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Tropical Forest Research Network |
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AGROMISA
Agromisa is a Dutch non-profit organisation whose aim is to support and strengthen the social and economic position of the rural population in the South. Agromisa fulfils its role by providing information on small-scale sustainable agriculture to farmers and organisations in developing countries. Agromisa's work is based on the idea that knowledge stimulates people to develop their own initiatives to improve their living conditions.
Agromisa offers individuals and organisations:
Question and Answer Service
This service provides - free of charge - written know-how and advice in reply to questions from farmers, extension agents, development workers and organisations in the South;
Agrodok publications
A series of practical and informative manuals in the fields of natural resources and the environment, animal and plant production, and food storage and preservation;
The 'A-week'
A course on participatory approaches to local development, held in the Netherlands twice a year and, if required, in other countries.
Agromisa is eager to build contacts with development organisations for whom our services may be of interest, particularly with staff in the South.
For more information or if you have any questions, please contact:
Agromisa Foundation
PO Box 41
6700 AA Wageningen
The Netherlands
Tel: +31 317 412217
Fax: +31 317 419178
E-mail: AGROMISA@wxs.nl
Internet: www.tool.nl/~agromisa
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IFS/IUFRO DRYLAND FORESTRY RESEARCH WORKSHOP (HYYTIÄLÄ, FINLAND, 31 JULY-4 AUGUST 1995) RECOMMENDATIONS
The workshop participants agreed on a wide-ranging set of resolutions to which they wish to draw the attention of national governments, international donors, and associated forestry research institutions. These were designed to address the problems experienced by the people of the world's drylands and deserts and highlight the significant role research can play in solving them.
1. The workshop recognises the wide range of wood and non-wood products harvested from natural dryland areas and the lack of sustainable management of this resource and recommends that priority be given to research on improved management of natural areas.
2. The workshop draws attention to the importance of developing new, cost-effective, socially, and economically suitable management methods for plantations and natural vegetation and recommends that adaptive research should concentrate on technologies suitable for the relevant communities.
3. The workshop recognises the need for maximising the returns to small producers of saleable products and recommends that intensified research on production and marketing of valuable products should involve experts in marketing.
4. In order to achieve participation of relevant communities in research programmes for trees on community and other lands, the workshop recommends:
a) That forest research actively seek
closer collaboration between
natural and social scientists in
involving communities in all
phases of identification, design,
management, and monitoring of
research, especially for on-farm
experiments.
b) To all forestry researchers that
participatory appraisal techniques
be increasingly used to define
research needs and to prepare
participatory research plans.
5. The workshop recognises that land-use problems of the dry zone can best be solved by forestry research in collaboration with other scientific disciplines and therefore recommends that:
a) increased support be given to
multidisciplinary and regional
research; and
b) in dryland development projects, a
component of forestry research
should be included and integrated
into the project.
6. The workshop notes the valuable information to be gained from long-term monitoring, especially using permanent sample plots and recommends:
a) That networks of such plots be
regularly maintained and assessed.
b) That the protected areas set aside
should include the areas traditionally
protected by communities for cultural
reasons.
7. The workshop notes the vital importance of information storage, handling, and dissemination in order to inform researchers and to avoid duplication of effort and draws the attention of national governments and funding agencies to the vital importance of maintaining national institutional capability in this area.
8. Since water is the critical natural resource in drylands, the workshop recommends that research on tree growing and plantations should pay particular attention to the optimisation of water use and the maintenance of site productivity. The following should be considered:
a) The hydrological effects of
management practices in natural
vegetation formations.
b) Water use efficiency and
hydrological effects of species
adopted for planting.
c) The techniques and feasibility of
using rain water harvesting
techniques for planted trees.
d) Where appropriate, management
methods and technology for trees on
irrigated lands.
e) Water relations in farming systems
which incorporate trees.
9. The workshop emphasises the importance and value of local and traditional knowledge for dryland management and recommends that support be given as a matter of urgency to collecting and consolidating local knowledge and to exchanging and sharing such information with the people concerned, so that the best use can be made of all knowledge in achieving sustainable development.
10. The workshop recognises the expanding need for tree planting for a wide range of products and services and recommends that:
a) High priority be given to improving
knowledge on the adaptability of
species and provenances,
especially with regard to difficult
sites. top of page NTFP-BIOCULTURAL-DIGEST
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email to: etjones@igc.org Source: NTFP-Biocultural-Digest, Vol. 03, No. 010 top of page 'DECISION TREES' - A ONE DAY
WORKSHOP IN EDINBURGH On 8 October 1999 the Edinburgh Centre for
Tropical Forests will be holding a workshop
titled 'Decision Trees; understanding individual,
collective and policy decisions on forestry in
northern and southern countries'. Participative forestry is increasingly advocated
in both temperate and tropical regions, but how
similar are the practices in each region, and
what socio-economic tools are being used to
quantify the factors controlling farmer,
community and political decisions? Seven
presentations are planned. For details,
please
see: http://www.nmw.ac.uk/ECTF/decisions.html For contact information, please see
International Calendar in this issue. top of page
b) Plantation performance (taking
account of their socio-economic and
environmental effects) should be
compared with a range of alternative
production systems, so as to provide
tools for decision making on optimal
landuse.
Source: Proceedings of an IFS/IUFRO Workshop,
Hyytiälä, Finland, 31 July-4 August 1995. Please also
see page ........