Chapter 7 Horticulture & agroforestry vulnerability assessment
D EFINITIONS
In this chapter, the terms used were adapted from various publications with meanings relevant to the Pacific, particularly the Solomon Islands context.
AGROFORESTRY – as adapted from Pacific Food Security tool kit (FAO 2010b)) an extensive low input non – permanent agro forestry (shifting cultivation) intercropping deliberately combining selected crops and agriculture crop (predominately root crops) for short term productivity.
COMMUNITY – a group of individuals living/ glued together in a vicinity through inter marriages, religion, government, employment opportunities or socio-economic factors. A community is not necessarily from the same tribe or claimant of natural resources use or ownership in a particular area. As adapt from Phil Bart (PhD), CEC website, a community is the social organization of a settlement or association of people.
EXPOSURE – is used in literature to characterize the biophysical impacts of climate change on agroecological systems. Exposure encompasses the spatial and temporal dimensions of climate variability, such as droughts and heavy rains, the magnitude and duration of weather events, and long-term change in mean climate (temperature and precipitation),. As adapted from Asian Development Bank (2009).
SENSITIVITY - Sensitivity is defined by the IPCC as “the degree to which a system is affected, either adversely or beneficially, by climate variability or change” and refers to the ability of an agroecological system to withstand impacts without overt efforts to adapt. Sensitivity is a complex concept because the responsiveness of a system can be influenced by both intrinsic characteristics and degrees of external manipulation. For example, unprotected low-lying coastal areas may be more sensitive to rising sea levels and storm surges than those that have sea walls. Similarly, water-stressed areas that have no irrigation infrastructure will be more sensitive to drought compared to those that do have such systems in place. In Asia and the Pacific, many countries are sensitive to climate change and extreme weather events because of high water stress, high rates of land degradation, and the high dependency of their economies on agriculture. As adapted from Asian Development Bank (2009).
SUPSUP GARDEN – refers to a small, family managed food production garden within the village boundaries, usually near the home, or on the edge of the village.
VULNERABILTY - Vulnerability to climate change depends not only on exposure to climate events, but also on physical, environmental, socioeconomic, and political factors that influence how sensitive countries will be to a changing climate, as well as their ability to cope and to adapt. For adaptation and mitigation measures to be successful, an assessment of poor communities’ current vulnerabilities, needs, and coping abilities is needed, including influential factors such as gender equality (ADB 2009).
Chapter 7
Building social and ecological resilience to climate change in Roviana, Solomon Islands
O VERVIEW
Rural communities of the Solomon Islands remain subsistence farmers and depend on gardens for daily survival. As has been observed in the Solomon Islands, there has been a slow shift from the traditional agro forestry systems to cash crop production (MECDM 2008) as the need for monetary benefit increases. This includes pressures on families to meet obligations such as school fees and other costs. Agro forestry, as an alternative income source, is one way of relieving economic pressure in the Solomon Islands. This research focused on looking at the use and adoption of gardens and agroforestry in the Roviana Vonavona region, and the social vulnerability to climate change impacts.
The traditional agro forestry system defined by Thaman et al. (2002) as a 'deliberate planting of trees around or within farming systems for short and longer term benefits', has not been observed in subsistence gardening in the Solomon Islands. The current practice observed around gardens or elsewhere focuses more on food crop production for immediate benefits. This is through the planting of crops, especially root crops or cultivars as defined by Pacific Food security Toolkit, (2010). In addition, the team observed that fruit trees in and around gardens and villages were both old and productivity low.
Results from the research demonstrate early impacts of climate change in the agro forestry sector. Of particular concern is the impact of extreme weather events (increase in rain intensity, increase hot days, storms etc) on natural resources. Rotten tubers and corms of crops resulted from flooding of low lying gardens, extreme sun periods reduces the production of crops especially staple crops. Or the unpredictable state of weather events contributes to reduce production from gardens and increase 'taem blo hangere' (Hungry periods), see annex 5 for details on planting, harvesting and seasonal calendar.
Young people did not consider agriculture or farming practices as being important. Important skills in Agroforestry were either neglected or not transferred resulted in no practical knowledge and skills. Lacking skills and ability to worked the land could be disastrous in the future. There was also an opinion that there was no need to improve agroecosystem technology. Together, this makes the communities vulnerable to food and commodity security.
Land availability has been highlighted across all communities as an important issue. Availability of space for activities such as gardens, housing or for other important development such as cocoa or forestry plantation is limited. Associated with increase of population, land is of uttermost importance and requires meticulous management, planning and usage. Coastal terrestrial forests are extremely vulnerable to new development and quest for more land.
Though with many issues arising, Agro-forestry systems focused on utilizing limited land and basic resources for food production, goods and services through integration of trees with agricultural crops and animals is a useful adaptation process to help reduce community vulnerability.
Chapter 7 Horticulture & agroforestry vulnerability assessment