Impact Monitoring

Crummy shot of a whiteboard, but illustrated is the sample design for a network of permanent sample plots (PSP) to monitor the ecological impact of harvesting rattan from the world's first FSC-certified, sustainable rattan operation at Ban Sopphuane, Laos (see Thin Red Line). Twenty-five plots scattered throughout three harvest areas to monitor changes in the population structure of 14 rattan species. I call this a good day. [NOTE: This didn't really take all day. The morning was occupied with analyzing growth data and explaining to everyone how the original rattan inventories were conducted. We knocked out the PSP design in about an hour late in the afternoon. I still call this a good day].

Selva Maya II

Load of logs near the town of Tres Garantias.

Mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla King) boards outside the mill at NohBec.

Local communities have been managing the forests of the Selva Maya since pre-Columbian times.  In recent years, community forestry in the region has focused on timber, in particular the production of export-quality Mahogany timber.   The forestry operations of several ejidos in the Selva Maya have been certified to be sustainable by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).  These were some of the first sustainably managed tropical forests to be recognized anywhere in the world. [NOTE: For more information about pre-Columbian forestry go here].