Forest Certification in Guatemala: Progress, Achievements, and Challenges

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Forest Certification in Guatemala Progress,
Achievements, and Challenges
Symposium and Workshop Forest Certification in
Developing and Transitioning Societies Social,
Economic and Ecological EffectsJune 10-14,
2004 Yale University, New Haven, CT

• Fernando Carrera, Dietmar Stoian,
• José Joaquín Campos, Julio Morales
• Gustavo Pinelo

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Guauhtemallan "Land of Trees"

• Particularities of the Guatemalan case
• Maya Biosphere Reserve (MBR) 95 of the area
  certified ? forest concessions (usufruct rights)
• Mandatory forest certification (FSC) for
  concessions in multiple use zone of MBR
• 99 of total area certified tropical broadleaved
  forest ? mahogany
• 74 of total area certified community forests
• Timber certification (no NTFP)

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(No Transcript)
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Guatemalan System of Protected Areas
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The Forest Concession Process

• 1960-1988 Largely uncontrolled timber
  exploitation in Petén
• 1989 Creation of the National Council for
  Protected Areas (CONAP)
• 1990 Creation of Maya Biosphere Reserve (MBR)
• 1994 First concession awarded (San Miguel)
• 1996 Forest certification workshop (SmartWood)
• 1998 three more concessions awarded
• 1999 Mandatory forest certification

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Initial Situation in the MBR, 1990-1995
Low degree of governance
Deforestation (advance of the agricul-tural
frontier) and forest degradation (indiscriminate
timber exploitation)

• Illicit exploitation of natural resources

Looting of archeological monuments
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Forest Concessions in the MBR
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Current situation

• ? 500,000 ha tropical broadleaved forest
  certified
• MBR 11 concessions certified 9 community and 2
  industrial concessions in multiple use zone
• Outside MBR 4 cooperatives / municipal ejidos
• More than 7,000 direct beneficiaries

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Power Game

• The State
• Initially indifference of CONAP, now support
• Industrial concessions
• Initially skepticism, now commitment
• Community concessions
• Initially obligation, now obligation or
  commitment
• Certified cooperatives / municipal ejidos
• Indifference ? certification induced by NGOs
• NGOs
• ENGOs first skepticism, now support
• Certification bodies
• SmartWood Monopoly

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Control of forest fires
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Certified Wood Production (1)
Source Unpublished data provided by Chemonics
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Certified Wood Production (2)
Source Unpublished data provided by Chemonics
Note n.a. not available
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Positive impacts of certification

• Prestige and security in the process of
  concession granting
• Improved organization and administration of
  forest resources by community groups and private
  owners
• Improved safety of forest workers
• Better conservation of forest resources
• Better understanding of sound forest management
• Access to certified product markets for some
  enterprises

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Negative impacts of certification

• Increased indirect costs of certification ? at
  times excessively demanding standards
• High costs but low (monetary) benefits
• Disappointment among some community groups ?
  frustrated expectation of price premiums
• Sense of abandonment by community groups once
  NGOs suspend certification subsidies
• Lacking sense of ownership among community
  members
• "Injustice" due to variation in the application
  of assessment criteria between different teams

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Conclusions (1)

• Certification inserted in already existing
  process towards sustainable forest management
  (SFM)
• Mandatory forest certification further boosts SFM
  in multiple use zone of MBR
• Community operations subsidized certification
• High certification costs pose a challenge to
  community operations
• Mahogany "subsidizes" forest certification
• Little expansion of certification anticipated ?
  small-scale forest management units and absence
  of mahogany outside Petén few plantations

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Conclusions (2)

• Governance impact of certification CONAP
  strengthened (concessions), third party control
• Management impact relatively little ? control of
  forest fires largely due to concession process
• Social impact increased self-esteem among some
  communities, stimulus for organization, lacking
  sense of ownership
• Economic impact Achilles' heel of certification
  ? commercialization largely via traditional
  distribution channels, no price premiums (but
  higher prices!)

Need for integrated supply chain management
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Research needs (1)

• Processes of community-based forest enterprise
  development
• Thorough cost-benefit analyses of certification
• Tendencies in national and international markets
  for certified forest products
• Role of certified forest management in livelihood
  strategies
• Mechanisms for adapting certification to
  small-scale producers
• Analysis of alternative certification schemes for
  NTFPs
• Supply chain analyses ? community-enterprise
  links, transaction costs, value adding,
  distribution of benefits

Need for establishing learning alliances between
key actors of the certification process
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Thank you!