But what are they going to plant? It’s easy to turn forest into farms but not as easy to go the other way. And there will be temptation to plant other tree crops.
this post was submitted on 04 Nov 2023
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Reclamation - restoring disturbed lands
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And there will be temptation to plant other tree crops.
So, in the sense of planting/removal cycles like what happens in my area or B.C. Canada, I totally agree with you that other tree crops are not the way forward.
One of the fundamental pieces of the approach advocated by the authors of The Forested Landscape Restoration Manual is that species that provide food, fuel, fiber, and timber to the local population increase the likelihood of that space being protected by them, and for that community to invest in the success of the space. In that sense, I see the potential for a variety of tree crops as well as understory crops in tandem with ecosystem support species being a positive way forward. Hopefully whoever administers these planting programs will have feedback from the locals as to what ecosystem improvements or reintroduced species would provide the greatest benefit and allow those communities to be better steward advocates.
Yeah if they want to create a quasi-natural forest that also provides benefits that’s fine, although it’s fairly likely to bay diverse native rainforest would provide those things anyway. I just don’t want to see palm plantations turn into tree plantations and then count that as a win.