The quarterly newsletter of Trees for the Future
Spring 2006
Vol. XIV, No. 1
Antique, the Philippines: A RIVER GONE WILD The plane flew east a long way in order to get around an out-of-season typhoon, so we landed more than an hour late. Coming in across this island of Antique, I was able to get better acquainted with the river system - and what it is doing to lowland areas of Antique Province. A few handshakes at the airport and I was hustled off to a meeting with the Governor, who invited TREES there, and her staff. It was a long meeting, mostly, I believe, because there wasn't much confidence, at this stage, that anything can be done to resolve the problem. So confidence- TREES’ Director Dave Deppner visit one of our nurseries in the Zambales, Philippines. These Acacia mangium seedlings are about to be outplanted. A. mangium is planted in building was an early agroforestry systems for its timber. priority. The Sibalom River system presents a real challenge. from all directions because of the steep topography. On the map it looks a bit like a plate of spaghetti, with The mountainsides themselves present strange pathundreds of streams and smaller rivers coming to it terns, with deep forests remaining in a few places while, nearby, the heavy rains have resulted in entire Articles Inside: mountainsides sheared off for lack of protective tree Distance Agroforestry Training, Honduras cover. Program Attracts the Attention of the President, The uplands are divided into thousands of small farms Africa program Grows by 40%,, Annual & in small valleys, and on those steep mountain sides as Financial Reports, Extinction Means Forever continued page 5 Page 1 Johnny Ipil-Seed News Vol. XIV, No. 1
Johnny Ipil-Seed News is a quarterly newsletter of TREES FOR THE FUTURE, Inc., a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping people of the world’s poorest communities to begin environmentally beneficial, selfhelp projects. This newsletter is printed by wind energy on recycled paper with soy-based ink and is sent to all supporting members to inform them of recent events, plans, financial matters and how their support is helping people.
News from the Ruppe Center
It's that time again: nursery season. We at Trees for the Future are leading a global effort to distribute seeds and train communities to produce millions of seedlings. We are excited to welcome new requests for help from countries we have not worked in before, such as Iraq, BOARD OF DIRECTORS and we are glad to see Dr. John R. Moore, Dr. Peter Falk, Mr. Oscar Gruspe, Mr. that countries where our efforts have slowed Dave Deppner, Mr. Hank in recent years, such as Dearden, Mr. Bedru Sultan Ms. Marilou Herman Zambia, Indonesia, and Besides delivering on-site training to agroforestry projects Nepal, have all been throughout the world, Trees for the Future’s technicians also FOUNDERS reinvigorated with the send almost 200 packages to community leaders around the Dave and Grace Deppner help of our Distance world, equipping them with the materials they need to lead a successful reforestation campaign. Agroforestry Training STAFF John Leary, Intern’l Programs Program and the motivation of local have small leaflets (that can quickly Adam Norikane, Central America leaders. biodegrade and build the soil), they are Chris Wells, Advisor on Asia What are the top tree species fast-growing, and they can be used to Gabby Mondragon, N. Philippines communities are asking for? Leucaena address a number of economic and Cedric Encarnation, S. Philippines continues to be a top priority as well as environmental challenges. Jorge Betancourt, Honduras In addition to the great performAlbizzia, Calliandra, Cassia, Acacia, Guillermo Valle, Honduras and Prosopis species. What do all of ance of out field reps, technicians at the Omar Ndao, Senegal these have in common? They tend to Ruppe Center will help plant as many as John Coleman, Belize Eugene Edwards, Belize an additional Eben Mensah, Ghana 1,000,000 trees this Gabby Papouloute, Haiti year through distance education and If you wish to receive this community support newsletter, or would like more efforts. information, please contact: TREES FOR THE FUTURE The Loret Miller Ruppe Center for Sustainable Development 9000 16th Street, P.O. Box 7027 Silver Spring, MD 20907
Our new agroforestry training book and some of the training materials we send to project leaders around the world.
Toll Free: 1-800-643-0001 Ph: 301-565-0630 Fax: 1-301-565-5012 info@treesftf.org WWW.PLANT-TREES.ORG
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The Challenge of Distance Agroforestry Training As our staff technicians visit project sites in many developing nations, we are struck by the fact that there are almost no training materials available about reforestation, agro-forestry, or afforestation for field technicians, community leaders or others who want to do something to alleviate the suffering of people, brought on by illegal logging, over-grazing, "slashand-burn" farming and other activities that are devastating their lands. In response to this need, after interviewing community leaders around the world about their training needs, we are implementing this long distance agroforestry training program. In it, we offer our own experience, and that of the communities we have served, over a period of more than 30 years, in 9,500 communities of Asia, Africa and the Americas, where we and the hundreds of local organizations with which we partner, have helped local families to plant more than 43 million trees. After endless hours developing the new training program, TREES launched its first distance agroforestry training session on March 1, 2006. 130 community leaders in 32 countries joined the program, and additional applicants continue to come in.
The centerpiece of the program is the Taking Action, Reaching Out training manual that takes participants through 11 exciting lessons. The training begins with explaining unsustainable land use and global climate change, and it quickly gets into educating trainees on agroforestry systems and the types of trees that make them so productive. There are also lessons in understanding the perceived needs of communities, identifying income-generating projects, and of course, nursery production and planting techniques. More information can be found on our website under Resources. The training program is complemented with an Agroforestry Library CD, which contains resources that are referred to throughout the training booklet, as well as an online forum through which participants are exchanging questions and ideas on a variety of agroforestry related topics. We are overcoming great distances, cultural barriers, and technical challenges to support the creation of an environmental army equipped with the skills necessary to reverse the trends of degradation and unsustainable land use that threaten our future.
One of TREES Field Reps in Honduras, FundArbol Director Guillermo Valle, left, discusses our new agroforestry training program with President Manuel “Mel� Zelaya Rosales of Honduras .
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Renaldo Sanchez Alvarado: COMING BACK WITH A SMILE something most politicians never considMost people have never heard of Pena Blanca. It's a pretty little town er: helping their constituents. on the north coast of Lake Yojoa in Still, Rey wasn't satisfied that he was northern Honduras. Renaldo Sanchez doing enough for his town. Looking up at lives there with his family. He likes the bald mountains, and the mud they the town so much that he wanted to be were dumping in the lake every rainy seamayor. He ran in the election, and got son, he decided to produce tree seedlings, beaten - badly, he says. getting his workers, and many townspeoFrom this, he decided that since he ple as well, busy re-greening those slopes. couldn't be mayor, he could still do The town gave him free use of a piece of something for his town. So he decidland, about 60 feet wide and as long as he ed to become the garbage collector. would ever need, along the river. TREES, He won the job handily, since nobody ran against him through Jorge Betancourt and his AMUPROLAGO for this position. group, are providing the seeds and training materials Rey was able get a small grant. With this, he pur- he can pass along to the community. The seedlings he chased a small truck, evil looking but reliable, and is producing are free to people who share his determihired a few workers because, for a small town, Pina nation to save the mountains. Blanca had plenty of basura. We think there are several morals to be taken from On the small piece of land around his house, he and this story but, even if there are not, we thought you'd his team sorted this mess and started processing it. A like to meet one of the great people making your prosmall pelleting machine turned the plastic bottles into gram work. an easily marketable product. Same for glass. Tin cans were also easy to sell. He soon got a bigger truck and hired some new workers: the job nobody wanted was turning into a gold mine. What about the "organics"? That soon became the best part thanks to Rey's ingenuity. All of that, with grass clippings and whatever else turned up, went into a pit and soon came out as compost. Now that took some selling because few, if any, local residents had any idea of its use. By now he had a very big pile of dark, rich soil. He also had the remains of some ancient refrigerators, so he took off the doors, laid them on their backs, filled them with compost and had the best vegetable garden the town had ever seen. Now people are buying all the compost he can produce. The trash collector now has an income many Renaldo uses an old refrigerator as a tomato garden bed! He also covers the tomatoes with clear plastic to minimize damage from rains and winds. We need times that of the mayor by doing this kind of ingenuity at work for us!
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Antique, the Philippines: A RIVER GONE WILD from page 1 well. Technology about sustainable upland agriculture has obviously not reached these areas and the majority of farmers still do things the hard, and very unproductive, way. "Slash-and-burn" is obvious everywhere but not part of the farming system. Hunters do the burning. Asking what they hunt, I wished I hadn't: monitor lizards and monkeys! On degraded uplands, people can't be too choosy about what they eat. TREES is fortunate to have a "sister" organization the MarilouCares Foundation of Marilou Herman - in Antique. This way we have been able to recruit some of the best thinkers in the province, as well as a tiny, locally-made truck that held six of us plus the driver. With that, we began touring the upland communities. One of our first stops was a village called Pankas, not too far from the mouth of the river. Most of the houses there have been abandoned. It was easy to see why. The river had shifted and was undercutting the bank. Several houses had already collapsed into the water.
Efforts made to construct walls that would return the river to its former course had completely failed: it was easy to imagine the massive flow of water coming down that riverbed in the rainy season, again for lack of trees. In all, we visited more than a dozen upland barangays (villages). In most cases, the barangay hall quickly filled with local farmers - and their wives, who are even more concerned about how much longer their lands will support them. They told us their problems, but they also gave us their experiences and ideas for how these mountains might be saved. In fact, quite a few families had already started seedbed nurseries, with seeds we had sent some months earlier (when I made my now-famous attempt to "kick the bucket") and they took us out to see them. That's when we discovered the reality about something we had begun to suspect: the continued cropping/burning of these fragile soils had depleted them to the point
Deforestation in Antique Province in the southern Philippines has changed the course of an entire river system, causing houses to fall in the water and entire villages to be abandoned. Our program will help plant 750,000 trees on degraded lands in the Philippines this year.
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Antique, the Philippines: A RIVER GONE WILD continued logistical problems involved. Over the following weeks, we delivered over 420,000 tree seeds of several species-enough to realize at least a third-million seedlings this season with good management. Many of these seeds are already planted in the municipal nurseries (which were quickly started). Others are being distributed from the MarilouCares office to barangay leaders. We're convinced that this effort will result in more than a half-million trees growing in these uplands this year alone. But as we later told the Governor's staff, to bring that river back, to assure sufficient water for people's needs during the long dry season, there is an urgent need to reforest a now denuded area of about 13,000 acres in that watershed. That will require planting more than eight million trees! The word URGENT took on additional meaning two weeks later on another of the Visayan Islands, Leyte, when a mudslide virtually wiped out a community of 2,500 people, burying a school with some 300 chilSome things never change: Dave got the nickname Johnny dren inside. Apparently the only survivors were workIpil-Seed working in the Philippines, distributing seed and ers who had left the town earlier that morning. In Antique, where this threat is also very real, we showing people how to start nurseries. Guess what he is doing in this picture . . . really appreciate the generosity of our members, who have allowed us to made a good start. The challenge that the seedlings were barely growing. Because there are many cattle and other livestock on now is to keep building on the early success and motithese farms, we suggested they might want to add vating more community leaders to join in. some "compost" to the seedbeds. But considering the enormity of the problem, we recommended that the several municipalities involved should also start their own nurseries and deliver seedlings to the participating villages as the seasonal rains begin. The "barestem" planting system, largely developed by TREES, should TREES' Philippine program leader Gabby Mondragon is coordinating the harvesting of leaucaegreatly lessen the na seeds in the Zambales Province, an area that has been largely destroyed by the eruption of Mount Pinatubo. Leucaena trees are bring organic matter back to the degraded uplands.
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In Honduras: EVERYWHERE I GO, I WILL PLANT A TREE From Punta Gorda in Belize there is a small launch (about 20 passengers) that carries you to Puerto Barrios in Guatemala. It's about one thrill-filled hour on the water. After 27 years of marital bliss, Grace and Dave finally got their honeymoon cruise. From Barrios, by bus, taxi, a bit of walking, you eventually wind up in a sleepy little place called Corinta in
President Zenaida is especially sensitive to the issue. During the election campaign, it was pointed out that he himself had built a fortune as a logger - in that same Olancho Valley where a parish priest, Fr. Andres Tamayo, has now declared war on the loggers who now are going back to cut any trees they missed before. We talked for a long time with the President's chief of staff, Johnny Rosenthal, whose father heads Contrast: A beautiful hotel in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, has the cattle raisers' association (grazing sysenough water for a pool during the rainy season, but the water is tems cause the greatest part of the destruction shut off frequently during the dry season. The degraded mountains of tree cover in the uplands). And also with in the background are a major part of the reason. the President's son, Hector, who told us his father has promised to plant a tree wherever he goes. Hector is especially interested in our efforts to work withe FundArbol, Peace Corps, Rotary Clubs, the AMUPROLAGO association of 17 towns trying to save Lake Yojoa, and with local cooperatives and associations. We showed him what has been achieved so far, pointing out that with this increased encouragement at the national level, these degraded lands can be protected again and these first trees are beginning a continuing, Honduras. Most people never heard of it. Sounds a lit- natural, return of the diversity of the not-too-distant tle tacky but better than sitting three hours in an air- past. port. Also, no airport taxes in Corinta. We arrived on a Monday afternoon in this slightly disreputable fashion. Things soon began to improve. By Thursday, we had an invitation to the Casa Presidential to meet Honduras' new President-Manuel "Mel" Zenaida Rosales. The meeting was much more than a quick handshake. It was his first social gathering, with the six Rotary Clubs of the Capitol area, and included most of his cabinet. High on the list of matters to be discussed with them was the issue of illegal logging: and what can be done about it. Through these Rotarians, and our local partner, FundArbol, TREES has already distributed some 430,000 seeds of several species of fast-growing, beneficial trees. The program is rapidly spreading, especially in the hot southTREES Associate Director Grace Deppner (left) distributes bags of ern part of the country where deforestation tree seeds to Peace Corps Volunteers in Honduras. has taken a heavy toll. Page 7 Johnny Ipil-Seed News Vol. XIV, No. 1
Africa Program Grows by 40% - Searching for Support for More Field Reps In 2005, the international reforestation efforts of Trees for the Future continued support for 102 programs in Africa, and over the past few months, the recent surge in new project requests from Africa has increased the total number of partners by 40%. With this growth, the program will plant over 1,000,000 trees this year. TREES is now working with 140 partners in 20 African countries, and this number continues to soar as we sign up more and more community leaders in our new Distance Agroforestry Training Program. The one million trees we will plant this year are NOT evenly distributed throughout the continent, in fact despite a recent spike in the number of communities in East Africa joining the program, half of this year's million trees may likely be planted in just two countries: Senegal and Ghana. The work of TREES Field Reps - Omar Ndao in Senegal and Eben Mensah in Ghana - has been incredibly effective at expanding their grassroots programs. Now if we can plant 200,000 trees throughout Uganda without a full-time field representative, imagine what we could do if we did have one..
Quick Overview of projects in Africa TREES began supporting projects in two (2) new African countries last year: Zambia and Benin, where we had done little in previous years. While we only began supporting one new project in Benin, which has been through a partnership with French priests working in Cotonou, we have begun helping seven (7) separate groups in Zambia. Most of these groups in Zambia are based in Lusaka, and the others are in towns such as Makonde and Ndola. TREES helped communities in Benin and Zambia plant over 33,000 trees in 2005. The participating communities in Cameroon were spread throughout the country, including Maroua in the North, some groups in the South West Province, and a cluster in the North West Province where communities are planting trees such as Leucaena trees to combat the long term-degradation caused by massive eucalyptus plantations. The DRC, Togo, and the Gambia all have small programs, though recent interest through letters and emails is showing that these programs may grow significantly over the next year. TREES continues to support active projects in Zimbabwe and Sierra Leone though no new projects were established in 2005.
“Moringa the tree for the future has been welcomed at Bangumi (Bandundu Province). People enjoy cooking them with pondu (cassava leaves) or in beans. Some use the leaves as tea or coffee. Malnourished children have recuperated their weight and health after taking regularly Moringa leaves and toasted seed.� -Gracia Matondo Salvation Army Kinshasa, Congo
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Africa Program Grows by 40%
continued
In Nigeria TREES is supporting groups in both Imo and Cross River States, and we have major plans to expand extension services through Nigeria in 2006 with the help of representatives from Nature's World who have contacted us toward the end of 2005. The programs in East Africa - Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, and Uganda - planted over 100,000 trees this year. Building on the energy created by Nobel Peace Prize Winner Wangari Maathai, communities throughout East Africa have joined a recent movement to expand reforestation activities.
Closer look at Congo: Moringa Trees (see picture on previous page) With the support of Trees for the Future, The Salvation Army located in Congo Kinshasa planted 22,684 trees in 2005, and we have recently sent them enough seeds and training materials to plant twice that amount in 2006. One of the popular tree species that we are distributing to communities throughout Africa is the moringa tree. The leaves of Moringa trees are a rich source of vitamins and protein.
Closer look at Zambia: Joas Chihangu Joas Chihangu continues to be a strong partner for Trees for the Future in Zambia. In addition to his ministry work, Joas works with communities to implement tree planting projects, honey production, and now they are beginning to plant jatropha trees for biodiesel. The trees we helped Joas plant in 2003 are now producing a local source of high-quality seed, and these seeds are distributed throughout the country.
Closer look at Cameroon: Diversity (picture on next page) From the mountains of northwest Cameroon, we have received a continuously increasing number of requests for help. Many communities are suffering from the long-term damage caused by massive eucalyptus plantations. Other communities are attempting to reverse the degradation that is endangering Cameroon's uplands. The tree planting 'bug' is really catching on. After seeing the damage caused by mono-cultured plantations of oil palm and eucalyptus, diversifying tree-based production systems has become a top priority throughout the mountainous areas of northwest Cameroon. Page 9 Johnny Ipil-Seed News Vol. XIV, No. 1
Africa Program Grows by 40%
continued
Members of the national Society for Conservation and Sustainable development in Bamenda, Cameroon, mix soil and compost while working in the nursery.
Closer look at Senegal: 20 feet in One Year Protecting land from the encroaching Sahara Desert is a difficult job that has just become easier. Imagine a tree that grows 20 feet, establishes a strong windbreak, and can help a family produce 100% of their own fuelwood and animal forage in the first year! We are having amazing success with Leucaena trees in Senegal, and they are one of a number of fast-growing trees that Omar has integrated into his extension efforts.
To This
In just one year! Page 10 Johnny Ipil-Seed News Vol. XIV, No.1
From this
TREES FOR THE FUTURE, INC. ANNUAL REPORT - 2005 General: The year began with global attention on a natural disaster - a major tsunami off the coast of Ache, Sumatra, killed over 280,000 people along coastlines as far away as Somalia in Africa. Within weeks, we received urgent messages from coastal communities in Tamil Nadu, India, for help to plant trees. Seeds and training materials were quickly sent to about 30 groups. Eventually, more than 120 village projects were started. Local leaders wanted trees to mitigate future tsunamis, provide a fast and continuous source of income from the wood, and to plant on fields that were submerged in sea water - they find this cleans up the salt. This program continues to grow. The most significant event of 2005 was another natural disaster, this time along our own Gulf Coast. Within days the public came to see that just a small change in the temperature of oceans could bring great numbers of hurricanes, some so violent that a major American city was wiped out in only one day. Interest in our program began steadily growing. The International Program: In 2005 we assisted about 23,000 participating families, in 660 developing communities, to plant over 3,100,000 beneficial, permanent trees. This in addition to trees grown from seeds of trees planted in earlier projects. Staff technicians spent 144 days at project sites. New programs were started in India, Uganda, Congo Democratic Republic and Zambia. We provided preservice and in-service training to Peace Corps Volunteers in Senegal, Morocco, Belize, the Philippines, Honduras, the Gambia and Cameroon. We developed tree seed farms in Senegal, Belize, Ethiopia and the Philippines and within a year should be producing ample supplies of at least 12 species of multi-purpose, fast-growing, trees. Personnel: Our Maryland staff has grown to five (5) full-time technicians, with three (3) part-time assistants. In addition, we trained and support 12 local extension workers in the Philippines, Senegal, Honduras, Belize, Ghana and Haiti. New Ideas/Activities: The program benefitted by working closely with environmentally concerned private businesses. Working Assets, a telephone consolidating company in San Francisco, has given a grant that has started a project of more than 85,000 trees in the Philippines. Cafe Imports in Minnesota provided
funding for Central America to plant 80,000 trees that will offset all of the carbon dioxide emissions from their operations. An eco-tourism idea with Jam Cruise out of Florida brought us 400 new members. Book publishers/ sellers are very supportive of this program which plants trees to offset paper used for printing. The sudden rise in gasoline prices has resulted in major efforts throughout the Developing World to locally produce alternative energy products. Ranging from refining coconut oil in the Philippines (with charcoal from coconut husks now exported), refining African palm oil in Central America, and planting Jatropha Trees in Africa, people in developing communities are discovering they have the ability to greatly reduce their dependency on imported oil. Much of this innovation is happening at the village level, for the benefit of the people who have been especially marginalized by "globalization". TREES is intensely involved in several such projects. Education: The idea of Long Distance training has become an especially important part of our international program. We find relevant information about reforestation and agro-forestry is seldom available to field technicians, including Peace Corps. We published The Global Cooling Answer Book - a book about trees and their relation to global climate change. By year's end we had nearly completed an agro-forestry training manual, complete with compact discs. With this manual, we will soon be able to provide training certificates to field technicians worldwide, strengthening their role. Financial: In 2004 (an election year) TREES had experienced greatly reduced revenue, especially from private foundations, ending the year with a shortfall of about $23,000. In 2005, total support increased by more than $70,000, allowing the hiring of added staff and expansion of the program. Much of this added support came from foundations and private businesses. The Website: Much credit is due to a greatly improved website, which brought in over 550 new members in its first 12 months. In the following two months (through January, 2006) it brought an additional 1,200 new members, showing we are learning how to use this valuable tool. (There are PLENTY of new bumper stickers if you want one). Dave Deppner, Executive
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TREES FOR THE FUTURE, INC. PRELIMINARY FINANCIAL REPORT - 2005
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TREES Technicians Provide On-Site Support in Honduras In February of this year, TREES Latin American Program Coordinator, Adam Norikane and our Community Development Volunteer, Anne Toomey, made a trip up to Honduras to visit our project sites, meet with several organizations to collaborate on projects and to make sure the nurseries were on schedule for the upcoming rainy season. Finding a break in their class schedules, the two left their program in Sustainable Development & Natural Resources at the University for Peace in San JosĂŠ, Costa Rica, and headed up north. Neither of them had visited Honduras and so the trip served to initiate them into TREES program in Honduras. This trip was full of encouraging encounters with a diverse group of Hondurans. One of the towns that we visited in the Lake Yojoa region has plastic into a garden bed and pseudo-greenhouse for an individual working there who has shown a lot of ini- tomatoes in an area that gets too cold to grow them tiative in promoting environmental projects. Renaldo normally (Lake Yojoa region is located in the mounof PeĂąa Blanca is responsible for organizing the solid tains of north-central Honduras). Now, Renaldo is putwaste collection ting that ingeTrip Objectives: and disposal. nuity to use Through a grant for us and he from an outside 1. Familiarize Adam and Anne with our ongoing projects in has agreed to agency Renaldo Honduras. help Trees for obtained a pickup 2. Solidify plans with our new Honduran partner, FundArbol, to meet the Future in truck for the the goal of planting one million trees in 2006 with our ambitious organizing a garbage collec- Arbol por la Vida, or Trees for Life, joint program by working on a l a r g e - s c a l e tion and has tree nursery framework for implementation. transformed the 3. Meet with Peace Corps Honduras' Associate Director for Protected with the coopbackyard dumperation of two ing practice of Areas Management, Luis Estrada, and Project Manager, Menelio local schools. the town to a cen- Bardales, to discuss ways to improve Peace Corps volunteer cooper- Renaldo has tralized system. ation with Trees for the Future. cleared and He realized the 4. Work with Jorge Betancourt, the TREES Honduras Field leveled an area value of clean Representative, to finalize plans for the Lake Yojoa reforestation pro- next to the streets for gram. Lake's hydrotourism, aesthet- 5. Visit several nurseries both in the Lake Yojoa region and the e l e c t r i c ics and hygiene Choluteca region to expand our knowledge on commonly used and drainage canal and he made it valuable local tree species as well as to offer suggestions for the and the main happen. By incorporation of certain tree species into those nursery programs. road for this combing through 6. Distribute seeds and provide on-site technical training to military nursery. Not the discards, he personnel on the Isla del Tigre naval base in the Golfo de Fonseca, only will the has kept items spot be highly and put them with their initiation of a pilot nursery project of ~5,000 trees. visible and back to use in an provide great efficient recycling of goods. Most impressive was his recognition of the town's dedication to environmentalconversion of an old refrigerator and some corrugated ism, but it is conveniently located right next to a plenPage 13 Johnny Ipil-Seed News Vol. XIV, No.1
happy and excited to talk about trees and show where they had planted different species around the base. The highlight of the trip was when they took us on a tour of the facility and they told us that they would show us a tree that grew out of a boat. I thought my Spanish was failing me, but lo and behold they were right. Growing right out of a dry-docked boat's deck was a tree. It had long since passed away and we could see the roots reaching out of the bottom of the boat to search Adam (left) and FundArbol Director Guillermo Valle (right) hold bags of seed for more nutrients, but it was a tree nonetheless. These guys were really that Trees for the Future supplied to FundArbol. Agronomist/Forestry into trees and we did nothing but Technician, Anibal Riviera (middle) holds a encourage their enthusiasm. TREES educational poster in Spanish. We learned so much from the tiful water source for the dry season. We are excited technicians of FundArbol, the Peace Corps volunteers about continuing working with Renaldo on this project that we met and from the various individuals who gave and others. us their time and effort to make our project worthwhile. On our visit to the Isla del Tigre, where a Honduran The people of Honduras are generous and courteous military base is preparing to set up a nursery, we met a and we have no doubt that our work with them in the very motivated group. In preparation for our arrival, future will be fruitful. We will easily surpass the plantthe military built a shade structure for their nursery and ing of one million trees in Honduras this year. called a meeting of their personnel. The training went well with everyone sharing ideas on different tree species and with the military interested in adopting our barestem nursery idea to increase the amount of trees that they will be able to outplant. Their idea is to reforest the islands within the Gulf of Fonseca in an ambitious push to reclaim the land. Everyone there was
Left: Distributing seed to military personnel on Isla del Tigre Above: Jorge, left, and Adam, right, discuss reforestation of pine trees with Jaime, a technician at the Forest Service.
Page 14 Johnny Ipil-Seed News Vol. XIV, No.1
Opinion: Extinction Means Forever For many months, a debate has gone on about how we humans managed to get here. Since it takes place in schools, churches and the halls of government, with a fervor that brings back shades of Clarence Darrow and William Jennings Bryan, we must assume both sides are quite serious. After all, if we don't know where we came from, how can we know where we're going? That brings another question we might ask ourselves: With 999 out of every 1,000 species that ever inhabited the earth now extinct, why are we in such a big hurry to follow their example? For most of this Fall and Winter, we've been on the go: me to the Philippines, then twice to Central America. Adam and Ann are in Costa Rica. John to Mali and Senegal. We've seen things that make us wonder why people are in such a big hurry to kill each other off. Here I offer some examples: In 1991, the mountains above the town of Ormoc on the Philippine Island of Leyte were almost completely denuded by an international logging alliance. Then came a powerful but slow-moving typhoon that stayed over the island for several days, unleashing torrents of rain. The sides of the mountains tore loose and fell on the town killing 6,600 people and leaving tens of thousands of others homeless. Had I been one of the survivors I would have remembered that for a long time. Yet, illegal but clearcut-logging continues on those same upland slopes. Once again this past February, mudslides came to almost the same place, this time killing nearly 2,000 more. It seems the roof of a school with over 300 children inside held fast as the school was buried, leaving a bit of air to breathe. Filipino kids love cell phones. Many take them to school. There in the dark they "text-ed" messages to parents and friends. Slowly, one by one, the phones stopped sending as rescuers vainly tried to reach them in time. Here at TREES, we will long remember that. Not just because officials turned a blind eye to the logging but because they had no interest in bringing back trees and forests to those barren mountains.
Meanwhile I was working a few islands away to the west to help plan a program where, again, the mountains had been cleared, this time by "slash-and-burn" farming and hunting, while a river goes farther out of its banks every rainy season. As I explained to the Governor and her staff, it would require planting nearly eight million permanent, beneficial trees to undo the damage to those uplands and river system. I also explained there isn't much time left. In response, she told me the Province will solve the problem "little-bylittle". I said we will continue to help the program but the problem is growing "big-by-big". Back in Manila, people are now eating vegetables sprayed with Malathion seven times in one growing season because the agri-business community finds selling chemicals more profitable that showing people safe ways to protect their food crops. Then there is Lake Yojoa in Honduras, a 100,000 acre watershed where gold is mined using mercury which runs into the lake. Over-grazing has taken away more than half the forest cover, and desperately poor families sell the remaining trees as firewood. The level of the lake has dropped more than 40 feet in a generation, while 12 feet of silt covers the bottom. Coming home, I turn on the news to find we still don't know how to save the city, or the people, of New Orleans - destroyed in a day because we depend so much on fossil fuels to run our cars that Global Warming has increased ocean temperatures by 2 degrees, accounting for the increase in number, and strength, of hurricanes in recent years. Do really want to follow the path of the dinosaurs? But then I remember people like Jorge Betancourt, working night and day in 17 towns trying to save that lake, and the Peace Corps Volunteers who came long distances to meet with us in Belize and Honduras. And the community leaders who see the need for action NOW, who are doing all they can to keep their people from being buried by mudslides. I also think of you and all our other friends who so generously provide them the seeds, the training and planning support to start projects that show that not all of us want to become extinct. And that's plenty of reason to hope and for continuing to build your program: helping these many thousands of people who are determined to give their children a future, with your help.
Page 15 Johnny Ipil-Seed News Vol. XIV, No. 1
Inside This Issue We dedicate this issue to the 300 students who were buried in the Philippine mudslide this past February.
p. 1 Antique: A RIVER GONE WILD p. 2 News from the Ruppe Center p. 3 Challenge of Agrofrestry Training p. 4 Renaldo Alvarado: BACK WITH A SMILE p. 7 Everywhere I Go, I Will Plant a Tree p. 8 Africa Program Grows by 40% p. 11 Annual Report p. 12 Preliminary Financial Statement p. 13 Adam & Anne: Support in Honduras p. 15 Opinion: Exteinction Means Forever
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