Community Forestry Management Called Into Question by AAA and Others

Alternative Asset Analysis (AAA) has spoken out against the current model for Community Forestry Management (CFM) schemes. They intended to help protect forestry and people in developing nations, but have been found to be substandard in a new report.

Seattle, WA, October 05, 2011 -- Alternative Asset Analysis (AAA) has spoken out against the current model for Community Forestry Management (CFM) schemes. They intended to help protect forestry and people in developing nations, but have been found to be substandard in a new report.

The report is being published in the Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment journal. It claims that although billions of pounds have been invested into the CFM schemes in recent years, little is known about their impact on local communities. The report also claims that the schemes’ data on their carbon storage impact is ‘patchy.’

The research into the schemes was undertaken at Bangor University in Wales where Andrew Pullin co-authored the report. He explained that although the schemes were initially intended to involve an area being established and the government looking after it, it has not worked out well. "Local people were resenting the implementation of a protected area because, perhaps, it used to be theirs and then it belonged to the government," according to Mr Pullin, who spoke to the BBC on the subject.

Mr Pullin continued, "It was possible that they were being prevented from using the areas as they formerly had done and it was not benefiting them. Therefore, they were probably not respecting it or looking after it in a stewardship way."

AAA’s analysis partner Anthony Johnson said, “Although these schemes should work in theory, the practical impact of CFM on local people living in vulnerable circumstances can be extremely negative and can upset the way people have lived for hundreds, if not thousands of years.

Other ways to attract investment in managed forestry in the developing world are available, such as through the plantations and investment model used by firms like Greenwood Management. These forestry investment schemes attract investment from people living in the developed world and help to prevent deforestation in Brazil by providing an alternative to native timber.

Alternative Asset Analysis (AAA) has spoken out against the current model for Community Forestry Management (CFM) schemes. They intended to help protect forestry and people in developing nations, but have been found to be substandard in a new report.

Contact:
Peter Collins
Forestry Research Associates
620 Vineyard Lane
Bainbridge Island, WA 98110
206-316-8394
info@forestry-research.com
http://www.forestry-research.com

This release was published on openPR.