From research outputs to development outcomes—selected stories - Water Scarcity, Livelihoods and Food Security - page 182

simple solution was a breakthrough to a problem that had eluded ecologists
and put livestock keepers under scrutiny for their role in accelerating land
degradation.
For the practice to work, the villagers had to agree to corral their animals at
night for two weeks to obtain sufficient quantities of cattle manure before
moving elsewhere. Soon after, vegetative pasture grass cover was restored and
surface water runoff and evaporation was reduced. Less silt and sediment of
tanks and water reservoirs resulted in improved water quality.
In response to the development of these new technologies, local com-
munities passed by-laws to protect vegetation and water quality. The impact
of traditional livestock corralling on runoff and soil erosion levels varied with
scale, cropping patterns, land use and tenure arrangements of the pasturelands.
Termites are generally viewed as a destructive insect, but soil scientists know
that termites promote soil fertility and infiltration when in balance with nature.
A technical solution to the termite problem opened up opportunities for a
more systems-oriented approach to improving livelihoods while protecting the
environment from desertification and water degradation.
A wider research study highlighted the need for improvements in legislative
structure and institutional arrangements and understanding the importance
of private land tenure. It was also important to know when promoting
community-based natural resources management was appropriate, and what
market opportunities there were. Providing better veterinary services helped to
increase livestock and water productivity.
Citations relevant to this story are: Alemayehu et al., 2008; Mpairwe et al.,
2008; Mugerwa et al., 2008; Peden, 2008; Haileslassie et al., 2009; Peden,
2008.
Changing slash and burn for slash and mulch in Central America's
drought-prone hillsides (PN15) 4
Slash and burn is the traditional management of many tropical systems.
Smallholders cut down and burn forest growth, with ash from the burn
providing the soil with nutrients, but leaving the soil with no cover and
vulnerable to erosion. They then grow several food crops in succession until
yields fall because of declining fertility, then they move on to the next block of
regrowth forest. As long as the cycle is long enough, 20 or more years, for the
trees to harvest the slow accumulation of nutrients from primary soil minerals,
the system is sustainable. But, because of increasing population, the cycles have
become shorter and shorter, with fewer crops possible in each. In most places,
this short-cycle slash and burn is no longer sustainable, especially in drought-
prone hillsides in the sub-humid tropics, with low, unreliable yields and
increasing soil degradation.
Farmers in northeast Nicaragua and southeast Honduras recognized the
problem and sought a solution. Working with the United Nations Food and