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Improving Livelihoods through Landscape Management in West Africa

The implementation of an integrated approach to landscape

management, combining agroforestry innovations and a review ofparticipatory natural resource management process, has broughtabout greater interest and provided incentives for subsequent

involvement of rural communities in conservation activities. Dr.Mahmoud Camara, Guinean Minister for Agriculture, Livestock,

Environment, Water and ForestsIn response to global concerns regarding the social, environmental

and economic consequences of poor landscape management, CIFORand the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) launched the LandscapeManagement for Improved Livelihoods (LAMIL) project in September2005.

The Fouta Djallon Highlands in central Guinea were identified as theinitial project site, as this is the source area for several of WestAfricas most important waterways, including the Niger, Gambia andSenegal rivers. Moreover, in excess of 70 % of the population lives inrural areas, with most livelihoods dependant on forestry activities,agroforestry and animal husbandry.

In developing the project, CIFOR was able to bring extensiveexperience in forest management strategies - including AdaptiveCollaborative Management (ACM) in the development of criteria and

indicators for sustainable forestry, and in fostering pro-poor policydialogue. ICRAF offered unparalleled expertise in agroforestry andland use solutions, including trade-offs in land use on forest margins

and watershed management.

Funded by USAID,the first phase of the

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CIFORs strategy 2008- 2018

DG's Message

CIFORs new strategyfocuses on six researchdomains

Staying the course on

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REDD goes green

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capacity for smallholderteak farmers in CentralJava

The success of the LAMIL project in Guinea has created

enormous interest in integrated landscape management in

neighbouring Sierra Leone and Liberia.

"In terms of economic advantages, the

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project wascompleted in March2008 and involvedcollaboration withinternationalpartners, includingthe United States

Forestry Service(USFS) and the

International Crops Research Institute (ICRISAT); nationalinstitutions, including the Water and Forestry Directorate and theNational Institute for Agricultural Research; Other institutionsrepresented included the African Union, Rio Tinto, and various national NGOs such as GuineeEcologie, Croix Verte, and Agence pour la Commercialisation Agricole (ACA).

The broad objectives of LAMIL are to empower local village communities to organizethemselves, to aquire legal recognition, and to partner with the state in managing forest

resources. Incentives for such communities include financial benefits from the sale of forestryand agro forestry products, access to agro forestry plots within the classified forests, andinvolvement in decision-making processes.

As well as looking at the effects of social stratification, education, age, wealth, ethnicity andgeographical location, the project also considers gender as an important element in achievingimproved livelihoods. Although the majority of the Guinean agricultural population is female,only six per cent of Guinean farms are headed by women. Their workload is between 15 to 17hours per day, and they have extremely limited access to agricultural equipment or tools.

LAMILs approach to addressing such issues revolves around institutional strengthening at thecommunity level and supporting the provision of an enabling environment for more efficient andproductive natural resource management (NRM).

During the concluding workshop of LAMILs first phase, Louis Corronado, Deputy Director of

USAIDs Guinea Mission, echoed the sentiments of Minster Camara. In terms of economicadvantages, the communities in the areas covered by LAMIL are beginning to receive tangible

impacts from their sustainable management practices, said Mr Corronado. Some of thesebeneficiaries have more than tripled their annual revenue and are contributing to increasingvegetation cover.

As an example, the Community Forest Management Committees (FMCs) in Nyalama hadgenerated around $US1,500 over 11 years, prior to LAMIL. Following support from the projectto restructure their management and secure legal rights, they have since generated $US1,500over the last 11 months.

The success of the LAMIL project in Guinea has created enormous interest in integrated

landscape management in neighbouring Sierra Leone and Liberia. As a result, USAID has

agreed to provide funding for the second phase of the project, enabling CIFOR and ICRAF totest the adaptation and adoption of LAMIL approaches within a new context of border regions,national parks and sub regional collaboration.

This second phase commenced in April 2008 and will continue until September 2009. Targetsites include the Ottamba Killimi National Park in Sierra Leone and the Ourekaba and MadinaOula landscapes on the Guinean side of the common border. This site will also become one ofthe Landscape Mosaics research sites, a global initiative of CIFOR and ICRAF to analysebiodiversity conservation, livelihoods and governance issues in fragmented landscapes.

Story by Widya Prajanthi, CIFOR

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communities in the areas covered by LAMILare beginning to receive tangible impactsfrom their sustainable managementpractices."

Louis CorronadoUSAID

1993 - 2009, Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), All Rights ReservedLast update: Tue, January 13, 2009- Site is designed by CIFOR - Webmaster: webmaster-cifor@cgiar.org

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