Date: February 9(Mon.)，2009 14：30-17：00
Venue:Inamori Foundation Memorial Hall, Large Meeting Room (3F),
Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University,
Kyoto University Global-COE Program In Search of
Sustainable Humanosphere in Asia and Africa
Paradigm Formulation Group and Initiative 2 Joint Seminar
Invited Speaker: P. K. Ramachandran Nair (Florida University)
Commentators: Shinya Takeda (Graduate School of Asian African Area Studies, Kyoto Univ.)
Oekan Soekotjo Abdoellah (Center for Southeast Asian Studies)
Abstract:
Modern industrialized farming and forestry systems may look good if we
look only at their production benefits and ignore the costly social
and environmental side effects. The emphasis on a selected few species
of plants and heavy use of chemical inputs for maximizing their
production has caused serious environmental problems, and the
promotion of large-scale farming at the cost of smallholder systems
has serious social ramifications. By adopting these systems to meet
today's needs, we are seriously compromising the ability of future
generations to satisfy their needs. A serious casualty in the push
for such single-commodity paradigms is the age-old practices of
growing crops and trees together. Although many of which have stood
the test of times and are still being practiced, they are often
ignored in development paradigms. During the past thirty years,
however, the positive benefits of integrated land-use systems such as
agroforestry to the producer and the environment have gradually been
recognized.
The time has arrived for utilizing the benefits of the remarriage of
crops and trees in addressing some of the major threats facing the
world today, such as food- and nutritional security, eroding soils,
and expanding deserts. Above- and below-ground diversity of ecosystem
processes facilitated by such mixed-species stands provides more
system stability and resilience at the site-level, and connectivity
with forests and other landscape features at the landscape- and
watershed levels. Agroforestry has also been recognized as a
greenhouse-gas mitigation strategy under the Kyoto Protocol. Recent
research under a variety of environments has confirmed the premise
that agroforestry systems have the potential to enhance carbon (C)
sequestration in soil compared with treeless (agricultural) systems
because of the ability of trees to store C in their deep roots.
Too often, we treat agriculture and forestry separately, yet these
sectors are interwoven on the landscape and share many common goals.
In order to meet society's needs and aspirations for
tree/forest-derived goods and services, we need a paradigm shift: we
must find ways of embracing the principles of agroforestry and other
integrated systems. "Business as usual" is no longer an option.
About Speaker:
Prof. Dr. PK Nair is a pioneering researcher and educator and a world
leader in agroforestry. He is Distinguished Professor and Director of
the Center for Subtropical Agroforestry at the University of Florida,
Gainesville, Florida, USA. A native of India, he was educated in
India, England, and Germany. Working as a multiple cropping
agronomist at the plantation crops research institute in southern
India during the 1970s, Dr. Nair developed the multistory cropping
with tree crops, now acclaimed as a sustainable agroforestry system.
During the late 1970s, he became one of the founders of ICRAF (World
Agroforestry Centre), Nairobi, Kenya, where he worked for nine years.
He has received numerous honors and awards including four honorary
Doctor of Science degrees (Universities of Kyoto, Japan; Kumasi,
Ghana; Guelph, Ontario, Canada; and Santiago de Compostela, Spain);
Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
(AAAS); IUFRO (International Union of Forest Research Organizations)
Scientific Achievement Award; and the Humboldt Prize, Germany, 2006.
He has authored/edited 12 books and nearly 200 research papers; and
has extensive international experience. He was Editor-in-Chief of
Agroforestry Systems journal for 11 years, and is currently the editor
of the book series Advances in Agroforestry (Springer Science). A
major area of his current research is soil carbon sequestration in
agroforestry systems.
Recent Publications
P. K. R. Nair et al. (Edited) 2004 New Vistas In Agroforestry: A
Compendium For The 1st World Congress Of Agroforestry, (Advances in
Agroforestry). Kluwer.
B. M. Kumar & P. K. R. Nair (Edited) 2006. Tropical Homegardens: A
Time-tested Example of Sustainable Agroforestry (Advances in
Agroforestry) Springer.
Land-Use System Sustainability: Business as Usual?
By
SHINOHARA, Naoki
KANZAKI, Mamoru
P. K. Ramachandran Nair
【Record of Activity】
P. K. Nair tried to illustrate the potential of agroforestry as integrated land-use, which contributes to preventing the degradation of cropland, increasing the capacity of the carbon pool, and enabling the sustainability of crop production, etc. Examples of such synergistic effects of agroforestry were introduced. The results of recent studies conducted by his research team on the carbon sequestration potential of agroforestry systems were also introduced. He reported that the benefits of integrated land-use systems such as agroforestry to the producer and the environment have gradually been recognized over the past thirty years. He emphasized that the time has arrived for utilizing the benefits of the combination of crops and trees in addressing some of the major threats facing the world today, such as food- and nutritional security, eroding soils, and expanding deserts. He said, "Agriculture and forestry have been treated separately. However these two industries and land-uses are interwoven on the actual landscape and share many common goals." He concluded now is a time when we must find ways of embracing the principles of agroforestry and other integrated systems. "Business as usual" is no longer an option.
Two commentators, Shinya Takeda (ASAFAS, Kyoto Univ.) and Oekan Soekotjo Abdoellah (CSEAS, Kyoto Univ.), followed Nair. Takeda introduced an example of an agroforestry system in Lao PDR where lac scales were introduced as a substitute for the shifting cultivation. He analyzed that the successful introduction of the agroforestry system was possible because of the increasing demand for lac in the Chinese market. His talk clearly suggested that the economical background is quite important for the successful introduction of the system.
Oekan reported on the current situation of traditional home-garden systems in Indonesia. The commercialization of agriculture has resulted in the conversion of traditional home-gardens into cash crop fields on Java Island. Although the awareness of agroforestry is increasing in the world, many of the non-commercialized traditional cropping systems may face economical difficulties.
From the floor, doubts about the generalization of the positive effects of agroforestry on productivity and the economy as a whole were raised. The importance of macro-economical analyses was also pointed out from the floor.
The positive points of agroforestry were emphasized by the researchers from the 1970's onwards. The system, however, has failed to become a major landscape in tropical countries. As Nair pointed out, however, in the face of global climate change and sustainability issues "business as usual" may not be an option in agriculture. The Second World Congress of Agroforestry will be held in Nairobi in August 2009. Further extension of integrated land-use as one of the tools for sustainability is currently anticipated.
(Mamoru Kanzaki and Ayako Sasaki)