Cecropia Foundation, Hector González

 

"Cecropia" is the scientific name for the guarumo tree. The Cecropia tree is a pioneer species, a key to the health and regeneration of the natural forest. Our name, "Cecropia," represents our commitment to the health and protection of our tropical rain forest and its amazing biodiversity for future generations.

HISTORY

Cecropia’s founding members originally united to support the protection of critical biological corridors on the Osa Peninsula. However, before Cecropia could develop long term, innovative conservation programs with local farmers, they found themselves more involved with the immediate problem of pressuring the government to stop the uncontrolled logging of the Osa’s remaining old-growth forest. Local and national environmental groups were organizing to protest the government’s inability to control the increased deforestation on the Osa Peninsula. During the summer of 1997, hundreds of trees were being cut each day and transported off the Peninsula, many of them unmonitored by government officials. Concerned farmers reported trees being cut illegally along the banks of rivers or simply harvested without any permission at all. With support from Cecropia's founding members, the local community was successfully able to pressure the government to issue a temporary logging ban on the Osa Peninsula. Effective on August 16, 1997, all logging permissions were suspended and no new ones would be issued until a thorough review and investigation could be undertaken. The moratorium was declared for three months. Though the environmental community celebrated the ban, all knew it would not be sufficient. It was to be in effect during the wettest months of the rainy season when there is little or no logging activity. However, all optimistically hoped that the studies carried out during the ban would justify its prolongation until the government could institute the necessary changes in the policies and administration of its protection program. The outcome, however, was not as anticipated. Logging permissions were once again liberally issued and immediately following the rainy season, the Osa’s forest began to be heavily cut and sold to outside interests. Today, less management plans have been issued, probably because of more stringent regulations and requirements, like costly environmental impact assessments, and the pressure of citizens and environmentalists. However, the legal framework and conditions for deforestation through forest management plans continues unchallenged.

 

 

CECROPIA: The First Phase

In February 1998, two months after the logging moratorium ended, Cecropia became a legal foundation. Cecropia’s initial efforts, due to the continued deforestation, were directed towards working with local and national community groups to maintain pressure on the government to limit commercial logging on the Peninsula. In its first six months, Cecropia worked to provide infrastructure for the mobilization of a private forest patrol including the purchase of a vehicle and the training of a civil forestry inspector; file a national legal denouncement in order to force the government to comply with the recommendations of a nationally created forestry commission; investigate sustainable natural resource management projects to give local farmers alternatives to selling their forest to outside commercial logging interests; organize community and media events with local, national and international impact to emphasize the logging problem and pressure; lobby for changes in forestry laws so that they protect old-growth forest and support landowners committed to the principle of conservation; produce a documentary on deforestation (Osa, La Ultima Frontera, soon to be released in English); participate in the Osa Biological Corridor coalition and encourage, file and follow up complaints and legal actions.

Cecropia's immediate goal is to fully meet the logging challenges of this dry season. The past year has taught us that to successfully reduce the commercial logging of the Osa's forests by outside companies, we need more popular support. Cecropia's office has recently grown from one employee to three. Cecropia's conservation efforts are most easily divided into the following categories:

Campaign: We have one person working full-time organizing local farmers into a common voice and powerful lobby that will pressure the government to change its incentive system so that farmers are rewarded to conserve their forest and not to cut them.

Legal: after having contracted a lawyer to review the legality of logging permissions, more than 150 official complaints were filed and are now being tried at the Tribunal Ambiental. Other cases are being followed up in the courts and before Congress. We are seeking to offer free legal advice for local campesinos.

Alternative Uses: Cecropia is working closely with local community members to identify potential alternative use projects that will reforest critical areas and provide farmers with the skills and resources to benefit from the peninsula’s rain forest without cutting its trees.

For further information and supporting our efforts, please write to Executive Director, P.O. Box 38-8203 Puerto Jiménez or info@cecropia.org. Fax 735-5726. Visit our web site at www.cecropia.org.

 

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