Abstracts of the 3rd World Congress on Agroforestry. Trees for life - accelerating the impact of Agroforestry

P a g e vi Preface Held every five years, the World Congress on Agroforestry (WC A) brings together participants from the private, research and development sectors to share and debate information on the current state of knowledge, experiences and new ideas, as well as frame and contextualize the science and practice of agroforestry for the next five years and beyond. The first event in the series, held in 2004 in Orlando, USA, attracted over 600 participants while WCA2 held in 2009 in Nairobi, Kenya, attracted over 1000 participants from 96 countries. Building on and learning from the l egacy of the previous Congress, the World Congress on Agroforestry 2014 sought to significantly boost the awareness, engagement and investment in agroforestry by acting as a springboard to accelerate the impact of agroforestry, build people’s livelihoods, increase the vitality of the landscape and drive the adoption of large - scale innovations. Held on 10 - 13 February 2014 in New Delhi, India, the Congress attracted over 1000 participants from over 80 countries. They comprised of researchers, policy makers, representatives from major businesses and students all with concerns for sustainable development. Themed “Trees for Life: Accelerating the Impact of Agroforestry”, the Congress was structured to generate outputs that would shape the next steps in the field of integrative science, transformative change in landscapes, tree improvement, innovative tree - based value chain debates on global and tree tenure and holistic educat ion. This was achieved with the passing of the National Agroforestry Policy of India just days before the Congress. The President of India, H.E. Shri Pranab Mukherjee, made the first public announcement during his inaugura l address to the Congress . The the me of the Congress resonated strongly in the New Delhi Declaration on Agroforestry by the event participants as it called on the global community to harness the vital contribution of trees to human well - being development, climate change mitigation and adapt ation and the sustainability of life across all spatial and temporal scales of operation. The declaration also highlights action - oriented recommendations to women and male farmers and consumers, policy makers and advocacy groups, business sector actors, sc ientists and research institutions, development actors, communicators and investment donors.

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