Smallholder farming is considered one of the most vulnerable sectors to the impacts of climate ch... more Smallholder farming is considered one of the most vulnerable sectors to the impacts of climate change, variability, and extremes, especially in the developing world. This high vulnerability is due to the socioeconomic limitations and high environmental sensitivity which affect the biophysical and socioeconomic components of their farming systems. Therefore, systems’ functionality and farmers’ livelihoods will also be affected, with significant implications for global food security, land-use/land-cover change processes and agrobiodiversity conservation. Thus, less vulnerable and more resilient smallholder farming systems constitute an important requisite for sustainable land management and to safeguard the livelihoods of millions of rural and urban households. This study compares a comprehensive socioeconomic and environmental dataset collected in 2015–2016 based on household interviews of 30 farmers of highland agroforestry systems and 30 farmers of conventional agriculture systems,...
The BIODEV capacity development programme (BCDP) uses forestry, agroforestry and trees to derive ... more The BIODEV capacity development programme (BCDP) uses forestry, agroforestry and trees to derive a broad range of development and environmental outcomes (high-value biocarbon) while strengthening the capacities of local and national institutions to be able to sustain the benefits. The BCDP conducted 40 long and short-term training activities in Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali and Sierra Leone across the following categories: (i) Short-term in-country trainings and regional training e.g. support to UNFCCC negotiators running from 2-4 and 6-8 days and implemented using the Harvard Case and the Socratic Learning Methods; (ii) Short-term training abroad for three weeks on Managing Sustainable Forest Landscapes, and (iii) Long-term training abroad e.g. PhD study on forest governance and climate change. The success of BCDP is largely influenced by (i) the effectiveness of coordination and planning amongst trainers; (ii) the content, format, depth, focus and duration of the training vis-a-vis t...
Terminalia laxiflora Engl. & Diels, (Sudanese Arabic name: Darout الدروت) and Terminalia brownii ... more Terminalia laxiflora Engl. & Diels, (Sudanese Arabic name: Darout الدروت) and Terminalia brownii Fresen (Sudanese Arabic name: Alshaf ألشاف) (Combretaceae) are used in Sudanese traditional folk medicine and in other African countries for treatment of infectious diseases, TB and its symptoms, such as cough, bronchitis and chest pain. Because of the frequent use of T. laxiflora and T. brownii in African traditional medicine and due to the absence of studies regarding their antimycobacterial potential there was a need to screen extracts of T. laxiflora and T. brownii for their growth inhibitory potential and to study the chemical composition and compounds in growth inhibitory extracts. The plant species were collected in Sudan (Blue Nile Forest, Ed Damazin Forestry areas) and selected according to their uses in traditional medicine for the treatment of bacterial infections, including TB. Eighty extracts and fractions of the stem bark, stem wood, roots, leaves and fruits of T. laxiflora...
Decoctions and macerations of the stem bark and wood of Terminalia brownii Fresen. are used in tr... more Decoctions and macerations of the stem bark and wood of Terminalia brownii Fresen. are used in traditional medicine for fungal infections and as fungicides on field crops and in traditional granaries in Sudan. In addition, T. brownii water extracts are commonly used as sprays for protecting wooden houses and furniture. Therefore, using agar disc diffusion and macrodilution methods, eight extracts of various polarities from the stem wood and bark were screened for their growth-inhibitory effects against filamentous fungi commonly causing fruit, vegetable, grain and wood decay, as well as infections in the immunocompromised host. Ethyl acetate extracts of the stem wood and bark gave the best antifungal activities, with MIC values of 250 µg/mL against Nattrassia mangiferae and Fusarium verticillioides, and 500 µg/mL against Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus flavus. Aqueous extracts gave almost as potent effects as the ethyl acetate extracts against the Aspergillus and Fusarium strains,...
Deforestation in Burkina Faso is estimated to be between 0.91–1.03% per annum and displacement by... more Deforestation in Burkina Faso is estimated to be between 0.91–1.03% per annum and displacement by croplands or rangeland expansion is identified as its main drivers. The climate and geography of the country causes its north and central regions to be exposed to drought and desertification, which act as stimuli for rural migration to southern Burkina Faso which lies in the South-Sudanian climatic zone. This zone has better conditions to support rain-fed agricultural production, wood energy supply and fodder for livestock but it also experiences the highest rate of deforestation in the country. This study analyses the drivers of deforestation in Ziro province of Southern Burkina Faso. For data collection and analysis, the area of forest cleared annually was used as the dependent variable, whereas household characteristics and local institutions (tenure and property rights) were considered independent variables. Data were collected through focus group discussions (FGD), participant observation, interviews with key informants and from 200 farm households. Tobit regression results reveal that land tenure insecurity and low agricultural production expressed in the sizes (areas) and ages of farms led to increased deforestation. In addition, the significance of tenure insecurity as a driver of deforestation indicated that migrants contributed more to deforestation than the indigenous groups. Greater rights and improved legal status might reduce the rights to limited use granted to migrants. Furthermore, supports from government to increase local community's capacity to monitor protected forests are likely to reduce field expansion.
Smallholder farming is considered one of the most vulnerable sectors to the impacts of climate ch... more Smallholder farming is considered one of the most vulnerable sectors to the impacts of climate change, variability, and extremes, especially in the developing world. This high vulnerability is due to the socioeconomic limitations and high environmental sensitivity which affect the biophysical and socioeconomic components of their farming systems. Therefore, systems’ functionality and farmers’ livelihoods will also be affected, with significant implications for global food security, land-use/land-cover change processes and agrobiodiversity conservation. Thus, less vulnerable and more resilient smallholder farming systems constitute an important requisite for sustainable land management and to safeguard the livelihoods of millions of rural and urban households. This study compares a comprehensive socioeconomic and environmental dataset collected in 2015–2016 based on household interviews of 30 farmers of highland agroforestry systems and 30 farmers of conventional agriculture systems,...
The BIODEV capacity development programme (BCDP) uses forestry, agroforestry and trees to derive ... more The BIODEV capacity development programme (BCDP) uses forestry, agroforestry and trees to derive a broad range of development and environmental outcomes (high-value biocarbon) while strengthening the capacities of local and national institutions to be able to sustain the benefits. The BCDP conducted 40 long and short-term training activities in Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali and Sierra Leone across the following categories: (i) Short-term in-country trainings and regional training e.g. support to UNFCCC negotiators running from 2-4 and 6-8 days and implemented using the Harvard Case and the Socratic Learning Methods; (ii) Short-term training abroad for three weeks on Managing Sustainable Forest Landscapes, and (iii) Long-term training abroad e.g. PhD study on forest governance and climate change. The success of BCDP is largely influenced by (i) the effectiveness of coordination and planning amongst trainers; (ii) the content, format, depth, focus and duration of the training vis-a-vis t...
Terminalia laxiflora Engl. & Diels, (Sudanese Arabic name: Darout الدروت) and Terminalia brownii ... more Terminalia laxiflora Engl. & Diels, (Sudanese Arabic name: Darout الدروت) and Terminalia brownii Fresen (Sudanese Arabic name: Alshaf ألشاف) (Combretaceae) are used in Sudanese traditional folk medicine and in other African countries for treatment of infectious diseases, TB and its symptoms, such as cough, bronchitis and chest pain. Because of the frequent use of T. laxiflora and T. brownii in African traditional medicine and due to the absence of studies regarding their antimycobacterial potential there was a need to screen extracts of T. laxiflora and T. brownii for their growth inhibitory potential and to study the chemical composition and compounds in growth inhibitory extracts. The plant species were collected in Sudan (Blue Nile Forest, Ed Damazin Forestry areas) and selected according to their uses in traditional medicine for the treatment of bacterial infections, including TB. Eighty extracts and fractions of the stem bark, stem wood, roots, leaves and fruits of T. laxiflora...
Decoctions and macerations of the stem bark and wood of Terminalia brownii Fresen. are used in tr... more Decoctions and macerations of the stem bark and wood of Terminalia brownii Fresen. are used in traditional medicine for fungal infections and as fungicides on field crops and in traditional granaries in Sudan. In addition, T. brownii water extracts are commonly used as sprays for protecting wooden houses and furniture. Therefore, using agar disc diffusion and macrodilution methods, eight extracts of various polarities from the stem wood and bark were screened for their growth-inhibitory effects against filamentous fungi commonly causing fruit, vegetable, grain and wood decay, as well as infections in the immunocompromised host. Ethyl acetate extracts of the stem wood and bark gave the best antifungal activities, with MIC values of 250 µg/mL against Nattrassia mangiferae and Fusarium verticillioides, and 500 µg/mL against Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus flavus. Aqueous extracts gave almost as potent effects as the ethyl acetate extracts against the Aspergillus and Fusarium strains,...
Deforestation in Burkina Faso is estimated to be between 0.91–1.03% per annum and displacement by... more Deforestation in Burkina Faso is estimated to be between 0.91–1.03% per annum and displacement by croplands or rangeland expansion is identified as its main drivers. The climate and geography of the country causes its north and central regions to be exposed to drought and desertification, which act as stimuli for rural migration to southern Burkina Faso which lies in the South-Sudanian climatic zone. This zone has better conditions to support rain-fed agricultural production, wood energy supply and fodder for livestock but it also experiences the highest rate of deforestation in the country. This study analyses the drivers of deforestation in Ziro province of Southern Burkina Faso. For data collection and analysis, the area of forest cleared annually was used as the dependent variable, whereas household characteristics and local institutions (tenure and property rights) were considered independent variables. Data were collected through focus group discussions (FGD), participant observation, interviews with key informants and from 200 farm households. Tobit regression results reveal that land tenure insecurity and low agricultural production expressed in the sizes (areas) and ages of farms led to increased deforestation. In addition, the significance of tenure insecurity as a driver of deforestation indicated that migrants contributed more to deforestation than the indigenous groups. Greater rights and improved legal status might reduce the rights to limited use granted to migrants. Furthermore, supports from government to increase local community's capacity to monitor protected forests are likely to reduce field expansion.
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