The effect of intensification of shifting cultivation in Africa on stabilizing land-use and forest conservation.

Intensification of shifting cultivation towards more permanent forms of agriculture has been proposed as a means of stabilizing land-use and protecting forest resources in tropical countries. Based on the results of 4 African case-studies it is shown that it cannot be expected that changes in cultivation practices will in themselves have these results. Rather the new cultivation systems should be combined with measures to control possible negative effects in the socio-economic environment including changed attitudes towards land as a productive factor, and with measures to sustain the multifunctional characteristics of shifting cultivation. (Abstract retrieved from CAB Abstracts by CABI’s permission)