Have your [cacao] and eat it, too

Planting Empowerment employee Liriano tends to a cacao sapling planted for the UNDP projectConventional thinking by most agronomists holds that creating a more biodiverse field or planting area ultimately reduces yields. However, a recent study entitled "Combining High Biodiversity With High Yields in Tropical Agroforests" suggests just the opposite: that increased yields and biodiversity can go hand-in-hand. The article, authored by Clough et al., examined biodiverse cacao (cocoa) plantations in Indonesia. 

Last year through the UNDP's Small Grants Program we worked with Arimae to plant cacao in some of their older tree plantations. Arimae planted some of the cacao beneath the canopy of a 10-year old mahogany stand, and the rest in a new parcel of rosewood with more sun exposure. We will be closely monitoring the differences in growth and yield between the two parcels as they mature and begin to produce.

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Bolivian big leaf mahogany (swietenia macrophylla) threatened

The International Tropical Timber Association (ITTO) recently released its bi-weekly report on global timber prices.

One of the highlights of the report was a classification by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) of Bolivia's big leaf mahogany (swietenia macrophylla) as a "species of urgent concern". CITES recommended that Bolivia place a moratorium on its export.

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New York Times profiles African land grabs (1 of 2)

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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Indigenous peoples' informed voices critical in Cancún

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

A 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.

Community Forestry in the NY Times

Planting Empowerment employee Liriano Opua demonstrates the growth of a 1-yr. cocobolo tree. Click for a larger view.A couple of months ago we did a post on a Mexican indigenous community, the model of well-managed community forestry and business in Latin America.

The New York Times did a profile on the same community the other day. The long term vision of Planting Empowerment is to replicate this model not only in Panama, but throughout the rest of Latin America.

We are making progress towards this goal, as we have seen our indigenous community partner of Arimae take increasing ownership of the UNDP-GEF SGP funded project.