A transition to silvopastoral systems (SPS), when implemented in a participatory way where farmers can decide how the system is adopted in their farms and make commitments to conserve remnant forests, could help Colombia meet its greenhouse gas emissions targets for 2030 and protect the country’s Amazonian forests.
Over the last 20 years, Colombia — the second most biodiverse country in the world, has lost more than 4.6million hectares of forest, partly due to the expansion of cattle farming, which in turn is related to complex historical, economic and political reasons. While a range of national and international agri-environmental projects aimed at reducing deforestation levels have been implemented in Colombia, until now their uptake and efficacy was not known.
The BioSmart project, comprising entomologists, economists, geographers, climate modellers and botanists, sought to assess biodiversity value in silvopasture compared with non-SPS conventional pasture sites. The team recorded the number of insects and plant species across 16 SPS farm sites in Caquetá, Colombia. An Amazonian department which experiences particularly high levels of deforestation where 6,883km 2 of forest was cleared between 2000-2020, equivalent to 8.5% of the region’s total forest-covered land.
The team’s findings include:
Dr Maria Paula Escobar , a human geographer who works as a Lecturer in Environmental Geography at the Bristol Veterinary School, and BioSmart project lead, said: “Our work shows that the adoption of silvopastoral farming could avoid further decimation of Colombia’s forests. We show if 75% of suitable existing pastureland in Caquetá was converted to SPS pastures, this would save up to 7% of Colombia's emissions budget for 2030, which would contribute to the Colombian government’s pathway to net zero. But this can only happen if funders and implementers understand that deforestation is not only the result of individual agricultural practices, but the result of complex historical, socioeconomic and political problems.
“Deforested areas have a high potential to transition from intensive farming to more sustainable practices, including silvopasture. Since many of these areas are next to forest remnants in Caquetá, adopting more sustainable agriculture, coupled with farmers’ agreements to protect remaining forests would prevent further conversion of primary forest and slow overall deforestation rates. While sustainable agriculture alone is insufficient to reduce deforestation, silvopasture could play a significant role in helping to achieve Colombia’s greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets for 2030, but projects that aim to implement them must build trust and avoid perpetuating inequalities.”
BioSmart is funded by the BBSRC , Newton Fund , NERC and ESRC in the UK and Alianza de Bioversity Internacional y el CIAT in Colombia and includes researchers from the University of Reading , CIAT (the International Center for Tropical Agriculture), Scotland’s Rural College SRUC , the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology and the Universidad de la Amazonia .
Report
The project’s report and recommendations Agri-environmental policy, silvopastoral systems, biodiversity and climate change is published in both English and Spanish.
Survey