In East Usambaras Tanzania, domestication
of the Allanblackia tree species, the Cardamom spice and butterflies is delivering
on biodiversity conservation while at the same time sustaining livelihoods.
A study looking at their economic value
over a period of five years found that the Cardamom spice generated 850USD per
year for 10,600 households; the Allanblackia 20USD per year for 5000 households
and the butterflies 200USD per year for 350 households.
The Cardamom attracts high economic value
but with similar measure of environmental stigma because initially it prompted
deforestation. However, there is now a law that prohibits clearing of forests
to grow the product. In addition, farmers have realized that forests are
essential for maintaining necessary climate conditions to grow the spice and so
most retain or plant 75-100 trees per ha in a cardamom farm. Allanblackia is said to be among agroforest
tree species that provide local medicines, fruits, vegetables, poles, fuelwood
and timber, resources that relieves pressure from forests and thus avoid
deforestation and degradation. Butterfly farming has had positive effect on
conservation as farmers in East Usambaras associate increased production with
forests and as such have planted more than 30 native trees as part of the
plantation used for food and egg-laying in butterfly rearing.
According to Meine van Noordwijk, Chief
Scientist at the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) who is among study authors,
it is often claimed that domestication of forest resources can contribute to
effective conservation of natural forests in the landscape as a win-win
outcome. But the counterpoint is also made that economically attractive options
in the forest margins will lead to further forest conversion if they work out
well for local livelihoods, and maintain the trend to further pressure on the
forest if they fail, so there is no win.
“When a group of us visited the East
Usambaras site where the Landscape Mosaics project had been active, we realized
that there is an interesting ABC of domestication being tested here,” says
Meine, “We decided to compile data on the actual performance of these three
commodities as part of the landscape level income and its dynamics.”
“Domestication implies a move from
collecting resources from forests to taking care of the full life cycle of the
products. We found that the three commodities at different stages of the
process offer lessons on efficiency, sustainability of the ecosystem and
sustain agility of their use over time,” says Mathew Mpanda of ICRAF Tanzania
and lead author of the study.
The study, which is titled Allanblackia, butterflies and Cardamom:
sustaining livelihoods alongside biodiversity conservation on the
forest-agroforestry interface in the East Usambara Mountains, Tanzania
compares these three commodities at different stages of domestication and shows
that the biological aspects need to be embedded in the broader socio-ecological
system understanding of what goes on in the landscape, if development and
conservation goals are to be reached.
and Read more from the study