APRONAD Sent report to UN Global Compact

The Association for the Promotion of New Development Alternatives has sent its Communication on Engagement, Coe, to the UN Global Compact, of which it is a party.

In the UN Global Compact, is the Corporate Sustainability Initiative Bigger Planet. It is basically a call for companies to align strategies and operations with the universal principles of human rights, work, the environment and the fight against corruption, and to act to advance the objectives Social.

Those of us who are part of the UN Global Compact are obliged to send a biennial report called "Communication on involvement", where we reaffirm our support for its ten principles in the areas of human rights, labor standards, Environment and anti-corruption.

In this communication on involvement, we describe the measures taken by our Organization to support its principles.

Prior to the breakdown of activities and results, we conducted a contextualization exercise with the Tittle Of The environment and the challenges of the Global Compact in Panama “

"Despite being considered a country in transition, with macroeconomic stability and comparatively high growth rates, Panama has high indices of poverty and social exclusion, which has placed it as one of the countries with the greatest inequality in the World According to the Gini index applied to income. Poverty and social exclusion are geographically and socially well-located: women, children, the disabled, the indigenous, the poor peasants and the inhabitants of the urban-marginal areas are the most vulnerable groups, not only In economic terms but also environmental.

Despite the efforts made by the corporate leadership with the support of the Global Compact and other international entities, the conditions of inequality and exclusion in which large sections of the population live have undergone few changes.

A Panamanian NGO, Apronad, has raised a course of action that seeks to approximate non-traditional business sectors to the ten principles of the UN Global Compact, so that the movement acquires new protagonists and new alliances.

Principle Eight: The environment offers great potential for unifying the efforts of the business sector, communities, indigenous peoples and civil and environmental society.

Part of the implementation of principle 8, it has focused activities in the forestry sector by designing and developing the "Panama Forest Conservation Project – Reduction of GHG emissions from deforestation and forest degradation", the Strategic objective is raised in terms of integrating forests into all policies to advance the objectives of sustainable development.

It has selected the scope of action in the platform for "roads to low carbon and resilient development".

For those interested in getting to know the detail of our Coe You can download it at the following link (in spanish): Communication on ENGAGEMENT (COE) – APRONAD.

The PRO CARBONO Association Panama is a non - profit association, of character and private law, based in the city of Panama. It associates landowners with important forest resources, indigenous organizations, and Grassroots Community Organizations (CBO) who are concerned about conserving forests and obtaining economic benefits through different forms of economic compensation for environmental services.

Meeting with forest owners in Bocas del Toro and Chiriqui

The organization was created to ensure its member's economic support, technical assistance, training, and marketing support, in their task of conservation of forest resources and obtaining economic benefits through the sale of carbon credits, mainly in the Voluntary Market of Carbon (VMC).

Presentation of carbon inventory results in Los Santos and Veraguas

The participation of the associates will facilitate that the country has an organized social force, committed to the conservation of forests, at a time when deforestation threatens to cause desertification in different regions of the national territory. The members of the PRO - CARBONO Panama Association have extensive experience in the conservation of forest resources.

The women's participation also participates in the estimates of the
WTP of the trees. Palmas Bellas Arriba, Panama east.

APROCARBONO expects to offer 3 million carbon credits to the International Financial Agencies that participate in the Green Climate Fund. Foundations and International Non-Governmental Organizations. Mainly, foreign national and foreign companies interested in exercising environmental leadership, participating in the fight against climate change. In short, companies would add value to the brand by committing to offset the emission of Greenhouse Gases (GHG) through the purchase of carbon credits. With the purchase of carbon credits, companies want to effectively communicate with to their final public the contribution they are making to save the planet.

By boat to the forest that will be inventoried

With the emergence of the Isthmus of Panama, three million years ago, Panama became a road that allowed the migration of many species of animals and plants from North America to South America, and vice versa. The bridge made it easier for animals and plants to migrate between the two continents. This event is known as Great American Exchange.

Therefore, with the purchase of carbon credits from Aprocarbono, not only does it help to avoid the emission of GHG emissions. We work so that private forest owners and communities can conserve a unique biodiversity on the planet.

Towards the mountain: owners and technical staff in
 La Pintada, Coclé.

Benefits for buyers of APROCARBONO bonds:

• They avoid GHG emissions, contributing to position themselves as environmental leaders in the scope of Panama and Latin America.

• They will contribute to improving the socioeconomic conditions of poor rural communities located in the environment of primary and secondary forests. With the income generated by the sale of carbon, owners can offer employment in the tasks of conservation and sustainable management of forests (Corporate Social Responsibility CSR).

• The income generated from the sale of carbon credits will allow forest owners and nearby communities to develop initiatives for the conservation of local species and ecosystems, such as zoo breeding and nurseries of forest varieties with species in danger of extinction are found with some degree of threat or in danger of extinction.

• The purchase of bonds will also help finance the conservation of water resources through the conservation of forests.

To contact us you can write to apronad2@gmail.com

Making Money by Restoring Degraded Lands

Biocarbon Engineering is one of many companies that make up the expanding restoration economy, businesses that have landscape restoration at the core of their customer value proposition. WRI and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) analyzed more than 140 companies in this space to understand how companies are making money from restoring land. Among these, 14 companies, whose median sales growth reached 100 percent in 2017, are showcased in a new report titled The Business of Planting Trees: A Growing Investment Opportunity.

While these companies represent just a small subset of the broader sector, they showcase the diversity of business opportunities. Companies involved in the restoration economy range from early stage, pre-revenue startups to timber funds that manage billions of dollars. Similarly, the goods and services produced by these companies vary widely as well, from biofuels to climate-smart credit systems to green infrastructure.

For example:

1. Guayakí reinvented the traditional Argentinian “yerba mate” drink for the American market in the form of ready-to-drink teas and energy drinks. Since yerba mate is best grown in the shade, the company partners with small farmers and indigenous communities in Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay to regenerate the Atlantic rainforest and grow yerba mate under the rainforest canopy. With this market-driven restoration approach, Guayaki reached $60 million in sales in 2017.
2. EcoPlanet Bamboo aims to alleviate the pressure on natural forests by developing sustainable bamboo as an alternative timber and fiber source for major industrial markets, including for toilet and tissue paper, renewable packaging materials for the food and beverage industry, and construction and housing materials. The company has plantations in Nicaragua, South Africa and Ghana, and expects to produce 280,000 tons of raw fiber per year by 2024.
3. New Forests is a Timber Investment Management Organization whose investment strategies include ecosystem restoration in the United States, as well as sustainable forestry in Australia, New Zealand and Southeast Asia. New Forests currently manages $3 billion in timberland assets, with 39 percent of the area managed for conservation outcomes and the remainder used for sustainable timber production.

The last defenders of the forests of Panama

Panama is characterized by a progressive and irreversible loss of forest cover, initiated since 1903. Forest fires, urban sprawl, extensive agricultural and livestock systems, the economics of banana and African palm plantations, among other factors, have led to Devastation of forests.

Since 2000, international cooperation, through the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Global Environment Facility (GEF), Development Bank of Latin America CAF, has channeled millions of dollars to conservation projects in Panama. But the loss of forest cover begun since 1903 has not been halted. Without prompt action, vast regions of the country will begin a desertification process. ¿What is the cause of this failure?

In this context, two "parallel universes" have emerged: the world of governmental and international agencies, gifted with generous technical and financial resources, and the domain of private landowners, rural and indigenous communities fighting a solo battle, trying to protect the remnants of forests. To date, a connection has not been established between the two sectors.

The owners of forests, rural and indigenous communities have decided to link the conservation of forest resources to the fight against climate change, exploring the opportunities offered by the Voluntary Carbon Market. The preparation of the Project Design Document (PDD) is fully funded with equity resources and voluntary work in the field, and also with contributions from local investors. In this way, the sector of the Non-State Actor Zone for Climate Action (NAZCA) has begun to be set up in Panama.

Panama's NAZCA sector has begun the process of creating a National Organization for Forest Carbon. The organization is divided into 4 divisions:

A) The Financing Commission: whose objective is to establish negotiations with the banking sector, to promote green financing.

B) The Marketing Commission, which will be responsible for promoting the sale of carbon credits.

C) The Commission for Training and Technical Assistance, with the purpose of channeling the scientific knowledge towards a sustainable forest management.

D) The Political Advocacy Commission: responsible for promoting legal initiatives to create a legal framework favorable to the conservation of forests.

At present, a team of Panamanian and other professionals, organized by APRONAD, carry out forest inventories to determine carbon stocks. The initial effort is carried out in the provinces of Colon and Penonomé, the collective lands of the Emberá - Wounaan (Darién), East Panama and Veraguas Province communities. With the satellite information an initial valuation of the properties that participate in the Project is made, the temporary sampling plots are selected and the information on the ground is raised.

This private initiative has the advantage of having the commitment and dedication of forest owners. It is a project that is born empowered by its beneficiaries. But the lack of technical and financial support from the government sector and international cooperation agencies slows development,