Increasingly, tropical forest researchers and governments alike understand the crucial need to share knowledge of forest management practices and values with the local community in order to foster a shared appreciation for sustainable forest use. Earthwatch researchers have been at the frontier of making sustainable forest use appealing and economically viable for local communities in tropical forest areas.
Dr. Dusti Becker (Kansas State University) asked for Earthwatch support in 1995 to help determine the relationship between the community of Loma Alta, Ecuador, and the nearby cloud forest that they owned. By showing the people of Loma Alta how forests on the coastal Colanche Hills of Ecuador trap fog and contribute groundwater to lowland agriculture, Earthwatch teams were able to convince the community to create an ecological reserve on a 1000 hectare tract. The Loma Alta Community Forest Reserve also provides key resources for endangered species, such as Esmerelda's Woodstar hummingbirds, thus sustaining its high local biodiversity (see Creatures of the Forest).
The funding for the reserve was provided through People Allied for Nature (PAN), a non-profit organization founded by Becker and two of her former Earthwatch volunteers. Earthwatch teams on Ecuador Forest Birds continue to monitor the ecology of birds here, and in 1997 PAN negotiated permission to reforest pastureland on the edge of the reserve. Meanwhile, Becker and a local Ecuadorian NGO have developed a training program to prepare local nature guides in the region, encouraging a sustainable economy through ecotourism, and Loma Alta is in the process of been listed as an Important Bird Area.
"Recognizing Colonche Hills as an Important Bird Area will help preserve the species there and bring a lot of international attention to Ecuador," said Becker. "Each year, $3.2 billion is spent on bird watching worldwide, so this will help to bring some of that money to this area. This has the potential to help the community protect nature while increasing its economic sustainability."
The recent work of Sally Silverstone and Dr. Mark Nelson (both of Global Ecotechnics) is designed to test a sustainable logging technique in Puerto Rico's rainforest that will benefit local communities as well as forest biodiversity. Earthwatch teams working with them on Puerto Rico's Rainforest found that mahoe trees tolerate a variety of habitats and grow much faster than the more commonly planted mahogany, making it ideal for their "line planting" technique that minimizes forest disturbance. The Puerto Rican Department of Natural Resources has responded with renewed interest in forest management and donated trees to expand the experiment.
At a time when the Indonesian government was contemplating development of the Togean Islands, a cluster of islands harboring unrivaled biodiversity, Dr. Jatna Supriatna (University of Indonesia) undertook a complete survey of the islands' rainforests, mangroves, and other resources. With the support of Earthwatch teams, his project included a community development component to share knowledge of forest biodiversity and support sustainable uses of the forest ecosystem. Despite the pressures of agricultural and fishing industries, Supriatna's work contributed to the Indonesian government's decision to declare the100,000-hectare Togean Islands a protected area, including both forest and marine resources.
As part of a biodiversity assessment of Koroyanitu National Park, Fiji, Dr. Randolph Thaman (University of the South Pacific) and colleagues developed a community-based biodiversity conservation scheme. They trained local Fijian taxonomists and ethnobotanists and established photo collections of important taxa to be used in villages, local schools, and at the forest's edge.
Dr. Martin Cheek (Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew) has been working in western Cameroon's rich montane forests for more than a decade, and has so far produced more than half the botanical specimens catalogued from the region, including more than 50 new species. Cheek's Earthwatch teams on Cameroon Rain Forests are constantly faced with the demands of the local communities on the forests, as well as the tremendous benefits to communities through conservation and education. On the slopes of Mt. Oku, Cheek's research encourages sustainable forest use by the local Kom people, who rely on forest remnants for water, fuelwood, bush meat (including tadpoles), honey, and medicinal herbs. Community members are integral to the fieldwork, and Cheek reports processions of Kom hiking up to the study site to see some of the rare plants discovered. Two local technicians independently discovered a second population of a rare tree species, known previously from only eight trees, considerably increasing the chances of the species' survival.
Dr. Larry Orsak (Scientific Methods) also saw the importance of giving back to the local community. Part of his study of butterfly mimicry in Aseki Tari Gap, Papua New Guinea, Orsak and Earthwatch teams introduced insect farming to the local community as a sustainable alternative to deforestation. Orsak was instrumental in the development of the butterfly and insect ranch at the Wau Ecology Institute, funded by Australian Overseas Aid. His work built on the earlier work by Dr. Linsley Gressitt (Wau Ecology Institute) in the 1970s, also supported by Earthwatch. Orsak's teams contributed to the creation of Papua New Guinea's first public exhibit on environmental issues and the establishment of the largest reference collection of moths in Papua New Guinea.
"Earthwatch volunteers allowed me not only to advance scientific knowledge," said Orsak, "but to make a positive difference in local people's lives."