Practicing silviculture
- Cultivating trees
- Growing productive trees
- Farming trees
Implementation
The agroforestry systems used in Mayombe and Lower Congo (Zaire) include: (1) the 'nkunku' system of the Bakongo people; this is a centuries-old practice among the Bakongo and has the dual objective of regeneration of the fertility of agricultural soils and producing foodstuffs; (2) the traditional 'mafufu' system among the Bakongo in forestry extension programmes of the Taungya type; and (3) the silvo-banana system, a specific variation of the Taungya system. It is practiced on a large scale in Mayombe for establishing manmade stands of Terminalia superba.
Traditional agroforestry in North Kordofan Province (Sudan), includes the cultivation of Acacia senegal for production of gum arabic, to maintain soil fertility, erosion control, and use as a fuelwood.
Claim
Biotechnology-based silviculture can in the near future be expected to underprice "extractive" forestry worldwide.