Sustainability
Planting Empowerment (PE) uses forestry as a mechanism to reduce rural poverty and slow tropical deforestation. PE's strategy is influenced by the grassroots development work of its founders, and have incorporated the principals of sustainable development into the business. As such, we compare ourselves not only to other forestry businesses in their focus on ecological sustainability, but also development organizations whose work promotes social sustainability.
Unlike PE's competitors and other development projects, PE financed a base line study in the communities where it located its plantations. The baseline study was executed by a sociology professor at the University of Panama to measure the impact on incomes and self-planting of timber by individuals in the community of Nuevo Paraiso and the development of self-governance in the community of Arimae. Future surveys will be done to measure the impacts of Planting Empowerment against the control communities to further guide PE's development theory and maximize impacts.
Social Sustainability
We define our social sustainability as the point at which a community can maximize the benefit from a new technology or practice with minimal outside involvement. Beyond simply providing local employment, PE seeks to involve the communities and partners as much as possible in all aspects of the business. Ultimately, our goal is to turn over the day-to-day management of the plantations to trained employees from the local communities. After the initial 25-year leases end, landowners and the communities will have the knowledge, financing, and experience to execute a new cycle of timber cultivation without the assistance of Planting Empowerment.
Environmental Sustainability
Planting Empowerment works closely with local subsistence farmers, and our planting sites are located either in, or close to, their communities. We replant portions of their land that are degraded and not earning them any income. The rest of their land is free for them to pursue traditional practices such as agriculture or cattle ranching.
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Planting Empowerment plants primarily native species such as mahogany, spanish cedar and cocobolo, which are indigenous to Panama and well-known by the locals. Planting 8-10 different species interspersed with teak ensures strong ecological diversity in our plantations and reduces our need to use chemicals to control pests and plagues. Diversifying the mix of species in a plantation also reduces overall investment risk. PE does use minimal amounts of chemical fertilizer to help the saplings when first planted to start strong. We are currently looking for an organic fertilizer supplier to replace the chemical because we believe it to be better for the long term growth of our plantations. Because PE plants its plantations with a mixture of species, the need for pesticides is reduced because their is not a vector for the pests to focus, feast, and reproduce. PE does use a FSC approved fungicide, and two pesticides to treat attacked trees and reduce harvester ant damage.
Our innovative leasing model provides incentive to keep farmers on their land, and offsets their need to log virgin timber. Additionally, our indigenous partnering community Arimae has agreed to conserve two and-a-half hectares of their rainforest reserve for every hectare that PE plants on their land.
PE is not in the reforestation business. The trees planted on degraded land will be harvested at the end of a 25-year growing cycle. PE practices a model of mixed natives species (70%) with Teak (30%). This is in stark contrast to the industry norm of mono-culture that further degrades soil and provides limited habitat. Additionally, PE allows for natural vegetation to regrow in hedges between the rows of planted trees and leaves selected non-commercial trees such as palms throughout its plantations to provide further habitat/biodiversity. Other plantations are stripped of all non-commercial trees and natural vegetation to decrease competition. Finally, PE leaves natural vegetation in place next to creeks and rivers to protect the watersheds and reduce erosion. Through PE's model soil fertility is improved, biodiversity increased, watersheds are protected and increased, and a more rich habitat is provided.
When touring one of PE's plantations, one can observe the environmental benefits the timber plantations bring to the surrounding ecology. Natural vegetation grows above the heads of visitors and an immense number of plants, insects, and other animals are very apparent in addition to the trees being grown for harvest. PE's plantations will serve as biodiversity corridors, watersheds, and produce other eco-system benefits for the local communities and humanity at large. |
