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Agroforestry
A review of the history of natural resource
governance in the mountainous areas of East
Africa and the plateau lands reveals that there
has been a general marginalization of traditional
natural resource management systems, which have
evolved through centuries of human-environment
interactions, knowledge and experience. These
important traditional approaches and practices were
abandoned in favour of modern approaches, instead
of integrating the two to provide more appropriate
and sustainable management systems. Examples
of such systems are found in the Kigezi, Mount
Rwenzori and Elgon regions in Uganda and on the
slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania where
traditional agroforestry systems – the traditional
blend of crops and trees of different species – have
been used throughout the different ecological areas.
A mixture of crops is grown to maintain soil fertility,
to provide food, to supply shade to crops such as
coffee and bananas and to supply materials such as
bark, fuel, timber and wood products. The national
forest policies in East Africa have been revised to
incorporate the promotion of agroforestry practices
and to integrate them with modern approaches as
a strategy to protect existing natural reserves and
improve livelihoods.
The kihamba agroforestry system, practised on
120,000 hectares on the southern slopes of Mount
Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, is an example of best
practice. It is considered to be one of the most
sustainable forms of upland farming and provides
livelihoods for an estimated one million people. The
kihamba agroforestry system maximizes the use of
Best practice case studies
limited land. Based on a multi-layered vegetation
structure similar to that of a tropical mountain
forest, the system provides a large variety of food
and substantial environmental services beyond the
area where it is practised. With the large quantities
of biomass it produces and its capacity to recycle
organic matter on farms, the kihamba system also
contributes significantly to carbon sequestration.
Its trees and dense vegetation ensure that Mount
Kilimanjaro can continue to function as a water tower
for the surrounding areas. Coffee, an ecologically
compatible cash crop, enables the system to adapt
successfully to the emerging cash economy in the
area. However, there has been a decline in coffee
production as a result of unfavourable world market
prices. Recently, however, a project to restore the
coffee crop was initiated by FAO under the Globally
Important Agricultural Heritage System, to pilot a
series of climate-smart agricultural activities with
660 households. The project supports conversion
to certified organic coffee farming, the adoption of
vanilla as a high-value additional cash crop and the
introduction of trout aquaculture along irrigation
channels (Kohler et al., 2014).
Integrated agroforestry practices can be developed
into a hybrid inland resource management system
that offers opportunities for the sustainable
development of mountain communities in a
changing climate. It should be noted, however,
that in areas where population pressure is high,
these practices are in decline due to a shortage of
arable land. Nevertheless, some middle ground
can be found whereby integrated practices can be
adopted at appropriate scales depending on local
circumstances.
Soil conservation technologies and
practices
Mountain farming communities have evolved over
centuries and have practised a range of soil conservation
technologies to safeguard their soil resources. These have
improved over time, especially through the integration
of modern technologies and government extension
Konso
terracing, Ethiopia