During the one hour drive from Jakarta to Bogor you can observe a remarkable diversity in land use: rice paddies, cassava cultivated under highway tree plantations, mixed home garden and fruit and timber trees-all grown by small-scale farmers. But there are also golf courses and massive real estate development, Living for a while in West Java brings perspectives, on forestry, agriculture the environment and the people who manage natural resources. This island is one of the most populated places anywhere, some 120people in an area one-third of Sweeden. Yet Java is full of trees. This has not always been the case: fifty years ago Java had large areas of unproductive Imperata grasslands after generation of shifting cultivation which became unstable due to human population growth. Today small-scale farmers have converted most of the grasslands to rich agroforestry home gardens. Farmers are changing the landscape.
Publication year
2001
Authors
Language
English
Keywords
agroforestry, environmental management, land use, research
Geographic
Ethiopia
