The case for natural regeneration approaches in global reforestation efforts
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There has been a flurry of recent interest increasing tree cover around the world, and a wave of financial commitments to implement it. This has further accelerated the enthusiasm for tree planting. Few would dispute that more trees are needed. What is peculiar is that almost universally, proponents favor tree planting as the sole means to achieve the goal. This view ignores the mounting evidence for the widespread effectiveness of approaches to establish greater tree cover through natural regeneration – farmer-managed natural regeneration (FMNR), community-based natural regeneration (CNRM), assisted natural regeneration (ANR), and passive natural regeneration. This article argues for a more balanced approach to tree establishment in largescale restoration programs, by considering the merits of both natural regeneration as well as tree planting. They are both valid approaches, and each has its place, particularly since tree planting alone is quite unlikely to achieve the scale necessary for the global repair of landscapes -- and to mitigate the climate emergency at the speed required.
The paper examines the use of a wider palette of tree restoration tools. It is also a call to make this massive global regreening push a means to empower and enable the marginalized and poor farmers and land users, who depend on natural resources for their livelihoods, to restore the degrading environments on which they depend. The paper expands on three well-developed approaches to natural regeneration: FMNR of trees on agricultural land, and CMNR of trees on degraded forest and grazing lands, and the passive natural regeneration of forests on abandoned agricultural land. The evidence points toward the opportunity to support massively greater attention toward deploying these methods as critical tools in the restoration toolbox.
Keywords: Deforestation and forest degradation, Biodiversity conservation, Climate change, Landscape management, Sustainable forest management
ID: 3486688