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Palm Ecology and Sustainable Use

NGO Student Presentation

It could be because I am really into plants, find them super interesting, and consider myself a plant guy …BUT undoubtedly this lecture from Bryan on palms was excellent. It may be my favorite yet because it presents a clearer idea of what we will investigate in Sonora. It’s definitely worth going through the pdf above to check out pictures, fun facts, and well-explained material. Don't you want to now? Go on and do it!

As we learned before, palms are an important non-timber forest product used by rural communities for food, roof thatching, oil, and even clothing. On the other hand, palms provide food and shelter for many organisms, such as bats, in the TDF. Due to habitat loss, grazing, and overharvesting, Brahea aculeata is listed as “vulnerable” by IUCN. We need to learn more about the life history and reproduction patterns of this palm through research in the field so we can begin to answer more questions. And there are a lot of questions, both ecological and social in nature:

• Where are the palms found? What environmental factors influence this?
• What proportion of palms is reproductively active?
• What is the best way to harvest B. aculeata? How many leaves and how often?
• How many leaves should be left alone?
• What are the effects of grazing on reproduction? What could be some ways to curb these negative effects?
• Could the palm trading system be amended to emphasize quality rather than quantity? Could wages be improved?


The life cycle diagram shown is for another palm, Chamaedorea radicalis. Since it has been researched extensively, the specific plant stages are known. Our research in Mexico will include trying to delineate plant stages for B. aculeata. It will be a good starting point to reach the ultimate goal of balancing ecological benefits and social benefits. --Lenna O.

photo from Bryan E.

Coffan Project

REDD Lecture 1

REDD Lecture 2

Remember when I said last week was insane? Well this was just as crazy. “Carbon Credit Crazy Town.” NCI employee Emily Welbourn spoke to us about REDD projects, or Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation. REDD projects preserve forests to conserve biodiversity, promote ecosystem services, and prevent greenhouse gases from being emitted into the atmosphere. Selling carbon credits funds the projects.

The study Emily worked on was for an Ecuadorian indigenous group called the Cofán. Significant deforestation and road construction for oil exploitation have encroached on the Cofán reserve. The Cofán are seeking means to prevent this deforestation as well as adapt a sustainable livelihood. They are under a great deal of pressure from drillers, as oil makes up 40% of Ecuador’s economy.

The study aimed to measure the feasibility of REDD carbon offsets for the Cofán reserve by analyzing five variables. The variables were measured on a scale of red, yellow, and green, where green means GO:


1. Political climate (yellow) – The current leaders want to curb deforestation and for the Cofán to receive the benefits of sold credits. On the other hand, there is uncertainty whether the carbon credit system will be nationalized. Then, benefits might not go directly to the Cofán.

2. Additionality (yellow) – If it were green, this means things would not have occurred if the program hadn’t been implemented. Since several factors could change the outcome and it’s uncertain, additionality is graded yellow.

3. Leakage (green) – This is the idea that deforestation would be displaced outside the reserve. They believed it wouldn’t be displaced.

4. Permanence (green) – There are some long-term risks to maintaining the program (political, economic, natural), but overall these risks should not prevent REDD from being implemented in the first place.

5. Indigenous and Cultural Considerations (green) – The Cofán could still live sustainably off the land with REDD in place.

Even though there are some yellow areas, Emily and her colleagues believe that REDD is a viable solution for the Cofán people in Ecuador. The punch line is the program would cost about $7 million over a 20-year period to break even. These costs cover monitoring over the reserve and expanding the park guard program. It’s still uncertain how the credits would be priced (from $6.73 to $18) and whether they would wait for a regulated credit market (as opposed to entering voluntarily now).

The take-home message is that REDD is a plausible program and definitely a new way of thinking about conservation. It’s comforting to know there are many alternatives, such as ecotourism, non-timber forest products, and now carbon credits, for people in biologically significant areas to embrace. I also just think it’s amazing Emily worked on this as part of her graduate degree. I hope we can all do something as cool. --Lenna O.

P.S. Easily the best quotes of the night:

(after a 5 minute break) “Well, you caught me chewing I’m afraid. I was able to go out during the break and grab a sweet treat from the vending machine.”

“I’m beginning to get pretty psyched, so I don’t know about you.” –both Tony E.

photo from Emily Welbourn