Panama: towards a national organization for the forest carbon

The withdrawal of States United of the Paris agreement on climate change has given greater importance to the participation of enterprises and organizations of civil society. The United Nations Global Compact, for example, offers cooperation to mobilize a global movement of Governments, civil society and companies to "create the world we want".

March 29, 2017, published on our Blog the article entitled "Trump and climate change: is the time for non-State actors". On that occasion, we indicate:

"It is time to promote the participation of non-State actors, establishing various forms of partnerships, joint ventures and mutually beneficial agreements, aimed at strengthening the fight against climate change. And on this basis, define a new framework of coordination with government entities."

As part of this strategic vision, APRONAD is promoting the creation of a national representative instance, capable of promoting the conservation of forests associated with economic benefits, by emission Greenhouse Gases (GHG) reductions, which will be marketed in the voluntary carbon market.

The objectives of an organization of this kind arise in the following terms:

General objective: Contribute to turn Panama into a synonym for commitment to sustainable development, positioning it as a leading nation in the fight against climate change.

Specific objectives: 1) to promote the sustainability of forest resources management; (2) set up a national organization of owners of forest resources and agricultural producers, based on the principles of representativeness, participation and decision making in a democratic way; (3) develop institutional capacities for the preparation and presentation of proposals, technical, legal and policy aimed at the payment for environmental services; (4) establishing mechanisms for national and international, public and private funding for the design and development of sustainable projects in the sector of agriculture, forestry and other land uses; (5) to conduct marketing joint bonds voluntary and regulated carbon markets, applying the principles of economic scale; (6) channel international and national technical assistance and training to the members of the Association; (7) expanding networks of contacts in the region and generate opportunities for collaboration.

The success of this organization depends on the application of the approaches of "social demand", organization of "bottom-up" and collective leadership based on consensus. The organization claims should express the demands and claims of its members, and not the opinion of a privileged circle. The process of structuring must be from the community organizations of Base (OCB) and leadership should be shared, thus, collective.

To illustrate the organizational model promoted, let the network of community organizations affiliated to FUNREGAAC. This Foundation has 13 associated OCBs and 2 that are considered friends, in the following way:

Each of these organizations, in a participatory manner, raised their reasons for participating in a national project of forest carbon. Let's look at the arguments of the Agroambientalista Association of Oajaca, located in the community of Oajaca, Corregimiento de Chiguirí Arriba, Penonomé district:

• Population: 500 families.
• Type of existing forest resources:

            - Primary forest.
            - Secondary forest.
            - Grasslands, bamboo.
            - Agriculture (crop type): citrus, coffee, vegetables, cassava, otoe, Yam, maize, timber..

• Priority community problems:

            - Weak community organization.

            - Inadequate equipment of the Local Development Board.

            -  Weaknesses the Committee of health.

            - Weaknesses the board administrator of the aqueduct Rural (JAAR)

            - Unemployment.

            - Roads in disrepair.

            - Poor transport service.

• Biodiversity:

           - Endangered species: Toucan mountain pichilargo

           - Proximity to protected areas: Cucuazal.

           - Illegal logging and burning.

           - Poaching.

           - Wildfires.

In this case, the project of forest carbon is associated with local development challenges. 15 community organizations associate and friends of Funregaac, has expressed interest in participating in a national organization, provided it is built "from bottom to top", on sound democratic principles.

The national organization which proposes APRONAD will be the sum of multiple efforts, involving various organizations of civil society related to the fight against climate change. In the coming weeks, will be presented the initiative at the national and international organizations. Those who are interested in learning more about the project and join the initiative can contact us at email: apronad@gmail.com.

OCBs of Cocle prepare proposals for Carbon Project

Civil society and environmental agenda in the Panama-China relationship

The establishment of diplomatic relations between Panama and China has created opportunities for a

relaunch of the Panamanian economy, through millions of Chinese investments in strategic sectors such as infrastructure and logistics. China is the second most important user of the Panama Canal, behind the US, and the first supplier of the Colon Free Zone (ZLC), the largest in the hemisphere, located on the Atlantic coast of Panama and has crossed An acute crisis.

There are also opportunities for relations between Panama and China to have a favorable impact on the Panamanian effort to comply with the Paris Agreement. While President Trump's government has decided to withdraw from the Paris Agreement, China and Germany have recently ratified their commitment to fighting climate change in the wake of Trump's withdrawal. We emphasize Chancellor Merkel's request to Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang to "contribute to the search for solutions" so that the German political foundations working in his country can carry out their task of "cooperation with civil society".

 

 Merkel's proposals can be adopted by the Panamanian government. The presence of China should also serve to bring civil society organizations closer to each other, with a focus on sustainable development, conservation and environmental protection. For example, Panama exports Panama to sell copper and aluminum waste to China, but this activity is carried out by the informal sector in working conditions, the Chinese cooperation could help to correct this problem.

 

An Environmental Agenda, with the active participation of the

civil society of both countries could include the following thematic areas:
1. The Integral Management of Solid Waste, with a special focus on improving the living conditions of the informal sector linked to recycling.2. Promotion of community-based tourism to expand and diversify tourism in Panama in anticipation of the expected influx of Chinese tourists.3. Support for the commercialization of forest carbon bonds (Voluntary Carbon Market) owned by communities, private forest owners and indigenous territories.

 

Obviously, the Panamanian government will include other issues related to the interests of the logistics, financial and commercial sector. But an Environmental Agenda, with the participation of civil society would be an important contribution to local sustainable development and the pursuit of equity.

More ambition and innovation in tackling climate change (VCS)

We have received the April / May 2017 Spring Newsletter from Verified Carbon Standard (VCS). VCS was founded in 2005 by environmental and business leaders who saw the need for greater quality assurance in voluntary carbon markets. CEO David Antonioli speaks about President Trump's decision to withdraw the Paris Agreement. The statement follows:

"Dear Colleague,
More than anything, we see Trump’s decision to abandon the Paris Agreement as a call to continue the work we are already doing, and we look forward to working with all of you to push for more ambition and innovation in tackling climate change".

We saw it coming, and yet Trump’s decision to pull out of the landmark Paris Agreement was nevertheless deeply disheartening. While we were dismayed by the decision, we are no less motivated to keep working towards climate action. We stand with countries, states, cities, organisations and corporations worldwide that have signaled their commitment to stick with the Paris Agreement and continue to find ways of addressing climate change. Indeed, on the same day as Trump’s announcement, Colombia published what we think is a far-reaching and incredibly innovative decree setting out how companies subject to a US$5/tonCO₂e tax on fuels can reduce their tax liability by surrendering high-quality carbon offsets. This is just one of what we hope (and expect) to be many examples of countries and others taking the lead in forging solutions to fight climate change.

For VCS, supporting the Paris Agreement means continuing to provide frameworks that catalyze investment in activities that reduce concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. It also means providing frameworks that will work in the context of a fully functioning Paris Agreement, which will require that we continue to make sure our projects and programs deliver measurable results and also deal with some of the challenges we see coming forward, including the need to address double counting and claiming".