1 December 2011: The World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) and the Alternatives to Slash and Burn Partnership for the Tropical Forest Margins (ASB) programme have released a series of policy briefs that focus on topics including agroforestry, carbon markets, climate-smart agriculture and REDD+ (reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries, as well as conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of carbon stocks).

The policy briefs were launched on the sidelines of the Durban Climate Change Conference. The guidebook on “Improving carbon initiatives aimed at smallholders: Addressing opportunities and challenges through better communication” focuses on communicating carbon project messages to different audiences and providing information on complex concepts around climate change, carbon sequestration and carbon markets to farmers.

The brief on “Making climate-smart agriculture work for the poor” offers recommendations to overcome constraints related to the limited time that farmers have to invest when they are fully occupied, the slow return on investment and limited access to markets and capital.

In “On-farm timber production for emission reduction with sustainable benefits at the tropical forest margins,” ASB provides highlights, based on research in Cameroon and Ghana, opportunities for enhancing livelihoods and biodiversity and contributing to REDD+.

The policy brief on “Why smallholders plant native timber trees away from the forest margin: Lessons from the Leyte, the Philippines” focuses on understanding why farmers have chosen to grow high-value, slower growing native timber on their farms as opposed to low quality, fast growing timber.

The ASB policy brief titled “Drivers and consequences of tropical forest transitions: options to bypass degradation” stresses the lack of evidence of linear extrapolation of forest recovery into the future and that an increase in forest area does not guarantee recovery of ecosystem services, particularly related to hydrological impacts of fast-growing trees.

The policy brief titled “Agroforestry in REDD+: Opportunities and Challenges” describes the contribution of agroforestry and tree-based systems: as part of REDD+ under some definitions, or as part of strategies to achieve REDD+ in landscapes, for example by alleviating pressure on forests. It calls for enabling market infrastructure, policies on tree rights and ownership and safeguards may allow contribution to the goals of REDD+ and nationally appropriate mitigation actions (NAMAs).

ICRAF and ASB are members of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). [Publication: Improving Carbon Initiatives Aimed at Smallholders: Addressing Opportunities and Challenges Through Better Communication] [Publication: Making Climate-Smart Agriculture Work for the Poor] [Publication: On-farm Timber Production for Emission Reduction with Sustainable Benefits at the Tropical Forest Margins] [Publication: Drivers and Consequences of Tropical Forest Transitions: Options to Bypass Land Degradation?] [Publication: Agroforestry in REDD+: Opportunities and Challenges]