Agroforestry in REDD+: Opportunities and Challenges. ASB Policy Brief 26

Minang PA, Bernard F, van Noordwijk M, Kahurani E. 2011. Agroforestry in REDD+: Opportunities and Challenges. ASB Policy Brief 26. Nairobi, Kenya: ASB Partnership for the Tropical Forest Margins

Agroforestry and other tree-based systems (wood lots, afforestation) can contribute to Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) in two ways: 1) as part of REDD+ under certain forest definitions; and / or 2) as part of a strategy for achieving REDD+ in landscapes. In the context of REDD+, agroforestry has the potential for reducing degradation by supplying timber and fuelwood that would otherwise be sourced from adjacent or distant forests. In fact, agroforestry has been used in several protected area landscape buffer zones and within conservation as one way of alleviating pressure on forests, thereby reducing deforestation. However, enabling market infrastructure, policies on tree rights and ownership and safeguards would be necessary for agroforestry and other tree-based systems in the landscape to effectively contribute to the goals of REDD+ and Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs).