Silvopastoral Systems for Intensifying Cattle Production and Enhancing Forest Cover: The Case of Costa Rica
In the last 50 years, significant increases in human population and per capita consumption of animal source foods have been observed in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), resulting in increased demand for livestock products in the region. The dominant, extensive pasture-based livestock production systems need to shift from their current paths that degrade natural and social capital to more intensive silvopastoral (SP) systems that generate goods such as milk, meat, and timber, that contribute to increase tree cover on farm and landscapes to maintain ecosystems, and that render environmental services including the reduction of GHG emissions and climate change vulnerability. This report describes, discusses, and shows the geographical distribution of nine SP options. The potential application of such options for the case of Africa is also discussed.