Introduction - Afforestation, Reforestation and Forest Restoration in Arid and Semi-arid Tropics - page 3

commons and a galloping increase in human and livestock populations, demand had
outstripped the carrying capacity of the resource base and the traditional systems
of natural resource management had broken down. In the absence of any kind of
regulation, overuse and mismanagement of the forest and rangeland resources led
to their accelerated degradation. Productivity of the commons declined, even as
demands for the produce grew. The vicious cycle of an increasing overexploitation
and a declining productivity led to the rapid depletion of natural capital. Arid
conditions meant that the vegetation degradation was irreversible. In contrast to the
moist regions—where after destruction of forests, people migrate elsewhere and
consequently, the forests can regenerate—regeneration does not happen easily in
arid areas. To restore productivity of such lands, human intervention in the form of
closing the area and planting seedlings is necessary.
As a result of large-scale degradation of land resources and widespread concern
among governments and public institutions, afforestation took off as a serious eco-
nomic activity. The World Symposium on Man-made Forests, organised by the Food
and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) in 1967, was a turning
point in this regard. Today, afforestation and watershed protection figure prominently
in most developmental agendas at the global level, and find a place in the national
developmental plans of most governments. There are over 150 million hectares of
man-made forests in the world and about 12 million hectares of new man-made
forests are being added annually, half of which are in the tropics. However, com-
pared to the demand for forest produce and the potential for afforestation, this rate of
afforestation is meagre. Worldwide, there is a need for afforesting 1.5 billion hectares
of degraded lands in the tropics. Going by the unmet needs of fuelwood and forage
alone, over 900 million hectares of concentrated plantations would be needed. If
such demands are to be met by regenerating the existing forests—with a much lower
density of trees—the area required to be rehabilitated will include almost all the
degraded forest areas of the world.

1.2 Afforestation and Reforestation for Conservation

Reclamation of wastelands, restoration of ecosystem productivity, and protection of
watersheds are among the most important objectives of afforestation and reforestation
programmes. Inappropriate land use practices, faulty planning, and overexploitation
of forest resources has resulted in large areas of land being turned into wastelands.
Barren hill slopes and uplands are a norm rather than an exception in most of the
arid and semiarid tropical regions of the world. Deforested watersheds are not only
subject to severe erosion of topsoil but also a threat to the lower fertile lands with
flash floods and soil erosion.
Planting trees, shrubs and grasses is the most effective method to protect such
watersheds and bring the wastelands into productive use. The lost fertility of soil
can be, to some extent, regained by planting leguminous trees and shrubs. Vast areas
of deserts can be put to productive use by establishing vegetative cover through sand