Growing the Wealth of the Poor - World Resources Institute

W O R L D R E S O U R C E S 2 0 0 8134the ecological impacts of timber extraction are minimal. Modestchanges in the community structures of birds, beetles, diurnalbutterflies, and game species suggest that current loggingpractices do not preclude any species from logged areas, butrather increase species richness by augmenting habitat heterogeneity”(Balas 2004 and Radachowsky 2004 as cited in Nittlerand Tschinkel 2005:17).Giving local communities an economic stake in the forestaround them has also proved a highly effective driver incurbing illegal activity in the Maya Biosphere Reserve (Saito2008). To protect their capital investment, the 1,500 membersof the 12 community forestry enterprises have invested time,personnel, and money into patrolling and safeguarding theirconcessions. Every year the EFCs jointly invest aroundUS$150,000 in forest surveillance and fire control measures.Members patrol concession borders; they report fires, illegallogging, and new settlements; and they are compensated fortheir time from timber sale revenues (Chemonics 2006:37).“Our secret is that we have more than 150 people working inthis forest, collecting palm leaves, chicle and allspice, and ifone of them sees anything happening that shouldn’t be, theyreport it to us and we send a delegation to that area immediately,”says Benedin Garcia, founder member of thecommunity organization that manages the Uaxactun concession(Rainforest Alliance 2007b:3).The impact of community self-interest and investment inpreserving the forests under their control has been dramatic. Asearly as 2000, deforestation fell sharply in the Maya BiosphereANNUAL DEFORESTATION RATE BEFORE AND AFTER 2002Land class 1986 to 2001 2002 to 2007Core protected areas 0.26% 0.79%FSC certified concessions 0.01% 0.04%in multiple use zoneRemainder of multiple use zone 0.31% 0.86%Buffer zone 1.91% 2.20%Entire MBR 0.52% 0.88%Source: Hughell and Butterfield 2008:10PERCENTAGE OF AREA BURNED IN EACH LAND USE ZONEBY YEARLand Use Zone 1998 2003 2005 2007Core protected areas 23.6% 26.0% 29.6% 10.4%FSC/RA certified concessions 6.3% 1.8% 0.1% 0.1%in multiple use zoneRemainder of multiple use zone 21.9% 21.3% 12.9% 5.0%Buffer zone 23.9% 23.5% 19.6% 10.3%Overall MBR (%) 19.5% 19.1% 18.0% 7.2%Overall MBR (ha) 404,632 398,280 375,149 149,424Source: Hughell and Butterfield 2008:1–2Reserve’s multiple use zone, which contains the concessions;illegal deforestation continues in the core zones where developmentis banned (Chemonics 2003:10–11). From 2002 to2007, this trend accelerated, with the average annual deforestationrate in the reserve’s national parks (0.79 percent ofland area) 20 times higher than that in the FSC-certifiedconcessions (0.04 percent of land area) (Hughell and Butterfield2008:10). The MBR’s protected areas also suffer morewildfires, often set by farmers or illegal settlers, than theneighboring concessions. Since 1998, between 7 percent and20 percent of forest cover in the Maya Biosphere Reserve hasburned annually, while in FSC-certified concessions the figurehas fallen steadily from 6.3 percent in 1998, when concessionswere first established, to 0.1 percent in 2007 (Hughell andButterfield 2008:1–2).CONAP’s requirement that EFCs achieve ForestStewardship Council certification within three years of signinga concession contract also contributed to the speed with whichcommunities adopted effective forest management andsurveillance practices (Chemonics 2003: 26). By 2008, all12 community enterprises and both industrial concessions hadachieved FSC status at some point, and 479,500 ha of forestwas currently certified (Hughell and Butterfield 2008:6).While the Petén population’s willingness to harvestsustainably depends on a continuing flow of economic benefits,they have laid the groundwork to preserve their forests for theindefinite future. As observers Nittler and Tschinkel reported in2005: “In general the forest management and operational planshave evolved to a level of sophistication which, if followed, isalmost certain to assure the sustained management and longtermconservation of the forest” (Nittler and Tschinkel2005:15). This is particularly impressive given that tens ofmillions of dollars have failed to halt deforestation in otherparts of the Maya Biosphere Reserve and the wider network ofCentral American parks to which it belongs.Community Dividends:Jobs, Income, InfrastructureThe success of Guatemala’s community forestry enterprises isreflected in growing income and employment among thedesperately poor villages scattered through the remote northernforests and lowlands. By 2003, the 12 community enterpriseswere generating an estimated US$5 million per year in timbersales, while forestry operations generated an estimated 51,309person-days of work, worth US$359,490 in wages (Nittler andTschinkel 2005:21). By September 2007, approximately 7,300people were employed either seasonally or year-round by theenterprises and FORESCOM (Carrera 2008).Typically, half the wood harvested is highly prizedmahogany, sold mostly to local timber companies that export