ASB News and Events
The latest on land use, livelihoods and environmental services in the tropical forest margins.
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ASB on Voice of America
Voice of America French language radio has posted an interview with Peter Minang that aired on 4 October. Peter discusses the role of agroforestry in helping store carbon and improve environmental services and livelihoods for millions of smallholder farmers. He speaks of some of the challenges for getting this perspective into a future international climate change agreement.
4 October 2009 – La Voix de L’Amérique
Programme: Carrefour Sciences et Sante
Click to listen (.wma, 4MB)
TIME magazine – Farms and Forests Are Compatible
TIME magazine has picked up on the new global assessment of trees on farms, released by the World Agroforestry Centre in August. The article makes the link between agroforestry and climate change mitigation:
Right now agroforestry isn’t a major part of international climate-change policy, but delegates at the U.N. global-warming summit in Copenhagen that will convene in December could change all that. By putting a greater carbon value on trees planted on farmland through a cap-and-trade program that would give companies a carbon credit for growing and maintaining trees, we could encourage the growth of agroforestry. It’s not a perfect compensation for continued deforestation — whole, virgin rain forests have an enormous ecological value that can’t be replicated by agroforestry — but it’s a realistic fallback. “This is a win-win investment opportunity for the world,” says [Dennis Garrity, the World Agroforestry Centre's Director General]. It’s also a rare bit of green good news.
Agroforestry: Farms and Forests Are Compatible – TIME.
ASB on the radio – en français
During the media buzz of the World Congress of Agroforestry, ASB acting Global Coordinator Peter Akong Minang was interviewed by several french-language media outlets on the new global assessment of trees on farms. Peter highlighted the importance of trees outside forests in the fight against climate change.
24 August 2009 – Radio France Internationale
Programme: “C’est pas du vent”
Episode: “Un regard environnemental sur l’actualité”
Peter’s interview begins 5min 30 seconds into the programme.
Click to listen live on the RFI site | Click to download .mp3 of the interview
30 August 2009 – Radio-Canada
Programme: Les Années lumière
Episode: “Nature et environnement – Des terres d’ombre”
Click to listen live on the Radio-Canada site
For the full rundown of Congress media coverage click below:
What are the real costs of reducing forest emissions? – SciDev.Net
Without knowing REDD’s true costs we can’t analyse the benefits, says the ASB Partnership for the Tropical Forest Margins‘ Peter A. Minang in an Op-ed for SciDev.net.
[I]t will take more than financial incentives alone for REDD to lower emissions and improve livelihoods. REDD strategies will also have to address other issues, including causes of deforestation, sustainable forest management and monitoring capacity.
There is overwhelming evidence that deforestation in Africa and parts of Asia is largely due to agricultural expansion. So stopping it means making agriculture more efficient. This, in turn, means that funding for agricultural research and extension programmes for agricultural intensification has to be part of any effective and efficient REDD package.
Full article: What are the real costs of reducing forest emissions? – SciDev.Net.
The article is part of a special SciDev.net feature on Reducing Forest Emissions. The feature also includes articles from colleagues at the World Agroforestry Centre and the Africa Forest Forum.
Africa needs agroforestry to cut forest emissions
Growing trees among crops could sustain both environments and livelihoods in Africa, say F.K. Akinnifesi, B. Muys and O.C. Ajayi.
Getting REDD right for Africa
To get the best for and from Africa, REDD negotiators must hear African viewpoints, says head of the African Forest Forum, Godwin Kowero.
Also featured is the World Agroforestry Centre policybrief promoting Africa’s biocarbon
Reducing emissions through African agriculture
Agriculture, forestry and other land uses in Africa can help mitigate climate change while providing co-benefits.
Rundown of press coverage of Africa Biocarbon Initiative
Since the World Agroforestry Centre released new policybriefs on the potential for Africa’s biocarbon to mitigate climate change and help smallholder farmers, a number of media outlets have picked up the story.
A summary and links below.
26 May 2009 – World Agroforestry Centre Releases Policy Briefs on Biocarbon for Mitigation and Poverty Reduction in Africa – Climate-L.org
27 May 2009 – Africa’s Smallholder Farmers Risk Being Excluded From Future Climate Deal- Africa Science News Service
28 May 2009 – African farmers are afraid of being overlooked – COP15 United Nations Climate Change Conference Copenhagen 2009.