The Development of Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration Permaculture Research Institute. Editor’s Note: Arguably one of the most successful land regeneration projects in the world, Farmer Managed Natural Regeneraton (FMNR), beginning in Niger during the 1980s, has revegetated three million hectares of arid land in that country alone – bringing back biodiversity in flora and fauna, increasing soil humus (and thus carbon) content, improving water retention and microclimates, and dramatically improving the health and viability of local communities.
It is now practiced on over 30,000 km² of land in the Niger Republic as well as Chad, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia and Mali. It has been written about in many noteworthy publications (the NY Times, for example), and below we hear about its original development from the man who first discovered the ‘underground forest’. Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration - Video Permaculture Research Institute. Some of you will remember the excellent Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration article provided by Tony Rinaudo of World Vision.
It shared a rapid and highly effective way to reforest degraded landscapes by simply letting the ‘underground forest’ (the seeds, roots and shoots already existing in the landscape) do what it already wants to do: that being to just grow! Instead of expensive projects with imported seed, nurseries, propagation, watering, etc., Niger has seen net afforestation on a massive scale (over 5 million hectares in Niger alone) by simply educating locals in protecting and pruning the plants already at their feet. Knock on effects have been improved health and prosperity for the people and their livestock. Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR): A good news story for a deforested and degraded world: