Both ENDS Information Pack Nr.12
Analog Forestry
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Analog Forestry
Contents
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What is the difference between Agroforestry, Analog Forestry and
Permaculture? Agroforestry takes an agricultural system and puts a tree layer on it. The paradigm is agriculture. Such a system takes traditional models and simplifies them. In agroforestry, an increase in the production of crops and income generation is the desired goal. Analog Forestry uses natural vegetation as its design paradigm. In an analog, the system is designed to bring about more complexity and not less. Analog Forestry has conservation of biodiversity as an equally important goal as economic gain. The model for design is drawn from the original local forest ecosystem. Permaculture tries to create a permanent system of cultivation, but it doesn't look at the nature that existed before. It doesn't look to natural systems for it's design criteria. Conservation of biodiversity is not a design goal. It is a collection not a synthesis. (Ranil Senanayake) |
Introduction
The pressure on the environment to provide for human needs continues to rise. In meeting this demand, mainstream
agriculture places a huge strain on the environment and threatens its ability to continue meeting human needs.
Mainstream agriculture and plantation forestry, characterised by large monoculture plantations (single species), do not take into account their long-term impact on the environment. Intensive use of chemical pesticides and fertilisers combined with its emphasis on maximum productivity creates severe imbalances in the local ecosystem.
Sustainable alternatives to producing agricultural crops are available. They are agricultural and forestry systems
that incorporate the long-term effects of their activities on the environment and illustrate that social and economic
use and sustainability can go hand in hand. Well known systems include 'bio-dynamic' or 'organic agriculture',
'agro-forestry', 'ecological' or 'alternative' or 'sustainable agriculture'.
Here we present a new alternative agricultural and forestry system, Analog Forestry, which provides new insights
and a fresh approach.
This information packet will provide a background and overview of Analog Forestry. It gives a definition of Analog Forestry along with the history and its requirements. Case studies are brought forward to give practical examples of how Analog Forestry can work. Addresses and further reading material is suggested to provide the reader with means to further explore the subject.
Defining Analog Forestry
Analog Forestry is a system of forest management that combines the values of local forest biodiversity with organic crop
cultivation. It seeks to establish a forest type environment, analogous in architectural structure and ecological function
to the original forest ecosystems that once existed in the area.
Making use of the design of the natural forest, land is redesigned to incorporate economically viable trees and plants
in a polycultural system that aims to unite biodiversity and economic gain for the small-scale farmer.
Analog Forestry was inspired by Sri Lanka's legendary tradition of 'home gardens', where local people select subsistence
or cash crops according to specific needs and preferences. Analog Forestry holds enormous potential to rehabilitate and
use deforested lands which are now lying waste, while also enabling poor colonists to settle down and develop their land.
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The history of Analog Forestry
The term 'Analog Forestry' was cornered by the Sri Lankan biologist Ranil Senanayake in 1987. His ideas of creating an
agricultural system adapted to the local context has been further investigated by the Neo Synthesis Research Centre (NSRC)
in Sri Lanka. In April 1994, Analog Forestry was accepted as a methodology integrating the protection of biodiversity within the context
of sound landscape management by scientific experts at the Open-ended Intergovernmental Meeting of Scientific Experts on
Biological Diversity (sponsored by the UN) in Mexico City.
The practical value of this system has now been demonstrated with over 19 years of research that is being translated into community projects. Today there are over 35 villages in Sri Lanka with over 250 individual farmers involved in extension projects. The approach has also been successfully adopted elsewhere in Asia and Latin America, under various ecological and climatic conditions.
The commercial value of Analog Forestry is being realised by the development of a system of crop certification. Producers of crops who follow the principles of Analog Forestry get their crops certified as 'Forest Garden Products', a government-approved label with independent certification which enables better marketing.
The First International Workshop on Analog Forestry was April 3rd -7th , 1995 in Sri Lanka. Attended by 11 participants from seven countries, the workshop consisted of lectures, discussions and visits to field experiments. In May 1995 the First Analog Forestry Network Newsletter was distributed. From September 8th to 11th, 1999 an Analog Forestry Workshop was organized in Catemaco, Veracruz, México.
Requirements for Analog Forestry
The initiator of an Analog Forestry project can be a local NGO, a community organisationor any other land user.
Using the Analog Forestry Manual, available from the Analog Forestry Network, organisations can gain a practical
perspective of what is required.
The following is an introduction into what Analog Forestry involves:
The International Analog Forestry Network (IAFN)
The network is a collection of local organizations around the world, who are adopting the principles of Analog Forestry
and applying them to their local environment. The network is co-ordinated by the Environmental Liaison Centre
International (ELCI) in Nairobi, Kenya. Currently member NGOs are located in Sri Lanka, Costa Rica, Kenya, Canada and
Ecuador. Information is provided through the network members to interested groups from the non-profit sector, the donor
community, government ministries and farmer's organizations.
Membership in the Analog Forestry Network is open to any local organization that is working with their communities in activities of agroforestry, reforestation, or biodiversity conservation and who would like to apply the techniques of Analog Forestry to their work.
The Networks goals are to:
The Neo Synthesis Research Centre, Sri Lanka
The NSRC in Mirahawatte, Sri Lanka was created, in 1980, to promote sustainable agriculture production and the conservation
of biodiversity through research and education. Through experimentation on a plot of degraded tea land and using the local
natural forest as a model, they developed a productive forest ecosystem that was analogous to the natural forest.
Two lowland projects have been undertaken by the research centre: a coastal ecosystem conservation project and the
Panadura mangroves and wetlands conservation project.
A collaborative Analog Forestry project has been established in the area around Ratnapura. Through an extension program,
25 villages were involved and in cooperation with the NSRC 500 farmers planted in excess of 50,000 trees.
Educational programs and demonstrations of composting and organic farming are held for farmers, schools and institutes.
A nursery produces native, utility and endangered plants. The information is collected in the Tropical Forest Registry
on native vegetation patterns and the flora and fauna composition of different regions. A new Analog Forestry extension
project is training youth from different villages in the application of Analog Forestry. These youth provide village
extension activities and linkages between several villages.
The Falls Brook Centre (FBC), Canada
The centre was founded in 1990 in New Brunswick, Canada. The organization is a community demonstration and training centre.
Through education and outreach programs the FBC develops the environmental awareness and activities of the community.
It also concerns itself with improving current relationships between Canadian and international NGOs. It is the
co-ordinating organization of the Village Action Network, and the Canadian co-ordinator for the United Nations Eco
Volunteer Program.
A series of international practical workshops have taken place at the FBC including: 'Traditional
Forest Uses', 'Sustainable Agriculture and Forest Management', 'Alternative Economics' and 'Sustainable Communities'.
It has regenerated the ecosystem of degraded bog-land, on a 200 acre site by creating an extensive herbarium with local
spices and herbs and three ponds. A boardwalk allows visitors to identify the species by moving through the pond area.
A small arboretum, tree nurseries and berries and gingseng planting complete the visitor's demonstration of Analog
Forestry at the Falls Brook Centre.
Three local schools are involved with the project 'Biodiversity Learning Centres' in which the Centre provides extension
work and involves the students in transforming barren playgrounds.
In 2001 the FBC assisted the Mexican organisation UZACHI in the state of Oaxaca with integrating analog forestry techniques
into the agroforestry activities of the communities working with UZACHI.
Arbofilia, Costa Rica
Over the past 15 years, Arbofilia has been working in different zones of the coastal Pacific slopes of Costa Rica.
The primary objective of Arbofilia has been to combine environmental restoration with economic alternatives for poor
rural families. They have worked with 460 families in a number of projects including the establishment of fruit tree
polyculture plots, restoration of native forest, reproduction and planting of endangered rain forest tree species and
the creation of native vegetation corridors between patches of threatened ecosystems.
These restoration activities aim
to combat accelerated erosion in the region, while permitting the reestablishment of the original native forests that
protect local fauna.
Fundación Rescate del Bosque Tropical (FURARE), Ecuador
Rainforest Rescue is an non-profit environmental organization that has as main goal the conservation and rehabilitation
of forests. It seeks to empower local communities to manage them natural resources at the same time that they improve
their life styles.
Rainforest Rescue has adopted the technic of Analogue Forestry as it's main tool to arrest deforestation and develop
short and medium term economic alternatives for local communitites. FRR is the focal point for Latin-America of the
Analogue Forestry International Network. They develop several projects that combine rehabilitation techniques and fair
trade.
Tree Shade Clubs of Kenya (TSCK), Kenya
This club began to address the problem of tree loss in Kenya six years ago. Its initial work involved establishing tree
nurseries with native tree species in collaboration with interested schools. The students collected seeds and were
encouraged to create tree nurseries. They took part in school competitions concerning the tree nurseries. In two years
the number of participating schools grew to 135. Support has now also been given by the Scouts Movement.
The Tree Shade Clubs are now known nationally. The Forestry Department has given them a 3 acre portion of the Nairobi
arboretum to initiate a Analog Forestry Arboretum.
Coordinadora Agroforestal Indigena y Campesina del Peru (COICAP)
COICAP is an organization that practices agroforestry and analog forestry for the benefit of the social and cultural
development of indigenous and peasant communities in Peru. COICAP adopts an ecological perspective, with an agenda that
includes the preservation of biological and cultural diversity, the conservation of flora and fauna, environmental
protection, and the appropriate use of natural resources.
Guided by a vision of human sustainable development, COICAP seeks to contribute to the social, cultural, ecological,
and economic well-being of community forestry and agroforestry organizations and their members. They aim to strengthen the
capacity of grassroots organizations to write proposals, to negotiate, and to manage natural resources with an ecological
approach.
The Environmental Liaison Centre (ELCI)
The ELCI is a global network of non-governmental organizations and community based groups working on environmental and
development issues. It exists to 'facilitate the voice of the grassroots' which involves: fostering communication and
the sharing of information and skills between groups working at the grass roots level, and developing mechanisms whereby
there is a greater and more effective communication between the NGO/ grassroots sector and the
governmental/inter-governmental sector.
ELCI has its headquaters in Nairobi, Kenya and has a membership of 850 organisations in 107 countries. It also maintains a
database on over 8,000 organisations with whom it communicates regularly.
Other Alternative Agriculture Systems
As previously mentioned several 'alternative' systems of agriculture exist. They have been developed by a large number of
different institutions. Efforts are now being made for a more co-ordinated approach to developing sustainable agriculture
by uniting the information on these alternatives and making more use of the networks available.
Most agroforestry systems are developed in biological research centres where information is collected and trial plots
are worked. Projects are carried out in locations all over the world but especially in Africa, the Americas and Asia.
These projects can be both initiated by the institutes or applied for by external sources.
International Centre for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF).
The combination of agriculture and forestry, 'agroforestry', has been studied by the International Centre for Research in
Agroforestry (ICRAF) since 1977. They define agroforestry as 'using trees on farms' or more scientifically as 'the
deliberate integration of woody perennials with crops or animals on the same land management unit'. There are two
categories: a simultaneous system where trees, crops or animals grow at the same time or the sequential system
where trees and crops take turns in occupying the same space.
The International Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture (IASA)
It was founded in 1983 by farmers, researchers, consumers and numerous organisations. Its mission is for the world wide
realisation of sustainable agriculture systems that are ecologically sound, economically viable, socially just and humane.
Its activities include:
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The sequential system is very similar to the traditional slash-and-burn agriculture with rotating crops. There are various systems: Relay intercropping of trees and annual crops where both the crops and trees are temporary. Multistrata systems where different tree species are forming two or more canopies with or without simultaneous cropping and can be combined with small scale animal husbandry. Taungya system where trees and crops are grown simultaneously but the trees are permanent and crops temporary. |
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The simultaneous system consists of various sub-systems. Erosion control systems such as boundary planting, windbreaks and intercropping. Parkland systems where a permanent woody upperstory (dense or open) is combined with crops. Silvopastoral systems where a discontinouos tree storey stands over a continuous grass cover that benefits animal husbandry. Agroforestry which is a managed plant community that resembles a natural forest in that it is multistrata and contains large mature trees and shade-tolerant understory plants. A 'homegarden' is a small agroforest near a homestead, a well known traditional system in the humid tropics. It contains many different plant species of various sizes, types and growth cycles. Homegardens can be used for domestic and commercial purposes. |
Recommended Reading
Analog Forestry as a conservation tool, FAO, Bangkok, 1987
Analog Forestry: A strategy to reverse some trends in forest loss, Tirra Lira, Melbourne, 1991
Becker, A.M. & E.S. Goldman, The Challenge of Risk Management within Analog Forestry Interventions, Counterpart
International, Washington DC, USA
Mallet, P.
An introduction to Analog Forestry, Falls Brook Centre, Canada
Mallet, P. & Senanayake, F.R. The Analog Forestry Manual, Falls Brook Centre, Canada, 1997
Manual Practico de Foresteria Analoga, FURARE, Ecuador, 2000
Senanayake, F.R. Forest Garden Products: A Standard Manual, Sri Lanka, 1997
Senanayake, F. R. Analog Forestry: An Introduction, Monash University, Clayton, Australia, 1998
Senanayake, F.R. & B.M. Beehler Forest Gardens: 'Sustaining Rural Communities Around the World Through Holistic
Agro-forestry, Sustainable Development International, ICG Publishing, (pp. 95-98) London, 2000
Essential Links
The Forest Garden Initiative: www.forestgarden.org
Climate Change: Different Realities North and South: www.elements.nb.ca/climate
Guayapi Fair Trade products: www.guayapi.com
Cerro Nara Association: www.cerronara.com/analog
CIDA Forestry Profiles: www.rcfa-cfan.org
Encyclopedia of Sustainability Cases on Analog Forestry
Analog Forestry replaces cattle ranging and logging Rainforest Rescue, Ecuador
Versión Castellano: Forestería Análoga remplaza la ganadería y la explotación de madera
Mimicking the Forest Degraded lands restored through Analog Forestry method
Versión Castellano: Imitando el Bosque
Bahasa Indonesia: Meniru Pertumbuhan Hutan
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Contact person at Both ENDS: Tamara Mohr tm@bothends.org
© Both ENDS May 2002