Global COE Program - Kyoto University - In Search of Sustainable Humanosphere in Asia and Africa

Date: April 3 (Fri.), 2009 14:00-
Place: Room 331, 3rd floor, Inamori Foundation Memorial Hall

Topic: "Sustainable rural development initiative for natural resource
management: Role of agroforestry in the resource poor tropical
environments of West Java, Indonesia"

Speaker: Prof. Oekan. S. Abdoellah
CSEAS visiting research fellow from Institute of Ecology, University of
Padjadjaran-Bandung, Indonesia

Abstract：
In the rural areas of West Java, agriculture is still one of the most
crucial sectors in supporting the daily life of rural people where the
problem of resource-poor farmers mostly remain. Today many rural areas
in West Java, especially in the upland, face serius problem such as
environmental degradation and resource depletion. Agroforestry systems
such as homegardens and bamboo-tree gardens have a potential role as
rural ecosystem components to address such problems. These  agroforestry
systems are often touted as efficient and sustainable and can meet
divers ecological, economic, and social functions. Homegardens and
bamboo-tree gardens also help to reduce atmospheric CO2 levels by
sequestering carbon in the biomass and soil. Yet in Indonesia and in
West Java in particularly, the policy makers and local scientists have
neglected these land use systems. Moreover in view of the recent trends
of land use in West Java, these systems are under severe pressure. Many
farmers have already converted homegardens and bamboo-tree gardens  into
cashcrop gardens. Using data from research on agroforestry in the upper
Citarum watershed West Java-Indonesia and  literature review, in this
presentation I will examine these traditional land use systems, their
current status and future prospects as a component of the rural
ecosystem in search of sustainable rural development for natural
resource  management.