Scaling a successful community bioeconomy franchise to protect Suriname's forest
We are cooking the next venture in our Brainforest lab!
The Bioeconomy and Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) market is growing, and it is a core pillar for protecting forests and biodiversity. Conservation International Suriname (CIS) led a successful fusion of conservation agreements and indigenous & tribal businesses in several pilots that can now be scaled to achieve the largest contiguous block of protected forest in the world. Brainforest is therefore partnering with CIS on a joint initiative to scale the Brazil nut (and other NTFPs) bioeconomy pilot into a franchise.
The sale of these products will create alternative livelihoods to mining and logging for all local forest communities. In exchange for participating in the franchise (capacity building, the establishment of a brazil nut processing facility, etc.), the communities sign conservation agreements (e.g. to regulate hunting, forswear gold mining, fight illegal wildlife trafficking and monitor vegetation burning). The sustainable income will lead to reduced deforestation in the whole country of Suriname. In addition, remote sensing technologies (including satellites and airborne observations) will allow for efficient and objective monitoring of biodiversity levels or measurements of carbon captured in forests.
You can read more about this project at the World Economic Forum Uplink Platform. Stay tuned for more updates!
|