Background Desertification in Latin America: Latin America encompasses approximately one fourth of the desert and arid lands (20 553 000 Km2) of the world. The Latin American deserts of the Pacific coast stretch out from the Southern part of Ecuador across the Peruvian coast and up to the Northern part of Chile. Inland, at altitudes ranging between 3,000 and 4,000 meters, are the dry high plateaus of the Andean range, which cover extensive zones of Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina. East of the Andes, there is a wide arid region stretching out from the Northern foothills of El Chaco in Paraguay, to the Patagonia, South of Argentina. The Brazilian Northeast includes semiarid zones dominated by the tropical savannah. Most of Mexico is arid and semiarid, particularly in the North (UNCCD 2008). 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, which currently amount to more than 100 million people living below the poverty line in Latin America (WAFLA 2007). How can the role of agroforestry be enhanced to combat desertification and reduce poverty? In arid and semi-arid zones, agroforestry practices help mitigate the consequences of irregular and unforeseen rainfall and of economic fluctuations; they do this through the regular and reliable supply of substitute products for man and livestock, reducing pressure on local resources and encouraging sustainable production (FAO 2002). Through many examples in developing countries, agroforestry, being an ancient land management practice that harnesses positive interactions between tree-crops-livestock systems, has proven to be a powerful tool to combat desertification. Agroforestry techniques are promissory tools to improve the well-being of the rural population and the conservation of their natural resources (Krishnamurthy et ál 2003), and can make solid contributions to resolving the apparent trade-off between maintenance of watershed functions and productive agriculture, if it addresses the issues in a way that links patch, field, farm and landscape scales (Garrity et al 2006). Its appropriate exploitation provides a remarkable opportunity for improving degraded sites, stabilizing fragile ecosystems and is also a promising farming system for arid and semi-arid zones to improve the livelihood of poor households (WAFLA 2007). |
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