FMNR: Dealing with Obstacles
Download as PPT, PDF0 likes376 views
This document discusses potential obstacles to adopting Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR) and how to overcome them. Some obstacles include opposition from the community, constant grazing by livestock, damage by outsiders/nomads, regular bushfires, tree cutting/charcoal making, lack of alternative incomes, and lack of tree/land ownership rights. Ways to overcome obstacles include establishing forest user rights, cooperative formation, by-laws, FMNR training, certified wood markets, and linking FMNR to organizational priorities and funding. The document advocates for FMNR as a "no regrets technology" that can scale up from village to national levels.
FMNR: Dealing with Obstacles
- 2. Exercise: Discuss with person next to you - 1. make a list of possible obstacles to adoption of FMNR - from the community - from your organization 2. how will you overcome each obstacle? (10 minutes)
- 3. Opposition from community and individuals in the community.
- 5. The importance of ownership – Who owns the problem? Exercise for communities: 1.What were environmental conditions like when you were a child? (water, crop yields, soil fertility and erosion, wildlife, wind speed, temperatures and rainfall, 2. What is the environment like now? 3. What will the environment be like for your children if you do nothing to change the situation?
- 6. Constant grazing by livestock
- 7. Second year of enclosure – Pastures have been restored!
- 8. Damage by outsiders and nomads.
- 9. Regular bushfires from a culture of burning and/or accidental fires.
- 12. Tree cutting and making charcoal? We can’t stop – “this is our only source of income and food” “We don’t have any other skills” Charcoal makers.
- 14. Alternative income generating schemes – - Honey - Vegetable gardening
- 15. Lack of tree/land ownership or user rights = No incentive for individual or communal action.
- 16. Gov’t granted Legal Forest User Rights. Forest User Rights
- 17. 2. Cooperative formation. 4. FMNR training and management plan developed. 3. By-laws established.
- 18. Certified Wood Market established Base price for wood: farmer 33% profit – farmer 33% profit – social committee 33% profit – forestry service. Facilitate Market linkages
- 19. Land tenure
- 20. Institutional Obstacles lack of buy-in by leadership / ADP manager Too busy / other priorities lack of funding not seen as a priority “we are a child- focussed organization” FMNR not in the AoP
- 21. FMNR is a no regrets technology. Village scale, district scale, national scale ….. International.. “If you have nothing to lose, and everything to gain, then by all means go for it”.
Editor's Notes
- #4: Opposition to introducing FMNR may arise from the community, or from individuals in the community. If communities perceive that it is not in their best interests to practice FMNR – perhaps because they think they will lose income from wood cutting or charcoal making, or perhaps if they think the areas will be locked up and there will be nowhere to graze their animals – they will oppose it. In one case, communities thought that WV was going to sell their communal land to investors. Often, farmers fear that practicing FMNR will reduce crop yields.
- #7: Some communities may think it is impossible to implement FMNR because they have large numbers of livestock and no spare land. However, if the community is convinced that it is in their best interests to practice FMNR / restore grazinglands and watersheds, there are always strategies for managing livestock which can be agreed on. e.g. - Part of the area can be utilized for grazing while the remainder is ‘enclosed’ for regeneration. - communities may agree to practice ‘cut and carry’ of grasses and to keep their livestock out until the trees are big enough - communities may decide to access other grazing areas temporarily while trees grow.
- #10: Burning – either accidental or deliberate destroys young trees and is not compatible with FMNR. Success in stopping burning depends on the community and how much they believe that their future depends on it.
- #13: Charcoal making and wood cutting if not managed sustainably will prevent people from practicing FMNR. Unless there is agreement on respecting trees deliberately left for FMNR it is unlikely to be adopted.
- #16: Where communities have no legal user rights or ownership rights to trees or land, it is more difficult to convince them to practice FMNR – there needs to be a guarantee that they will profit from their efforts.
- #17: An important first step was for the government to grant legal user rights. This ensures communities that they will benefit from any work they do in the forest. This gives them the incentive and motivation needed to do the work without payment – for their own benefit.
- #18: A training and forest management plan was developed and agreed to.
- #19: Their tree work was so successful that wood markets sprung up where there was only sand before. They charge a membership fee and farmers are paid a guaranteed price for the wood. Profits over and above the guaranteed price are then divided up between the farmer, organizing committee and the forestry department.