Pacific to Celebrate International Day of Forest

International Day of Forest with the theme 'Celebrate our Forest' will be marked on 21st of March, this year.

This global celebration of forests provides a platform to raise awareness of the importance of all types of forests and of trees outside forests.

Forests cover one third of the Earth's land mass, performing vital functions around the world. Around 1.6 billion people - including more than 2,000 indigenous cultures - depend on forests for their livelihood.

Forests are the most biologically-diverse ecosystems on land, home to more than 80% of the terrestrial species of animals, plants and insects. Forests also provide shelter, jobs and security for forest-dependent communities.

They play a key role in our battle in adapting to and mitigating climate change. Forests contribute to the balance of oxygen, carbon dioxide and humidity in the air. They protect watersheds, which supply 75% of freshwater worldwide.

Yet despite all of these priceless ecological, economic, social and health benefits, we are destroying the very forests we need to survive. Global deforestation continues at an alarming rate - 13 million hectares of forest are destroyed annually.

Deforestation accounts for 12 to 20 percent of the global greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change.

Some pics from International day Forest celebration in Fiji.

Students from Gospel High visiting SPC booth during International Day of Forest celebration in Fiji.

Vieuto Primary School students skim through SPC publications on IDF in Suva, Fiji.

World Agroforestry Congress - New Delhi India

This will be presented to World Congress on Wednesday at 3.00pm Indian Time.

Day One
10th February, 2014

Indian President Shri Pranb Mukherjee was the chief gues durring the inaugration of the congress.

The World Congress opened in the Vigyan Bhawan complex in New Delhi, with the President of India, the Honourable Shri Pranab Mukherjee, inaugurating proceedings from 12 midday, followed
by addresses from Cabinet members including Shri Sharad Pawar, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Processing Industries, Dr M. Veerappa Moily, Minister of Environment and Forest and Shri Ashish Bahuguna, the Secretary of Agriculture.

The ground-breaking National Agroforestry Policy will be launched that morning. This is a unique innovation putting India first in the world to introduce such a policy. The policy was approved by the Cabinet on Wednesday 6 February. The sector is currently affected by adverse policies, legal constraints, inadequate investments, weak markets and a dearth of institutional finance. The policy will enable farmers to reap the benefit of agroforestry. New farming approaches are needed to meet the demands of a growing world population for food, fodder, firewood and timber, against a backdrop
of shrinking land and water resources for agriculture and the threat of climate change.

The World Agroforestry Centre will be distributing copies of its new book Trees for Life, illustrating the impact of agroforestry on peoples’ lives, at its launch on Tuesday in the Kempinski Hotel After lunch the Congress moves into the South Asia Day plenary, with breakout sessions on agroforestry systems, income and environmental benefits, and then climate change, multifunctionality, livestock and fish systems.

Following Presidents activities, a panel discussion was held. Speakers of panel discussions
Dr Dina Nath Tiwari, Founder and Head of Utthan, Centre for Sustainable Development and Poverty Alleviation
Dr R S Paroda, Chairman, Trust for Advancement of Agricultural Sciences and Executive Secretary, Asia Pacific Association of Agricultural Research Institutes
Prof. H P M Gunasena, Chairman, Coconut Research Institute, Lunuwila, Sri Lanka
Dr Rita Sharma, Secretary, National Advisory Council, Government of India:

Brakout Sessions followed:

Breakout Session 1
Theme: Agroforestry systems, income and environmental benefits
Theme Leader: PKR Nair

1.1 Policy on agroforestry and tree-based farming systems

Venue: Plenary hall
Venue: Hall 4
Venue: Hall 5
Venue: Hall 6

Chair: J S Samra and K B Thampi

Agroforestry research in Indonesia: where to go for the next two decades
Dede Rohadi
Mediating factors of agroforestry changes in Vietnam: implications for agroforestry development
Hoa Thi Nguyen
The role of agroforestry in newly allotted forest lands in tribal Odisha
Kamla Khanal
CAFNET – first effort in India to value ecosystem services from coffee-based agroforestry systems
Cheppudira Kushalappa
Agroforestry systems in China - a proposed classification for Chinese tropical agroforestry
Xiao Guo
Trees on private lands: a regulatory impact analysis in select states in India
Chetan Agarwal

1.2 Agroforestry for rural employment and income generation,

Chair: AK Singh and B Mohan Kumar

Tree-borne oil seed crops – a step towards building energy security in rural India
Balakrishna Gowda
Santalum yasi Seem. a vital agroforestry species for rural employment and livelihoods development in Fiji
Saurindra Narayan Goswami
Implementation of agroforestry for poverty alleviation and livelihood improvement in
the state of Tripura, India
Avinash M Kanfade
Role of agroforestry in poverty alleviation at Ghatail Upazilla of the Tangail District,
Bangladesh
Md. Wasiul Islam
Ensuring integrated timber and non-timber forest product marketing for improving rural livelihoods: lessons learnt from Indonesia
Muktasam Abdurrahman
Yamunanagar – a model of a symbiotic relationship between farmers and woodbased industries
Raj Kumar Sapra

1.3 Land reclamation: Bio-drainage and salinity control,

Chair: Gurbachan Singh and JC Dagar

Biodrainage: an ecofriendly agroforestry technique for controlling waterlogging, livelihood security and carbon sequestration
Jagdish Dagar
Rehabilitation of degraded sodic land through agroforestry and monoculture plantations
Kripal Singh
Biodrainage as successful models for combating water logging in canal commands
– some case studies
Rajbir Singh
Cultivation of intercrops inside biodrainage (Eucalyptus camaldulensis) vegetation under a waterlogged ecosystem in Odisha
Somnath Roy Chowdhury
Biodrainage for salinity control: myth or reality for the Indian monsoonal climate
P S Minhas
Potential of tree plantations for wastewater disposal: Long term use in Eucalyptus
R K Yadav

1.4 Drylands and agroforestry,

Chair: VN Sharda and B Venkateswarlu

Design and development of agroforestry systems in low rainfall regions of India for combating climate change

Murari Mohan Roy

Improving productivity of common grazing resources in hot arid region of India through participatory pasture development

Arun Misra

Livelihood diversification through agroforestry in semi-arid regions of India

Prasad JVNS

Cultivating resilient landscapes - opportunities for restoring degraded and vulnerable lands with agroforestry systems

Matilda Palm

Bamboo-based agroforestry for livelihood security and environmental protection in semi-arid regions of India

Sudhir P Ahlawat

Beyond the project cycle: ex-post assessment of agroforestry adoption and management in semi-arid Karnataka

James Brockington

Click here for more information

Agroforestry training and Demo site establishment (Labasa Project)

The Secretariat of the Pacific Community’s (SPC) Land Resources Division conducted two-day training in Tabia, Labasa on agroforestry concepts, plant propagation, nursery management and the establishment of agroforestry farms.

Twenty participants comprising staff and representatives from the departments of agriculture and forestry, NGOs and farmers/tree growers participated in the training.

‘We were glad to see this level of training being made available to us here in the North of Fiji.’ These were the words of Charles McCay, the host farmer.

According to McCay, the participants gained new skills, especially on grafting and marcotting techniques, as well as receiving information about soil erosion control and the need to include trees in an integrated farming system. They also learned the technique of transplanting tissue cultures for the first time.

‘We always believe in an integrated farming system and such training and demonstration helps us understand the full concept of agroforestry much better.’

‘Such training enables us farmers to think strategically and take more interest in farming as an agroforestry system, an excellent model for sustainable farm development.’ McCay said.

Read more from this link:

http://agroforestrypacific.blogspot.com.au/p/labasa-demo-site.html

Snapshot on USAID Climate Change resilience building Project.

Maintaining long-term food security has emerged as a major issue in the Pacific region, and climate change, with its associated extreme weather events, is likely to adversely impact food production in the coming decades. SPC and the US Agency for International Development (USAID), in collaboration with partner agencies, are supporting the governments of six Pacific countries – Fiji, Kiribati, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu – in their efforts to tackle the adverse effects of climate change on food production. The support includes updating vegetation and land cover maps at the national level, and working with local communities to implement appropriate adaptation measures to build their resilience to climate change.(Click to read more on Fiji activity)

http://agroforestrypacific.blogspot.com/p/usaid.html