Seeing the Forest for the TREES
During the ten years he spent working in Southeast Asia and Latin America, Benjamin Hodgdon -- a forester specializing in community development -- became increasingly convinced that community forestry was the best way to conserve biodiversity and promote economic well-being in these areas. Hodgdon joined the Rainforest Alliance's Training, Extension, Enterprises and Sourcing (TREES) team last year. Today, he manages our TREES work in Mesoamerica and leads the development of new projects, particularly in Southeast Asia.
How does the TREES program work?
We train communities to manage their lands sustainably, help them to establish viable businesses and then link these businesses with buyers looking for certified wood products.
What is TREES relationship to the Rainforest Alliance's SmartWood program? How do the two initiatives complement each other?
The vast majority of local communities we work with have difficulty achieving -- and later, maintaining -- Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)/Rainforest Alliance certification. Because these operations are small with limited resources, certification represents a tremendous investment. TREES helps them to find ways to reduce the cost of certification and improve their competitiveness.
The Rainforest Alliance's TREES program is currently working in some 13 countries. How do we select the locations in which we work?
We work primarily with marginalized communities -- especially with indigenous peoples -- living in biodiverse forest areas. In these regions, forestry often offers the best (and sometimes the only) opportunity for economic development.
In what region(s) will TREES continue to expand?
We'll continue to work in Latin America, as well as in Africa, specifically in the Congo Basin. I am also exploring opportunities in Indonesia, Indochina and the Himalayas. All these areas are very important in terms of biological and cultural diversity.
Are communities benefiting financially from their engagement with TREES?
Definitely. For example, we are working with three communities in the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua that were selling their wood to middlemen called "coyotes." These "coyotes" exploit forest communities' lack of knowledge about the going rates for wood and purchase high-value timber for below-market prices. By educating communities about the value of their resources and connecting them directly with reputable buyers, we cut out the "coyotes" and increase revenue flows to the community. This allows them to invest in improving their forest management and their businesses, and it helps them to improve their standard of living.
What keeps you motivated?
Witnessing the incredible successes our program has helped communities to realize in places like Guatemala's Maya Biosphere Reserve. Two decades ago, this area faced many of the problems that plague tropical forests the world over. Through sustained support for community forestry, the Maya Biosphere Reserve is now a global model for forest conservation. Knowing that history leads me to believe that that success can be replicated elsewhere.