The European Tropical Forest Research Network (ETFRN) is a network on forests and development, which aims to ensure that European research contributes to conservation and sustainable use of forest and tree resources in tropical and subtropical countries.
ETFRN was established in 1991 in response to the growing concernes on the rapid deforestation occurring particularly in the tropics, and the European Commission's desire to mobilise European research to address this challenge.
Objectives: The goal of ETFRN is to ensure that European research contributes to conservation and sustainable management of forests and tree resources in tropics, subtropics & Mediterranean. ETFRN aims to achieve its goal by:
promoting forest research partnerships and collaboration between the South and Europe
developing and promoting dialogue between researchers, policy makers, and forest managers and others influencing the forest environment
promoting increased coherence and co-ordination of European research capability in tropical forest research
Tropenbos International is ETFRN's coordinating member and national focal point in the Netherlands.
ETFRN provides a range of services, including ETFRN News, which comprises theme-based issues on current research relevant to the international development agenda, such as Financing Sustainable Forest Management; Non-Timber Forest Products; Forests, Water and Livelihoods; Forests and the MDGs, and; Forests and Conflicts.
Members:
Resources
Displaying 1 - 5 of 12Large-scale regreening in Niger: lessons for policy and practice. Included in Restoring African Drylands
Unless countries can manage to mobilize millions of land users to invest their scarce resources in protecting regenerating trees, the battle against land degradation cannot be won. These experiences from Niger show that hundreds of thousands of smallholder farm families have substantially increased tree cover on their farm land by investing in the management of on-farm trees. This has improved their production systems and their livelihoods. There is no reason to believe that similar success cannot be achieved in many more countries throughout African drylands and sub-humid area.
Farmers working together to restore their degraded land and diversity production. Included in Restoring African Drylands
As a farmer in northern Kenya, I came to understand the importance of dryland restoration. After moving to Kaijaido country in the south, I started an initiative to restore the land, increase food security and reduce poverty, supported by a grant from the East African Community with various activities supported by FAO and Yale University.
Adoption of farmer managed natural regeneration in Senegal. Included in Restoring African Drylands
Valuable lessons can be learned from smallholder farmers who have successfully protected and regenerated tree cover across agricultural landscapes in Senegal, with minimal reliance on tree nurseries, seedling distribution or tree planting. In the process, they have restored soil fertility to sustainably increase agricultural production.
Successful landscape restoration in Abreha We Atsbeha watershed, Tigray, Ethiopia. Included in Restoring African Drylands
Key success factors
There were several reasons for the success of the restoration initiative.
• Implementation had the active participation of the local community; i.e., it was community- led restoration.
• Restoration produced short- and long-term economic and environmental benefits.
• It systematically included women, girls and youth in restoration activities.
• The former village leader had the leadership capacity to mobilize the local community.
Climate-smart village approach: communities at the heart of restoration in Senegal. Included in Restoring African Drylands
The climate-smart village approach created enthusiasm and commitment from farmers in seeking solutions to the problems and constraints that they themselves identified. The approach also involved strengthening the capacity of technical staff to use new tools, and to understand and support the new methods, with complementary finance to support the changes.