Sylviculture sociétale : un nouveau paradigme en quête d'une conservation durable des terres sous les tropiques ?

Résumé

A novel and sustainable agroforestry system was designed and implemented with great initial success in the Democratic Republic of Congo (PROCES et al., 2011). Each farmer and family was allocated 25 hectares in which to live, plant cas- sava (a root crop) and trees for lumber and other forest prod- ucts: Acacia auriculiformis. The scheme, which included farmer training, involved traditional cultivation methods and management of fallow lands. The economic success of the first rotation of the system was evident as measured by a net profit of $5,000 per family, which was similar to what a teacher made in the capital city of Kinshasa. The main issue raised by the silvicultural use of the land was a small reduc- tion in soil potassium, which could be addressed in the sec- ond rotation. Unfortunately, the second rotation was not as successful as the first in terms of yields, because the initial group of farmers used the money from the first rotation to move their families to the capital city, leaving untrained rela- tives to deal with their farms...