On Palm Sunday, an estimated 35 million palm fronds will be distributed across the United States to Christian parishioners. That's 10 percent of the 300 million sold annually in the United States. Unfortunately, fewer than two percent of these palms will be harvested sustainably. The great majority may come from poorly managed forests, where they are likely gathered by poorly paid workers.

Thanks to the hard work of the North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation (NACEC), the University of Minnesota Center for Integrated Natural Resources and Agricultural Management (CINRAM) and the Rainforest Alliance, the environmental and social impact of palm frond gathering is beginning to improve. We are working together to certify sustainably harvested palms from forests in Mexico and Guatemala, and to make these available for sale to Christian congregations in the United States and Europe.

On this upcoming Palm Sunday, more than 2,000 congregations across the United States will dole out these eco-palms to parishioners. While it's not a huge number, it's a mushrooming one. In 2005, the sustainable palm pilot program helped to distribute 5,000 palms across the country. This year, that number climbed to 600,000.

What does the sustainable harvesting of palm fronds mean for communities and the environment? The forest workers who do the gathering receive five to six times the standard payment for these eco-palms -- money they can put towards better housing, improved education and local development. They are  also working to minimize their impact on the environment, by significantly reducing waste and conserving their forest resources for future generations.

Find out how you can get sustainable palm fronds for your congregation in 2009.