Вест од мене

Нелегална сеча на шума Крушево COMMUNITY FORESTRY AS A CONSERVATION STRATEGY Deforestation along the Guatemala-Belize border Deforestation along the border of Guatemala's Maya Biosphere Reserve with Belize. Nine of the community-run forestry concessions we work with here have achieved a near zero-deforestation for the past 14 years. Photo credit: Sergio Izquierdo The best guardians of the forest are those who make their living from it. That’s why we partner with forest communities from Mesoamerica to Southeast Asia, advancing sustainable landscape strategies that support local livelihoods in harmony with the health of the forest. While harvesting timber from protected forests may not seem like a sound strategy to tackle deforestation, the conservation successes speak for themselves. One of the most inspiring examples of this is our work in the Maya Biosphere Reserve in Guatemala. Here, in an area suffering some of the highest rates of forest lost in Central America, nine community-run forestry concessions have achieved a near zero-deforestation for the past 14 years. Not only that, the concessions have a drastically lower incidence of forest fires than neighboring protected areas. HELPING FOREST COMMUNITIES BUILD SUSTAINABLE ENTERPRISES When forests are managed responsibly, communities that live in and around them can cultivate thriving businesses out of a rich assortment of non-timber forest products: from honey to flowers and fruit. The Rainforest Alliance offers training in business planning to help forest communities build sustainable enterprises. We also run technical assistance programs to help communities boost the commercial value of these products—and ensure that they are produced in line with strict forest management plans. In the Andean Amazon, we have worked with the Indigenous communities of Madre de Dios to revitalize local Brazil nut production. The nuts, which grow naturally in the rainforest and cannot be cultivated, are a valuable commodity—and a strong incentive to keep forests standing in a region where deforestation (linked to illegal mining) has been rampant. Traditionally, whole pods were sold in bulk, but we have worked with the communities there to develop a more dynamic business model. Today, the nuts are processed locally into gourmet oils and confectionary rather than sold to middlemen—bringing in revenues of nearly US$31 million. MARKET STRATEGIES TO PROTECT FORESTS An impactful and long-lasting sustainability transition requires significant investment. But the cost of making farming and forest enterprises more sustainable shouldn’t fall upon rural producers alone. Companies are ideally placed to support farmers and forest communities by contributing to upfront costs and paying more for commodities that have been produced more sustainably. And all of us, as consumers, can encourage businesses to do this by making better choices ourselves—for example, by choosing to buy products that have been Rainforest Alliance Certified. That’s why certification can be a powerful tool in the fight against deforestation—if applied in combination with long-term investment by companies and rigorous government policies that support change. Building on decades of experience, we are working to reimagine certification to better harness the power of the market for environmental, social, and economic change across the entire supply chain. The Rainforest Alliance is also a co-founder and board member of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), a world leader in forest management and certification. RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS FROM FOREST TO SHELVES At the Rainforest Alliance ABV, we think of ourselves as a critical friend to companies that, like us, want to make responsible business the new normal. We provide expert advice to these companies on how to source raw materials (such as cocoa, coffee, and oil palm) more sustainably and work with them on their sustainability journey to eliminate deforestation and human rights abuses from their supply chains—all the way from forest to shelves. In June 2019, we co-launched the Accountability Framework Initiative (AFi) together with a coalition of 14 other environmental and social NGOs. The AFi aligns a wide range of existing monitoring tools and standards—such as certification—and provides companies with a clear and harmonized approach to measuring and meeting their sustainability commitments. INFLUENCING POLICY TO SUPPORT HEALTHY FORESTS With more than 30 years of experience in fighting deforestation, the Rainforest Alliance is uniquely positioned to advise governments and companies on how to implement meaningful change in support of healthy forests. Our advocacy team works at both the regional and national levels to shape more responsible corporate policies and encourage far-reaching legislative action globally. Through our Sector Partnerships Program, we are strengthening the advocacy capacity of local civil society organizations in nine countries across Central America, West and East Africa, and Southeast Asia. Focusing on complex issues, such as deforestation and gender equality—which require a sector-wide approach—we support partner organizations in their efforts to lobby local decision makers and business leaders. With our support, for example, the Kalimajari Foundation in Indonesia is transforming local cocoa supply chains for the better—training farmers in sustainable growing practices and ensuring that there is a reliable market for their crops. Kalimajari’s model for quality cocoa has now even been adopted by the Indonesian government. FROM FOREST CONSERVATION TO REFORESTATION Shade coffee Coffee grows under the shade of trees in Peru. Photo credit: David Dudenhoefer One natural climate solution that can and should be used in conjunction with strong initiaives to stop deforestation is large-scale reforestation. That’s why we approach sustainability as a journey, providing farmers with a roadmap from conservation to restoration. Planting new trees is a win-win for nature and farmers alike. Growing shade-loving crops (such as coffee and cocoa) alongside trees—a practice called agroforestry—helps regulate temperature and humidity levels, while also enriching soils. And if fruit-bearing shade trees are planted, farmers can also gain a valuable extra source of income. In West Java, agroforestry has helped coffee-growing communities recover from tragedy. When deforestation led to a deadly landslide back in 2004, eight farmers were inspired to reforest; and so together they founded the award-winning Klasik Beans cooperative. A decade later, the cooperative has grown to 516 members and plants sixteen different varieties of shade trees over 548 hectares of farmland. As one farmer, Rony Syahroni, explains “We don’t plant coffee in the forest—we design our farms to become forests.”