BIODIVERSITY BENEFITS OF AGROFORESTRY

O. E. Unanaonwi
Page No. 16-21

This paper highlights some of the benefits of Agroforestry in Biodiversity conservation in order to
create the necessary consciousness that would lead to wise use of land and conservation of
biodiversity. Biodiversity has become one of the major environmental issues of our time especially
with the on-setting climate change. The basic problem is the increased rate of extinction as a result
of expanding human population, over exploitation of natural resources, land clearing and land use
development for mono agriculture without vast integration of trees into crop production.
Biodiversity refers to the life forms on earth and include the millions of plants, animals, birds and
micro-organisms, the gene they contain and the intricate ecosystems they help to built into living
environment. If the biological wealth of the world is to be maintained, the benefits of biodiversity in
agroforestry need an international recognition. It forms the major part of our life-support systems.
It constitutes the source of all our food and much of our raw materials. In order to create the
necessary consciousness that would lead to wise use of land and conservation of biodiversity, the
knowledge of the benefits of biodiversity in agroforestry should be wide spread. This paper
highlights some of these benefits.
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Keywords: Biodiversity, agroforestry, environment, ecosystem, fauna and flora, livelihood.