1.2 Contact details of resource persons and institutions involved in the assessment and documentation of the Technology

Name of the institution(s) which facilitated the documentation/ evaluation of the Technology (if relevant)

School of Geography and Environmental Science, Monash University - Australia

1.3 Conditions regarding the use of data documented through WOCAT

The compiler and key resource person(s) accept the conditions regarding the use of data documented through WOCAT:

Yes

2.1 Short description of the Technology

Definition of the Technology:

For centuries, the population of the highlands of central and south-western Madagascar has sustainably managed and conserved the local tapia woodlands.

2.2 Detailed description of the Technology

Description:

These woodlands play an important economic role as a source of non-timber forest products (NTFP) such as wild silk, fruit, mushrooms, edible insects, and herbal medicines. Tapia trees (Uapaca bojeri) comprise up to 90% of all trees in these woodlands, bear an edible fruit, and their leaves nourish an endemic silkworm (landibe). Landibe silk is used to produce ritual burial shrouds throughout the highlands. Trading silk products and tapia fruits is a crucial source of cash income for the local communities. The tapia woodlands are maintained by the local villagers through burning and selective cutting. Burning favours the dominance of pyrophytic (fire-tolerant) tapia trees and protects silkworms from parasites. Selective cutting of non-tapia species and pruning of dead branches also favours tapia dominance and perhaps growth. Other common species include the endemic Sarcolaena eriophora and the invasive Pinus patula/khasya. The Tapia woodland is clearly an anthropogenically shaped forest. However, the creation and maintenance of the woodlands should be seen as positive transformation rather than a form of degradation.
Local and state-imposed regulations protect the woodlands from overexploitation. The Forest Service has placed restrictions on forest cutting and burning while allowing for traditional use rights. The collection of forest products is regulated through a type of common-property regime. For example, fuelwood collection is limited to dead trees or fallen branches. It is forbidden to break off large branches to access cocoons. Thanks to these protective regulations, forest boundaries are mostly stable, and woodland density has increased in several cases.

2.3 Photos of the Technology

2.5 Country/ region/ locations where the Technology has been applied and which are covered by this assessment

2.6 Date of implementation

If precise year is not known, indicate approximate date:

• more than 50 years ago (traditional)

2.7 Introduction of the Technology

Specify how the Technology was introduced:

• as part of a traditional system (> 50 years)

3.1 Main purpose(s) of the Technology

• conserve ecosystem
• create beneficial economic impact

3.2 Current land use type(s) where the Technology is applied

Land use mixed within the same land unit:

Yes

Specify mixed land use (crops/ grazing/ trees):

• Silvo-pastoralism

Comments:

Major land use problems (land users’ perception): Reduction of vegetation cover; Quantity biomass decline

Selective felling of (semi-) natural forests: Yes

Other type of forest: sustainable forest management

Forest products and services: fuelwood, fruits and nuts, other forest products / uses (honey, medical, etc.)

3.5 SLM group to which the Technology belongs

• natural and semi-natural forest management
• beekeeping, aquaculture, poultry, rabbit farming, silkworm farming, etc.

3.6 SLM measures comprising the Technology

Comments:

Main measures: management measures

3.7 Main types of land degradation addressed by the Technology

Comments:

Main type of degradation addressed: Bc: reduction of vegetation cover, Bq: quantity / biomass decline

3.8 Prevention, reduction, or restoration of land degradation

Specify the goal of the Technology with regard to land degradation:

• prevent land degradation
• reduce land degradation

Comments:

Main goals: prevention of land degradation, mitigation / reduction of land degradation

4.1 Technical drawing of the Technology

4.2 General information regarding the calculation of inputs and costs

Specify currency used for cost calculations:

• USD

4.3 Establishment activities

	Activity	Timing (season)
1.		N

4.5 Maintenance/ recurrent activities

	Activity	Timing/ frequency
1.	Selective cutting of non-tapia species, especially invasive pines
2.	Pruning of dead branches
3.	Controlled burning mainly through understory fires after the rainy season	Jan-May
4.	Collection of non-wood forest products such as fruits, medicinal plants, mushrooms, berries, insects, and hunting of mammals etc	Sept.-Dec
5.	Collection of landibe silkworm twice a year. The cocoons are cooked, spun and woven into silk fabric	Nov-Dec and May-June

4.6 Costs and inputs needed for maintenance/ recurrent activities (per year)

	Specify input	Unit	Quantity	Costs per Unit	Total costs per input	% of costs borne by land users
Labour	Labour	ha	1.0	20.0	20.0	100.0
Total costs for maintenance of the Technology					20.0
Total costs for maintenance of the Technology in USD					20.0

Comments:

Traditional method; no establishment phase and costs.

4.7 Most important factors affecting the costs

Describe the most determinate factors affecting the costs:

The estimation of costs is difficult - fruit are gathered over a two month period by school children going out for an hour in the early morning each day; the silkworms are collected by individuals (usually experienced collectors) on free days. In some areas, projects exist that run silkworm nurseries, establish firebreaks in the woodlands, grow and plant tapia seedlings, and finance the purchase of silk looms. These projects obviously require much larger budgets.

5.1 Climate

5.2 Topography

Comments and further specifications on topography:

Slopes on average: hilly (16-30%), steep (31-60%), very steep (>60%)
Altitudinal zones: 500-2000 m a.s.l.

5.3 Soils

If available, attach full soil description or specify the available information, e.g. soil type, soil PH/ acidity, Cation Exchange Capacity, nitrogen, salinity etc.

Soil texture is coarse/light (sandy) (silica-rich soils compared to the main lateritic soils of highland Madagascar)
Soil fertility is low ( mostly nutrient-poor or rocky soils )
Soil drainage/infiltration is good

5.6 Characteristics of land users applying the Technology

Indicate other relevant characteristics of the land users:

Land users applying the Technology are mainly disadvantaged land users

Difference in the involvement of women and men: Population density: 20-40 persons/ km2 in the central highlands and 10-20 in the western highlands

5.7 Average area of land used by land users applying the Technology

5.8 Land ownership, land use rights, and water use rights

Land ownership:

• state

Land use rights:

• communal (organized)

Comments:

Woodlands are officially state-owned, but in practice managed by neighbouring communities (either unofficially, or increasingly through community-based management contracts

6.1 On-site impacts the Technology has shown

Socio-economic impacts

Production

Income and costs

Other socio-economic impacts

Socio-cultural impacts

Ecological impacts

Soil

Biodiversity: vegetation, animals

6.3 Exposure and sensitivity of the Technology to gradual climate change and climate-related extremes/ disasters (as perceived by land users)

Comments:

Silk and fruit harvests vary from season to season but drivers are poorly understood (could include precipitation and temperature)

6.4 Cost-benefit analysis

How do the benefits compare with the maintenance/ recurrent costs (from land users' perspective)?

Comments:

The larger rainy season silk harvest provides crucial cash income during the meagre months before the rice harvest. In 1998 the price of 200 cocoons was between US$ 0.10-0.15. For a basket of Tapia fruits villagers earned between 0.02-0.06 US$/ kg. During

6.5 Adoption of the Technology

Comments:

Comments on adoption trend: see Annex 3

6.7 Strengths/ advantages/ opportunities of the Technology

Strengths/ advantages/ opportunities in the compiler’s or other key resource person’s view
Thanks to these protective regulations, forest boundaries are mostly stable, and woodland density has increased in several cases
La vente des produits en soie et des fruits de Tapia est une source de revenus capitale pour les communautés locales

6.8 Weaknesses/ disadvantages/ risks of the Technology and ways of overcoming them

Weaknesses/ disadvantages/ risks in the compiler’s or other key resource person’s view	How can they be overcome?
Partly individual indiscriminate cutting and/or strong use of fires leads to overuse of the forest resources	needs clear regulations, guidelines and observation of the rules by the local authorities as well as awareness raising about the multiple benefits of the forests. As long as the communities continue to be interested in the forests and its products, they will protect it from destructive cutting.
Invasion of exotic tree species such as pine and eucalyptus from private and village woodlots	the forest service has rightly been encouraging communities to cut these trees from the tapia forests without the need for complicated permits.
Insecure land use rights	in 1996 a new legislation opened the way to officially decentralize management of state-owned renewable natural resources to adjacent communities, which would aid woodland protection by increasing stakeholder involvement.
In some areas, silkworm populations have been very low for decades	recent projects seek to establish silk nurseries and reintroduce the worm

7.2 References to available publications

Title, author, year, ISBN:

Kull CA (2002): The ‘Degraded’ Tapia Woodlands of Highland Madagascar: Rural Economy, Fire Ecology, and Forest Conservation. Journal of Cultural Geography Spring/ Summer 2002.