Introduction - Afforestation, Reforestation and Forest Restoration in Arid and Semi-arid Tropics - page 6

Fig. 1.2 Sowing seeds of nutrient and palatable grass Cenchrus ciliaris in this silvopastoral
plantation has turned unproductive land into a productive pasture
from acute scarcity of fuelwood, and that their unmet demand of fuelwood amounts
to 800 million cubic metres annually. Assuming, ideally, that an average village of
100 families is provided with a 20 ha woodlot reserved for the purpose of meeting its
cooking energy needs, it turns out that over 120 million hectares of plantations need
to be raised with an investment of over US$ 60 billion spread over the next 20 years.
Meeting this demand will not only mitigate the misery and hardships of the rural
people—particularly womenfolk who spend most of their day gathering wood—but
also save the farm waste and crop residues from being burnt.
Rural communities' next major need, particularly in arid tropics, is forage for
livestock. In view of this, productive rangelands and silvopastoral areas (Fig. 1.2 )
areas have a great potential to ameliorate the lot of the rural poor. Such reserves, if
managed sustainably by adopting suitable methods of grazing management, can last
for a long time without incurring substantial expenses on maintenance. Improved
varieties of perennial grasses, shrubs, and fodder trees can be combined for produc-
tion of forage, apart from enhancing the fertility of soils and ensuring protection of
the watersheds.
For communities living in or near forest areas and having greater dependence upon
non-timber forest produce, conservation forestry can provide a real improvement
in livelihood security. Collection of produce such as fibre, bark, tannin, flowers,
fruits, foliage, seeds, gum, resins, essential oils, roots, tubers, and medicines is a
non-destructive use of forests which is sustainable over a long period of time. Small-
scale and cottage industries, such as beekeeping and toy making, can be sustained
through regeneration of forests on the one hand and provision of training in improved
technology along with short-term finance on the other (Fig. 1.3 ).
In addition to the protection of land resources and their productivity, and meeting
local demands of fuel and fodder, afforestation activities can also provide the benefit
of employment to the rural populations. Lack of employment and consequent lack of