“Restoration may
not be a substitute for protecting rainforests, but it is certainly turning into
a more powerful weapon in the environmental arsenal” Stefan Theil (Newsweek,
October 2006)
In many tropical forested
lands where capital is available, permanent, intensive cropping systems are more
profitable in the short term than their less intensive counterparts. Comparative
studies of land use impact on biodiversity and related agricultural productivity
suggest that in the longer term, where intensive farming systems are isolated
from natural ecosystems, there is likely to be progressive decline in
environmental quality and, ultimately, profitability.
Overall, ‘intermediate’ agroforests may provide longer-term stability in both
biodiversity and profitability than monocropping especially when managed within
a landscape mosaic of different vegetation types including forest. Composition
rather than richness of species and functional types is likely to provide a
better indication of ecosystem performance. It is argued that generic
biodiversity assessment methods using both plant species and plant functional
types can provide rapid, quantitative and uniform comparison of impacts of
farming systems within and between countries. This is potentially useful in
seeking tradeoffs between biodiversity and profitability particularly where
comparative estimation of the latter varies with cultural and socio-economic
background.
Sustainable rural development is the rational use of natural resources to
maximize their output taking into consideration the social, environmental,
political and technological factors of the area in question. Each and every
aspect of these factors must be analyzed transparently, without bias, to insure
a harmonized solution and plan of action. The major goal is not only to insure
the posterior availability of a the natural resources for future generations,
but to insure a higher quality of them while improving the livelihoods
and social welfare of the communities involved. Sustainable rural development
encompasses actions, programs, and policies on a local, regional, national and
international level as a continuum, i.e. a constant, ever-evolving inter-action
between the stakeholders to achieve a common goal.
Collective efforts are paramount in rural development. Participation from the
social base of the communities reflect the interest in change. When the desire
for change stems directly from the community, paternalistic attitudes do not
arise. If involved in the complete process of determining, implementing and
monitoring sustainable development solutions, community development is
reinforced and multiplied. Through formal and informal associative entities and
or groups, the community itself strengthens and increases the effectiveness of
the development model. The interaction between these local stakeholders is
then additionally reinforced with other external stakeholders required for any
development project. The alliance is then further bonded allowing future growth.
The
Colombian Growth Alliance aims to coordinate, facilitate and implement
educational programs, training, extension service to the local communities in
the area of the project. These comprehensive programs entail the transfer of
vital knowledge to students and micro producers in the areas of forestry,
adequate transfer of technology, environmental protection, value-added
production, agro-forestry marketing, organic production, agro ecology,
ecotourism etc. International development organizations, national and
international universities and private sector entities will be involved in these
programs.
