Analisis comparativo de tres proyectos agroforestales en America central a fin de contribuir a la definicion de una estrategia de ecodesarrollo en la region

The project “Biodiversity Conservation and Poverty Reduction through Community-Based Management of Walnut Forests and Pastures,” funded by BMZ and implemented by GIZ and CAMP Alatoo, promoted sustainable natural resource use in Kyrgyzstan from 2018 to 2023.

A key outcome was strengthening environmental education. In remote mountain areas, biology and ecology were taught mainly in theory, with materials poorly adapted to local realities. To address this, local teachers and the project team developed a teacher’s manual with practical exercises and teaching guidance. Approved by the Kyrgyz Academy of Education, it was introduced in 35 schools, with potential for nationwide use. The project also supported integrating Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) into pre-service and in-service teacher training

The GIZ project ‘Biodiversity Conservation and Poverty Reduction through Community Based Nut Forest and Pasture Management’, implemented from 2015 to 2023 in southern Kyrgyzstan, piloted a participatory pasture management approach. Livestock breeding is the main source of income for the local population. The pressure on pastures is increasing annually due to misuse and constant growth of livestock (+3% per year). Intensive grazing also damages the unique walnut forest, which covers an area of 13,000 ha. Due to grazing in the forest, damage to the forest is expressed in the loss of seedlings and ageing of the forest due to lack of regeneration. During the project, a plan for participatory pasture management was developed by involving residents in the state forest fund. A platform for general discussion of pasture issues called District Pasture Commission was also established. During 8 years the platform has shown its high efficiency in solving conflict issues.

Cameroon’s forests face pressures from logging, agricultural expansion, population growth, and climate change. These challenges are made worse by inadequate forest management. In response, the Dja and Mpomo Model Forest (FOMOD) in eastern Cameroon developed an agroforestry model across its 1.6 million-hectare Congo Basin landscape. This began in 2011 with two pilot micro-enterprises. The first focused on Moringa cultivation, valued for its ecological co-benefits. This success led to the expansion into four municipal level enterprises. These were later consolidated through the “Eco Agricultural Business for the Adaptation to Changes in Climate (B-ADAPT)” project on eco-agricultural adaptation to climate change. FOMOD has sought to increase institutional visibility, combat endemic poverty, strengthen governance for vulnerable groups (Indigenous peoples, women, and youth), and build financial self-sufficiency through agroforestry and new partnerships. Core to building self-sufficiency is the development of green value chains. 

KehatiKu is Borneo Futures’ flagship community-based wildlife conservation pilot, testing a novel approach of paying for wildlife data across 9 villages in Indonesia. Over 800 non-specialist villagers act as data collectors. KehatiKu provides real-time wildlife population metrics, currently based on >160,000 wildlife observations, allowing our team to conduct occupancy analyses that contribute to a growing database of species presence to support effective, outcome-based conservation. Observers voluntarily gather wildlife records during routine activities, using mobile phones. Observations may be photos, videos, or sound recordings. Observations are uploaded to our server and verified by our biodiversity experts. Once verified, observers receive a payment corresponding to species rarity and difficulty of observing them, providing sustainable income. The program is very popular and has resulted in spontaneous wildlife protection. We have evidence that now forests and wildlife is valued more for conservation than exploitation.

In Masaka District, widespread tree cutting and land degradation have significantly reduced soil fertility and threatened coffee production, a key livelihood for thousands of farmers within the region. These challenges are further exacerbated by climate change, characterized by erratic rainfall patterns and long dry spells, as well as declining tree cover, which have weakened the resilience and productivity of coffee farming.

To address these challenges, Masaka District Farmers Association, as a recipient of the International Climate Initiative (IKI) Small Grants, is implementing a solution focused on restoring coffee farms and degraded landscapes through agroforestry and large-scale tree planting

This effort is reinforced through the establishment of centralized tree nurseries to ensure a reliable and sustainable supply of appropriate, coffee-friendly seedlings. Farmers are supported through targeted training and continuous technical guidance in agroforestry practices and sustainable agricultural land management (SALM).

In the Boeny region of Madagascar, communities are facing landscape degradation due to unsustainable agricultural practices (slash-and-burn agriculture, deforestation etc.) and repetitive bush fires. The consequences for agricultural production are serious, posing a dilemma between conserving forests as a home to endangered species and ensuring food security through agricultural expansion. On top, climate change poses additional challenges to the grazing system of around 70 percent of Malagasy households being involved in raising livestock. Traditional spatial approaches separating conservation and production have proven inadequate. The concept of “Aménagement Agro-Sylvo-Pastoral Durable” (ASPD; sustainable agro-sylvo-pastoral management) has been developed with the objective to balance use of space. By combining agriculture, forestry, and livestock planning to enhance productivity while preserving natural resources, ASPD offers an integrated solution, with a focus on the adoption of climate-smart pasture management.