Contextual Analysis of Agroforestry Adoption in the Buffer Zone of Podocarpus National Park, Ecuador

Abstract

Promoting sustainable agriculture and community development is an important strategy both to alleviate resource pressures on Ecuador's Podocarpus National Park (PNP) and surrounding forested areas in its buffer zone, and to aid local communities. However, the development and adaptation of agroforestry systems must take into account the wide array of contextual factors that influence land use. Included in this analysis is an evaluation of the larger inequalities that drive small farmers and rural people, who depend on natural resources for food security and livelihood, to put pressure on PNP and the surrounding landscape. Specifically, the drivers of intensive land cultivation (agroforestry, regenerative agriculture, and reforestation) and extensive land exploitation and abandonment are assessed. There are many reforms that would provide greater options and incentives for small farmers to participate in land intensification activities, alleviating resource pressure on PNP and the remaining forested areas surrounding the park. These include (a) institutional reform of property rights and land planning, (b) capacity building for community groups and institutional coordination to facilitate the dissemination of agroforestry techniques and better land management practices, and (c) increased benefits to farmers who invest in agroforestry systems and sustainable land management.