Project Summary
About one-quarter of Latin America is covered by dry-lands including the Pacific coast, the dry plains of the Andean mountains, the arid region extending to Patagonia and the dry areas of Mesoamerica.
Desertification is the most challenging problem in these areas, resulting from the non-sustainable use of the natural resources, leading to a reduction of the productivity of ecosystems and agriculture, thus increasing the poverty of the inhabitants.
It is a must to contribute to fight against degradation of land and to eradicate the poverty in dry areas in Latin America, through a sustainable management of resources in an international scope. Bringing together agroforestry approaches with an integrated water resource management (IWRM) is the key direction that must be followed in order to enhance the sustainable development of arid and semi-arid areas in Latin America. In spite of the existing initiatives, there is a remaining need of establishing positive links, which could fortify the scope of those activities, by the integration of stakeholder in a multidisciplinary approach.
The general objective of WAFLA is to coordinate the current research, technological innovation and social and policy development activities, creating synergies to promote the adoption of IWRM and improved agroforestry systems in order to propose real solutions to combat the degradation of dry lands and to enhance rural development in Latin America. The main outcome of WAFLA will be the identification of management strategies and policy options for the promotion of region-adapted agroforestry structures, by providing with a Latin American Joint Arid-Agroforestry Management Guidelines, based on the participatory management of agroforestry modules, with the involvement of local communities.
This concept will harmonise technology, institution and environment, proposing strategies of implementation based on local conditions, with appropriated technological, economical and social tools, which will include:
- Local identification of indigenous and adapted species with industrial value
- Identification and development of suitable technology packages for production of quality crops
- Development of adaptable management prescriptions for planting, irrigating, maintenance, harvesting and processing
- Development of an information network of markets for agroforestry products to empower local producers and traders
- Development of a sustainable Arid-Agroforestry Extension and dissemination strategy.
The proposed activities will be developed during 30 months by a well balanced consortium, allowing for the maximum integration of knowledge, expertise and experience between the 22 members representing each relevant field of resource management in arid and semi-arid ecosystems.
