 |
|
|
The project for Integrated Silvopastoral Approaches for Ecosystem Management has been successfully implemented in Colombia, Costa Rica and Nicaragua Receiving economic incentives for environmental services, improving pasture conditions, protecting and conserving the environment and formulating and implementing policies for the development of sustainable livestock production are some of the actions developed by 347 farmers and several institutions in Colombia, Costa Rica and Nicaragua that participated in the Silvopastoral Approaches for Ecosystem Management project (GEF-Silvopastoral).
This project, developed in Quindío, Colombia; Esparza, Costa Rica; and Matiguás, Nicaragua, and worked with 347 farmers, of which 76% (255) received payments for environmental service (PES) and technical assistance and the remaining 24% participated as a control group (for comparison with the other two groups). The lessons learned demonstrate that PES incentives are an effective tool for getting ranchers to increase tree cover on their farms, mainly by planting trees in their pastures as living fences and for forage banks with woody species. In order to implement silvopastoral systems on their farms, producers received training in subjects related to environmental services (increasing forested areas to protect sources of water for catchment and distribution on the farms, enhancing biodiversity, carbon sequestration, climate change, etc.) and changes in land use that enhance productivity on cattle farms (forage banks for cut and carry or browsing to provide food for animals in the dry season, planting trees in pastures and as living fences, establishment and management of pastures, use of manure for biogas generation and organic fertilizer and socioeconomic monitoring of the farms). Teachers and students from educational centers were also trained in management and conservation of natural resources and in good environmental management practices so that they could implement them in the communities.
During project implementation important changes transformed degraded pasture and natural pasture systems (this group includes naturalized grasses such as Hyparrhenia rufa, or jaragua) to systems with improved pastures having different densities of trees, using grasses such as Brachiaria brizantha, or marandu. The area of pastures improved with trees increased by 39%. Replacing fence posts with living fences (living fences increased by 987 km) was another important change, as was the establishment of forage banks to provide food for cattle. The project demonstrated that water quality and quantity improve with the conversion of degraded pastures to management systems such as silvopastoral systems. Economic benefits Changing to sustainable land uses allowed farmers to benefit economically from PES. In the three countries, the payments accumulated by farm (2003–2007) varied from $1,780 to $2,400. The money obtained by the producers was reinvested in land-use changes on their farms, such as pasture improvement, expansion of the length of living fences, introduction of small forage bank areas (30% Cratylia argentea and 70% sugarcane) and other on-farm investments, especially the purchase of animals.
Due to PES, the poorest producers made important changes in land use, reducing degraded pastures by about 20% through more sustainable uses such as pastures improved with trees, forage banks and living fences. The changes resulted in increased milk production, greater sales in animal products and improved family income. Farm profitability Socioeconomic analyses were made to relate the adoption of silvopastoral technologies with PES, evaluating the following models: 1) natural pasture to improved pasture + dry chicken manure; 2) natural pasture + dry chicken manure to improved pasture + dry chicken manure; and 3) improved pasture + dry chicken manure to improved pasture + forage bank. Results show that with changes from natural pastures to improved pastures with trees, with or without PES, the investment was recovered during the second year of the project; internal rates of return varied from 17% to 36%, which was in accord with the increase in income for the livestock farms. For example, the Esparza farms increased their income by an average of 26%. In the dry season, most producers feed their cattle on improved pastures supplemented with dry chicken manure, but the project promoted the use of on-farm forage banks. According to the results, the system with dry chicken manure was more profitable than systems with forage banks, with or without PES, because forage bank implementation requires a greater investment in labor. However, when family labor is used to manage the forage bank, this becomes more profitable. Best environmental practices Thanks to changes in land use, producers adopted best practices to help mitigate greenhouse gas effects. In Colombia, areas with intensive silvopastoral systems (pasture in association with Leucaena) and living fences increased; furthermore, there was a reduction in the use of nitrogen fertilizers in pastures. In Costa Rica, the area with improved pastures with trees and living fences grew.
Another significant achievement was reduced soil erosion, with the reduction estimated at 75,000 tons and erosion per hectare decreasing from 80.9 tons/ha in 2003 to 44.1 tons/ha in 2007: a reduction of 36.8 tons/ha, or 45.5%. Land-use changes also reduced the incidence of weeds in pastures and farmers have been able to use fewer liters of herbicide. It is estimated that between 2003 and 2007, use decreased by 6,013.6 liters, a reduction in herbicides of 43.2%. This reduction helps improve soils, farm profitability, farmers’ health and conditions for biodiversity, and it results in less water pollution. Biodiversity conservation The results indicate that livestock landscapes that include silvopastoral systems maintain good levels of biodiversity compared to nearby protected areas (for example, Santa Rosa National Park in Costa Rica). In 2007, in the cattle-raising landscapes of Quindío, 193 bird species were found; in Esparza, 174 species; and in Matiguás, 192 species. In the multistrata living fences in Esparza, 60 bird species were recorded; in improved pastures with high densities of trees, 63 species were found; and in secondary forests, 70 species. It is evident that productive land uses such as multistrata living fences and improved pastures with high tree densities are capable of housing a number of bird species similar to those found on lands dedicated to the conservation of biodiversity, such as secondary forests.
Project sustainability The success of the GEF-Silvopastoral project has led to replication in the three countries. At the beginning, the project expected to work with at least 12 institutions but actually established relationships with 77 (ministries, municipalities, NGOs, producer associations, livestock farmer federations, universities, etc.). In Colombia, the National Federation of Livestock Farmers, FEDEGAN, has developed a sustainable livestock production program based on the project results, and GEF resources are now being negotiated with CIPAV for a nationwide project, for which the Colombian government has already committed $45 million for credit. In Costa Rica, the support offered to the National Agroforestry Commission was important for the promotion of decree 32750, which recognizes PES in agroforestry systems, including silvopastoral systems. Nationally, several livestock farmers are benefiting from these payments. An alliance was made with Rainforest Alliance (an international certifying agency) to design standards jointly for the sustainable certification of livestock farms that implement best management practices; a draft document has already been prepared, developed with contributions by experts from the three countries. These standards should be published in 2009. An environmental education program was designed to train high school teachers in Esparza, made possible by support from six governmental institutions, universities and the mayor’s office. It is hoped that the mayor’s office will continue this initiative from 2008 on. A proposal developed for sustainable rural tourism in the project area of influence is ready to be submitted to potential donors. In Nicaragua the most relevant aspect for project sustainability was the design by the Local Development Fund (FDL) of a loan package for producers offering financial services with an environmental focus. This is an incentive to producers to use these funds to develop silvopastoral systems on their farms. At this time, there are about 2,000 producers receiving loans from the “green” portfolio.
More information Muhammad
Ibrahim
|
