Periodic Reporting for period 1 - SUSTAINFORESTS (Tropical forest patches under pressure: Dynamics, functions and sustainable management in agricultural landscapes of the West African forest and savannah zones)
Período documentado: 2021-06-01 hasta 2022-11-30
Tropical forest patches in predominantly agricultural landscapes still provide crucial ecological functions, serve as habitats for biodiversity, contribute globally to carbon sinks, and are important for the livelihoods of local populations. How and why they come to be, and how they are likely to develop in the future is not well studied. These patches, which are spread over West Africa, can be remnants of former forests, as survivors of a hard-to-reverse deforestation process. On the other hand, they can also be the work of human hands, as a livelihood strategy, in areas without forests before. Knowing how they became forest patches and why they continue to exist will provide knowledge on how to sustain them. Given their innovative potential, identifying pathways to safeguard or even increase their contribution to ecological function and thus to sustainable development is crucial. The SUSTAINFORESTS-project will analyse the interactive roles of forest patches in the agricultural landscapes of the rainforest and savannah zones in Togo, Benin, Nigeria, and Cameroon. SUSTAINFORESTS examines why the forest patches exist or persist, how they maintain ecosystem services and livelihood functions, and are even providing new ecosystem services such as forest foods. SUSTAINFORESTS studies the conditions under which they can have a sustainable future, given their importance for the environment and livelihoods. Insights gained will inform and trigger region-wide efforts to preserve forest patches and help initiate transformative actions on sustainable land and forest management.