Case study: Analog Forestry
“Our current dominant industrialized agriculture has increasingly diverged from the natural systems from which it originates. Monoculture is the commonest system. Most of the species we grow are annual. We also massively rely on fossil fuel through mechanization (oil), fertilizers (gas) and pesticides (oil). Old and new alternatives do exist, many of which are inspired by ecosystems and how they function. In the forestry domain, one of them is “analog forestry”.
Analog Forestry - Creative Commons
What's this?
Simply: re-creating forests with complete ecosystems, with special regard to human economical benefits.
Analog forestry aims at modeling forests explicitly linking biodiversity restoration, the protection and enhancement of environmental services. It has, at the same time, to meet the immediate economic needs of the people living in the neighborhood.
How does it work?
Analog forest arose in Sri Lanka in the early 80s as a alternative to monocultures.
By re-creating the structure of the local natural forest ecosystem, by planting trees and other plants that fulfill the ecological functions of the forest while simultaneously providing products for the family’s nutritional or medicinal needs, or for processing and sale in the marketplace to increase family income.
Knowledge of plants, their role in the ecosystem and their role in meeting livelihood needs is an essential component of analog forestry. That traditional knowledge is combined with scientific understanding of ecological succession and other species that could be safely added to a restoration project to provide additional non-timber products to contribute to family health and well-being. Biodiversity protection and livelihood issues are inescapably intertwined; reducing rural poverty also helps to reduce unsustainable land use and harvesting pressure on forests. An analog forest project is complete when it can provide human beings with economic benefits.
The system has to be analogous to the indigenous climax and species, so as to be like there was a natural implementation of the ecosystem.
Analog Forestry is based on the following basic principles:
- Observe and record
- Understand and Evaluate
- Know your land
- Identify levels of yield
- Map out flow and reservoir systems (existing and potential)
- Reduce ratio of external energy in production
- Be guided by landscape and neighbours needs
- Follow ecological succession
- Utilize ecological processes
- Value Biodiversity
- Respect Maturity
- Respond Creatively
Where is it applied?
Analog forestry can be applied in any life system, in rainforests as well as in any occidental country. The principles remain the same wherever it is applied. Example can be found in Asia, Africa, Latin, Central and North America.
