The impacts of FMNR (Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration) in the Sahel and the lessons for the East African region

1. Framing the Case for FMNR in
the Sahel: what lessons for
Eastern Africa Region?
Mahamane Larwanou
African Forest Forum
m.larwanou@cgiar.org
www.afforum.org

2. Sahel region

3. Impacts of Droughts

4. Actions including FMNR!

6. Landscape transformation
1975 2005

7. Driving factors
i) Droughts of 1968, 1973 and 1984 devastated tree cover but
produced critical lessons (discovery and testing ideas (State,
NGOs, projects);
ii) Increase of population, i.e. pressure on wood and non wood
forest products;
iii) Institutional and policy changes;
Policy reforms informed by field experiences
– Maradi Declaration of 1984
– Rural Code Change, 1993
– Forest Code Change, 2004.
iv) Local initiatives in ToF management;
v) Emergence of champions
- Local communities;
- Researchers and developers;
- Development projects and NGOs, etc.

8. Tree density and tree ownership

9. “Trees became so important to have a good
harvest; trees represent the granary

10. “We now have many village committees to
manage the environment”

11. Benefits of On-Farm Trees…
• Firewood production
• Fodder for animals
• Increase biodiversity
• Habitat for millions of migrating birds
• Fruit production
• Traditional medicine
• Increased soil fertility
• Decreased soil erosion
• Reduced wind speed
• Increased crop yields
• Increased water infiltration
• Decrease in temperature
• Increase in rainall
• Inexpensive and easy to adopt
• Increase in biomass and carbon
• Contribute to mitigating and adapting to climate change

13. What lessons for Eastern Africa
1. Empower local communities to determine their
development priorities.
2. Farmers need exclusive rights to trees – tenure issue.
3. Village and inter village institutions for managing
regenerated trees.
4. Mainstream FMNR into policies and rural development
projects.

14. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR
ATTENTION