Two resources for native species reforestation in Panama

A couple of years ago the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) published a “how to” guide to reforestation using native species in Panama in hardcover. They recently released the publication in digital form. This report summarizes the findings of STRI’s effort to identify commercially viable native timber species and increase adoption of these species among farmers and forestry project promoters.  

STRI researchers also released another paper that looks at mixed native species plantations’ growth rates for 5 species: yellow wood (Terminalia Amazonia), rosewood (Dalbergia Retusa), spiny cedar (Pachira Quinata), espave sp. (Anacardium Excelsum), and tropical oak (Tabebuia rosea). This paper is relevant to us because all 5 species are present in our plantations (the espave and tropical oak occur naturally). Interestingly, the study finds that each of the species yielded more biomass when planted together (mixed plantations) than when they were planted as monocultures. The yellow wood did best--something we’ve seen anecdotally in PE’s plantations.

We were happy to see that for the most part our plantations implemented all of the best practice guidance now catalogued in this new guide.

Panama, and especially the Darién, desperately need more native species restoration, so we are pleased about these two new resources. All of the species Planting Empowerment planted in our mixed native species plantations are considered in one or both of these resources, and we will continue to measure our plantations and share the results so that others can learn from our experience.

Our operations are open to the public, so if you’re ever going to be in Panama or visiting the Darien, just send us a note and we can arrange for a tour.

Cocobolo back in the news

Decomissioned cocobolo logs in the Azuero province of Panama. Photo courtesy of La Prensa.

Rosewood was in the news recently because new export laws have been impacting the transportation and export of music instruments containing rosewood components. About a week later, we read in the Panamanian newspaper La Prensa that the Ministry of Environment busted a truckload of illegal rosewood--or “cocobolo”--in the Azuero province of Panama.

As in Panama, globally the illegal harvesting of cocobolo continues to be a problem as Asian demand (mostly China) for furniture made from it continues unabated. In Panama and at least in the Darien, the rosewood “fever” that occurred during 2014-2015 seemed to have dissipated, but that also could be because most of the easy to get rosewood has been cut. It has been awhile since we’ve heard stories of roots of rosewood trees being dug up to make sure they get every last piece. It was being sold by the pound during that time.

Our fincas include cocobolo among other tropical hardwoods. Our anecdotal experience is that the rosewood trees thrive in our mix of native species. What we don’t know is if the tree will be mature enough to have developed “rose” colored heartwood by the end of the 25-year lease cycle. However, if they have not developed heartwood, we can leave them to grow and our local partners will be able to benefit from them in the future. The benefit of growing trees is that they only increase in value the older and larger they grow.

While we hope the illegal harvesting of these beautiful trees is stopped, there should be a place for the use of the beautiful wood in the instruments recently profiled. We want our farms to be a source of legal and sustainable cocobolo for those instruments. In only about 12 more years we should know if we will be able to. We will keep you posted.

Tree nurseries in Panama - our experience

Women sorting saplings for the 2012 planting in Arimae

We recently read about a new 1 million unit tree nursery the Panamanian government set up to provide seedlings for the reforestation of the Azuero province. The nursery is part of a pledge announced last year by MiAmbiente to reforest 1 million hectares of land in Panama.

The lack of details in the article open up broader questions about how Panamanian government is executing on its pledge, but we are most interested in who will be buying the seedlings, where they will be planted, and how they will be cared for.

We had the opportunity a few years ago to set up and manage a 6,000 seedling nursery with our community partners in Arimae, and learned a few things that might offer context on this effort.

1. There is low demand from the ranchers and farmers for the seedlings - even if given away for free.

2. Most Panamanian farmers/ranchers are familiar with a number of native species and are adept at collecting and growing seedlings by themselves.

3. There are a number of commercial nurseries that can produce significant amounts of seedlings for reforestation - even native species.

4. Nurseries can be expensive to sustain and haven’t had great success in being run by the Panamanian government.

The first year of our nursery was successful because the nursery had a committed buyer: Planting Empowerment purchased the majority of the seedlings and the community used the rest for a community rosewood (cocobolo) plantation. Sources of seeds for the nursery were scouted by our forest technician at the time - Jose Deago - who happened to be Panama’s leading expert on the topic.

The first year was also the nursery’s best year. The next year, production fell by half after we adjusted down our planting. Additional buyers for the seedlings were non-existent, even though the seedlings were high quality, adapted to local conditions (local seed sourced) and produced using the tray/tube system instead of the heavier plastic bags. Community members were interested in free seedlings, but not willing to pay the $.50/seedling costs to make the nursery sustainable. The community dismantled the nursery in the 3rd year.

Our other experiences with tree nurseries demonstrate that it’s a tough business and you really have to know what quality you’re going to get. For one of our first farms planted in 2008 we sourced some of the seedlings from a government nursery. About half of seedlings were high quality, but the rest were unusable because they were at least a year old and too mature to be planted out. For subsequent plantings, we purchased seedlings from some of the many commercial nurseries that supply the large plantation companies and the nursery at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (which has subsequently closed, too).

We wish this new project by the government success because Panama needs reforestation and nurseries will need to produce the seedlings for a portion of this. We are also supportive of the native species focus of the reforestation effort. However, we hope the government might learn from past initiatives, and Planting Empowerment’s experiences, in order to make their investments in reforestation more economically viable.

ETFRN Issue 57: Effective forest and farm producer organizations

European Tropical Forest Research Network issue focuses on organizations that work with smallholder farmers and forest-dependent peoples.

The European Tropical Forest Research Network recently released its 57th issue, focusing on effective forest and farm producer organizations. The issue is a compilation of case studies from organizations that represent the collective voices of farmers and forest-dependent peoples, indigenous groups and rural communities.

We wrote a sidebar on page 196 of the report which covers our plantain intercropping efforts over the past two years to increase near-term revenue.

Vote for OpenForests to win the MIT Climate Colab Competition

Photo by Yves Picq

We were honored to be included as a key collaborator of OpenForests as part of their submission to MIT’s Climate Colab Competition on Land Use and climate change. OpenForests’ submission was selected as one of ten semi-finalists.

Planting Empowerment and OpenForest began our collaboration a few years ago when PE when we listed one of the first projects on OpenForests' forest investment marketplace. The marketplace showcases timber plantation projects that meet their best-of-class social and environmental criteria.

For the Climate Colab Competition, OpenForests is pitching their sustainable forestry management platform that connect forest investors with information on the financial and biological progress of their projects. It’s a great tool that PE expects to use in the future as we streamline our reporting and plantation management processes.

The contest runs for a couple of more days and OpenForests needs your help to secure the popular vote. We encourage you (yes, somewhat selfishly) to vote for OpenForests’ submission. If they win, they will have the opportunity to present the project at MIT’s climate colab conference in early October.