June 10, 2004 |
OneWorld
GN3 Editorial Comment:
The global demand for wood products has
contributed to widespread deforestation. Sustainable
forestry practices have not become widespread enough
to alter this alarming trend. Part of the problem is
connected with marketing, consumer education and
certification. In the article below, a new effort
that involves civil society, government and business
is attempting to change this situation in the
Americas, in what could be a model for other regions
as well.
New York, New York — The
Rainforest Alliance has partnered with the United
States Agency for International Development (USAID) to
establish the Certified Sustainable Products Alliance,
a three-year effort to significantly promote and
increase the sale of sustainably produced certified
timber, banana, and coffee from Central America and
Mexico.
By strengthening the
competitiveness and sustainability of agriculture and
timber operations, this partnership will bring new
investment and trade to the region while supporting
practices that benefit the environment as well as
protect the rights and resources of workers and local
communities.
Funded with an $8.6 million
grant from USAID, the Certified Sustainable Products
Alliance supports certification and links certified
products with markets. The goal of the partnership is
to transform the way that participating companies
source products, thus establishing alternative ways of
doing business that the companies can replicate after
the completion of this effort.
The Certified Sustainable
Products Alliance, developed and funded as part of the
USAID Global Development Alliance initiative, is
expected to become a showcase development effort in
Latin America and beyond. The Alliance will achieve
results on several critical business, social, and
environmental fronts, including responsible business
practice, improved wages and conditions for workers
employed in plantation and rural sectors, enhanced
participation and income for farmer associations, and
reduced environmental degradation in production
systems.
As Glenn Anders, USAID's
mission director for Guatemala and Central American
Programs said, "By linking responsible buyers for
certified products with responsible suppliers in these
global markets, the Alliance constructs and seals a
circuit in which all players — producers, purchasers,
distributors, and consumers — are winners."
During the three-year activity
period, more than 300,000 acres of forest and farmland
are expected to be certified as sustainably managed.
More than 4 million board feet of certified timber, 90
million boxes of certified bananas, and 30,000 metric
tons of sustainable coffee are expected to be sold
through valuable sourcing contracts provided to local
operations.
Partners include NGOs and
producers as well as international manufacturers and
retailers such as IKEA, Gibson Musical Instruments,
Kraft Foods, Millstone, and Chiquita Brands
International. These partners have committed to
increasing the amount of certified sustainable
products into the supply stream and, in certain cases,
to providing technical assistance to farms.
"By increasing the supply of
certified products, by promoting on-the-ground
conservation, and by improving conditions for workers
and communities that neighbor farms and forestry
operations, communities and cooperatives involved in
the Certified Sustainable Products Alliance will see
an increase in income that will provide them with an
added incentive to practice sustainable agriculture
and forestry," said Rainforest Alliance executive
director Tensie Whelan.
Through its forestry and
agricultural certification programs, the Rainforest
Alliance brings together industry, environmentalists,
scientists, local communities, workers, and
governments into mutually beneficial arrangements that
foster sustainable production methods that benefit
both Latin America's economy and environment.
The Certified Sustainable
Products Alliance project is focusing on areas of
Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua,
Costa Rica, and Panama, especially on the outskirts of
parks, in priority watersheds and as part of
biological corridors.
Source:
http://www.oneworld.net/external/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.enn.com%2Fnews%2F2004-06-10%2Fs_24522.asp |