Agroforestry Adaptation for Climate Resilient Economy in Lowland Rainforest Ecological Zone of Delta State, Nigeria

Forest ecosystems provide ecological services as sink for environmental wastes and greenhouse gases while supplying agriculture with essential nutrient-rich soil and biodiversity to support growth. Unfortunately, the skewed management approach to bias indicator for either economic or environmental development often results in conflict and bane to thwart full realization of well-articulated policy framework in the environmental and agricultural sectors. Agroforestry types as a multiple land use mechanism, integrates critical trade-offs in both sectors to achieve sustained yield management objective in forest management and sustainable food production. Forest litters and agricultural component residues in the agroforestry system interact to reduce influx of in-organic chemicals at source fertilization and disposals as sequestered carbon as well as other GHGs in the environment. This paper examined the potential benefit in developing policy thrust from practical approach of Taungya (agricultural crops and trees) as agroforestry tool for stemming further forest degradation, food insecurity and enrolment in carbon credit schemes for climate change mitigation and adaption in the lowland rainforest zone to resuscitate forest regeneration and short-term incomes from annual agricultural crops.