CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2012
| Author | Ciriminna, Mauro Giuseppe |
|---|---|
| Title | Assessing Sustainable Forest Management practices in Timber and Brazilian Nut concessions: case study of Madre de Dios (Peru) |
| Summary | Unsustainable harvesting of timber is one of the major causes of global deforestation and degradation, especially in developing countries. Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) practices aim to preserve forest eco-system services while meeting human social and economic needs. This thesis assesses the compliance with SFM practices of timber and non timber concession in the Madre de Dios region of Peru. This region is characterized by high bio – diversity value, large population dependent on forest harvesting, and many NGOs working in the area to disseminate SFM practices. This research is based on field work conducted by the author in March and April, 2012. I interviewed four timber and eleven nut concessionaires, evaluated in relation of three dimensions of SFM (economic, social, and environmental), and their stakeholder and conflict management. The concessionaires were selected according to the criteria of: size, forest certification status, and business strategy. The last characteristic is defined according to how a concessionaire accesses the market (national or international) and the added value provided. This research leads to three findings. In the first place, the compliance with SFM is improving as result of new laws and incentives, but it is still very variable. My second finding is that certification significantly improved performance in timber and non timber concessions. Firstly, certified concessions maintain a better administrative management, which supports the economic sustainability. Secondly, they tend to comply more carefully with the law and to implement better environmental practices. Thirdly, they show better labour and safety conditions, and lower vulnerability to external threats. These factors are confirmed even for those concessions that lost their certification, as they maintained some “improved” practices. My third conclusion is that, despite their benefits, certification systems leave important gaps in SFM. It may be not too convenient for small concessions without access to the credit system or to international market. Also, national standards can have similar or even better performances, if properly implemented. Another issue arising from this research is that the certification has no diffusion capacity, so for instance certified Brazilian nuts were harvested with illegal timber. |
| Supervisor | Zarsky, Lyuba |
| Department | Environment Sciences and Policy MSc |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2012/ciriminna_mauro-giuseppe.pdf |
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