January trip

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We’re happy to report that our January visit to Panama was successful, and lacked any (major) accidents. The main purpose of this trip was to introduce two members of our Advisory Board to Planting Empowerment’s work on the local level.

I flew down with one of Planting Empowerment's advisors, Grace Goodell. As a distinguished anthropologist and one of our earliest advocates, Grace brings years of experience to the business, providing guidance on everything from our social and environmental programs to the best channels to offer our investment products.

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New York Times profiles African land grabs (2 of 2)

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This is part two of our response to the New York Times article entitled African Farmers Displaced as Investors Move In. In the first part, we explored how land right affects your investment with us. Now we'll look at how different definitions of productive land use is driving development in our partner community Arimae.
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New York Times profiles African land grabs (1 of 2)

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The December 21st New York Times story, African Farmers Displaced as Investors Move In, examines the trend of land acquisition in Africa by foreign governments and corporations.

This is a complex subject involving issues of food security, ethics, politics, and capital markets, among others. While Africa's situation is different than Latin America's, there are some parallels to be drawn from the story.

A topic as controversial as land rights merits two separate blog posts. Here in the first, we'll explore how land rights pertains to our business, and how that affects your investment with us. The next post will go into more depth as the topic relates to our indigenous partner Arimae.

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Planting Empowerment featured in UNDP Report

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The UNDP recently released a report entitled Latin America and the Carribean: A Biodiversity Superpower.

The report aims to "... assess and communicate the economic contribution of biodiversity and ecosystems services to development and equity in the region."

One of the UNDP's case studies features Planting Empowerment's innovative tenure model for forestry and development.

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Indigenous peoples' informed voices critical in Cancún

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Board Member Chris Meyer weighs in Indigenous Peoples, REDD, and forests from the Cancun UN climate change negotiations:

A indigenous youth in Arimae harvests mamonesA indigenous youth in Arimae harvests mamones. Click for a larger viewIndigenous Peoples are gaining ground in the international negotiations on climate change, especially negotiations on REDD. However, there is more that can be done nationally and internationally.

COONAPIP, the national organization of Indigenous Peoples of Panama is here in Cancun with Panama country badges. Thus, they can attend the closed meetings and are expected to be helping the Panamanian government delegates form their strategies.

For the full story, check out this post written for the Environmental Defense Fund on Indigenous Peoples' participation in the negotiation.