M. Kiernan, M. Perl, D. McCaffrey, R.J. Buschbacher and G. Batmanian
Michael Kiernan, Matthew Perl, Dennis McCaffrey, Robert J. Buschbacher and Garo Batmanian are with the Tropical Forestry Program of the World Wildlife Fund USA. This article is adapted from a paper prepared for the 10th World Forestry Congress.
A frequent question in international forestry policy circles is whether or not sustainable management of tropical forests is achievable. If sustainable management is feasible, then why are well documented examples so hard to find ? This question is critical in light of the International Tropical Timber Organization's recently declared target that all tropical timber trade should be based on sustainably managed sources by the year 2000. It is also relevant to the ongoing reevaluation of forestry investments by the World Bank, the Tropical Forests Action Programme, bilateral aid agencies and many tropical countries. This article concerns an effort by the World Wildlife Fund's Tropical Forestry Program to contribute to this debate by identifying and bringing together representatives of some of the most promising tropical forest management initiatives in Latin America.
The 60 percent of the world's remaining tropical moist forests located in Latin American are under intense pressure, primarily for conversion to other land uses (e.g. ranching and agriculture) that are considered more lucrative than forest management. Unfortunately, much of the converted forest land is unsuitable for sustaining acceptable agricultural yields over multiple harvests and incapable of maintaining adequate livestock populations, especially given existing technologies.
Natural forest management represents a promising alternative for improving rural livelihoods and reducing deforestation in Latin America. Natural forest management maintains continuous natural tree cover on forested lands and introduces silvicultural and harvesting practices that increase the amount and value of products removed from the forest, while maintaining the capacity of the forest to regenerate naturally. This form of forestry is particularly important for conservation purposes in the tropical forest ecosystems of Latin America because of their exceptionally high levels of plant and animal diversity.
Pepper grown In the agroforestry component of the BOSCOSA Project In Costa Rica
The total body of knowledge on natural forest management in Latin America is limited and poorly documented. Despite the lack of information and experience, however, almost every Latin American country endowed with tropical forest has a pilot natural forest management initiative under way. These initiatives include profit-seeking forestry enterprises, government projects, research efforts and grassroots and indigenous forest management projects. Notwithstanding the range of project types, all are characterized by one common trait: the commitment to manage natural tropical moist forest in order to provide economic benefits without destroying the forest's long-term productive capacity.
From its direct experience with several of the pilot initiatives over the past three years and through the gathering of information on others, WWF's Tropical Forestry Program noted that communication among projects had been sparse and sporadic and that most had remained isolated initiatives with only limited opportunities for mutual enrichment, either through the literature or direct contact. There was a need to bring the field-based implementors of these pilot initiatives together so that they might share experiences on the objectives, methodologies and institutional composition of each initiative; identify the factors contributing to or limiting the success of each project to date; and identify the mix of circumstances essential to sustained natural forest management in Latin America, with specific policy recommendations provided.
Log extraction using animal traction in Costa Rica
To this end, WWF organized a workshop on the Osa peninsula of Costa Rica in December 1990, with support from The Tinker Foundation and Fundación Neotrópica. Field representatives of 14 pilot projects from Latin America took part. Activities took place at the Centro BOSCOSA, a field station of the Fundación Neotrópica. Centro BOSCOSA is located within the Golfo Dulce Forest Reserve, one of the largest remaining forest tracts in Costa Rica and the site of a promising integrated conservation and development project with the aim of demonstrating sustainable forest management. This article presents a synthesis of the major points raised and conclusions reached by the small group and plenary sessions. The final section summarizes some of the overall conclusions drawn by the WWF Tropical Forestry Program as a result of the workshop exercise. The article is accompanied by a brief description of each of the initiatives represented at the workshop.
Reforestation on a slope in Rancho Quemado, Costa Rica
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Chimanes Project Located in the Department of Beni, Bolivia, this project commenced in early 1988. Its objective is to establish a model for the sustained use of forest resources, including protection and conservation of flora and fauna. Participants include the Bolivian Government, a group of' forest concessionaires, and various non - governmental organizations (NGOs). The project works within a forest area of 578000 ha, subdivided into four management types: extensive, intensive reserve and permanent research. In the first ten years, the extensive and intensive types are to be managed along different lines. Subsequently, the reserve forest, representing tug-thirds of the total area, will be managed according to the experience of the first ten years. The management plan includes post-harvest enrichment and silvicultural treatments. CICOL Project Begun in 1984 by the Centro Intercomunal Campesino del Oriente Lomerio (CICOL), in conjunction with the Confederación Indígena del Oriente Boliviano (CIDOB), this project covers 130000 ha of forest located in the Department of Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Project objectives include the consolidation of rights over ancestral territory; the rational use, conservation and protection of community forests; and the application of silviculture, agroforestry and reforestation practices within the project area. Although the CICOL Project began several years ago, the forestry component is recent. A new sawmill, the centre-piece of the proposed wood processing operation, is being installed and small-scale tree nurseries are beginning to operate. MACA-BID Project Located in the Department of Santa Cruz, Bolivia, this project was initiated in mid 1989 by the Subsecretaría de Recursos Naturales Renovables y Medio Ambiente del Ministerio de Asuntos Campesinos y Agropecuarios. One objective is to implement a demonstrative forest management plan to produce a sustained yield of timber on a commercial scale that is both competitive and profitable. The programme is carried out on a 57000 ha concession, with 35000 ha designated as production forest. The actual harvesting, processing and marketing will be carried out through a partnership between a university and a local forestry concessionaire. The programme also includes research, training and environmental education components. Chico Mendes Extractive Reserve The Conselho Nacional de Seringueiros (CNS) was formed in 1985 to mobilize traditional forest dwellers who manage lands in the Brazilian Amazon primarily for rubber and Brazil nut production. CNS initiated and has promoted the establishment of "extractive reserves" which provide the rubber tappers with long-term communal usufruct rights to the forests they have traditionally inhabited. CNS is involved in a variety of forest management activities, including research, training, the organization of a producers' cooperative and the international marketing of forest products. Proponents of the extractive reserve concept are beginning to explore the possibility of including timber among the products for which the reserves are managed. |
In addition to sharing information on their respective initiatives, the workshop participants held structured discussions to examine the technical, social, economic and institutional factors affecting all pilot projects in natural forest management. While workshop discussions drew from the cumulative experiences of individual projects, the results presented are of a general nature and synthesize points which generally applied to the forest situations encountered but which did not necessarily reflect the actual conditions of each specific project.
Technical aspects
Natural forest management is a viable and technically feasible option for using forest land as it continuously maintains the forest while simultaneously providing economic and environmental benefits. Primary forest, disturbed primary forest and secondary forest can all be managed for the sustained production of forest products. The specific techniques vary depending on the type of forest and the specific management objectives. Often, the most appropriate system of management can only be determined after comparing results obtained from small scale silvicultural treatments.
While ongoing scientific research is necessary, there is sufficient knowledge with which to undertake small-scale natural forest management projects. Expanding the base of technical information and training for practitioners working with natural forests is essential for bringing larger areas of forest under appropriate management.
Depending on the particular objectives of a project, the following activities should be included in project implementation:
· land classification to designate appropriate areas for production, protection and conversion to other uses;· inventories of renewable resources, including quantitative estimates of the forest's composition and a breakdown of commercial versus noncommercial species;
· the establishment of a clear relationship between the project, the local inhabitants of the forest zone and their social and economic conditions; planning, implementation sad effective controls of harvesting operations;
· prevention or reduction of environmental impacts from forest harvesting and extraction operations;
· improved utilization of harvested products;
· monitoring of areas under production, including volumes harvested and social and environmental impacts;
· monitoring of growth rates, regeneration, silvicultural operations and impacts of management on wood versus non-wood products.
A deforested slope on the Osa Peninsula of Costa Rica
Social aspects
Natural forest management initiatives can take place under a variety of social and organizational arrangements (e.g. corporate, public, cooperative, communal or individual). While the administrative structures governing the different project types may be distinctive, participation by local people is a fundamental requirement for the success of forest management projects. Nevertheless, local participation is not a panacea. Often, the inherent conflict between forest management and the needs of people to cultivate land for food production cannot be reconciled. Attempting to manage natural forest can also result in conflicts between competing interest groups, especially when forest management implies a departure from conventional land-use practices.
Most local communities and cooperative organizations in Latin America have neither the technical nor the financial resources to embark on natural forest management entirely on their own. However, well-planned technical and financial assistance, often at relatively low levels, can enable them to do so. In many cases, assistance must first focus on community organization and identification of community needs.
Corporations that undertake natural forest management do not encounter the same organizational difficulties as cooperatives or communities. Corporations generally have clearer and narrower goals as well as stronger organizational and administrative structures. Despite these differences, corporations intent on conducting forest management must take social factors into account. Rarely is the forest they intend to manage uninhabited, and people are often eager to migrate to the forest land with the expectation of using the project infrastructure to gain access to new land. Corporations that incorporate the interests of local people into their production plans have a better chance of alleviating potential land-use conflicts.
A long-term commitment to forest maintenance is a central requirement in natural forest management, regardless of the type of organizational structure. Investments made today will bear fruit many years in the future. People will tend to avoid making such investments in a climate of uncertainty, especially regarding rights to the forest and its products. Obtaining security on property rights, either through legal title or acceptance of customary tenancy arrangements, is therefore essential for those who undertake forest management. Property holders must feel confident about their ability to exercise their rights in the future.
Generally speaking, forest management practices lend themselves to extensive forms of land use. It is therefore advisable to consider creating alternative land management units such as community forest reserves, extractive reserves or indigenous reserves. These communal tenancy arrangements can facilitate forest management because they provide for long-term security of property rights for current and future generations. They also facilitate forest management planning and provide a better basis for organizing community members.
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FUNTAC/Antimari Project Located in the Antimari State Forest in Acre, Brazil, this project was initiated in 1989 by the Fundação de Tecnologia do Acre (FUNTAC), a state research institute, with support from the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO). The project seeks to develop technology for multiple-use sustained management within appropriate social, economic and ecological contexts. As a basis for the management plan that is to be developed and tested, several surveys are being carried out: hydrological, floristic, edaphic and socio-economic. Inventories of economically important resources such as rubber, Brazil nuts, timber, wildlife, bamboo and medicinal plants are also under way. Future plans call for studies of forest harvesting and silviculture and an analysis of the potential for processing and marketing timber and other forest products. Tapajos Project Based on eight years of research, this project envisions commercial-scale testing of a management plan for the Tapajos National Forest in the State of Para, Brazil, roughly midway between the cities of Manaus and Belém. A management plan was designed with FAO support in 1980 but never implemented. In 1989, the project was reformulated in order to harvest 1000 ha of primary forest for five years. The results of this trial management effort will be applied to the sustained yield management of a total area of 132000 ha. This scheme represents the first national forest in the Amazon region to be put under a management plan. Celulosa y Papel de Colombia S.A. This subsidiary of Carton de Colombia has operated a concession of 61000 ha on the Pacific coast of Colombia since 1974. Of the total area, approximately 60 percent serves uses other than forestry, including lands reserved for local inhabitants and a forest reserve. The remaining 24000 ha are designated as production forest and managed for the production of 80000 m3 of mixed hardwoods for pulp per year, with a 30-year cutting cycle. Harvesting is accomplished using aerial cables, thereby minimizing soil perturbation. Studies indicate that sustained production can result from natural regeneration. However, social pressures in the area are such that most harvested areas are later reharvested by local people, thereby interrupting the regeneration process. ASACODE/ANAI Project Located in the Talamanca Range of southeastern Costa Rica, this recent initiative c is carried out by the Asociación San Migueleña de Conservación y Desarrollo (ASACODE) in con junction with the Asociación ANAI. ASACODE is a grassroots association of eight small-scale agricultural producers controlling a combined total forest block of 62 ha. The project objectives are to establish a permanent value adding wood processing industry based on small forest holdings. In addition, the project seeks to manage the forest for a combination of timber products, wildlife and other mm-timber products such as ornamental and medicinal plants. |
Economic and financial aspects
The concept of managing natural tropical forest requires financial investments that are not made when the resource is simply mined with no thought for future productivity. True costs should reflect investments necessary to maintain the natural forest's ability to produce returns over the long term. Markets in Latin America do not reflect the increasing value of forest products resulting from the growing scarcity of natural forests. Extremely low prices for finished forest products and high costs, waste and inefficiency in harvesting, transport and processing are prevalent. Local suppliers and producers of forest products often receive a fraction of the value of the final marketed goods, mitigating any incentive to institute sustainable management practices.
Improved harvesting practices and processing capabilities of timber and non timber forest products, more efficient transport and better utilization of raw materials would serve to increase the value of forest products, thereby creating higher prices for standing timber and other products in the forest. Higher prices to the forest owners could serve as an economic incentive for instituting natural forest management.
Pressure treatment equipment at the Yanesha Forest Cooperative, Palcazu Valley, Peru
In theory, the added costs of instituting natural forest management are a sound economic investment because they will produce a stream of benefits over the long term that provide sufficient returns to justify the costs involved. But specific data on the actual costs and real value of the benefits of natural forest management are too scant to permit reliable quantification.
Administrative and institutional aspects
Natural forest management has the best chance of succeeding when government agencies, the private sector and local communities and organizations can act in concert under a supportive policy and legislative regime. But the ability to undertake and maintain natural forest management projects effectively is constrained by numerous institutional factors.
In many Latin American countries, governments impede natural forest management with certain policies and legislation. For example, land-ownership laws have often had detrimental effects on the forests and the implementation of sustainable forest management. Historically, many Latin American countries have viewed the existence of forests as antithetical to development. Land titling policies have required the clearing of forest land as evidence of productive land use and, hence, ownership. Laws have protected owners of cleared land against expropriation and competing claims. In contrast, owners of forested land have less security against outside interests. In general, it needs to be determined whether or not laws and policies governing agrarian reform, land titling and homesteading on public land are compatible with the promotion of natural forest management.
Yanesha Forest Cooperative meeting
Although the initiatives discussed at the workshop differ widely in terms of organizational make-up, resources and social context, there is clearly great potential for each to benefit from the experience of the others. Each initiative can make an important contribution of either a technical, social, economic or institutional nature that is essential to the understanding and implementation of natural forest management. At the same time, none of the participating initiatives deal comprehensively with all of the relevant issues. At the conference, each representative seemed cognizant of their respective project's shortcomings and readily sought the advice of others who had achieved greater success in that particular arena. Given the wide array of representation, project implementors were able to propose solutions that had worked under a variety of circumstances. Thus, what appears on the surface to be an assembly of somewhat incompatible projects is in reality a group of very complementary initiatives.
Given the limited communication of the past, there is a clear need for further interaction among these projects. Some participants were totally unaware of the initiatives under way in other countries since there is very little written information available. To facilitate an ongoing information exchange, the participants called for a mechanism to promote future communication and mutual enrichment among natural forest management initiatives. They proposed that a natural forest management network be organized specifically for this purpose, and WWF agreed to initiate its formation. The network will provide a means for the implementation of participating projects to keep abreast of progress in others and will offer a channel for facilitating technical assistance.
Strip clear-feeling at the Yanesha Forest Cooperative, Palcazu Valley Peru
Finally, what is the overall significance of this impressive collection of forest management initiatives? There are many interesting and positive efforts to develop sustainable forest management systems in Latin America. Yet none of them are demonstrably successful in all the necessary elements. Many are in an early stage of development; they need more time to mature, broaden the range of their impact and overcome persistent obstacles.
WWF concurs with the workshop conclusions that sustainable forest management is technically feasible and is a viable socio-economic option for tropical forests. Yet, many changes need to occur before this potential can be achieved:
· The overall policy environment needs to be reformed in order to encourage this type of initiative. Government policies often serve to devalue forest resources, thus encouraging unsustainable expansion of timber-based industries, rapid mining of timber resources and excessive forest clearing. More sustainable, long-term forest management will not appear economically viable when forced to compete with an alternative based on converting the capital stock of the ecosystem into quick and ready cash.· The type of initiative highlighted here needs consistent, long-term support, both financial and technical. Forestry's long time horizons and the experimental nature of these initiatives cause them to be institutionally fragile. They need external financing for many years, but also the time and space to mature without growing too rapidly; thus, external support should remain small in scale and focus on consistency and technical support. Investors and donors must be careful not to jump at projects that seem to work, praising them unrealistically, since this can do more harm than good.
· The social components of these initiatives are of particular importance to long-term success. Resolving local political disputes and carefully distributing the benefits arising from forest management often override the importance of purely technical considerations.
· Another aspect which was remarkably weak in many projects was that of multifaceted and well-documented economic analysis. Accurate economic analysis is necessary for potential investors and project implementors at the community, private and industrial level to give a better assessment of the financial viability of natural forest management.
In short, there is the potential for a new paradigm to emerge in tropical forest management. If this more sustainable form of management is to occur on a large scale, the movement toward it must be broad-based. No one project type holds the magic formula. Rather, the broad range of project implementors, including commercial enterprises, government research institutes and grassroots community organizations, all hold part of the answer. In designing an initiative for a given locale, appropriate elements from each approach must be selected and assembled in accordance with prevailing circumstances. So that this can occur, more information on existing experiences must be made available.
Finally, in the campaign to influence forestry policy, we must not ignore the critical contributions of field-based results. Too often, policy reform becomes an end in and of itself, divorced from the grassroots and field-based efforts from which it should draw strength, integrity and credibility. Indeed, the existing forestry and related laws of many countries contain exemplary provisions of statutory force which, if implemented, would greatly advance the cause of natural forest management. The problem lies in the fact that they are often not enforced; thus, more policy initiatives from capital cities will not make the difference. Policy makers must take their orders from the field where the day-to-day actions of project implementors are a reality.
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BOSCOSA Project The BOSCOSA Project is an integrated conservation and development initiative being carried out on the Osa Peninsula in southwestern Costa Rica within the 70000 hectares of the Golfo Dulce Forest Reserve. The objective of the project, initiated in 1988, is to stabilize land use within the forest reserve and conserve the remaining forest cover as a buffer zone for the neighbouring Corcovado National Park. The project is implemented by the Fundación Neotrópica, a private, non-profit Costa Rican conservation organization. During its first three years of operation, the project concentrated on gathering consensus and support in local communities and on strengthening local organizations. Project participants are currently advising eight grassroots associations on forest management, small-scale forest industry, agroforestry, project administration and environmental education. Two of the groups have purchased wood processing equipment and are putting roughly 700 ha under forest management. Local organizations have also reforested 100 ha and planted perennial crops on another 100 ha during the past three years. COSEFORMA Project Located in Costa Rica, this project was initiated in early 1990. It seeks to promote sustained and efficient use of forest resources in the northern region of the country, characterized by highly fragmented landownership and non-contiguous forest islands. The project includes both policy and field components and attempts to bring together government entities and local NGOs to foster a set of circumstances that will I favour natural forest management. PORTICO Located the eastern coastal zone of Costa Rica, this private initiative was launched in 1987 with the objective of producing a continuous supply of caobilla timber (Carapa guianensis), a wood related to mahogany, for the company to manufacture high-quality doors for export. The company owns a total forest area of between 12000 and 15000 ha in non-contiguous holdings managed on a 15-year harvest cycle. Although PORTICO concentrates its efforts on caobilla, it also harvests other species, which it sells on the general market as raw logs. Organización de Ejidos Productores Forestales (OEPF) Located on the Caribbean coast in the Mayan Zone of the State of Quintana Roo, Mexico, this is an organization of 16 communal groups or ejidos committed to managing their forests for sustained production of mahogany, cedar and other species. The initiative was organized in 1985 following the "Plan Piloto" model, developed by a neighbouring ejido organization under a joint agreement between the Mexican and German Governments. The group now has a total of 15000 ha under management and directly benefits more than 2700 families. The ejidos undertake continuous forest inventories, develop harvesting plans, perform harvesting and conduct marketing. Several of the participating ejidos are also engaged in varying forms of local value-added processing. They intend to invest future income in more sophisticated processing equipment in line with their long-range goal of directly processing timber into finished products. Cooperativa Forestal Yanesha Located in the Palcazu Valley of Peru in the eastern foothills of the Andes, this cooperative was organized in 1985 as one component of a larger road and development project, financed by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The group is implementing the innovative "strip shelter-belt" system of forest management, with the objective of managing the forest on a sustained-yield basis over a harvest cycle of 40 years. In order to minimize the area of forest exploited, the cooperative is maximizing the value added by extracting all woody material from the harvest site and processing the raw material locally. The cooperative has made several timber sales to environmentally concerned (green) buyers in the United States and Europe. Celos natural regeneration project Located in Suriname, this effort was begun as a research initiative of the Suriname Forestry Service in 1982. Its objective was to produce commercial timber from the natural forest on a sustained yield. The project was situated on a 600 ha pilot plot in a production forest of 65000 ha. Silvicultural treatments were based on careful felling and logging of an initial selective harvest, followed by three refinements (poison girdling of low-value stems competing for light with individuals of desirable species) and reharvesting after 20 to 25 years. Results indicated that carefully planned logging actually cost less than the more damaging uncontrolled logging typical of the region and that silvicultural treatments increased the annual increment of commercial volume from 0.5 m, to 1.4 m3 per hectare. Activities were suspended in 1986 because of security concerns in the area and there has been no follow-up since then. |
