines ressources forestières, de même que l'impact de la coupe du bois d'oeuvre sur la production des ressources autres que le bois (NTFP). Il est démontré que l'exploitation forestière (bois d'oeuvre) n'a pas que des effets négatifs sur la disponibilité des autres ressources. D'après les données écologiques, la majorité des espèces se régénèrent d'ailleurs bien après exploitation, de même que l'installation d'autres espèces fréquemment utilisées. De plus, des espèces hautement productives et atteignant leur densité maximum en milieu forestier secondaire 1 Tropenbos-Cameroon Programme, BP 219, Kribi, Cameroon. Present address: Forest policy and management group, Department of Environmental Sciences, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 342, 6700 AH Wageningen, the Netherlands. 2 Forest policy and management group, Department of Environmental Sciences, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 342, 6700 AH Wageningen, the Netherlands. Part I: Workshops 211 sont sources de production de nombreux NTFP. Quelques-unes unes de ces espèces s'installent de préférence en forêt déjà exploitée. Cependant, on peut s'attendre à ce que l'exploitation forestière affecte négativement les espèces productrices des NTFP qui ont une très faible densité par unité de surface. Des propositions sont faites en matière de gestion de la forêt naturelle, en vue de maintenir une production soutenue et un contrôle effectif des dégâts d'exploitation. Une attention particulière est accordée aux espèces rares pendant que le processus d'extraction doit se focaliser sur la végétation de type anthropogénique

Biocultural diversity : a novel concept to assess human-nature interrelations, nature conservation and stewardship in cities

Biocultural diversity is an evolving perspective for studying the interrelatedness between people and their natural environment, not only in ecoregional hotspots and cultural landscapes, but also in urban green spaces. Developed in the 1990s in order to denote the diversity of life in all its manifestations. biological, cultural and linguistic. co-evolving within complex socio-ecological systems such as cities, biocultural diversity was identified in the GREEN SURGE project as a response to recent challenges cities face. Most important challenges are the loss of nature and degradation of ecosystems in and around cities as well as an alienation of urban residents from and loss of interaction with nature. The notion of biocultural diversity is dynamic in nature and takes local values and practices of relating to biodiversity of different cultural groups as a starting point for sustainable living with biodiversity. The issue is not only how to preserve or restore biocultural practices and values, but also how to modify, adapt and create biocultural diversity in ways that resonate with urban transformations. As future societies will largely diverge from today's societies, the cultural perspective on living with (urban) nature needs careful reconsideration. Biocultural diversity is not conceived as a definite concept providing prescriptions of what to see and study, but as a reflexive and sensitising concept that can be used to assess the different values and knowledge of people that reflect how they live with biodiversity. This short communication paper introduces a conceptual framework for studying the multi-dimensional features of biocultural diversity in cities along the three key dimensions of materialized, lived and stewardship, being departure points from which biocultural diversity can be studied.Peer reviewe

Dealing with locally-driven degradation: A quick start option under REDD+

The paper reviews a number of challenges associated with reducing degradation and its related emissions through national approaches to REDD+ under UNFCCC policy. It proposes that in many countries, it may in the short run be easier to deal with the kinds of degradation that result from locally driven community over-exploitation of forest for livelihoods, than from selective logging or fire control. Such degradation is low-level, but chronic, and is experienced over very large forest areas. Community forest management programmes tend to result not only in reduced degradation, but also in forest enhancement; moreover they are often popular, and do not require major political shifts. In principle these approaches therefore offer a quick start option for REDD+. Developing reference emissions levels for low-level locally driven degradation is difficult however given that stock losses and gains are too small to be identified and measured using remote sensing, and that in most countries there is little or no forest inventory data available. We therefore propose that forest management initiatives at the local level, such as those promoted by community forest management programmes, should monitor, and be credited for, only the net increase in carbon stock over the implementation period, as assessed by ground level surveys at the start and end of the period. This would also resolve the problem of nesting (ensuring that all credits are accounted for against the national reference emission level), since communities and others at the local level would be rewarded only for increased sequestration, while the national reference emission level would deal only with reductions in emissions from deforestation and degradation