THE CONTEMPORARY PACIFIC· SPRING 1995

Agroforestry in the Pacific Islands:Systems for Sustainability, edited byW C Clarke and R RThaman. Tokyo:United Nations University Press, 1993.ISBN 92-808-0824-9, x + 297 pages,maps, tables, appendix, bibliography.Paper, US$3 5.00; developing countryprice, US$17.50.

Throughout the developing world agri-culture and forests compete for avail-able land, with agriculture usually thewinner. Rapidly growing populations,escalating needs for cash, and erodingtraditional resource management prac-tices further exacerbate the situation.The Pacific Islands have not escapedthis development dilemma. Tropicalforests of the Pacific, rich in biodiver-sity and ecologically important to themaintenance of fragile island ecosys-tems, have vanished at an alarmingpace in the past few decades. This lossof forests, and the subsequent degrada-tion of cleared agricultural lands fromunsustainable agrIcultural practiceshas led governments, funding agencies,scientists, and others to seek ways to,in the authors' words, "rehabilitate thedamaged interface of agriculture andforests and prevent further deteriora-tion." Agroforestry, defined simply as"the collective name for all land-usesystems and practices in which woodyperennials are deliberately grown onthe same land management unit ascrops and/or animals," has emerged asa major strategy for sustainable agri-cultural development throughout theworld.

The practice of agroforestry, how-ever, is not new to Pacific Islanders.For thousands of years, indigenousPacific agroforestry systems have been

fine-tuned to the unique environmentsand cultures of each island, and alongwith the lagoon and ocean ecosystems,have provided sustenance to islandinhabitants in the form of variousproducts, including food, prestige andmaterial goods, and numerous ser-vices, including environmental stabil-ity. From the earliest arrivals ofindigenous peoples through Europeancontact and colonialization to modernagricultural development schemes,Pacific agroforestry has evolved slowly,the various systems constantly adapt-ing to the changing circumstances ofthe practitioners. New crops and prac-tices have been assimilated into exist-ing agricultural systems, with onlyminor impact on island cultures andlandscapes. Even today, largely tradi-tional agroforests still make up themajority of forest cover on mostislands. The authors offer an extensivereview of available published informa-tion detailing examples of traditionalPacificIslariaagiofoiestryfr6m··throughout the region. These casestudies, which are presented in sepa-rate chapters covering the geographicdivisions of Melanesia, Polynesia, andMicronesia, help the reader appreciatethe prevalence, diversity, resilience,and antiquity of agroforestry as a landuse practice in the Pacific,Islands. Thisextensive coverage of actual examplesof indigenous Pacific Island agrofor-estry is the most complete collection ofcase studies to date, and is a substan-tial contribution to the literature onPacific Island agriculture.

The authors and contributors, allrecognized experts on Pacific Islandagricultural geography, argue that inthe modern Pacific context of rapid

BOOK REVIEWS

population growth, increasingly mech-anized technology, growing moneti-zation, wage employment, and thecontinued search for new export pro-duction, traditional agroforestry isapparently no longer able to keeppace. As in other parts of the develop-ing world, age-old agricultural sys-tems, renowned by scientists and otheroutside developments for their greatcontributions to the biological andphysical sustainabilty of island envi-ronments, are no longer providingneeded social and economic benefits tothe heirs of the Islanders who devel-oped them. Islanders, often with theofficial encouragement of govern-ments, agricultural experts, and fund-ing agencies, are rapidly discardingtraditional agroforestry in favor oflargely unsustainable agricultural prac-tices like commercial monocropping,commercial livestock production, andindustrial forestry, mainly for commer-cial commodity export markets. Theauthors argue that this agricultural"simplification," leading to a loss ofbiological diversity, "agrodeforesta-tion" (the conversion of native foreststo agriculture), and thus of overallenvironmental sustainability, is con-tributing to the overall deterioration ofthe environmental and economic well-being of Pacific Island societies.

The challenge facing the develop-ment community in the Pacific is,according to the authors, to find waysto "progress with the past." The largebody of traditional agricultural knowl-edge accumulated over thousands ofyears of survival on Pacific Islands hasbeen largely overlooked by modern sci-entists and development specialists. IfPacific Island agricultural development

,.~

237

is to be truly sustainable and equitable,new efforts must be made to incorpo-rate traditional agricultural knowledgeinto modern agricultural develop-ments. The authors offer several rec-ommendations on how to accomplishthis. First, a concerted effort must bemade to build appreciation for tradi-tional agroforestry systems amonggovernments, funding agencies, scien-tists, and Pacific Island communities.Further research and documentation,concentrating on the desirable environ-mental and sociocultural aspects oftraditional agroforestry, can help iden-tify indigenous strategies that haveproven sustainable in the generallyharsh and fragile environments charac-teristic of the Pacific Islands. With thisinformation documented and dissemi-nated, traditional agroforestry prac-tices could then be used as "prototypesfor development" rather than obstaclesto be overcome in the developmentprocess. Next, increased efforts need tobe made in encouraging agroforestryas a land use practice. This will involveimproved agricultural extensionefforts, decreased sectoral compart-mentalization of forestry and agricul-ture within governmental structures,formal and informal education,expanded nurseries and related sup-port services, environmental impactassessment of proposed agriculturaldevelopments, and, in certain cases,agricultural intensification. Theauthors contend that with the properinstitutional support, Pacific agrofor-ests can continue to playa significantrole in the provision of useful prod-ucts, the enhancement of productivityand diversity, and the general stabilityof agroecosystems in the Pacific.

EM-Ml- liWJjHiMIQMiih$iM I@t!ttt

THE CONTEMPORARY PACIFIC· SPRING 1995

The casual reader may be over-whelmed by the abundance of scien-tific plant names and necessarytechnical jargon, but this publicationwill be especially valuable to research-ers, development specialists, teachers,and students of agriculture throughoutthe Pacific region as an extensive refer-ence on traditional agroforestry prac-tices in the Pacific Islands. The authorshave included an excellent appendix"One Hundred Pacific Island Agrofor-

estry Trees," which provides thenames, botany, distribution, cultiva-tion, and uses of the most commontrees found in Pacific agroforests, andwill no doubt prove useful for thoseinterested in learning more about andpromoting agroforestry in the PacificIslands.

BILL RAYNOR

The Nature ConservancyKolonia, Pohnpei, FSM