Future Challenge: A Paradigm Shift in the Forestry Sector - Smallholder Tree Growing for Rural Development and Environmental Services - page 452

agroforests (Michon and de Foresta 1995; Murdiyarso et al. 2002). This diversity
can, at times, provide ecological resilience and contribute to the maintenance of
beneficial ecological functions. Participation by local communities in forest,
including agroforest, management is often critical to successful forest conservation
(Suyanto 2006; Tarigan et al. 2007). Agroforests, similar to plantations, are “working
forests” and they can help relieve some of the pressure to harvest native forests
(although their presence as such is not a sufficient condition for protection of old
growth forests (Angelsen and Kaimowitz 2001; Michon and Bompard 1987;
Tomich et al. 2001; Tomich and Lewis 2001). Linked systems of upland and ripar-
ian tree-based buffer systems, designed in regards to other landscape practices and
features, can optimize soil and water conservation in the watershed (van Noordwijk
et al. 1998), along with other economic and social services. Much of the opportu-
nity to store carbon through afforestation will occur on agricultural lands due to the
vast land area devoted to agriculture throughout the world (Brown et al. 1996;
Watson et al. 2000; Smith and Scherr 2002).
In societies where the majority of people live in (sub)urban areas, concerns over
the accelerating loss of open and green space tend to become prominent. This is a
quality-of-life issue to many and raises the potential for agroforestry applications
at the agricultural/community interface to restore ecological functions that provide
for storm water management, wildlife habitat, recreational opportunities, and aes-
thetic enhancements.
Converting environmental services (ES) of tropical forests from public goods to
tradable services is a promising strategy in safeguarding forests' ecosystem func-
tions and services in tropical regions and elsewhere. Yet, the development of mar-
kets for such services depends on the various actors that operate within this
marketing field and the criteria they use for engaging in tropical forestry projects
providing environmental services. For example, Sell et al. (2006) conducted a sur-
vey among experts of 45 institutions in Latin America and Europe, representing
various key market-actor groups of, respectively, the supply side (developing coun-
tries) and the demand side (developed countries) in terms of markets for environ-
mental services. They found that experts from Latin America emphasized criteria
related to markets and information/knowledge management whereas experts from
Europe put more emphasis on social and environmental benefits and sustainability.
These variances likely reflect the differences in social-economic development of
the respective regions. It is equally likely that similar differences exist between
experts from Asian and European institutions, suggesting there is a need for devel-
oping appropriate support mechanisms and enabling conditions in order to match
criteria and facilitate tradable environmental services in developing countries. The
latter is also true when addressing the question of how to integrate the role of small-
holder tree growing in environmental services.
In a recent provocative piece Wunder (2007) suggests that smallholder com-
munities are not the most likely beneficiary of most environmental service pro-
grams. The most likely beneficiaries are those who currently practice unsustainable
management or represent a potential threat to the environment. Smallholder com-
munities who already practice sustainable management are not likely to attract