Managed by Ecuador's Ministry of Environment, Socio Bosque offers individuals and indigenous communities economic incentives to conserve their forests. Over a 20-year period, the program will pay landowners every year for each hectare they protect. The beneficiaries are also required to develop a social investment plan which outlines how they will use these funds, which can be invested in activities such as agro-forestry, ecotourism and local capacity-building.
Outside Tena in the Ecuadorian Amazon, across the Misahuali River and up a rutted road, a family farm, or finca, sits on 32 hectares (79 acres) of nearly pristine jungle and new-growth forest. Here under the forest canopy, Camilo Tapuy, his wife Dalia and their family run a native plant nursery.
Of the 10,000 plants growing in the nursery, many are steeped in ancient cultural healing traditions – members of the Kichwa indigenous group have been using the fruit of the yuda tree to treat tumors for many years. Other species in the nursery may have as-yet-unknown benefits for humans as food, medicine or other uses. Many of them are also endangered.
Alongside the researchers who come to the nursery to study these rare plants, tourists visit the farm to observe the diversity of species – including amphibians, birds, and the pygmy marmoset (Cebuella pygmaea), the world's smallest monkey – residing in the surrounding forests.
So how are Camilo and Dahlia able to conserve forests for a living in a country with one of the highest deforestation rates in South America? In addition to the tourist and research income, the family also sells the plants they grow to support reforestation efforts nearby. But on a larger scale, they earn an income as beneficiaries of the Programa Socio Bosque (Forest Partners Program), a deforestation and poverty alleviation initiative launched in 2008 by the government of Ecuador and Conservation International (CI).
FEATURE: A Grand Plan: Ecuador and "Forest Partners"
Deforestation + Poverty
Despite its relatively small size, Ecuador harbors some of the most diverse and species-rich ecosystems in the world, from alpine grasslands to humid rainforests. Yet the country is losing 200,000 hectares (almost 495,000 acres) of forest a year to activities like logging, mining and agricultural encroachment. Not only does this forest loss degrade the watersheds on which Ecuador's more than 14 million people depend, but it also releases massive amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, amplifying global climate change.
About 10 million hectares (almost 25 million acres) of forest remain standing in Ecuador; however, if the current deforestation rate is left unchecked, all of the country's native forest will be gone by 2050.
The high poverty rate among Ecuador's smallholder farmers and indigenous groups presents a significant challenge to shifting the country's economy onto a more sustainable path. However, their status as landowners means that these people have the power to control the activities on a large tract of Ecuador's land – provided they have the means and motivation to do it.
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Native plant nursery in the Ecuadorian Amazon. The owners, Camilo and Dalia Tapuy, are beneficiaries of the Programa Socio Bosque (Forest Partners Program).
© Jorge Andrade |
Healthy Forests Boost Incomes
Managed by Ecuador's Ministry of Environment, Socio Bosque offers individuals and indigenous communities economic incentives to conserve their forests. Over a 20-year period, the program will pay landowners every year for each hectare they protect. The beneficiaries are also required to develop a social investment plan which outlines how they will use these funds, which can be invested in activities such as agro-forestry, ecotourism and local capacity-building.
IN PHOTOS: Programa Socio Bosque Works to Save Forests
CI-Ecuador is advising the government on technical issues regarding implementation of the Socio Bosque program, and helping to set guidelines and monitoring frameworks for carbon storage. So far, Socio Bosque has:
- Protected more than 540,000 hectares (more than 1.3 million acres) of forest and other native ecosystems
- Signed 604 conservation agreements with communities and individual landowners
- Provided direct financial compensation to at least 60,000 people
A Model for Climate Change Mitigation
These accomplishments, while substantial, are only the beginning. Socio Bosque eventually aims to support the protection of 4 million hectares (almost 10 million acres) and improve human well-being for 1 million people in the poorest areas of the country.
Later this month in Cancun, world leaders will meet at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) annual negotiations to continue to progress toward a global post-2012 climate agreement. CI will be there to advocate for ambitious actions, including mobilizing funding for REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation "plus" conservation, the sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks).
The success of programs like Socio Bosque should prove to governments around the world that in regions struggling to fight poverty, ambitious climate change actions are not only possible, but essential.