A Closer Look: Seeing the Forest for the Trees
Given today’s climate change reality, it’s hard to underestimate the benefits of forest conservation: capturing carbon, mitigating climate change and reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD), just to name a few. EcoEnterprises Fund is playing our part. By investing in sustainable forestry and non-timber forest products as well as forest-based ecotourism companies, we are encouraging sustainable, alternative uses of Latin America’s forest resources.
Here we’ll explore some of the investments currently in our portfolio: ForesTrade, Interforest, Rainforest Expeditions, Sambazon, Suma Pacha and Veragua.
ForesTrade - Adding flavor to life, ForesTrade imports and produces organic coffee, ramon nut, vanilla, cardamom and allspice, available at Whole Foods and other local stores under the Frontier, Spice Hunter, and Green Mountain Coffee brand names. On the ground, ForesTrade works with groups of small producers to develop long-term land management plans based on sustainable agriculture practices using shade tree cover. Economic premiums are paid for certified organic products, which then give producers an incentive to continually implement improvements in land and crop management. In mid-2008, the company had over 1,159 individual farmers certified organic or in the process of certification with 1,341 hectares under organic management and more than 83,000 hectares of community forestry concessions in the Guatemalan Maya Biosphere Reserve with organic certification. http://www.forestrade.com
Interforest - Originally started as a traditional saw mill facility, Interforest soon took up the Guatemalan government offer to receive payments for environmental services and has since worked to reforest and manage forest land for tax advantages and cash payments. These incentives have led to strong alliances with local communities. Now with FSC-certification and growth that places it among the largest forestry companies in Central America, Interforest is poised to be the leader in sustainable forestry. http://www.interforest.com.gt
Rainforest Expeditions - Rainforest Expeditions (RFE) operates three ecolodges in the southeastern Peruvian Rainforest. Tourism has increasingly become an important economic livelihood for the local people in the area, mitigating the threats from illegal logging, gold mining, and slash and burn agriculture. RFE is working with these communities to extend the benefits of ecotourism through employment and supplier development as a supplement to subsistence Brazil nut extraction efforts. In early 2008, RFE was one of 12 finalists for the Tourism for Tomorrow Awards. With a field of 150 nominees, this award recognizes tourism companies that are leading examples of sustainable practices. http://www.perunature.com
Sambazon - Who knew a virtually unknown berry from the Amazon would become the next lauded super fruit? We invested in Sambazon in 2003 when it was a fledgling company and have been pleased to watch it grow into a leader in the açai field, proving that a company founded on sustainable principles can, in fact, be successful. Despite its mass market success and availability in major U.S. outlets, Sambazon has stayed true to its roots and continues to work with small producers in rural communities to ensure the product is sustainably harvested and the Amazon is preserved. As a testament to this, Sambazon recently won an award from the Brazilian state of Amapá for its outstanding performance and technological innovation in the improvement of industrial competitiveness. http://www.sambazon.com
Suma Pacha - Nestled in the outskirts of La Paz, Bolivia, Suma Pacha, along with its U.S. partner ForestWorld, has made a name for itself as a reliable supplier of FSC-certified wood garden furniture, which most notably is available for purchase at Home Depot. As the second largest employer in the city, the company is improving the lives of hundreds of people along its supply chain. By partnering with local forest-based communities which provide raw materials for production, Suma Pacha has encouraged a sustainable, alternative way of life while making an international splash with its products. http://www.sumapacha.bo
Veragua - Officially launched in July 2008 in a ceremony presided by Costa Rican President Oscar Arias (see photo at right), Veragua Rainforest and Research Park has positioned itself as the day-tour location for cruise passengers docked in Limon as well as visitors from capital city San Jose. With first rate tour guides trained at INBio, built-in scientific research stations, an open-air gondola which descends through the rainforest canopy to walkways on the forest’s floor, and frog, butterfly and reptile rooms, there’s enough to wow everyone. Veragua’s goal is to make the rainforest accessible to everyone and to educate visitors to preserve the forest’s treasures. http://www.veraguarainforest.com
Para los hispanohablantes, se puede ver un video de la inauguración de Veragua con Presidente Arias, leer un reportaje del primer día, y gozar un artículo en el Boletín del Trabajo de Nuestros Aliados de TNC-Costa Rica.
In total, these six companies have contributed to nearly 1,347 new jobs, more than 1.5 million hectares of direct or indirect conservation and have brought in more than $137 million in sales since our initial investment.
These forestry companies and the rest of our portfolio have one common thread: they all offer real products and services, with tangible benefits and intriguing stories above and beyond their bottom line. These are companies making a lasting, positive impact on the future of the world’s product market, not to mention the future of the world itself.
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Veragua photo (at top) courtesy of EcoEnterprises Fund. Product photo (spices) and Veragua Inauguration (at bottom) courtesy of company marketing materials from Forest Trade and Veragua, respectively.
