Community Agroforestry

agriculture rehabilitation + community forestry

Use large-scale planning strategies to identify and reclaim coastal community land in order to establish and preserve coastal forests, mitigate coastal erosion and re-establish coastal habitat in order to sustain aquaculture.

In order to re-establish vegetation and habitat to Aceh's devastated shoreline, a program will focus on the maintenance of protected swaths of coastlines as agroforests adjacent to coastal development in order to improve forest management and community economy.

Phasing

Short-term objectives and procedures :

+ Coastal forests to function as a landscape buffer and productive agroforest.

+ Establish and preserve sustainable coastal ecosystems.

+ Integrate forestry management practices in coordination with other coastal industries and sources of livelihood.

Prototypical Phasing Plan:

Phase I [0-2 years] : Rebuilding Coastal Communities

In addition to typical propagation activities, people will begin to rebuild their communities and re-establish coastal development to support industries such as fishing and aquaculture. Within these first couple of years, community projects may include the rebuilding of infrastructure and and planting in forms that will provide a vegetative buffer that will protect the coastline and mitigate further land erosion. In addition to extensive mangrove reforestation, promote the planting of a variety of other coastal species that have been lost, such as the Coconut Palm and Casuarina, a tree used extensively for windbreaks and coastal stabilization. Intercrops can be planted and harvested between trees to help stabilize and protect the soil.

Phase II [2-5 years] : Establishing Young Coastal Forests

Forest biomass increases as plants and tree species mature and some species begin to bare fruit ready for harvest. The Sea Almond Tree is ready for harvest and processing. Plant shade-tolerant intercrop species as the forest canopy increases.

Coconut tree is ready for harvest. Once the tree has been harvested, all parts of the coconut can be used. The coconut tree can also be harvested for its timber. Processing activities would be necessary to use and sell a variety of coconut products:

Techniques

Soil

Short Term: For large-scale coastal reforestation, wash soil with chemicals and mix with coarse materials. It is ideal to mitigate the soil through the cultivation of salt tolerant annuals and then gradually shift to fruit trees or other complex plant communities as soil quality improves. Green mulch or other groundcovers can be planted to protect fragile transitional spaces from weed invasion.

Long Term: Agroforestry and intercropping promote biodiversity and a healthy ecosystem. Here, healthy soil can be established as various macro and micro flora and fauna flourish, espeically in a no-tillage, forested environment.

Water

Maximize vegetation coverage to promote extensive and consistent infiltration rate and groundwater recharge. Select appropriate plants to specific site conditions which will also reduce the need of irrigation in the long run.