Tropicultura (Jan 2000)
Le projet "Développement Forestier Communal dans l'AItiplano Bolivien" : une nouvelle vision de l'agroforesterie communautaire
Abstract
The Project "Communal Forestry Development in the Bolivian Highlands (Altiplano) " : a New Vision of the Communautary Agroforestry. Since 1991, the "Communal Forestry Development in the Bolivian Highlands (Altiplano) " project has been promoting self-supporting agroforestry activities, integrated into the farmerproductive system, boosting the satisfaction of needs in forest products, increasing agriculture production and conserving natural resources. High demands on land and the difficult climatic conditions prevailing in Potosi department, where the project is located, are serious constraints to a massive forestation. Taking these constraints into account, the project has developped a strategy, the Communal Forestry Development, which is focussed on an integrated and participative approach : "integrated" means the technical available alternatives, including agroforestry actions (promotion of forester, fruit, and forrage trees and shrubs) as well as hydraulic and soil conservation actions, are implemented inside the productive agro-sylvo-pastoral systems. Within the scope of an implication of the stakeholders, the project uses "participative" ways as communautary planning of agroforestry priorities. Those objectives are reached by means of training, extension and communication. Another orientation consists in a flexible coordination with all the organizations working on the field. The project is now implementing a second phase. The results which have been registered so far lead towards a strenghthening of integrated actions and increasing responsabilities of as well communities as other institutions. Such an orientation points out the necessity of a long-term and flexible project conception.