Forest Certification in Guatemala: Progress, Achievements, and Challenges

1. Symposium and Workshop “Forest Certification in Developing and Transitioning Societies: Social, Economic and Ecological Effects”June 10-14, 2004; Yale University, New Haven, CT Forest Certification in Guatemala: Progress, Achievements, and Challenges Fernando Carrera, Dietmar Stoian, José Joaquín Campos, Julio Morales & Gustavo Pinelo

2. 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)

4. Maya Biosphere Reserve ZONE AREA (ha) SHARE (%) Core area 767,000 36 Multiple use 848,000 40 Buffer zone 467,500 24 TOTAL 2,113,000 100 Guatemalan System of Protected Areas

5. 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

6. Initial Situation in the MBR, 1990-1995 Low degree of governance Illicit exploitation of natural resources Deforestation (advance of the agricul-tural frontier) and forest degradation (indiscriminate timber exploitation) Looting of archeological monuments

7. Forest Concessions in the MBR

8. 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

9. 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

10. Control of forest fires

11. Certified Wood Production (1) Source: Unpublished data provided by Chemonics

12. Certified Wood Production (2) Source: Unpublished data provided by Chemonics Note: n.a. = not available

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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

18. Thank you!