Читать книгу North American Agroforestry - Группа авторов - Страница 26

There is a wide variety of private groups—environmental organizations (e.g., Audubon, A Greener World, The Nature Conservancy, Trees Forever, the Sierra Club), foundations (e.g., Kellogg, McKnight, Pew Charitable Trust, Walton, Winrock), and institutions (e.g., the Land Institute, Rodale Research Center, Wallace Institute, Green Lands Blue Waters)—that are dedicated to finding alternative solutions to environmentally damaging land use practices and to rural development problems. Their diversity of interests often hinders collaboration as well as their meaningful interaction with governmental agencies and private individuals, organizations, and corporations. Because of its integrated approach, agroforestry might provide an opportunity for various audiences to develop a common agenda and approach for conservation and sustainable land use, particularly at a landscape level. Such cooperation could help everyone better understand divergent perspectives, thereby helping alleviate some of the constant pressures that exist between organizations with different concerns and goals. The Savanna Institute, formed in 2013, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization working to lay the groundwork for widespread agroforestry in the U.S. Midwest. The Savanna Institute works in collaboration with farmers and scientists to develop perennial food and fodder crops within multifunctional polyculture systems grounded in ecology and inspired by the savanna biome. Private foundations also initiate new innovative programs that support agroforestry and enhance public agency competitive grant programs (e.g., Agroecology Fund, Cedar Tree Foundation).