MEXICO—June 2010 to December 2010

RRI and its partners successfully drew attention to the importance of community forest management in addressing climate change and slowing the destruction of forests in Mexico and throughout the developing world. By releasing their report in advance of COP16 in Cancún and encouraging media interest in field trips to local communities and interviews with local leaders, RRI and its partners were able to inform reporters and through them the policy makers who would attend the conference. The outcome was the result of a six-month process that helped prepare Mexican partners for the global stage.

CCMSS advocates and researchers joined RRI staff in meetings with foreign correspondents in Mexico City, and CCMSS staff organized and led field trips with a number of reporters representing major media outlets in important and influential markets. Researchers, advocates, and community leaders were able to communicate with reporters, not only their own stories and messages, but also those of the global forestry community.

The following report summarizes the activities and outcomes of RRI’s message development, training, and media efforts over the past six months, which ultimately resulted in several international media articles on the importance of including communities in the REDD agreements, while highlighting the success of Mexico’s community forest management.

Messaging workshop for Mexican intellectuals and community leaders

In preparation for the messaging workshop, RRI and a group of Mexican intellectuals, using guidelines provided by Burness Communications, got together to produce an initial set of messages and develop a road map for positioning the community forestry issue on the national and international stage. The meeting also served to identify key sites and representatives to be trained, prioritize the press pool, analyze how international messaging might influence Mexico’s national policies, and conversely, how Mexico’s message could reach international

policymakers via the global press pool.

This initial meeting helped shape the content of a Burness-led communications workshop in Mexico. Aimed at helping the target group embrace messages that would authentically reflect the reality of the forest communities, the two-day event also taught the participants to communicate their experiences within a global context. RRI and CCMSS hammered out the intellectual framework for the workshop. Burness staff trained representatives of forest communities,

Report on Messaging, Training, and Media Efforts for

RRI and Community Forest Management at COP16

Mexico-city based reporter Elisabeth Malkin interviewed RRI’s Andy White and Deborah Barry before publishing her story on Mexico’s forest communities, which ran in the domestic and international print versions of the New York Times, and online with a dynamic audio-visual presentation. The article quoted several key spokespeople, including CCMSS’s Sergio Madrid and successfully raised awareness of community forestry prior to COP16.

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academia, and the advocacy world to develop and communicate their messages and stories through role play and group discussion. The following were among the final messages developed prior to and during the course of the workshop:

The forests of the world are not empty.

Community forestry conserves forests and captures CO2 better than other alternatives.

Simply paying to not touch the forests does not conserve forests or break the cycle of poverty.

Community forestry is the best REDD because it generates additional environmental and social benefits.

REDD with community forest management can work if the people living in the forests have rights to the land and the resources.

Communicating the messages in advance of COP16

Feedback from some community leaders and the intellectuals involved in the workshop suggests that participants felt well prepared to talk to foreign reporters. The opportunity to practice the new skills came quickly, and, in the coverage that followed—first in the Economist (UK) and then in the New York Times—forest community leaders were able to communicate the message that given the right circumstances, forest communities could conserve the forests while benefiting from them economically. Burness arranged for the New York Times to interview staff at both RRI and CCMSS. The final article (corrected) cites an RRI study estimating the percentage of forestlands under community forest management worldwide.

Additionally, the field trips arranged by CCMSS were vital in giving reporters a real-life sense of what is possible when local communities are given rights to their land.

Launching the report and media highlights

In coordination with the release of the report, Sustainable Forest Management as a Strategy to Combat Climate Change: Lessons from Mexican Communities, which was produced in both Spanish and English, RRI and CCMSS researchers met face-to-face with four reporters in Mexico City—correspondents for Agence France Presse, Reuters, the Guardian (UK), and ABC TV. The first three also travelled with CCMSS to visit forest communities and to report on the study from the perspective of the communities, as did reporters with Der Spiegel (Germany) and Public Radio International. Media coverage of the site visits and the report carried strong quotes from our key spokespeople. The coverage also featured the message that climate negotiators should support community forest management and take advantage of the economic and environmental benefits provided by forest communities. The following quotes clearly capture

"It's easier for governments to declare reserves but it doesn't work," says Barry. "If a community is making a living off a forest, they look after it much better than anybody else can or will."

-Guardian (UK), 2 December 2010

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these points and also reflect the messages originally developed prior to the messaging workshop in June:

"If a community is making a living off a forest, they look after it much better than anybody else can or will." – Deborah Barry in The Guardian (UK)

―Certain conditions are necessary‖ for community forest management to work, including, ―clear rights regarding the owners, an organization that is well managed, (and) transparently. And also there has to be a policy which really generates skills and resources to develop operations.‖ - Ivan Zuñiga in Agence France Presse

―Who would be the best caretakers of (the forests), those passionate about the local history or those bureaucrats across the country?‖ – Deborah Barry in BBC Mundo (translated)

―The communities recognize that a forest is worth more well-conserved than one that is being destroyed‖ – Ivan Zuñiga in BBC Mundo (translated)

Beyond media coverage mentioning the report or quoting RRI, there were also a great number of other international and Mexican articles referencing the importance of including communities in REDD and highlighting the success of community forest management in Mexico. A list of some of the key articles is included in the index on page 6 of this report.

Summary of media interest, interviews, and field trips

The following chart is a summary of the media interest.

Media Outlet Journalist Interest

ABC TV Desk side interviews

Agence France Presse Sophie Nicholson Desk side interviews and community

forestry field trip

Bangkok Post (Thailand) Piyaporn Wongruang Email interview/exchange with Andy

White

Der Spiegel (Germany) Christian Schwaeger Requested report, desk side interviews

and community forestry field trip

Deutsche Welle Radio

(Germany)

Helle Jeppesen Requested report, interested in

interviewing Andy White

Guardian (UK) Jo Tuckman Desk side interviews and community

forestry field trip

Nature (UK) Jeff Tollefson Exchanged emails with Ivan, interested in

field trip but could not attend

New York Times Elisabeth Malkin Interviewed Andy White, Deborah Barry,

and Sergio Madrid

Public Radio International Bruce Gellerman Requested report and community forestry

field trip

Reuters (UK) Mica Rosenburg Desk side interviews and community

forestry field trip

SABC (South Africa) Wandile Kallipa Interviewed Deborah Barry

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Science Erik Stokstad Requested report

Telegraph (UK) Louise Grey Requested report

Summary of media activities As part of the overall media work, Burness Communications engaged in the following

activities:

Prepared and conducted a two-day messaging and media workshop in Mexico City;

Provided Mexican partners with a targeted list of Mexico-city based international journalists;

Provided ongoing strategic advice, writing, and editing support for the report;

Provided extensive feedback and editing support to RRI and CCMSS researchers during the writing of the executive summary;

Wrote a press release and pitch for the report;

Promoted the findings of the report with a list of targeted journalists in Mexico city and among environmental writers worldwide;

Distributed press release widely to our list of 1,000+ environmental journalists worldwide;

Arranged interviews with Andy White, Deborah Barry, and spokespeople in Mexico with reporters in Mexico City and among those attending COP16;

Pitched field trips to reporters interested in the report, as well as reporters attending Forest Day, and put them in touch with CCMSS staff;

Tracked for media coverage; and

Wrote a final report.

Starting on the next page is a list of media coverage related to RRI’s media efforts that we

have tracked to date and full text of the articles, where available.

Prepared by:

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Wire Agence France Presse—French (Ivan Zuñiga quoted) Agence France Presse–English (Ivan Zuñiga quoted) Agencia EFE (Spain)—Spanish (CEMDA, Claudia Gómez quoted) Notimex (Mexico)—Spanish (CEMDA and CCMSS) Reuters (UK) (RRI and the CCMSS) Reuters (UK)—Spanish (RRI and the CCMSS) Broadcast Agence France Presse—TV Broadcast (Ivan Zuñiga interviewed on camera) Agence France Presse—TV Broadcast—English BBC World (UK) South African Broadcasting Corporation (RRI, Deborah Barry interviewed) Tele Sur TV (Gustavo Sanchez interviewed on camera) Print China Daily (RRI and CCMSS, Sergio Madrid quoted) Edmonton Sun (Canada) (RRI and the CCMSS) Gulf News (UAE) (RRI and the CCMSS) International Herald Tribune—2 (RRI and CCMSS, Sergio Madrid quoted) New York Times—2 (RRI and CCMSS, Sergio Madrid quoted) Kingston Whig Standard (Canada) (RRI and the CCMSS) Original Online BBC Mundo Online (UK)—Spanish (RRI and CCMSS, Ivan Zuñiga quoted) Der Spiegel Online (Germany) (Site visit) Ecologiae (Italy)—Italian (RRI, Deborah Barry quoted) Guardian Online (UK) (RRI, Deborah Barry quoted) Hindu Online (India) (CCMSS) Huffington Post—Opinion (Reference to New York Times article) Jakarta Post Online (Indonesia) (Ivan Zuñiga quoted) New York Times Online (RRI and CCMSS, Sergio Madrid quoted) New York Times Online (RRI) Ultimo Segundo (Brazil) (RRI and CCMSS, Sergio Madrid quoted) Major Online Pick-up: 2424 actu (France) ABC.es (Spain) Ambiental Mexico AméricaEconomía CNN Mexico Eco Revolution El Financiero (Mexico) First Science.com Forest Carbon Portal GoodPlanet.info (France) La Verdad.es Mexico Today MSN.com Noticias Mundo Executivo (Mexico) Noticias Ambientalies Internacionales Planeta Azul (Mexico) RedOrbit Reuters AlertNet

INDEX

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RTL.info (Belgium) Science Codex Sciences et Avenir (France) Scientific American.com Star (Malaysia) STV Online (Scotland) El Pais (Costa Rica) TerraDaily.com Yahoo! en Español Yahoo!News Selected International Community Forestry Media Coverage (Arranged by Date)

Outlet Title Link Date

The Economist (UK)

Keeping it in the Community http://www.economist.com/node/17062703

September 25, 2010

El Universal (Mexico)

Amanalco, el bosque que logró la sustentabilidad

http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/725564.html

November 24, 2010

Huffington Post (Opinion)

At Global Climate Change Talks, an Answer Grows Right Outside

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/luis-ubi/at-global-climate-change-_b_788256.html

November 29, 2010

La Nación (Costa Rica)

Indígenas piden reconocimiento por protección de los bosques

http://www.nacion.com/2010-12-02/AldeaGlobal/FotoVideoDestacado/AldeaGlobal2608957.aspx

December 1, 2010

Inter Press Service

New Forest Agreement - REDD Hot Issue at Cancún

http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=53767

December 3, 2010

Reuters Mexican foresters invoke less destructive logging

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6B251920101203

December 3, 2010

Agence France Presse

En Cumbre de Cancún instan a proteger los bosques del planeta

http://www.abc.com.py/nota/en-cumbre-de-cancun-instan-a-proteger-los-bosques-del-planeta/

December 6, 2010

Telegraph (UK)

Community forests show the way forward at Cancun climate talks

http://i.telegraph.co.uk/earth/environment/climatechange/8186699/Community-forests-show-the-way-forward-at-Cancun-climate-talks.html

December 7, 2010

Reuters Alertnet

Mexico's Mayans blaze trail

for forest protection scheme

http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/mexicos-mayans-blaze-trail-for-forest-protection-schemes

December 8, 2010

WMFN Radio Battle Rages Over Indigenous Rights and REDD at UN Climate Talks

http://www.wmnf.org/news_stories/battle-rages-over-indigenous-rights-and-redd-at-climate-talks

December 8, 2010

Associated Press

Forest plan hangs in balance at climate conference

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/09/AR2010120903957.html

December 9, 2010

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(France)

Mexique: une communauté Zapotèque s'émancipe en protégeant la

forêt

De Sophie NICHOLSON (AFP) – 2 déc. 2010

IXTLAN DE JUAREZ — La forêt, c'est le trésor de la petite communauté d'Ixtlan de Juarez, sur les terres de la vieille ethnie des Zapotèques, près de Oaxaca, dans le sud-est du Mexique, où elle les aide à lutter à la fois contre la pauvreté et le réchauffement climatique.

Ce trésor, ils l'ont déjà défendu voici plus de vingt ans, contre une entreprise d'Etat qui leur en disputait la propriété.

Aujourd'hui qu'ils en vivent, et tandis que la conférence de l'ONU sur le réchauffement climatique est réunie à Cancun, à l'extrémité sud-est du pays, le gouvernement fédéral considère leur gestion de la forêt comme un modèle de réduction non seulement des gaz à effet de serre, mais aussi de la pauvreté.

Dans une grande scierie en bordure de la forêt de Oaxaca, des hommes et des femmes installent sur des tapis roulants les rondins à débiter.

"Prendre soin de la forêt est la priorité pour notre communauté, car c'est elle qui donne du travail à la plupart d'entre nous", explique Julio Garcia Gomez, aux commandes de la machinerie.

La communauté d'Ixtlan de Juarez est dirigée par une commission de 390 membres qui met ses décisions au voix pour gérer six entreprises liées au travail du bois, depuis le transport jusqu'à l'ébénisterie, et exploiter de petits "éco-hôtels". L'ensemble fournit 300 emplois directs et 2.000 autres dans une région de 5.000 habitants, et permet de réduire la dépendance de l'aide publique, attribuée sous forme de subventions.

Trente pour cent des quelque 600.000 dollars de bénéfice annuel sont consacrés à la protection de la forêt, y compris contre les incendies.

La communauté réinvestit encore 30% dans la marche de ses entreprises, et le reste au personnel, sous forme de retraites et de crédits à taux préférentiels.

WIRES

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Bien sûr, l'industrie du bois implique l'abattage d'arbres, mais la communauté le contrôle, de même qu'elle organise la plantation de milliers de nouvelles pousses chaque année, pour maintenir la couverture forestière sur une zone de 20.000 hectares.

Cette gestion communautaire de la forêt serait plus efficace que toute autre initiative contre la déforestation, y compris la délimitation de zones protégées, selon les experts forestiers internationaux.

"Les vieux arbres ne produisent plus d'oxygène, ne servent plus à piéger le carbone, pour cela il en faut des jeunes", explique le président de la commission d'Ixtlan de Juarez, Pedro Torres Perez.

Le carbone, on le retrouve dans l'ameublement...

En dépit de programmes très médiatisés de plantations d'arbres dont beaucoup ne survivent pas, et d'un recul de la déforestation depuis cinq ans, le Mexique perd encore des pans entiers de forêts, un déficit qui représente environ 10% de ses émissions de gaz à effet de serre.

Plus de 70% des forêts mexicaines appartiennent aux collectivités locales, mais moins de la moitié sont réellement gérées comme ici.

Pour être efficaces, de tels programmes supposent "des droits de propriété bien établis, une bonne gestion, transparente, et une politique de formation des compétences", explique Ivan Zuniga, du Conseil citoyen mexicain pour une exploitation forestière durable.

Ces conditions sont réunies à Ixtlan de Juarez, selon les spécialistes.

"Cela nous a déjà pris beaucoup de temps, pas mal de sacrifices et beaucoup de monde, le travail de beaucoup de monde", conclut Pedro Torres.

http://www.rtlinfo.be/info/magazine/sciences_et_sante/757467/mexique-une-communaute-zapoteque-s-

emancipe-en-protegeant-la-foret

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(France—English)

Managing wood to carve a strong community by Staff Writers Ixtlan De Juarez, Mexico (AFP) Nov 28, 2010 Sweet smelling pine trees and a cloud forest stretch above the town of Ixtlan de Juarez, in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca, where residents highly value their wood.

The Zapotec Indians who share ownership of the land fought for control of the forest from a state company more than 20 years ago.

Mexico presents their management of the forest as a model for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, as well as poverty, as negotiators hunker down at global climate talks in Cancun.

The United Nations wants breakthroughs from rich nations on verifying deforestation and financing to combat the loss of forests, making woods increasing bargaining chips in the form of carbon credits.

In a large sawmill next to the Oaxaca forest, local men and women operate machinery to transport the logs along conveyor belts, capturing shavings before slicing them into planks.

"I think that looking after the forest is the main priority for the community because the truth is that our forest gives work to most people who live here," said machine operator Julio Garcia Gomez.

The community benefits from a program handing rights and responsibility to forest dwellers, with some financial backing, including from the government.

It is run by a committee of 390 people who put management decisions to vote and oversee six companies dedicated to the wood business, from transport to making furniture.

Operating with a kind of market socialism, the companies provide direct employment for some 300 people and indirect jobs to 2,000 more in an area of some 5,000 inhabitants.

Community leaders say they reinvest some 30 percent of an average 600,000 dollars in annual profits on protecting the forest, including fire-fighting, another 30 percent in the business, and the rest on workers and the community, including in a low-interest credit union and on pensions.

Although the companies cut down trees and sell wood, they control logging and replanting to maintain diverse forest cover in the area of some 20,000 hectares (50,000 acres).

Although the companies cut down trees and sell

wood, they control logging and replanting to maintain diverse forest cover in the area of some

20,000 hectares (50,000 acres).

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"The old trees don't process oxygen anymore, they no longer serve to capture carbon, that has to be done by young trees," said Pedro Torres Perez, president of the commission of communal ownership.

Thousands of new seedlings are planted each year, while carbon is stored in the wood furniture produced from older trees.

Community forest management could capture carbon more effectively than any other effort to slow deforestation, such as industry plantations or protected areas, according to international forestry experts.

Despite highly-publicised programs to plant more trees, many of which do not survive, and a decline in deforestation in the past five years, Mexico is still losing its forests to degradation and deterioration.

Those losses represent around 10 percent of its greenhouse gas emissions.

Although more than seventy percent of Mexico's forests are owned or managed by local communities, less than half have effective management programs.

Experts say certain conditions are necessary for them to work.

These include: "clear rights regarding the owners, an organization that is well managed, transparently. And also there has to be a policy which really generates skills and resources to develop operations," said Ivan Zuniga, from the Mexican Civic Council for Sustainable Forestry.

The community, which also manages eco-hotels, aims to keep reducing its dependence on government aid, as the search continues for the best ways to manage the world's forests to try to slow the warming of the planet.

Communal management can be complicated and such projects require dedication, Torres said.

"It took a long time, a lot of sacrifice and a lot of people, the work of many people," he said.

http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Managing_wood_to_carve_a_strong_community_999.html

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(Spain)

Piden más participación de comunidades forestales en conservación de bosques México, 23 nov (EFE).- Diversas organizaciones civiles mexicanas solicitaron hoy, a seis días del inicio en el país de la Conferencia de la ONU sobre Cambio Climático, que se reconozca el valor de las comunidades forestales en la conservación de los bosques y el combate al calentamiento global. Organizaciones como el Centro Mexicano de Derecho Ambiental (CEMDA), Oxfam México, la Red Mexicana de Organizaciones Campesinas Forestales y la Unión Nacional de Organizaciones Autónomas lanzaron en la capital mexicana la campaña "Las Comunidades Cuentan +". La campaña trata de que se consulte previamente a estas comunidades sobre el mecanismo de Reducción de Emisiones por Deforestación y Degradación (REED+) sobre el que podría salir un acuerdo en la Cumbre del Cambio Climático que comenzará el próximo lunes en Cancún. La campaña busca que se de "un proceso de consulta previo, libre e informado y una participación efectiva de las comunidades", dijeron las organizaciones en un comunicado. Para Gustavo Sánchez, de la Red Mexicana de Organizaciones Campesinas Forestales, existe un gran potencial de desarrollo de medios de vida para comunidades a partir del impulso del manejo forestal comunitario. Según dijo, las comunidades y ejidos son propietarias de más del 70% del territorio forestal de México y cuentan con los derechos de tenencia y aprovechamiento. Claudia Gómez-Portugal, del Centro Mexicano de Derecho Ambiental, aseguró que la iniciativa promueve que en las negociaciones y compromisos internacionales las comunidades sean tomadas en cuenta. Según estas organizaciones, el manejo forestal comunitario en México ha sido reconocido a nivel internacional como uno de los más exitosos del mundo. Las razones serían que logra mayor conservación de los bosques, frena el cambio climático y genera desarrollo económico y social al reinvertir sus utilidades a la comunidad. José Cruz Valles, de la Unión Nacional de Organizaciones Autónomas-Coordinadora Nacional, abogó porque los recursos del mecanismo REDD + estén enfocados a apoyar un buen manejo del bosque y al fortalecimiento del ejido y la comunidad. Por su parte, Yuritzin A. Flores, de Oxfam México, señaló que una política adecuada de REDD debe proteger y respetar los derechos y medios de subsistencia de las comunidades locales dependientes de los bosques y no limitarse a proteger los ecosistemas forestales y reducir las emisiones de carbono. EFE

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Proponen crear instrumento financiero contra cambio climático

4 Diciembre, 2010 - 14:26 El Centro Mexicano de Derecho Ambiental (Cemda) pidió que durante las negociaciones de la COP16, se acuerde la formación de un Fondo Global de Cambio Climático, como instrumento fundamental para combatir al fenómeno.

En rueda de prensa, Sandra Guzmán, representante del Cemda, señaló que es importante que el fondo 'no esté vacío', es decir, que incluya montos, principios básicos de organización, además de incorporar la propuesta de Estados Unidos, de tener mecanismos de medición, reporte y verificación en reducción de emisiones. Aunque esto último no debe condicionar la formación del fondo, sí constituye un elemento de transparencia en el uso de los recursos, destacó. Explicó que la idea de crear el fondo es garantizar el destino de los recursos de adaptación y mitigación en forma equitativa, incluyendo el apoyo a proyectos de reducción de emisiones por deforestación y degradación, conocidos como REDD. Es fundamental incluir el principio de reconocimiento a los derechos de las comunidades y al manejo sustentable de los ecosistemas, tema fundamental para México, señaló a su vez Iván Zúñiga, del Consejo Civil Mexicano para la Silvicultura Sustentable. Ambos representantes de organizaciones coincidieron en que el fondo y su procedimiento de establecimiento, deben garantizar transparencia, equidad, sustentabilidad, equidad de género y respeto a los derechos humanos. Anunciaron que darán seguimiento al proceso de negociación sobre financiamientos, para garantizar la transparencia. http://eleconomista.com.mx/internacional/2010/12/04/proponen-crear-instrumento-financiero-contra-cambio-climatico

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(UK)

Mexico eyes climate funds for locally run forests By Mica Rosenberg AGUA BENDITA, Mexico | Thu Nov 25, 2010 4:11pm EST AGUA BENDITA, Mexico (Reuters) - Local landowners collectively running a small lumber yard in the pine forests of central Mexico say they are making profits from logging and cutting carbon emissions at the same time. Eleven communities share one sawmill in the town of Agua Bendita, processing planks for furniture and construction and earning enough to convince them that saving the forest is better than clear-cutting for agriculture. "The forests here have owners and the owners have the right to use the forests," Fernando Canto, a technician for the co-op, said at a control tower where members spot fires in the dry season. Global warming, pollution and the future of forests will dominate the agenda when Mexico hosts nearly 200 nations in Cancun from November 29 to December 10 to try to put U.N. climate talks back on track after inconclusive discussions last year. The cutting and burning of deforestation makes up about 10 percent of human greenhouse gas emissions, which scientists say are causing rising sea levels and extreme weather. SMALL PLOTS AND INCOMES Rich nations are pledging money to a U.N.-backed forest protection scheme to reduce emissions from deforestation and degradation -- REDD -- that could lead to a global trade in carbon credits worth $30 billion a year. Selectively logged and managed forests capture more carbon on average than national parks, said a study released this week by Rights and Resources Initiative and the Mexican Civil Council for Sustainable Forestry, two groups that support forest collectives. New trees cultivated after controlled cutting capture more carbon than purely old-growth forests, the study said. Mexico has several issues that complicate the efforts. Unlike the rest of the world, where governments largely own forested land, nearly three-quarters of Mexico's wilderness is divided into plots of group-owned property, a legacy of land reforms after the Mexican revolution in the early 1900s. For now, most Mexicans living off the forest struggle to make ends meet. Because of the slow pace of international talks, it will be a long time until REDD-related aid flows to cooperatives like Agua Bendita, or "holy water." "Deforestation is an economic decision. The property owner wants to change the land use precisely because the forest does not give him enough income," said Juan Torres, the head of Mexico's national forest commission.

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The government has a program in 5.7 million acres (2.3 million hectares) across the country to pay a small stipend in exchange for forest protection. "If extra income can be earned from the forest, it increases in value," said Torres. "There is motivation to conserve." Better conservation could mean a bigger carbon sink to be traded on an eventual market if Mexico's landholders can prove they are protecting their resources. While Mexico has steadily been able to reduce deforestation over the past decade, it still loses 580 square miles (1,500 sq km) of forest each year, an area bigger than Rome. The residents who rely on the forests, often burdened by debt, have allowed private companies from the neighboring state of Michoacan onto their land to fell trees. Michoacan shares the same stretch of forest but, there, illegal loggers wreak havoc on areas dangerously near the nesting ground of migrating monarch butterflies. The region is also overrun by drug traffickers. "If one group is doing everything right and everyone else is destroying the forests, the country won't qualify for REDD," said Juan Bezaury, The Nature Conservancy's head of external affairs in Mexico. "Right now (REDD) is still a dream."

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6AO3PD20101125?pageNumber=2

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(UK—Spanish)

Mexicanos defienden tala controlada para reducción de emisiones Por Mica Rosenberg AGUA BENDITA, México (Reuters) - Pequeños propietarios mexicanos de tierras, que manejan bosques colectivamente, dicen que están logrando beneficios con una tala selectiva pues permite controlar las emisiones de carbono, clave en las discusiones sobre el cambio climático. Once comunidades que comparten un aserradero en el pueblo de Agua Bendita en el central Estado de México, que procesa tablones para fabricar muebles y para la construcción, dicen que se captura más carbono cortando árboles y plantando nuevos que dejando los bosques intactos. "Los bosques aquí tienen un dueño y los dueños tienen el derecho a hacer el aprovechamiento", dijo Fernando Canto, un técnico de la cooperativa forestal que determina qué árboles pueden ser cortados. El tema de permitir o no que los bosques sean conservados sin tocarlos estará en el centro de las negociaciones por un acuerdo para frenar el cambio climático global, en una reunión que se llevará a cabo en el centro turístico mexicano de Cancún la semana próxima. Según los estudios más recientes, el corte y quema de bosques contribuye con cerca de un 10 por ciento de las emisiones de gases invernadero, que los científicos dicen son el origen del aumento del nivel de los mares y de la temperatura global. Los países ricos están pidiendo fondos para un esquema respaldado por las Naciones Unidas para proteger a los bosques y así reducir las emisiones que produce la deforestación y la degradación del suelo. El proyecto, conocido como programa REDD, podría permitir la puesta en marcha del comercio global de carbono con créditos por unos 30,000 millones de dólares al año. La tala selectiva y el manejo de bosques captura más carbono en promedio que los parques nacionales, de acuerdo con un estudio divulgado esta semana por la Iniciativa Derechos y Recursos, con sede en Washington, y el Consejo Civil Mexicano para la Silvicultura Sostenible. En los bosques con tala controlada y plantación de árboles nuevos se captura un mínimo de 98 toneladas de carbón por hectárea, cerca de 50 por ciento más que que la cantidad capturada por los árboles en reservas, según el estudio. Esto podría significar una mayor cantidad de carbono para ser comercializado por parte de México si los propietarios pueden probar que estar protegiendo los recursos. TALA ILEGAL A diferencia de en el resto del mundo en donde los gobiernos poseen en gran parte las zonas forestales, en México casi tres cuartas partes de estas están divididas en ejidos, que son herencia de la reforma agraria que siguió a la Revolución Mexicana a inicios del siglo pasado. "La deforestación es un proceso donde hay una decisión económica, en donde el propietario quiere cambiar el uso forestal a otro uso precisamente porque no le da el suficiente ingreso", dijo Juan Torres, presidente de la Comisión Nacional Forestal (Conafor).

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El Gobierno tiene un programa a través del cual paga una cuota a cambio de la protección forestal en 2.3 millones de hectáreas distribuidas por todo el país. "Si este propietario tiene este pago adicional por uso forestal, aumenta el valor y existe un incentivo para conservarlo", explicó. Pero por ahora, la mayoría de la gente que vive de los bosques en México aún debe batallar para salir adelante, a causa del lento avance de las negociaciones internacionales, y pasará un largo período antes de que la ayuda comience a llegar a cooperativas como la de Agua Bendita. Presionados por las pesadas deudas, los campesinos se han visto obligados a permitir el ingreso de firmas privadas del vecino estado de Michoacán para la tala de árboles. Michoacán comparte el mismo corredor forestal, pero allí los taladores ilegales aún están causando estragos en zonas muy cercanas a las reservas de la mariposa monarca, en una región además asediada por narcotraficantes. Pese a que México ha reducido la deforestación a lo largo de la última década, el país aún pierde 1,500 kilómetros cuadrados de bosques cada año. "Si un grupo está haciendo lo correcto, pero todos los demás están destruyendo los bosques, el país no calificará para REDD", dijo Juan Bezaury, director de asuntos internacionales de Nature Conservancy en México. "Actualmente (REDD) aún es un sueño", agregó. (Traducido por Anahí Rama y Armando Tovar)

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(France—TV Broadcast)

(Clip available)

BROADCAST

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(France—TV Broadcast—English)

(Clip available)

http://news.yahoo.com/video/world-15749633/mexico-s-forest-dwellers-carve-out-a-future-in-trees-

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“Forests of Mexico” “Model for the World”

Aired on November 24 or 25

(Clip unavailable)

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(South Africa)

(Clip unavailable)

Wandile Kallipa Interviews Andy White

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(Argentina—Spanish)

Campesinos mexicanos exigen participación en la toma de decisiones sobre cambio climatic martes, 23 de noviembre de 2010 Organizaciones campesinas de México llevarán una propuesta de participación activa a la próxima cumbre del cambio climático que se llevará a cabo en Cancún. Bajo la campaña denominada "las comunidades cuentan", exigirán políticas que beneficien a las comunidades. http://multimedia.telesurtv.net/23/11/2010/21038/campesinos-mexicanos-exigen-participacion-en-la-

toma-de-decisiones-sobre-cambio-climatico/

(Clip available)

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Zapotec Indians are growing a forest while harvesting jobs

By Elisabeth Malkin (New York Times)

Updated: 2010-12-26 09:24

A Zapotec Indian community uses sustainable farming techniques to support its furniture and timber businesses. Adriana Zehbrauskas for

The New York Times

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IXTLaN de JUaREZ, Mexico - Three decades ago the Zapotec Indians here in the state of Oaxaca in southern Mexico fought for and won the right to communally manage the forest. Before that, state-owned companies had exploited it as they pleased under federal government concessions.

They slowly built their own lumber business and began studying how to protect the forest. Now, the town's enterprises employ 300 people who harvest timber, produce furniture and care for the woodlands, and Ixtlan has become the gold standard of community forest ownership and management, international forestry experts say.

Mexico's community forest enterprises now range from the mahogany forests of the Yucatan Peninsula to the pine-oak forests of the western Sierra Madre. About 60 businesses, including Ixtlan, are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council in Germany, which evaluates sustainable forestry practices. Between 60 and 80 percent of Mexico's remaining forests are under community control, according to Sergio Madrid of the Mexican Civic Council for Sustainable Forestry.

"It's astounding what's going on in Mexico," said David Barton Bray, an expert on community forestry at Florida International University who has studied Ixtlan.

In developing countries, where the rule of law is weak and enforcement spotty, simply declaring a forest off-limits does little to prevent illegal logging or clearing land for agriculture or development. "Unless local communities are committed to conserving and protecting forests it's not going to happen," said David Kaimowitz, a former director of the Center for International Forestry Research, or Cifor, who is now at the Ford Foundation. "Government can't do it for them."

A study by the Rights and Resources Initiative, an advocacy group in Washington, reported that more than a quarter of the forests in developing countries are now being managed by local communities. The trend is worldwide from China to Brazil.

In Ixtlan, under Zapotec traditions, all decisions about the forest and its related businesses are made by a (mostly male) general assembly of 390 townspeople. These "comuneros" are required to contribute their labor as needed to the forest and its enterprises.

"You can see the harmony," said Francisco Luna, the secretary of the committee in charge of the forest and its businesses. "For us to live in peace, we have to respect all the rules."

Many of the problems that beset other forests in Mexico, like illegal logging and deforestation, rate barely a shrug here. Pedro Vidal Garcia, a longtime forester in Ixtlan who now works for the Rainforest Alliance, laughed when he was asked about illegal logging in the 19,000 hectares of forest the community owns.

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"Anybody who tries their own illegal business is harshly judged," he said. "The assembly is very tough." A comunero who dares to work as a guide to illegal loggers or hunters is branded a traitor and could lose all property rights.

Last year, the community's businesses made a profit of about $230,000. Of that, 30 percent went back into the business, 30 percent went into forest preservation and the final 40 percent went back to the workers and the community where it pays for things like pensions, a low-interest credit union and housing for students studying in the state capital.

Most of the enterprise's foresters and managers are the educated sons and daughters of the older comuneros.

Julio Garcia Gómez, 31, a sawmill worker, came back to Ixtlan five years ago from New Jersey, where he was working illegally, to raise his young family. The pay here has gone up since he returned, he said, "because of the equipment, because of the training."

Even the strongest advocates of community forestry acknowledge that it is not the answer to protecting forests everywhere. It works best in areas that produce quality timber, Mr. Bray said.

But it is a huge improvement on what came before.

"Things are working," said Francisco Chapela, an agronomist who first came to Oaxaca 30 years ago and now works for the Rainforest Alliance. "A lot of jobs have been created and a lot of money has come to the communities."

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2010-12/26/content_11755252.htm

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(Canada)

Mexico eyes climate funds for locally run forests By Mica Rosenberg AGUA BENDITA, Mexico | Thu Nov 25, 2010 4:11pm EST AGUA BENDITA, Mexico (Reuters) - Local landowners collectively running a small lumber yard in the pine forests of central Mexico say they are making profits from logging and cutting carbon emissions at the same time. Eleven communities share one sawmill in the town of Agua Bendita, processing planks for furniture and construction and earning enough to convince them that saving the forest is better than clear-cutting for agriculture. "The forests here have owners and the owners have the right to use the forests," Fernando Canto, a technician for the co-op, said at a control tower where members spot fires in the dry season. Global warming, pollution and the future of forests will dominate the agenda when Mexico hosts nearly 200 nations in Cancun from November 29 to December 10 to try to put U.N. climate talks back on track after inconclusive discussions last year. The cutting and burning of deforestation makes up about 10 percent of human greenhouse gas emissions, which scientists say are causing rising sea levels and extreme weather. SMALL PLOTS AND INCOMES Rich nations are pledging money to a U.N.-backed forest protection scheme to reduce emissions from deforestation and degradation -- REDD -- that could lead to a global trade in carbon credits worth $30 billion a year. Selectively logged and managed forests capture more carbon on average than national parks, said a study released this week by Rights and Resources Initiative and the Mexican Civil Council for Sustainable Forestry, two groups that support forest collectives. New trees cultivated after controlled cutting capture more carbon than purely old-growth forests, the study said. Mexico has several issues that complicate the efforts. Unlike the rest of the world, where governments largely own forested land, nearly three-quarters of Mexico's wilderness is divided into plots of group-owned property, a legacy of land reforms after the Mexican revolution in the early 1900s. For now, most Mexicans living off the forest struggle to make ends meet. Because of the slow pace of international talks, it will be a long time until REDD-related aid flows to cooperatives like Agua Bendita, or "holy water."

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"Deforestation is an economic decision. The property owner wants to change the land use precisely because the forest does not give him enough income," said Juan Torres, the head of Mexico's national forest commission. The government has a program in 5.7 million acres (2.3 million hectares) across the country to pay a small stipend in exchange for forest protection. "If extra income can be earned from the forest, it increases in value," said Torres. "There is motivation to conserve." Better conservation could mean a bigger carbon sink to be traded on an eventual market if Mexico's landholders can prove they are protecting their resources. While Mexico has steadily been able to reduce deforestation over the past decade, it still loses 580 square miles (1,500 sq km) of forest each year, an area bigger than Rome. The residents who rely on the forests, often burdened by debt, have allowed private companies from the neighboring state of Michoacan onto their land to fell trees. Michoacan shares the same stretch of forest but, there, illegal loggers wreak havoc on areas dangerously near the nesting ground of migrating monarch butterflies. The region is also overrun by drug traffickers. "If one group is doing everything right and everyone else is destroying the forests, the country won't qualify for REDD," said Juan Bezaury, The Nature Conservancy's head of external affairs in Mexico. "Right now (REDD) is still a dream."

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(UAE)

Managed forests in green focus Mexico eyes help for local collectives as study shows selective logging can capture more carbon. Reuters Published: 00:00 November 27, 2010 Agua Bendita, Mexico: Local landowners collectively running a small lumber yard in the pine forests of central Mexico say they are making profits from logging and cutting carbon emissions at the same time. Eleven communities share one sawmill in the town of Agua Bendita, processing planks for furniture and construction and earning enough to convince them that saving the forest is better than clear-cutting for agriculture. "The forests here have owners and the owners have the right to use the forests," Fernando Canto, a technician for the co-op, said at a control tower where members spot fires in the dry season. Global warming, pollution and the future of forests will dominate the agenda when Mexico hosts nearly 200 nations in Cancun from Monday to December 10 to try to put UN climate talks back on track after inconclusive discussions last year. The cutting and burning of deforestation makes up about 10 per cent of human greenhouse gas emissions, which scientists say are causing rising sea levels and extreme weather. Small plots Rich nations are pledging money to a UN-backed forest protection scheme to reduce emissions from deforestation and degradation — REDD— that could lead to a global trade in carbon credits worth $30 billion (Dh110 billion) a year. Selectively logged and managed forests capture more carbon on average than national parks, said a study released this week by Rights and Resources Initiative and the Mexican Civil Council for Sustainable Forestry, two groups that support forest collectives. New trees cultivated after controlled cutting capture more carbon than purely old-growth forests, the study said. Mexico has several issues that complicate the efforts. Unlike the rest of the world, where governments largely own forested land, nearly three-quarters of Mexico's wilderness is divided into plots of group-owned property, a legacy of land reforms after the Mexican revolution in the early 1900s. For now, most Mexicans living off the forest struggle to make ends meet. Because of the slow pace of international talks, it will be a long time until REDD-related aid flows to cooperatives like Agua Bendita, or "holy water."

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"Deforestation is an economic decision. The property owner wants to change the land use precisely because the forest does not give him enough income," said Juan Torres, the head of Mexico's national forest commission. The government has a programme in 2.3 million hectares across the country to pay a small stipend in exchange for forest protection. http://gulfnews.com/news/world/other-world/managed-forests-in-green-focus-1.718919

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(Canada)

Mexico eyes climate funds for locally run forests By Mica Rosenberg AGUA BENDITA, Mexico | Thu Nov 25, 2010 4:11pm EST AGUA BENDITA, Mexico (Reuters) - Local landowners collectively running a small lumber yard in the pine forests of central Mexico say they are making profits from logging and cutting carbon emissions at the same time. Eleven communities share one sawmill in the town of Agua Bendita, processing planks for furniture and construction and earning enough to convince them that saving the forest is better than clear-cutting for agriculture. "The forests here have owners and the owners have the right to use the forests," Fernando Canto, a technician for the co-op, said at a control tower where members spot fires in the dry season. Global warming, pollution and the future of forests will dominate the agenda when Mexico hosts nearly 200 nations in Cancun from November 29 to December 10 to try to put U.N. climate talks back on track after inconclusive discussions last year. The cutting and burning of deforestation makes up about 10 percent of human greenhouse gas emissions, which scientists say are causing rising sea levels and extreme weather. SMALL PLOTS AND INCOMES Rich nations are pledging money to a U.N.-backed forest protection scheme to reduce emissions from deforestation and degradation -- REDD -- that could lead to a global trade in carbon credits worth $30 billion a year. Selectively logged and managed forests capture more carbon on average than national parks, said a study released this week by Rights and Resources Initiative and the Mexican Civil Council for Sustainable Forestry, two groups that support forest collectives. New trees cultivated after controlled cutting capture more carbon than purely old-growth forests, the study said. Mexico has several issues that complicate the efforts. Unlike the rest of the world, where governments largely own forested land, nearly three-quarters of Mexico's wilderness is divided into plots of group-owned property, a legacy of land reforms after the Mexican revolution in the early 1900s. For now, most Mexicans living off the forest struggle to make ends meet. Because of the slow pace of international talks, it will be a long time until REDD-related aid flows to cooperatives like Agua Bendita, or "holy water."

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"Deforestation is an economic decision. The property owner wants to change the land use precisely because the forest does not give him enough income," said Juan Torres, the head of Mexico's national forest commission. The government has a program in 5.7 million acres (2.3 million hectares) across the country to pay a small stipend in exchange for forest protection. "If extra income can be earned from the forest, it increases in value," said Torres. "There is motivation to conserve." Better conservation could mean a bigger carbon sink to be traded on an eventual market if Mexico's landholders can prove they are protecting their resources. While Mexico has steadily been able to reduce deforestation over the past decade, it still loses 580 square miles (1,500 sq km) of forest each year, an area bigger than Rome. The residents who rely on the forests, often burdened by debt, have allowed private companies from the neighboring state of Michoacan onto their land to fell trees. Michoacan shares the same stretch of forest but, there, illegal loggers wreak havoc on areas dangerously near the nesting ground of migrating monarch butterflies. The region is also overrun by drug traffickers. "If one group is doing everything right and everyone else is destroying the forests, the country won't qualify for REDD," said Juan Bezaury, The Nature Conservancy's head of external affairs in Mexico. "Right now (REDD) is still a dream."

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(UK—Spanish)

Bosques de México "modelo para el mundo"

En Ixtlán de Juarez, Oaxaca, cinco mil personas manejan el bosque de propiedad comunitaria. Fotos: gentileza CCMSS

En el norte de México, una comunidad indígena ha logrado lo que en muchos lugares del mundo calificarían de casi un milagro: proteger el bosque y combatir el cambio climático, generando al mismo tiempo más de mil empleos y promoviendo el desarrollo local. La comunidad de Ixtlán de Juárez, en el estado de Oaxaca, es una de las cerca de 8.000 en el territorio mexicano que es propietaria de extensiones de bosque. El número de comunidades que son propietarias de selvas y bosques sitúa en una posición única a México, que podría ser un modelo para el mundo, según un informe publicado esta semana. "El 70% de bosques y selvas en México son propiedad de comunidades y ejidos, hay unas 700.000 hectáreas manejadas por las propias comunidades con estándares internacionales", dijo a BBC Mundo Iván Zúñiga, del Consejo Civil Mexicano para la Silvicultura Sostenible (CCMSS), una organización no gubernamental. El CCMSS es coautor del informe junto al Rights and Resources Initiatives (RRI), una coalición de ONGs en Estados Unidos. Apenas días antes de la cumbre de cambio climático que tendrá lugar a partir del 29 de noviembre en Cancún, el mensaje principal del estudio "y un mensaje aplicable a todos los bosques del planeta, es que podemos al mismo tiempo capturar más carbono, conservar los ecosistemas y generar desarrollo local". Comunidades propietarias ¿Cómo se explica que la mayoría de los bosques sean de propiedad comunitaria?

ORIGINAL ONLINE

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"En México ha habido un proceso de reforma agraria en el que se fue reconociendo los derechos de las comunidades indígenas a su territorio y además se otorgó tierra a otras comunidades", señala Zúñiga. A pesar de reconocer la propiedad comunitaria, el Estado había concedido licencias de explotación forestal a compañías paraestatales y privadas. Cuando expiraron las licencias hace cerca de tres décadas, las organizaciones comunitarias asumieron el manejo del bosque. Gracias a la capacitación, ofrecida tanto por ONGs como por el gobierno, muchas comunidades están a cargo de lo que Zúñiga califica de "algunos de los bosques mejor manejados del planeta". Sesenta comunidades, incluyendo Ixtlán, han logrado la certificación que otorga el Forest Stewardship Council, con sede en Alemania, una de las principales organizaciones en el mundo

de certificación de madera producida en forma sostenible. Las comunidades en México producen desde muebles hasta chicle biodegradable, un producto desarrollado a partir de la savia del árbol conocido como chicosapote. El chicle se exporta enteramente a Alemania y al Reino Unido. Los muebles son vendidos en su mayoría en tiendas del propio mercado mexicano. En el caso de Ixtlán "ya no solamente producen muebles, han diversificado y son propietarias de gasolineras, sistemas de transporte y otros negocios que complementan el desarrollo local". Pocas mujeres propietarias Cinco mil personas viven en Ixtlán, donde se han generado 300 empleos directos y 1200 indirectos, asegura Zúñiga. Todas las decisiones se toman en asambleas, aunque son integradas casi exclusivamente por hombres, ya que la ley reconoce como propietarios a los "cabeza de familia". "Tenemos todavía un tema de género pendiente en México, las mujeres se insertan más en las fábricas de muebles, por ejemplo, pero sigue siendo necesaria una reforma social", reconoce Zúñiga. Ventaja internacional Las comunidades cuidan del bosque extrayendo los árboles enfermos, evitando el ingreso de taladores ilegales, limpiando el campo para ayudar a la propagación natural de semillas. "Pensemos en un bosque como si fuera un estacionamiento lleno de autos antiguos de gran valor. ¿Quienes serían los mejores cuidadores, los apasionados por la historia a nivel local, o los burócratas en el otro extremo del país?", señala Deborah Barry, del RRI y coautora del informe. El estudio asegura que el manejo forestal comunitario da una ventaja a México en uno de los temas centrales de Cancún, el mecanismo de financiación conocido como REDD, o reducción de emisiones por deforestación y degradación.

En los bosques y selvas de México viven 12 millones de personas.

Varias comunidades tienen sus propias

fábricas de muebles.

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REDD permite que las naciones industrializadas obtengan créditos en reducción de emisiones de carbono, a cambio de invertir en proyectos de conservación de bosques en países en desarrollo. Una de las grandes dificultades de REDD es asegurar que los fondos lleguen a las comunidades que cuidan el bosque, algo que sería fácil de garantizar en México, con su modelo avanzado de desarrollo comunitario. "México está en una posición inigualable para ingresar a todos estos mecanismos de financiamiento", afirma Zúñiga, agregando que su país ya es el que cuenta con más hectáreas certificadas del planeta. Proteger al bosque es una gran inversión. En las palabras de Zúñiga, "las propias comunidades ya se han dado cuenta de que vale más un bosque bien conservado que un bosque degradado". http://www.bbc.co.uk/mundo/noticias/2010/11/101124_mexico_bosques_am.shtml

El chicle biodegradable es exportado a

Alemania y el Reino Unido.

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(Germany—German)

Regenwaldprojekt in Mexiko Urlaub fürs Klima Aus Cancún berichtet Christian Schwägerl

Fotostrecke: 8 Bilder

Die Klimaschützer verlassen Cancún, nun rücken Scharen von Touristen an. Sie kommen in eine Region, deren Natur höchst gefährdet ist. Die Urlauber verbrauchen Energie, sie hinterlassen Müll. Jetzt zeigen Umweltaktivisten, wie man den Ansturm nutzen kann, um dem Regenwald zu helfen. Wenn die vielen tausend Delegierten des Uno-Klimagipfels am Wochenende ihre Zimmer geräumt haben, gehört Cancún wieder ganz jenen Menschen, die tagtäglich über das Weltklima und die Naturvielfalt von morgen entscheiden: den Touristen. "Der Tourismus ist der größte Wirtschaftszweig der Welt", sagt Thomas Meller, ein Deutscher, der in Cancún für die mexikanische Umweltorganisation "Freunde von Sian Ka'an" arbeitet, "was Touristen machen, bestimmt stark, wie viel Energie wir verbrauchen, wie viel Müll entsteht und welche Ökosysteme erhalten bleiben." Das ist an der Riviera Maya, wie die 150 Kilometer lange Urlaubsregion zwischen Cancún und Tulúm heißt, mit Händen zu greifen. In der Hotelzone von Cancún reiht sich ein Klotz an den anderen, nun setzt sich der Bauboom südlich in der Gegend von Playa del Carmen fort. Noch vor vierzig Jahren erstreckten sich in dem Gebiet riesige Mangrovenwälder, die viele Tier- und Pflanzenarten bargen und die Küste schützten. Doch selbst die Restmangroven müssen nun neuen Hotels und Ressorts weichen. Deren Investoren wollen ihre Kunstwelten weiter möglichst nahe am Strand ausrollen. Um vier Prozent schrumpfen die Mangroven an der Urlauberküste pro Jahr. Energiesparen und Müllvermeiden stehen für die Millionen Touristen, die aus den USA und Europa hierher kommen, bisher auch noch nicht an oberster Stelle. "Die Haltung ist weit verbreitet, dass man ja für alles bezahlt hat und deswegen auch keine Rücksicht nehmen muss", sagt Meller. Der Tourismus an der Riviera Maya sei noch nicht nachhaltig: "Das geht auf Kosten der Natur, es werden unnötig Energie und Ressourcen verschwendet."

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Millionen Menschen kommen wegen des wärmeren Klimas nach Mexiko. Zugleich zählt die Region zu den potentiellen Opfern des Klimawandels: Die riesigen Korallenriffe sind gefährdet, wenn der Ozean versauert. Wirbelstürme gefährden Küste und Hotels. Wer von Berlin nach Cancún fliegt, setzt dabei laut der deutschen Umweltorganisation Atmosfair sechs Tonnen Kohlendioxid frei. Das sind sechs Mal so viel Treibhausgase, wie ein durchschnittlicher Inder im gesamten Jahr verursacht. Es ist für nur diesen Flug drei mal so viel CO2, wie Klimaforscher als Oberlimit für das Jahresbudget jedes Erdenbürgers ansetzen, soll sich die Atmosphäre nicht gefährlich erwärmen. "Ein einzelnes Schutzgebiet reicht nicht" Die "Freunde von Sin Ka'an" wurden in den achtziger Jahren gegründet, um das gleichnamige Feuchtgebiet mit Mangroven an der Küste zu bewahren, das zum Unesco-Biosphärenreservat ernannt wurde. Inzwischen setzt sich die Organisation dafür ein, dass die ganze Region umweltfreundlicher wirtschaftet als bisher. "Ein einzelnes Schutzgebiet reicht nicht, es geht grundsätzlich um die Art, wie diese Region wirtschaftet", sagt Meller. Die "Freunde" und andere Initiativen wollen die Amerikaner und Europäer nicht etwa überreden, zu Hause zu bleiben und dort Öko-Radtouren zu machen. Sie sind nicht wirtschaftsfeindlich, sondern stehen im Gegenteil der Entwicklung der Region rundum positiv gegenüber: Sie wollen den Tourismus grüner machen und sehen darin für die Hotelbetreiber ein gutes, neues Geschäft. Zudem wollen sie den Urlaubern neue Erlebnisse eröffnen, Alternativen zum bloßen Strandurlaub. Sie sollen zum Beispiel Menschen wie Filiberto Yam Buenfil kennenlernen, einen 46 Jahre alten Nachfahren der Mayas. Yam Buenfil versteht sich als Hüter des Regenwalds rund um Felipe Carrilo Puerto, einer kleinen Ortschaft 200 Kilometer südlich von Cancún. Wenn er durch den Dschungel streift, sieht er mehr als die meisten anderen Menschen. Er bricht ein Blatt von einer Schlingpflanze und sagt: "Die muss man zerkauen, wenn einen eine Schlange gebissen hat, dann breitet sich das Gift nicht aus." Eine andere Pflanze empfiehlt er gegen Durchfall, "und dieses Blatt hier reibt man auf die Haut, um Insektenstiche zu mildern." Auf einer kleinen Lichtung legt er den Zeigefinger an die Lippen und pfeift los. Sekunden später kommen bunte Urwaldvögel herbeigeflogen, neugierig, woher diese Töne kommen. Fällen oder erhalten? Der Maya-Mann ist in der Genossenschaft aktiv, die 47.000 Hektar Wald westlich des Biosphärenreservats bewirtschaftet. In der ganzen Region geht es um die Frage, ob es lukrativer ist, den Wald stark zu nutzen oder ihn langfristig zu erhalten. Yam Buenfil setzt darauf, dass ihm Touristen künftig beim Regenwaldschutz helfen werden. Ein kleiner Öko-Weiler namens "Siíjil Noh Há" ist auf dem Gebiet der Waldgenossenschaft entstanden. Dort kann man seit neuestem mitten im Regenwald übernachten und bei Führungen an seinem Wissen um Heilpflanzen teilhaben. Doch die Mayas denken bereits weit über klassische Einkommensquellen hinaus. "Unsere Wälder nehmen, wenn sie wachsen, Kohlendioxid aus der Luft und verwandeln es in ihr Holz", sagt Yam Buenfil. Deshalb sind um viele Bäume im Wald um Felipe Carrilo Puerto nun silberne Bänder angebracht. Mit ihnen kann man messen, wie schnell die Urwaldbäume wachsen, wie viel Kohlendioxid aus der Luft sie in Holz verwandeln und so der Atmosphäre entziehen. Vor zwölf Jahren hat die Regierung der Dorfgemeinschaft Subventionen dafür versprochen, auf 1200 Hektar eine Zitronenplantage anzulegen. Doch als der Wald verhökert war, fand sich das zugesagte Geld plötzlich nicht mehr. Seither pflanzt die Dorfgemeinschaft auf der Rodungsfläche Bäume für einen neuen Regenwald - und will das nun als ökologische Dienstleistung vermarkten. Einen Zentimeter Umfang hat der Salam-Baum, an dem Yam Buenfil gerade steht, im letzten Jahr zugelegt. Klimarechnung beim Einchecken

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Künftig will die Maya-Dorfgemeinschaft am Kohlendioxid verdienen, das die jungen Bäume aus der Luft holen. Es könnte etwa eine Dienstleistung für Hotels sein, so viel CO2 in neuen Bäumen zu binden, wie ihr Betrieb verursacht. Urlauber könnten dann zum Beispiel beim Einchecken entscheiden, ob sie eine kleine Extra-Gebühr dafür entrichten wollen, CO2-neutral zu logieren. Noch ist das Zukunftsmusik, doch die Vorbereitungen laufen. Auch der Schutz und die Neuanpflanzung von Mangrovenwäldern könnte künftig dem CO2-Ausgleich vor Ort dienen, etwa für die Flugreise. "Die Urlauber sollen ihre Emissionen bei uns ausgleichen, nicht in einem Projekt in Indien oder Afrika", sagt Sebastien Proust, ein junger Franzose, der mit seiner mexikanischen Frau Elsa die Organisation U'yo'olche leitet und die Mayas auf ihrem Weg unterstützt. "Wir brauchen hier neue Einkommensquellen, die es den Menschen ermöglichen, funktionierende Ökosysteme zu erhalten statt sie zu zerstören." U'yo'olche, was übersetzt Keimling heißt, hat die Kunsthandwerker der Region in einer Marke ("Kuxtal") zusammengefasst und sie in Kontakt mit Produktdesignern gebracht. Honig und Honigkosmetika aus dem Urwald sowie kleine Kunstwerke mit Mayamustern gehören zum Sortiment. "Es kommt darauf an, dass die Produkte eine einheitliche Qualität haben, nur so kommt man in die attraktiven Märkte", sagt Proust. Sein Ziel ist es, eine große Zahl von Küstenhotels dazu zu bringen, die Produkte aus der Region zu nutzen. "Yukatan produziert einen der besten Honige der Welt, doch in den Hotels gibt es meist Massenware aus Amerika und Europa", kritisiert Proust. Zu den ökologisch sinnvollen Produkten der Region gehört auch ein Kaugummi, der nicht aus Kunststoff entsteht, sondern zu hundert Prozent aus dem Saft eines Regenwaldbaumes. Kaugummi für den Regenwald Rund zweitausend Arbeitsplätze hat die "Chicza Rainforests Gum Initiative" mit ihrem Regenwald-Kaugummi geschaffen - nun geht es darum, dass die Urlauber aus Amerika in den Hotelshops zur Marke Chicza greifen können statt zu den üblichen Anbietern. Die Hotels würden zwar in großem Stil Reinigungskräfte aus den Maya-Dörfern rekrutieren, aber kaum regionale Waren kaufen, die gut für die naturnahe Wirtschaft wären, sagt Proust: "Die Nachfrage nach solchen Produkten entscheidet maßgeblich darüber mit, wie gut die Wälder der Region bewirtschaftet werden." Man wolle nun "eine Brücke bauen zwischen Mayas und Urlaubern, zwischen Wald und Hotels". Thomas Meller von den "Freunden von Sian Ka'an" möchte die Hotels vor allem von innen heraus verändern. "Unsere Gespräche mit Hotelbetreibern laufen meist extrem positiv, wenn wir ihnen ausrechnen, wie sie durch Umweltschutz neue Gäste gewinnen, ihre Mitarbeiter motivieren und Betriebskosten sparen können." Hundert Hotels mit insgesamt 60.000 Betten hätten sich schon beraten lassen, wie sie umweltfreundlicher werden können. Um dies auch den Gästen zu vermitteln, sind nun sieben Kurzvideos entstanden, die Hotels in die Willkommensbotschaften integrieren können. Wenn die Fernseher anspringen, sobald ein neuer Gast sein Zimmer betritt, gibt es Hinweise zum sparsamen Umgang mit Wasser und Strom. "Grüner Urlaub machen" heißen die Videos. Man lernt auch, warum biologisch abbaubare Sonnencremes wichtig sind. Bei Neubauprojekten verzeichnet die Initiative bereits erste Erfolge. Ein Hotel hat 400 Meter vom Strand entfernt gebaut, um Mangroven zu erhalten, andere sind dabei, in erneuerbare Energien, natürliche Klimatisierung und bessere Kläranlagen zu investieren. Entscheidend, sagt Meller, ist, ob die Anbieter davon ausgehen, dass sie umweltbewusste Gäste haben. Dann verändere sich auch das Angebot. Heute würden noch immer so viele ressourcenintesnive Golfplätze in die Natur gebaut, weil jeder denke, das dies das wichtigste Urlaubsvergnügen älterer Amerikaner sei. Eine neue Studie habe nun aber ergeben, dass nur 14 Prozent von ihnen unbedingt Golf spielen wollen, aber 15 Prozent an Naturaktivitäten wie der Vogelbeobachtung interessiert seien.

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So betrachtet, sei das Biosphärenreservat Sian Ka'an keine Bremse für den Tourismus, wie es oft heißt, sondern seine Schatzkammer. "Der Tourismus muss sich schnell neu erfinden", sagt Meller, "wir können nicht Korallen, Strände und Wälder als unsere Schätze anpreisen und sie gleichzeitig aufs Spiel setzen." Ob das gelingt, hängt maßgeblich von den Touristen selbst ab. Sie nehmen nun nicht nur die Betten der Uno-Klimaschützer ein. http://www.spiegel.de/wissenschaft/mensch/0,1518,733966,00.html

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(Italy-Italian)

Congresso di Cancun: il Giappone rifiuta l’estensione del Protocollo di Kyoto Di Marco Mancini, in Protocolli di Kyoto, Summit & Congressi. I colloqui sul delicato equilibrio climatico globale di Cancun hanno subìto una grave battuta d‘arresto la scorsa notte quando il Giappone ha categoricamente espresso la sua contrarietà alla proroga del protocollo di Kyoto, il trattato internazionale vincolante che impegna la maggior parte dei Paesi più ricchi del mondo a tagliare le emissioni. In base agli accordi, il Giappone doveva tagliare le emissioni di una media del 5%, rispetto al 1990 entro il 2012. Jun Arima, rappresentante del governo nipponico per l‘economia e l‘industria, ha ammesso che il suo Paese è tra i maggiori emettitori di gas serra, ma nonostante questo non può ulteriormente tagliare le proprie emissioni. Il Giappone non sottoscrive il proprio obiettivo nel quadro del protocollo di Kyoto in qualsiasi altra condizione e in qualsiasi circostanza. La dichiarazione è molto pericolosa in quanto, dopo l‘opposizione iniziale degli Stati Uniti, se anche uno dei precursori dell‘accordo si dovesse tirare indietro, questo potrebbe provocare una fuga di alcuni Paesi in via di sviluppo che già minacciano una rottura dei colloqui. Apparentemente Il Giappone non ha dato buoni motivi per questo inasprimento della sua linea di condotta, ma la realtà, secondo un funzionario che vuol rimanere anonimo, pare sia che il Governo del Paese asiatico non ritenga giusto che il protocollo possa essere prolungato alle attuali condizioni. Il Giappone, in tarda serata, ha voluto chiarire la sua posizione, affermando che non rifiuterebbe un nuovo accordo giuridicamente vincolante in generale, ma non vuol essere penalizzato se, una volta firmato il taglio delle emissioni, altri Paesi come l‘India e la Cinanon ratificassero tagli simili. I Paesi Occidentali che hanno ratificato il primo protocollo, al contrario, ci sono andati più cauti e si sono detti disposti ad accettare un secondo trattato, a condizione che anche altri Paesi lo facciano. E‘un pessimo inizio per i negoziati. Il pericolo è che altri Paesi potrebbero voler seguire l‘esempio del Giappone e fuggire dagli impegni vincolanti per tagliare le emissioni. ha dichiarato Poul Erik Laurisden, portavoce dell‘agenzia Care International. Ma nella giornata di ieri non si è parlato solo di questo. L‘altro tema al centro del dibattito è stata ladeforestazione. La speranza è di trovare un accordo con cui stabilire un progetto globaleper evitare la distruzione dei polmoni verdi del pianeta. Due aspetti, uno positivo e l‘altro negativo, sono scaturiti dai colloqui. Quello positivo è che circa il 70% delle foreste messicane sono di proprietà collettiva delle comunità e su queste si basano le micro-economie dell‘area. Di conseguenza queste foreste vengono tutelate, e dunque sono in grado di bloccare il carbonio nelle piante e nel suolo.

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Il Messico è l’avanguardia di una tendenza generale verso una gestione forestale comunitaria che non riceve abbastanza attenzione ha affermato Deborah Barry dell’iniziativa americana Diritti e Risorse, che sostiene alcune delle ONG messicane che lavorano con le comunità. La proposta, basata sull’esempio messicano, è di spostare i finanziamenti che normalmente vanno alle miniere, alla ricerca del petrolio e ad altre industrie inquinanti, dirottandoli verso la tutela delle foreste. La soluzione, secondo la Barry, è di affidare pezzi di terra alla gente che con essa ci vive: Se una comunità si sostiene grazie ad una foresta, se ne prenderà cura molto meglio di chiunque altro.

L‘aspetto negativo è uno che purtroppo noi italiani conosciamo molto bene: lepromesse mancate della politica. Quando Felipe Calderon si insediò nel dicembre 2006, promise di essere il presidente più verde della storia del Messico. Per potersi autoproclamare in questo modo, decise di piantare un sacco di alberi, a cominciare da un pino, piantato con le proprie mani nude. Questa dimostrazione ispirò lo United Nations Environment Programme, un programma per lo sviluppo di aree verdi in tutto il mondo. Purtroppo una parte delle promesse non sono state mantenute, mentre gli alberi piantati non hanno ottenuto la giusta cura perché non c‘erano fondi per gli operatori che dovevano occuparsene. La conseguenza è che il 90% degli alberi piantati sono morti ed il programma di rimboschimento massiccio è caduto. Di certo non un buon biglietto da visita per avviare i colloqui sulla riforestazione del mondo. Infine si è parlato anche del problema, che verrà affrontato in modo più esteso nei prossimi giorni, delle conseguenze dei cambiamenti climatici, ed una di queste è il rincaro dei prezzi del cibo. In un mondo in cui quasi un miliardo di persone vivono al di sotto della soglia di povertà, i cambiamenti climatici potrebbero far alzare i prezzi del cibo del 130% entro il 2050. Il problema è che anche senza i mutamenti climatici, i prezzi potrebbero lievitare ugualmente, anche se in misura di gran lunga inferiore, intorno al 34% circa. Una eventualità a cui i grandi della Terra devono dedicare maggiore spazio. [Fonte: The Guardian] http://www.ecologiae.com/congresso-cancun-giappone-rifiuta-protocollo-di-kyoto/28706/

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(UK)

Cancún climate change summit: One lesson not to learn from Mexico

Posted byJo Tuckman Thursday 2 December 201009.00 GMTguardian.co.uk

Felipe Calderon vowed to be Mexico's greenest ever president but his centralised reforestation effort proved disastrous

Pragmatism, we are told, is the watchword for the United Nations' talks in Cancún where progress on issues such as how to stop the world's forests disappearing would allow hope to resurface that an overall deal on climate change is possible at some time in the future. But in Mexico the debate over how best to help efforts to deal with deforestation is much more than a stepping stone to something else. It is a major issue that affects huge swathes of a country and hundreds of communities, where experience has produced at least two major lessons for the rest of the world. A positive one and a negative one. The positive one is that some 70% of Mexican forests are collectively owned by communities and where these communities have been given consistent support they have proved remarkably successful at harnessing their micro economies to the global need to lock carbon into plants and soils. Take the Zapotec indigenous community of Ixtlan de Juarez just outside of the city of Oaxaca in the south east. Over three decades the community has developed its lumber business to the point where it now employs 300 people to care for the woodlands, harvest the timber and produce wooden furniture for sale. Migration from the area has fallen and education levels risen. Or there is the more recent attempt by a cooperative of tappers in the chicozapote trees that grow in the jungles of the Yucatan, not all that far from Cancún, and produce the chicle sap that was the original raw material for chewing gum but has long since been replaced by petrochemicals. Now the tappers are helping to limit the encroachment of the agricultural frontier by finding new markets for a thoroughly modern new product – certified organic gum. "Mexico is at the vanguard of a global trend towards community forestry management that isn't getting enough attention," says Deborah Barry of the US-based Rights and Resources Initiative which supports some of the Mexican NGOs working with communities. The groups are in Cancún trying to plant the idea that the UN scheme supposed to provide funding for developing countries to stop deforestation known as Redd – Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation – should focus on sustainable community forest management. This, they say, would not only be better than the already controversial signs that the funds could be monopolised by oil, mining, car and gas corporations muscling in on forestry protection, but better than purist conservation efforts as well. "It's easier for governments to declare reserves but it doesn't work," says Barry. "If a community is making a living off a forest, they look after it much better than anybody else can or will." Mexico also provides a rather less flattering lesson for the world than the government delegation at the Cancún talks is keen to publicise. It is just too embarrassing, and not just for the hosts, but for the UN as well.

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When Felipe Calderon took office in December 2006 he promised to be the greenest ever Mexican president. And one of the ways he set out to prove his commitment was by planting trees. Lots of trees. He started with a pine, planted with his own bare hands alongside his young son and a speech announcing that there would be 250m more where that came from before the season was out. By the end of the year the government was claiming that it had not only met the target, but would be repeating the effort in 2008. It was a feat that led the United Nations Environment Programme to heap praise and prizes on Calderon. The problem was that by that time the original presidential tree, tendered with reverential care throughout the year, was one of the few left standing. The vast majority were dying or already dead. After months ignoring exposés in the local media, the official auditor came out with a report in March 2009 that concluded only 10% of the trees had survived. Worse, the massive reforestation effort had taken funds away from supporting the community-based management schemes. Though it never fully accepted the farce into which the massive reforestation programme had fallen, Calderon's government did appoint a new head of the national forestry commission who reassigned resources back to what works. Small communities looking after their own trees collectively. A vision of the future that harks back to old struggles, not least that of Emiliano Zapata in the Mexican revolution 100 years ago. If they do indeed became a focus of international attention in Cancún over the next couple of weeks, their advocates say, these small communities could provide something truly worthwhile to the global effort over climate change. And pragmatism is always that much more appealing when there is a little idealism attached. http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/blog/2010/dec/02/cancun-climate-change-summit-mexico

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(India)

In Quintana Roo, gum helps subsistence farmers chew more Meena Menon Chicle, or gum, is extracted, sold at 55 pesos a kg; 50 years ago, they got five kg from a tree 12 million people live in Mexico's forest areas: Mexican Civil Council for Sustainable Forestry CANCUN: Santos Eligio prepares to climb the 12-metre-tall gum tree with his rope in place and a large machete, which he uses to expertly slash the trunk criss-cross. The white latex trickles down the red slashes, into a small brown bag at the bottom. Santos has been at it since he was 21. Younger boys in the village, too, are skilled in this task which involves climbing up using a thick rope around the trunk while using the machete. A metre up the tree, Santos, a youthful 64, is already breathing heavily. It takes him nearly two-and-a-half hours to go up. In the tropical forests near the village of San Antonio Tuk, more than 300 km from Cancun, the Mayas still rely on traditional skills to make a living. The chicle, or gum, is extracted and sold at 55 pesos a kg. Fifty years ago, they managed to get five kg from a tree; now the amount has dwindled to 1.5 kg. It is an additional means of income for Santos, a subsistence farmers, who is amused by all the fuss and attention from a group of journalists from the Climate Change Media Partnership (CCMP) on a recent visit. Archimedes Hernandez, a rural development consultant, tells the story of a U.S. President who visited Mexico long ago and saw the native people chewing gum. He took the gum back home, and it became a big business there. Even today, natural gum extracted here goes into the making of chewing gum. Initially, the industry was established in Quintana Roo and two other places. Most people here are subsistence farmers. The income from forestry is a supplement. There are 12 million people who live in Mexico's forest areas, according to the Mexican Civil Council for Sustainable Forestry (CCMSS). Pilot projects The village of San Antonio Tuk is part of 54 communities in this region in Quintana Roo state, which manages about 70,000 hectares of forests. It is one of the four pilot projects under the reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries (REDD) plus, according to the CCMSS. In a few days, Mexico will present a formal REDD-plus plan, in which forest communities will be the focus of a carbon sequestration programme.

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Quintana Roo has a large forest cover, which has degraded. Since 2006, communities were involved in a project of the Network of Environmental Service Providers to preserve the green cover. Miguel Poljam says San Antonio Tuk, population 159, has received economic benefits from the project. Those involved in it receive a token 326 pesos a year a hectare for the work they do. However, the women seem rather left out of the whole process. Manuela Briceno says only the men are involved. A certain portion of the forest has been earmarked for firewood collection. The women also use wood-saving stoves. Basic problems But community forestry cannot solve their basic problems. There is unemployment, and the women say they want jobs as forest guards. In their remote village, there is no secondary school, no health service, and it is a very expensive ride — costing 100 pesos — to a school 20 km away, says Feliciana Al Barado Cahvich. The level of literacy seems poor. The Mexican revolution in the early 1900s and the agrarian reforms put about 70 per cent of the forests in the hands of local communities. There are two forms of community governance in which people are grouped: the ejido meant for landless labourers; and the communidad which give people legal rights. However, while the Mexican government is keen on REDD-plus, various groups have voiced strong opposition. The Latin American Coordination of Rural Organisations-Via Campesina has rejected what it calls false solutions for climate change in general and REDD-plus in particular. The people's summit in Cochabamba, Bolivia, had issued a statement condemning market mechanisms, such as REDD-plus, which sought to incorporate forests and other ecosystems in international markets. REDD implied a creation and global commerce of environment services, it said.

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Why Cancún Matters Tensie Whelan President, Rainforest Alliance Posted: November 29, 2010 04:08 PM The 16th Conference of Parties on the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) - COP16 for short - kicked off in Cancún today. Compared to COP15 in Copenhagen a year ago, expectations for COP16 are low. The universal prediction is that like Copenhagen, Cancún won't produce a binding, global treaty, either. Some have gone as far as to call this a "legitimation crisis‖ for the UNFCCC process, but at the same time they acknowledge that Cancún is far from irrelevant. What happens at COP16 matters very much, whether it achieves a new treaty or not. To be clear, we do need a comprehensive, binding agreement and all countries need to keep working for one in the near future. But meanwhile, COP16 may advance important decisions on implementing and financing REDD+ and other measures that will help developing countries conserve forests and improve land use. Taking those decisions would be a major step forward. In recent weeks the Council of the European Union, 62 environmental ministers at the biodiversity conference in Nagoya, Japan, the foreign minister of Mexico and UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon have all indicated that progress in certain key areas related to forests, land use and financing can and should be achieved in Cancún. In addition to REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation), they include agriculture, adaptation and mitigation, MRV (monitoring, reporting and verification), financing and other related areas. They are all featured on the COP16 agenda. Focusing on these issues highlights the important nexus between conserving forests, sustainable agriculture and land use practices, sustainable development and climate protection. Deforestation accounts for about 17% of global greenhouse gas emissions, the equivalent of emissions from the world's entire transport sector. The interaction of forest loss and agriculture account for significantly more than that. Agriculture and agribusiness drive deforestation, clearing and degrading forests to feed markets for such commodities as cattle, soy, oil palm, etc. Progress in Cancún on REDD+, financing, agriculture, land use and related areas would be significant for cutting global emissions as well as preserving biodiversity, securing a sustainable food supply and helping people in developing countries adapt to and mitigate climate change that is already underway. At the same time, it would also advance programs and policies to help make private-sector agribusiness a key part of the climate solution as opposed to a key part of the problem. Delegates in Cancun will be negotiating nuts and bolts of REDD+ implementation and finance mechanisms that would enable REDD+ and get us started on a path to cutting 17% of global emissions. Most estimates put the costs of cutting deforestation in half by 2020 in the range of $25 to $35 billion per year. To raise that kind of money, a diverse set of funding sources, including both market and non-market (i.e. national government and multilateral) funding, will be required. Indigenous peoples and local communities must be fully enfranchised and empowered any REDD+ system and share equitably in its benefits, partly for reasons of environmental and economic justice, and partly because increasingly, throughout the developing world local communities are the ones managing the forests. That's why The New York Times reported last week on community forestry projects in Mexico that will be showcased at COP16, and why my organization, the Rainforest Alliance, pilots on-ground REDD+ community forestry projects that field-test the implementation mechanisms that will get a global REDD+ system started.

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If all this seems more technical and less broadly hopeful than a new global treaty on climate change, remember two things: First, emissions from deforestation are about equivalent to that of the entire global transport sector. COP16 is within reach of important decisions on cutting them. Second, that nexus of forestry, agriculture and land use accounts for an enormous portion of global carbon emissions. Addressing them is prerequisite for any comprehensive treaty, and COP16 is focusing on them now. I am on my way to Cancún to participate in COP16 side events. For updates on from the COP16 conference floor, see http://twitter.com/rnfrstalliance. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tensie-whelan/why-cancn-matters_b_789409.html

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(Indonesia)

Remote control, or how not to protect forests Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post, Cancun, Mexico | Sun, 12/05/2010 1:43 PM | Special Report Communities living in Maja jungle, located some 300 kilometers from the center of Cancun city where worldwide delegates are locked in heated debates on how to stop forest degradation, have found a way to manage forests without much fanfare. The community has proven that forests cannot not be protected remotely. A mother of five children, Ana Berta, who is a member of the Maja community, could only shake her head when asked about the forest carbon scheme called REDD, which is currently the most popular issue in the air-conditioned negotiating rooms of climate change talks. She simply said that the forest ―is the land of the Maja people. We have stopped slashing and burning‖. ―There are no longer forest fires, at least in the last four years,‖ she told a reporter from The Jakarta Post on a field trip to the Maja jungle on Wednesday (Thursday morning in Jakarta). ―Forests are very beautiful. If we protect them they will give us cleaner air. We feel very happy to be involved in forest protection.‖ There are 1,110 people leaving in the Maja jungle in a total of 214 households. Many earn a living from the agriculture and forestry sector. The Maja community has tenure rights over the forests where they reside, granted under the Mexican forestry law. With the help of local environment activists, the area has been designated to host a pilot project of the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) scheme. The Maja community together with its leaders first set up territorial planning to break the forest into a combination of conservation area, agriculture land, restoration and permanent forest. They agreed to set aside 17,525 acres of its forest for the planned REDD projects. Maja community leader Erasmo Colli Cach admitted that it was not an easy job to engage community members to be involved in managing the forest. ―It takes years to raise awareness of the role of the community in forest protection. But support from the community to manage forests is now in place,‖ he said. Ivan Zuniga Perez, a member of a local environment group, said that involving the local community would be far more effective for developing REDD pilot projects. He said the local community would be involved in many aspects of the the REDD projects, from the design phase to the monitoring systems put in place once in the project was up and running. “The planned REDD will not be the same as most of the pilot projects developed in other countries where most of them focus on combating deforestation,” he said.

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He explained that the communities would still be able to cut down older trees since they could absorb less carbon. “It is just like humans; the older ones will eat less,” he said. Ivan said carbon produced from the REDD project would be traded only to local companies operating in Mexico with the money provided as financial incentives to the Maja community. “We are not looking for public or voluntary markets. We plan to trade the carbon only for local companies interested in preserving forests,” he said. Negotiators in the Cancun climate talks have yet to settle fundamental terms of REDD. Bolivia, for instance, disagrees with the involvement of a voluntary market in the scheme, saying the money should be from the public market of rich countries‘ governments. Indonesia, having the world‘s third-largest forest area with 120 million hectares of rain forest, wants the Cancun conference to make a decision, at least on when it would be legal for nations with large forest areas to run REDD pilot projects. There are currently dozens of REDD pilot projects ready to be developed, such as one by the Australian government in Kalimantan. Indonesia has also signed a US$1 billion REDD deal with Norway. But activists have repeatedly warned over the uncertainty of tenure rights for local people or indigenous groups for forest, saying the REDD would create conflicts in forest areas. The forest law stipulates that all forests belong to the state.

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Growing a Forest, and Harvesting Jobs

By ELISABETH MALKIN Published: November 22, 2010 XTLÁN de JUÁREZ, Mexico — As an unforgiving midday sun bore down on the pine-forested mountains here, a half-dozen men perched across a steep hillside wrestled back mounds of weeds to uncover wisps of knee-high seedlings. Experts say the town has become the gold standard of community forest management. Freeing the tiny pines that were planted last year is only one step of many the town takes to nurture the trees until they grow tall, ready for harvesting in half a century. But the people of Ixtlán take the long view. ―We‘re the owners of this land and we have tried to conserve this forest for our children, for our descendants,‖ Alejandro Vargas said, leaning on his machete as he took a break. ―Because we have lived from this for many years.‖ Three decades ago the Zapotec Indians here in the state of Oaxaca in southern Mexico fought for and won the right to communally manage the forest. Before that, state-owned companies had exploited it as they pleased under federal government concessions.

Ixtlán de Juárez‘s enterprises employ 300 people, like Honorio Juárez, above, a pine seedling nursery caretaker. They produce

furniture and care for the woodlands.

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They slowly built their own lumber business and, at the same time, began studying how to protect the forest. Now, the town‘s enterprises employ 300 people who harvest timber, produce wooden furniture and care for the woodlands, and Ixtlán has grown to become the gold standard of community forest ownership and management, international forestry experts say. Mexico‘s community forest enterprises now range from the mahogany forests of the Yucatán Peninsula to the pine-oak forests of the western Sierra Madre. About 60 businesses, including Ixtlán, are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council in Germany, which evaluates sustainable forestry practices. Between 60 and 80 percent of Mexico‘s remaining forests are under community control, according to Sergio Madrid of the Mexican Civic Council for Sustainable Forestry. ―It‘s astounding what‘s going on in Mexico,‖ said David Barton Bray, an expert on community forestry at Florida International University who has studied Ixtlán. The Mexican government plans to showcase its success in community forestry at the global climate talks in Cancún next week. Despite fractious negotiations over reducing carbon emissions, talks on paying developing countries to protect their forests have moved further ahead than most other issues. In developing countries, where the rule of law is weak and enforcement spotty, simply declaring a forest off-limits does little to prevent illegal logging or clearing land for agriculture or development. ―Unless local communities are committed to conserving and protecting forests it‘s not going to happen,‖ said David Kaimowitz, a former director of the Center for International

Forestry Research, or Cifor, who is now at the Ford Foundation. ―Government can‘t do it for them.‖ A recent study by the Rights and Resources Initiative reported that more than a quarter of the forests in developing countries are now being managed by local communities. The trend is worldwide — from China to Brazil. In Ixtlán, under Zapotec traditions, all decisions about the forest and its related businesses are made by a (mostly male) general assembly of 390 townspeople. These ―comuneros‖ are required to contribute their labor as needed to the forest and its enterprises. ―You can see the harmony,‖ said Francisco Luna, the secretary of the committee in charge of the forest and its businesses. ―For us to live in peace, we have to respect all the rules.‖ Many of the problems that beset other forests in Mexico, like illegal logging and deforestation, rate barely a shrug here. Pedro Vidal García, a longtime forester in Ixtlán who now works for the Rainforest Alliance, laughed when he was asked about illegal logging in the 48,000 acres of forest the community owns. ―Anybody who tries their own illegal business is harshly judged,‖ he said. ―The assembly is very tough.‖ A comunero who dares to work as a guide to illegal loggers or hunters is branded a traitor and could lose all property rights. Rule by an assembly of equals based on ancestral customs can make running a business unwieldy. ―It takes a long time to agree,‖ said Mr. García, whose father was one of the generation that sold their livestock to set up the community‘s first sawmill. ―The assembly can turn emotional, or technical.‖

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Last year, the community‘s businesses made a profit of about $230,000. Of that, 30 percent went back into the business, another 30 percent went into forest preservation and the final 40 percent went back to the workers and the community where it pays for things like pensions, a low-interest credit union and housing for students studying in the state capital. Most of the enterprise‘s foresters and managers are the university-educated sons and daughters of the older comuneros. It is an odd business mixture, acknowledged Alberto Belmonte, who is in charge of finding new markets for the furniture and lumber that Ixtlán and two neighboring towns produce. ―Pure simple socialism, which is what the communities have, and an idea of capitalism, where we say, ‗You know what? We have to be profitable.‘‖ Many of Ixtlán‘s plain pine pieces are sold to the state government, and the factory is busy filling an order to furnish a children‘s home with bunk beds and lockers. Mr. Belmonte has plans to jazz up design and crack the Mexico City market. Julio García Gómez, 31, a sawmill worker, came back to Ixtlán five years ago from New Jersey, where he was working illegally, to raise his young family. The pay here has gone up since he returned, he said, ―because of the equipment, because of the training.‖ While a self-sustaining business, Ixtlán is still a work in progress. Nongovernment organizations, as well as the Mexican government, all provide financing and advice. And even the strongest advocates of community forestry acknowledge that it is not the answer to protecting forests everywhere. It works best in areas that produce quality timber, Mr. Bray said. But it is a huge improvement on what came before. ―Things are working,‖ said Francisco Chapela, an agronomist who first came to Oaxaca 30 years ago and now works for the Rainforest Alliance in Mexico. ―Forest management is a big success,‖ he continued. ―If you look at old aerial photographs and compare it with what is now, the forest is increasing here. ―A lot of jobs have been created and a lot of money has come to the communities.‖ This article has been revised to reflect the following correction: Correction: December 1, 2010 The Ixtlán de Juárez Journal article on Nov. 23, about successful forest conservation by the Zapotec Indians in the mountains around Ixtlán de Juárez in southern Mexico‘s Oaxaca state, misattributed the source of a study that reported local communities like the Zapotec are now managing more than a quarter of the forests in developing countries. The study was done by the Rights and Resources Initiative, a nonprofit advocacy group based in Washington that promotes increased community ownership of forests in developing countries; it was not by the Center for International Forestry Research, a nonprofit conservation group based in Bogor, Indonesia. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/23/world/americas/23mexico.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=indians%20in%20mexico&st=cse#

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Tree-conomics January 3, 2011, 6:00 AM By NANCY FOLBRE

Nancy Folbre is an economics professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Ethan Gilsdorf for The New York Times

Many trees are private goods. If you own some, you can probably do whatever you want with them. As a rational economic actor, you can respond effectively to incentives. If the price of wood goes up, you can decide to chop your trees down and sell them. But trees are also public goods — they generate benefits for other people, creating what economists call positive externalities. Most trees are beautiful. Most create habitat for an immense variety of creatures that don‘t know the meaning of property rights. All trees sequester carbon until they die, helping buffer the effect of carbon dioxide emissions from automobiles, power plants and other sources (our most worrisome public bad).

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The difference between private and public benefits explains why some local communities regulate tree management. But more profoundly, it drives a hardwood wedge between individual and social outcomes, with disturbing implications. Deforestation is contributing to global warming. Why are rational economic actors having such a hard time responding to this problem? Partly because it can‘t be reduced to individual choices. It requires coordinated actions that involve collective conflict, coalition-building and strategic maneuver. The urge to sidestep such difficulties helps explain efforts to find market-based solutions. Many nonprofit groups (including Carbonify and Greater Good) offer individuals and companies the opportunity to pay for planting a tree (almost anywhere in the world) to help offset their carbon consumption. If I pay to plant a tree, you benefit as much as I do, without forking over a dime. And if I‘m the only one who plants a tree, it won‘t make much difference. This free-rider problem weakens individual incentives. And the transactions costs are high: How can I be sure that the tree I pay for will actually get planted and cared for enough to suck up the promised amount of carbon dioxide? Oversight and certification are required – and are not always reliable. Furthermore, there‘s some controversy over specific issues, such as the effect of the latitude at which trees are planted on their climatic impact. International agreements like the Kyoto Protocol (which the United States refused to sign) created strong incentives for organizations in participating countries to purchase carbon offsets, like tree plantings. According to the World Bank, this policy has generated modest benefits but needs to be scaled up. Efforts to design and implement international agreements could be enriched by more attention to community forest management in developing countries. As the Nobel-Prize winner Elinor Ostrom emphasizes in ―Governing the Commons,‖ equitable rules of access often prove successful. More than a quarter of all forests in developing countries are managed by local communities. A recent report by the Rights and Resources Initiativeoffers a detailed analysis of forest management in Mexican communities as a strategy to combat global climate change. The economist Bina Agarwal recently published an impressive study of women and community forestry in India and Nepal, entitled ―Gender and Green Governance.‖ In most developing countries, rural women take more responsibility for collecting fuel wood on a regular basis, while men are more likely to harvest wood episodically, for home repairs and tools. Professor Agarwal finds that effective representation of women in community forestry decision-making significantly improves conservation outcomes, as well as the likelihood of meeting women‘s needs. The most striking contribution of her book lies in its thoughtful discussion of strategic alliances and public engagement – continuing efforts to develop the ―habits of cooperation, forms of deliberation, and social networks‖ on which ―canopies of green development‖ could be built. If rational economic actors can‘t improve their efforts in this direction, we will all feel the heat. http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/03/tree-conomics/

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(Brazil)

Cultivo de floresta impulsiona empregos no México Entre 60% e 80% das florestas remanescentes do México estão sob controle das comunidades The New York Times | 25/11/2010 10:49

Foto: Adriana Zehbrauskas/The New York Times Juarez Honório cuida das mudas de pinheiro em Ixtlan de Juarez, México Enquanto o sol implacável do meio-dia atingia as montanhas cobertas de pinheiros de Ixtlan de Juarez, meia dúzia de homens empoleirados em uma encosta íngreme lutavam contra ervas daninhas para encontrar mudas que iam até a altura do joelho. Libertar os minúsculos pinheiros que foram plantados no ano passado era apenas o primeiro passo dos muitos tomados por esta cidade para crescer as árvores até que estejam altas e prontas para a colheita, em meio século. Mas o povo de Ixtlan tem paciência. "Nós somos os donos desta terra e tentamos conservar a floresta para os nossos filhos, para os nossos descendentes", disse Alejandro Vargas, inclinado sobre seu facão durante uma pausa. "Nós vivemos disso há muitos anos".

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Três décadas atrás, os índios zapotecas no Estado de Oaxaca, no sul do México, lutaram e ganharam o direito de manejar a floresta comunitariamente. Antes disso, as empresas estatais tinham explorado seus recursos como queriam com concessões do governo federal. Eles lentamente estabeleceram sua própria madeireira e, ao mesmo tempo, começaram a estudar a melhor forma de proteger a floresta. Agora, as empresas do município empregam 300 pessoas que colhem madeira, produzem móveis e cuidam da floresta, e Ixtlan cresceu e se tornou um exemplo de propriedade e gestão florestal comunitária, segundo especialistas internacionais. Agora, as empresas florestais comunitárias no México vão desde as florestas de mogno da Península de Yucatán até as florestas de pinheiro e carvalho a oeste de Sierra Madre. Cerca de 60 empresas, incluindo a de Ixtlan, são certificadas pelo Conselho Florestal da Alemanha, que avalia as práticas florestais sustentáveis. Entre 60% e 80% das florestas remanescentes do México estão sob controle das comunidades, de acordo com Sergio Madrid, do Conselho Cívico de Manejo Florestal Sustentável do México. Trabalhador amarra toras de madeira em caminhão de fábrica de móveis em Ixtlan de Juarez, no México "É surpreendente o que está acontecendo no México", disse David Barton Bray, um especialista em manejo florestal comunitário da Universidade Internacional da Flórida, que estudou Ixtlan. O governo mexicano pretende mostrar o sucesso do manejo florestal comunitário nas conversações sobre o clima em Cancún, na próxima semana. Apesar das negociações contenciosas sobre a redução das emissões de carbono, aquelas sobre remunerar países em desenvolvimento para que protejam suas florestas avançaram mais do que a maioria das outras questões. Nos países em desenvolvimento, onde o Estado de Direito é fraco e sua execução irregular, apenas declarar uma floresta fora dos limites faz pouco para impedir a extração ilegal de madeira ou o desmatamento para a agricultura ou o desenvolvimento. "A menos que as comunidades locais estejam comprometidas com a conservação e proteção das florestas isso não vai acontecer", disse David Kaimowitz, ex-diretor do Centro para Pesquisa Florestal Internacional, ou CIFOR, que agora está na Fundação Ford. "O governo não pode fazer isso por eles". Um estudo recente do órgão relatou que mais de um quarto das florestas nos países em desenvolvimento são agora geridas por comunidades locais. A tendência é mundial – da China ao Brasil. Em Ixtlan, sob tradições zapotecas, todas as decisões sobre a floresta e seus negócios são tomadas por um conjunto de 390 habitantes (na sua maioria do sexo masculino). Estes "comuneros" são necessários e contribuem com seu trabalho com a floresta e suas empresas. "Você pode ver a harmonia", disse Francisco Luna, secretário do comitê encarregado da floresta e seus negócios. "Para que nós vivamos em paz, temos que respeitar todas as regras". Muitos dos problemas que afligem outras florestas no México, como a extração ilegal de madeira e o desmatamento, são ínfimos aqui. Pedro Garcia Vidal, um engenheiro florestal que atua em Ixtlan a longa data e agora trabalha para a Rainforest Alliance, riu quando foi questionado sobre a exploração madeireira ilegal nos 48.000 hectares de floresta que a comunidade possui. "Qualquer um que tenta seu próprio negócio ilegal é duramente julgado", ele disse. "A assembléia é muito difícil". O "comunero" que se atreve a funcionar como um guia para madeireiros ilegais e caçadores é considerado um traidor e perde todos os direitos de propriedade. Mas o comando de uma assembleia de iguais com base em costumes ancestrais pode dificultar os negócios. "Leva muito tempo para chegarmos a um acordo", disse García, cujo pai foi da geração que

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vendeu seus animais de criação para abrir a primeira serraria da comunidade. "A assembleia pode se tornar emocional ou técnica". No ano passado, as empresas da comunidade obtiveram um lucro de cerca de US$ 230.000. Desse total, 30% voltou para a empresa, outros 30% entraram na preservação das florestas e os 40% finais voltaram aos trabalhadores e à comunidade onde pagam por coisas como as pensões, uma cooperativa de crédito a juros baixos e moradia para estudantes na capital do Estado. A maioria dos engenheiros florestais da empresa e seus gestores é formada por filhos e filhas dos comuneros mais velhos, que completaram estudo universitário. É uma mistura estranha de negócios, reconheceu Alberto Belmonte, que é encarregado de encontrar novos mercados para os móveis e a madeira serrada que Ixtlan e dois municípios vizinhos produzem. "Vivemos um socialismo puro e simples nas comunidades, mas temos um ideal capitalista, onde dizemos: ‗Você sabe o quê? Temos de ser rentáveis‘‖. Muitos dos móveis simples de Ixtlan são vendidos para o governo do Estado e a fábrica está ocupada concluindo a fabricação de móveis para um lar para crianças, com beliches e armários. Belmonte tem planos de melhorar o design e chegar ao mercado da Cidade do México. Julio Garcia Gomes, 31, um trabalhador da serraria, voltou a Ixtlan depois de passar cinco anos em Nova Jersey, onde trabalhou ilegalmente, para aumentar a sua jovem família. O salário aqui tem aumentado desde que ele voltou, ele disse, "por causa do equipamento, por causa do treinamento". Ainda que um negócio auto-sustentável, Ixtlan ainda é um trabalho em andamento. Entidades não-governamentais, bem como o governo mexicano, fornecem financiamento e aconselhamento. E mesmo os mais fortes defensores do manejo florestal comunitário reconhecem que o modelo não é a resposta para a proteção das florestas de todo o mundo. Ele funciona melhor em áreas que produzem madeira de qualidade, disse Bray. Mas é uma grande melhoria em relação ao que existia antes. "As coisas estão funcionando", disse Francisco Chapela, um agrônomo que veio pela primeira vez a Oaxaca há 30 anos e agora trabalha para a Rainforest Alliance, no México. "O manejo florestal é um grande sucesso", continuou. ―Se você olhar para fotografias aéreas antigas e comparar com o que é agora, a floresta está crescendo aqui‖. ''Muitos empregos foram criados e um monte de dinheiro começou a chegar às comunidades‖. * Por Elisabeth Malkin http://ultimosegundo.ig.com.br/ciencia/meioambiente/cultivo+de+floresta+impulsiona+empregos+no+mexico/n1237838274820.html