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 8TABLE 1.2THE RESULTS OF ECOSYSTEM ENTERPRISE: SELECTED EXAMPLESEnterpriseBackgroundResultsScalingAndavadoakaFisherman’sCooperativeMadagascarSource: UNDP 2006a,Blue VenturesMadagascar2008The cooperative formed in 2003 withsupport from Copefrito, Madagascar’slargest exporter of fish. It brings togethertraditionally competing fishers tocoordinate their catches and bargainwith buyers.With technical support from a local NGO andMadagascar’s scientific research bureau, thevillagers of Andavadoaka created a MarineProtected Area (MPA) plan that includesseasonal bans on octopus fishing. This hasincreased catches 13-fold, increasing thefishery base on which the co-op depends.Subsistence food supplies and incomes haveboth grown substantially in the region. Thecooperative has enough market power topush for better prices with large businesses.It also fills a lucrative niche in the internationalsustainable fish market.A dozen villages nearby are replicatingAndavadoaka’s MPA and thegovernment is using Andavadoaka’sexperience as an example for how tomanage the rest of the nation’sfisheries. The villagers are nowbuilding their own ecotourism lodge.North Western BeeProducts, Ltd.(NWBP)ZambiaSource: UNDP 2004aStarted as a government-supportedcommunity project in 1979, NWBPbecame a private enterprise owned by theproducers in 1988. The company providestraining for rural farmers in organic honeyproduction, and then purchases the honeyfrom them. The producers are shareholdersin the company and negotiate honey pricesto maximize their returns. In 1990, NWBPreceived the first-ever organic certificationfor honey production in the world. Theymaintain this certification today, throughthe Soil Association in the UK.NWBP produces 200 metric tons of honeyand 50 metric tons of beeswax each year.Along with selling its products throughoutZambia, NWBP exports its honey andbeeswax to The Body Shop for use incosmetic products and to major Britishgrocery stores. Beekeeping provides anincentive for sustainable forest stewardshipand an alternative to charcoal production.The average supplementary income to eachfarmer is roughly enough for a household topurchase a year’s supply of soap.NWBP began with 100 local producersin 1988 and by 2004 had grown to6,000 producers in an area of 5,000km 2 . It is looking to increase thenumber of producers in order to meetproduct demand. Leaders of NWBPhave conducted courses for ruralbeekeepers in Guyana to share theirorganic techniques. In addition,NWBP has launched an organicpoultry-rearing operation to provideanother source of income to theregion’s communities.Pred NaiCommunity ForestThailandSource: UNDP 2004bIn 1986 community members cametogether to stop logging and shrimpfarming in their mangrove swamp. Thisdecision followed the shrinking of themangrove from 48,000 ha to about4,800 ha and the subsequent declinein crab catches. Pred Nai villagersdeveloped a management plan thatprohibited large-scale shrimp farming,replanted the mangrove forest, andimplemented crab and shellfish harvestregulations and monitoring.Both the daily crab catches and dailyincomes of Pred Nai villagers have doubled.Shrimp, shellfish, and other fish are returningto the mangrove swamp, along withbirds and monkeys. The savings and loangroup initially established to fund thecommunity’s management costs nowmanages a fund of over US$72,000, raisedfrom its 60 members.A Mangrove Network has nowdeveloped, with other local villagesadopting Pred Nai’s managementprogram. Pred Nai’s leaders spread thelessons they have learned aboutcommunity management to this newnetwork and to the larger CommunityCoastal Resource ManagementNetwork. They have collaborated withoutside fisheries experts, and theirefforts have been recognized byThailand’s forestry and fisheriesministries. The community is nowusing these political connections topush for stricter regulations of trawlersoff the coastline.18