outdoors

Managing forests forever

by the WWF

 “The project means taking care of the forest, protecting it and creating jobs for our communities,” said Franklin Mezúa, an indigenous leader who has been promoting  a Responsible Forest Management Model in the Darien’s Tupiza River since 2004. This month marks a milestone in the history of tropical forests in the  Darién region, as the first sustainable harvesting plan is carried out with direct participation of local Embera-Wounaan indigenous groups and support from the Panamanian National Environment Authority (ANAM), national NGOs, forest industry, investors and relevant stakeholders of the forestry sector; and through the coordination of WWF, the global conservation organization, under the project for “Responsible Forest Management and Trade.

“This has given us a glimpse of a better future for the communities of the Tupiza River watershed: Nuevo Belen, Punta Grande, La Pulida, La Esperanza and Barranquillita; and this also contributes to long term conservation since the forest remains nearly intact after an extraction,” said Mauro Salazar, WWF Central America Forestry Director.  

“Our overarching approach represents a practical tool for conserving tropical forest ecosystems and at the same time positively contributing to poverty alleviation,” added Mauro Salazar. 

Logging does not exceed what the forest can regenerate 

The Forest Management Model is a poly-cyclical harvesting system of forest resources. This means that forests are harvested in rotation cycles (usually every 25 years), cutting mature trees only. 

Under the principle of not harvesting more than the forest can regenerate in a given time-period (rotation cycle or logging cycle), a limited number of trees are harvested in the first year in the first compartment; the next year logging occurs in the second compartment, allowing species in the first compartment to regenerate; and so on for the 25 years of the logging cycle. This means that if compartment 1 was harvested 2005, it won’t be logged again until 2030.  

Another trait of the model is that the extraction is selective, cutting only four to five trees per hectare so that the forest’s ecological integrity is not harmed. Responsible forest management also facilitates forest regeneration by opening light gaps that favor young trees growth without the need to reforest.  Besides this, sylvicultural practices are implemented to promote forest regeneration. 

At the end of the first rotation cycle (25 or 30 years), a limited number of trees are again cut in the first compartment, conserving the oldest trees, seed-producing individuals and protected species. The model is based on the system of the “Forests Forever” concept which takes into account  Principles and Criteria of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), the world’s leading forest certification entity. 

Teamwork 

The development of this first Forest Management Model in Panama occurred under the leadership of organizations such as the National Environmental Authority (ANAM), the General Congress of the Embera-Wounaan Comarca; as well as cooperation from the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the Sustainable Development Project of the Darién (IDB), the Fundacion Natura, the National Secretariat of Science and Technology (SENACYT), the UK Department for International Development (DFID), the Global Forest Trade Network (GFTN), and soon it will have support from the European Economic Community. 

Due to the extreme poverty and subsistence needs in many remote indigenous villages of the Choco-Darien area, joint work with the community groups according to their agreements, values and self-determination is essential, to the point of promoting the development of Community-based Forest Enterprises (CFE), with direct participation of the local people. 

The CFE work with guidance from technicians from WWF and its partners, who provide training for the entire production process from planning and implementation of forest management, to the negotiation and trade in forest products. Once the enterprises are consolidated and ready to compete in the market independently, WWF retreats and initiatives projects in other valuable forested regions of Central America. 

“With a lot of pride WWF and the communities developed management plans in record time (less than a year), created four community-based forest enterprises in two years, and began industrial extraction in two and one-half years,” added forester Mauro E. Salazar. 

The indigenous people directly negotiate competitive prices with local industry such as SELLORO S.A., a firm that has signed the main contract for the execution of the 2007 Operation Plan, as well as Plywood Orozco, which buys sawn Pochote (Bombacompsis quinatum) lumber from the Tupiza River Community-based Forest Enterprise; their support has already yielded higher income. 

“Before we were working with the WWF Model, the lumber companies took advantage of our indigenous communities by buying large amounts of wood and leaving little benefit for us, at prices way below market levels; today we have higher earnings and we are sure that our children will enjoy these beautiful forests,” concluded indigenous leader Franklin Mezúa.

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