In times of conflict, combatants and civilians often seek sanctuary in forests. Forests are sometimes targeted militarily for that reason or cleared to allow the passage of troops. Less known however is that forests are also at risk in the immediate aftermath of war when post-conflict agendas bring competing pressures to bear on forest cover. Art Blundell, Doug Farah and Emily Harwell, the authors of background papers focusing on forests and fragile states, shared their insights during a lunch-time discussion at the World Bank. The event was part of an ongoing series based on the thematic...

Agroforestry – combining trees with crops -- can play a dramatic role in improving yields, food security and rural incomes, restoring degraded lands, increasing carbon sequestration and taking pressure off indigenous forests. At a lunch-time discussion at the World Bank in Washington DC on June 10th, 2010, Dr. Dennis Garrity, Director General of the World Agroforestry Center (ICRAF) and author of  Creating an Evergreen Agriculture in Africa, discussed agroforestry's potential in developing countries, citing large-scale results achieved in Malawi and Niger for example. After the...