Renew The Land. Speaker Profile: Tony Rinaudo
April 7, 2014
Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration: an International Re-greening Odyssey.
Speaker’s name: Tony Rinaudo.
Position: Natural Resources Advisor, World Vision Australia.
Biography: Tony spent 18 years in Niger managing a long-term agricultural development program. The natural-regeneration reforestation methods he has developed have contributed to over five million hectares of land being re-vegetated in Niger. Tony was also instrumental in introducing edible seeded Australian acacias into Nigerien farming systems and for their promotion as a human food.
In 1999, Tony joined World Vision Australia and was able to spread awareness and design wider ‘re- greening’ projects.
Today he is based in Melbourne and his specialist areas are de-/reforestation, desertification, food security, sustainable farming and food production. Tony’s current focus is promoting reforestation internationally and facilitating ongoing research and development of edible seeded Australian acacias.
Presentation summary
In an effort to combat desertification in Niger Republic over a 20-year period, the government, NGOs and international agencies spent millions of dollars in tree planting schemes with less than a 20% success rate for the 60 million trees planted.
Ironically, a simple, low cost and scalable method of reforestation, FMNR, literally lay at our feet the whole time in the form of an ‘underground forest’. The ‘discovery’, revival, adaptation and promotion of traditional tree management systems resulted in the reforestation of over five million hectares of farmland with some 200 million trees over a 20- year period. This achievement was made by some of the poorest farmers in the world.
Today, because of FMNR’s simplicity, low cost, scalability and impact, it is rapidly spreading around the world as new re-greening movements take hold.
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