Reclaiming drylands is a solution to deforestation

UN appoints new International Drylands Ambassador to champion agroforestry on dry and semi-arid lands.

Changwon City, Republic of Korea, 13 October 2011 - Land scarcity continues to be a threat to forests globally. As more land is needed for agriculture to feed a growing population, much of it comes from converting forest land.

“120 million hectares under agriculture will be needed to feed a population of 9 billion people by 2050,” –said Luc Gnacadja , the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). “The choice is to either reclaim degraded lands or encroach on forests.”

However, over-farming can quickly exhaust the soil and degrade the land, leading to desertification and erosion. The poorest of people are worst affected by the loss of land cover, effects which include famine and an unbroken cycle of poverty.

Agroforestry, the practice of incorporating useful trees into agriculture, especially in drylands and on degraded lands, provides an alternative to farming in forests where the soil is more fertile. In many cases this involves planting trees that are indigenous to areas that have a particularly harsh climate, or nurturing those that germinate naturally. 

“Investing in agroforestry is the cheapest way of relieving poverty,” said Gnacadja, who was speaking at the 10th Session of the Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (COP 10), during the appointment of two new Drylands Ambassadors.

Dennis Garrity and his role as a UN Drylands Ambassador

One new Ambassador was Dennis Garrity, former Director General of the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF). Receiving the appointment, Garrity said that he saw his role as a duty to inform the wider community about the great successes in regenerating drylands around the world.

Despite the situation in drylands areas seeming hopeless, as many perceived the situation with the recent drought and famine in the Horn of Africa, practical methods of farming that support livestock and crops can provide a long-lasting solution.  “The world’s drylands are under stress but they are inhabited by resourceful people,” said Garrity. 

“Most desperately poor people can dramatically increase their food production through methods like Evergreen Agriculture, agroforestry and farmer-managed natural regeneration, as well as through methods that promote landcare in the rehabilitation of drylands.”

Dennis Garrity will return to the Centre on sabbatical to continue the promotion of Evergreen Agriculture in Africa and South Asia.

Mr. Gnacadja said that Dr. Garrity's extensive career and global experience made him an ideal champion of drylands.  “His work on developing agroforestry alternatives to slash-and-burn agriculture is widely recognized, as are his efforts to develop institutional innovations related to farmer-led organizations in sustainable agriculture and natural resources management.”

The World Agroforestry Center and the Great Green Wall

The World Agroforestry Centre is participating in the ambitious Great Green Wall project, which seeks to establish a dense zone of tree planting, agroforestry and agriculture across Africa from the Sahel in the west to Somalia in the east. The Centre will work with farmers to manage trees that protect and restore degraded soils using indigenous tree species that are also a valuable resource for the people of the region. These trees can provide food during long dry periods, drought and famine. They may also provide fodder for livestock, a main source of nutrition for many populations that inhabit dry and semi - arid areas.

The Centre’s new Director General, Tony Simons will build on the strong position that the Centre holds in impacting and transforming the lives and landscapes of smallholder farmers.

 The Conference continues in Changwon, Republic of Korea.