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Scaling up farmer‐managed natural regeneration in Africa to restore degraded landscapes
Author(s) -
Reij Chris,
Garrity Dennis
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
biotropica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.813
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1744-7429
pISSN - 0006-3606
DOI - 10.1111/btp.12390
Subject(s) - natural regeneration , regeneration (biology) , natural (archaeology) , hectare , agroforestry , scale (ratio) , natural forest , geography , tree planting , environmental resource management , environmental science , biology , agriculture , cartography , archaeology , microbiology and biotechnology
We present examples of large‐scale farmer‐managed natural regeneration of woody species in Africa to create new agroforestry systems. We also analyze two cases in Ethiopia of large‐scale natural regeneration. The available evidence shows that the average costs per hectare of promoting on‐farm natural regeneration are low as soon as farmers are familiar with this practice and begin to spontaneously adopt it. Based on these cases, current ambitious forest restoration targets can be achieved, but this goal requires a shift from tree planting to assisted natural regeneration. We propose a scaling‐up strategy for natural regeneration based on experience gained mainly in the West African Sahel.