**1.2 The implications of conservation agriculture in forests management**

The practice of Conservation Agriculture (CA) in forestry and agroforestry comes with a number of benefits for humanity. These involve but are not limited to financial benefits, that save money for the farmers by reducing production costs and leading to improved livelihoods. Though CA comes with three principles or pillars, as mentioned in subsequent sections above, its applicability in forestry and/or agroforestry

**Figure 2.**

*Implications of conservation agriculture in Forest management (conceptual framework).*

involves ground cover and minimal soil disturbance. **Figure 2** shows the CA practices applicable in forest management and their implications for forest management.

**Figure 2** summarizes the implications of Conservation Agriculture (CA) in Forest Management and for the management of our soils to prevent soil degradation and erosion. These are achieved over a period of time and with persistence in practice. This means it is not possible to reap these benefits without having patiently and persistently practiced minimal soil disturbance and applied maximum or optimal ground cover for several years. To further expound on the benefits, **Table 1** is provided below.

Successful forest management results in sustainable development. Sustainable development is a complex process that requires numerous actors, including proper and scientific management of our forests. Forestry is one of the key players in economic emancipation, growth and development of both developing and third-world countries. **Table 1** shows the benefits and challenges of Conservation Agriculture (CA) in Forests Management. These benefits and challenges are classified into three groups: environmental, social and economic. The concept of sustainable development cannot be mentioned without touching on the three aspects of sustainability. This is because development that is not sustainable will result in the extinction of the human race. Therefore, the concept of CA in forest management comes with environmental, social and economic benefits. However, there are some challenges that farmers in the


**Table 1.**

*Benefits and challenges of CA in forests management.*

#### *The Implications of Conservation Agriculture in Forests Management against Soil Erosion… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.109755*

forestry business are dealing with regarding CA. These are also categorized into three, namely: environmental, social and economic challenges.

The environmental challenges involve policy, certification and regulations, and Authorization of land use. While economic challenges involve Policy, Certification and regulations. Significantly, there the issue of policy comes in on both the environmental and economic challenges of the implementation of CA on forestry and agroforestry. And lastly, the social challenges associated with the implementation of CA in forestry and agroforestry. These involve the insufficiency of technical skills, the lack of knowledge on sustainable (CA) forests management as well as inadequate support from both government and farmers in the industry. The level of support in forest management has a significant influence on an agroforest's management and success. Moreover, these challenges can be addressed by a collective effort. That is the effort of the government, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), the farmers, and society at large. Everyone has a role to play towards the management of our forests across the world.

#### **1.3 Sustainable forest management and its underpinning pillars**

To achieve forest sustainability, researchers have submitted the Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) concept, which comes with three pillars or principles [21–24]. This strategic approach to forest management came as a response to the global issues of deforestation and forest degradation. Forest degradation and deforestation have paused a challenge not only to hiking climatic conditions but to society at large by reducing the productivity of forests and the ecosystem services rendered by forests [21, 23]. SFM refers to a system of forest management through the application of the Sustainable Development (SD) pillars. The three pillars of SFM borrowed from the concept of SD are environmental protection and preservation, economic prosperity and socio-cultural acceptability principles [23]. SFM can be defined as a theory and/or system that seeks to ensure that forests worldwide provide the expected goods and services to meet the needs of both the current and future generations [23]. Furthermore, the SFM system contributes towards the Sustainable Development Goals 1, 13 and 15 as indicated in Section 2.1.1 of this chapter. The SFM framework has been put in place to prevent the massive forest losses experienced globally [23]. The economic loss which occurred as a result of the loss of forests globally has been a resulting decline in total forest area (land), which predominately leads to deforestation and degradation of forests.

The implementation of SFM strategies has been reported to have contributed towards food security, employment creation, economic emancipation, poverty alleviation, and preservation of forest ecosystems. This ensures that society continues to harvest the socio-cultural, economic and ecological benefits presented by well-managed forests worldwide. **Figure 3** shows the pillars of Sustainable Forest Management.

#### *1.3.1 The pillars underpinning the theory of sustainable Forest management*

#### See **Figure 3.**

#### *1.3.2 The principles of sustainable Forest management*

**Table 2** summarizes the principles of the Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) system which is key to the conservation of our natural resources, food security and sustainable development. In a study by [22] in Sabah, Malaysia, it was discovered that

#### **Figure 3.**

*Pillars of sustainable Forest management.*


#### **Table 2.**

*Principles of sustainable forest management.*

Sustainable Forest Management practices contribute immensely towards food security, with 51% of the participants responding "strongly agree" to the fact that SFM contributes towards food security. Furthermore, SFM was perceived to have a role towards increasing the streams of income generation for individuals and households, which is viewed to speed up economic growth and development [22, 23]. It is further perceived that successful forest management will continue to positively impact locals in terms of economic emancipation and poverty alleviation.

**Table 2** shows the principles guiding the implementation of SFM globally. Contemporary literature submits that Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) strategies and practices involve reforestation, replanting forests after harvesting, treating

#### *The Implications of Conservation Agriculture in Forests Management against Soil Erosion… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.109755*

tree diseases in early stages after diagnosis, a controlled burn of naturally revive forests, control of weeds and pests, as well as thinning out of some trees to allow adequate sunlight [22–25]. It is furthermore, evident from **Table 2**, that the use of SFM strategies can be improved and strengthened by the use and implementation of Conservation Agricultural practices. Following the guiding principles of SFM, implementing the SFM practices, and incorporating the pillars of Conservation Agriculture will ensure the achievement of the SFM objectives, which have been discussed in this chapter in terms of the benefits of SFM and CA. These include economic growth and development, environmental preservation and protection and sociocultural sustainability. Therefore, CA and SFM in forest management should be applied simultaneously to optimize the benefits of both strategies.
