Harnessing the potential of trees on farms for meeting national and global biodiversity targets
Tree stocks on agricultural land are vital for climate protection, water retention, ecosystems' connection, maintenance of soil and agrobiodiversity. However, this ‘trees on farms’ (TonF)‘ significance is inadequately incorporated into many countries' National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs). The project used participatory approaches to improve knowledge of TonF in five countries. By integrating indigenous and local knowledge, the project provided relevant stakeholders in Peru, Honduras, Indonesia, Uganda and Rwanda with context-specific, tree-based measures to contribute to biodiversity conservation, avoidance of emissions and adaptation to climate change. The project also supported the integration of sustainable management and agricultural biodiversity into policy and planning. Partner organisations also mobilised sources of funding and developed innovation platforms. Networks have been leveraged to deliver instruments and further training, so as to evaluate biodiversity functions according to national requirements.
- Countries
- Honduras, Indonesia, Peru, Rwanda, Uganda
- IKI funding
- 7,200,000.00 €
- Duration
- 12/2017 till 11/2024
- Status
- completed
- Implementing organisation
- International Centre for Research in Agroforestry (World Agroforestry Center (ICRAF))*
- Political Partner
-
- Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources (MINAGRI) - Rwanda
- Ministry of Environment (MINAM) - Peru
- Ministry of Environment - Honduras
- Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK) - Indonesia
- National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) - Uganda
- National Institute for Forest Development and Conservation - Honduras
- Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA)
- Secretariat for Agriculture and Livestock - Honduras
- State Ministry of National Development Planning (BAPPENAS) - Indonesia
- Implementing Partner
-
- Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR)
- Helmholtz-Zentrum für Umweltforschung GmbH (UFZ)
- International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) - Switzerland
- Leibniz Universität Hannover
- Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE) - Costa Rica
State of implementation/results
- Project completed.
- Trees on farms (TonF) targets adopted in Peru: National Agricultural Policy (treesonfarmsforbiodiversity.com/…), Honduras: livestock NAMA (treesonfarmsforbiodiversity.com/…), Indonesia: Social Forestry Development Program of DG SFEP-MOEF (treesonfarmsforbiodiversity.com/…); Rwanda: multi-sectorial agroforestry task force (treesonfarmsforbiodiversity.com/…); Uganda: National Agroforestry Strategy, revised Ugandan National Forestry Policy (treesonfarmsforbiodiversity.com/…)
- Trees on Farms (TonF) were recognised as key for Sustainable Agricultural Transition (www.cbd.int/…), as global indicator for the CBD’s Aichi Target 7 by Rwanda (www.worldagroforestry.org/…) and Uganda (www.cbd.int/…), using the project’s Farmland Biodiversity Score (apps.worldagroforestry.org/…) and Biodiversity Tool (treesonfarmsforbiodiversity.com/…)
- Novel behavioural experiments (treesonfarmsforbiodiversity.com/… protocol_risk experiment.pdf) (in Indonesia: www.mdpi.com/…) role games (www.worldagroforestry.org/…) (Rwanda: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/…, Uganda: link.springer.com/…) and incentive designs (treesonfarmsforbiodiversity.com/…) were developed and conducted.
- Agroforestry Primer launched, translated into four languages (www.cifor-icraf.org/…)
- The project has reached a turning point in incorporating biodiversity into the agricultural sector. It has succeeded in including managed landscapes in the conservation targets (Target A) of the CBD's Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). For the first time in its history, the CBD recognizes the importance of managed lands for biodiversity conservation and restoration. All 196 CBD Parties are now required to adequately address agricultural ecosystems in their NBSAPs and to establish clear responsibilities for the agricultural sector. See policy brief „Inclusion of agriculture in the post-2020 biodiversity agenda“ (treesonfarmsforbiodiversity.com/…), comments to the proposed Framework (chm.cbd.int/…), white paper agricultural ecosystems in the post 2020 GBF (www.globallandscapesforum.org/…), live events at the Global Landscape-Forum (GLF) Agro-ecosystems supporting integration and connectivity of natural ecosystems (youtu.be/…) and Agricultural stakeholders as partner in conservation. The project provided technical support to delegations at CBD COP15 through an informal agricultural working group to support the emphasis of biodiversity-friendly land-use practices in Target 10 as well as mentioning agroforestry in the CBD’s Plan of Action 2020-2030 (www.cbd.int/…) for the International Initiative for the Conservation and Sustainable use of Soil Biodiversity.
- Performance-based contracts that compensate farmers for time spent caring for trees on their farms have been piloted in Rwanda and Uganda.
- Blogs/articles:
- Are trees on farms a biodiversity blind spot? www.worldagroforestry.org/…;
- Will biodiversity talks bridge the governmental divide? forestsnews.cifor.org/…;
- What does the Agroforestry book launch mean to West Nile? amvesi.wordpress.com/…;
- “Greening Agriculture”: Key stakeholders converge to harness trees on farms for Biodiversity conservation: www.nema.go.ug/…
Latest Update:
02/2025
Project relations
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Related Publications
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09/ 2022 | Publication types | Guideline
Agroforestry a Primer: Design and management principles for people and the environment
English (PDF, 10 MB)