| A unit of Lasting Forests
evolving since March 30, 1999 |
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A Total Forest Management Plan
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The Lasting Forests has an international program. Part of that program is an "in-and-out concept." It develops a highly effective system for the Forests, makes minor adaptations for other related ownerships, then seeks to present the advantages of the system to other landowners around the world. Part of the "in" of the concept is to encourage international guests and visitors and to build a strong, solid base of personal attachment to the land, staff, and concepts being implemented. We can learn from our visitors. People need to see but also become involved in activities of the land. The movement of the concepts and techniques outward to all parts of the US and the world seem needed. Exports of products as well as ideas and techniques are important as well. Certification of the lands and developing strong chain-of-custody measures are objectives within Lasting Forests. These increase the opportunities for exports and increased financial gains. Lasting Forests subscribes to the Forest Stewardship Council's Principle (#4) of maintaining and enhancing the longterm social and economic well-being of forest workers and local communities.
International projects of special interest include:
Active engagement in international conferences will be encouraged.
Experts will be invited to assure that excellent advice is available for operations. Modest efforts can go far to gain great advances from international experts in ecology. Experts in Russia and Scandinavia have special knowledge of conifer systems.
Scientists from areas in Mexico having similar ecological conditions will be invited to observe and advise. The V-Paradigm (manuscript available) will be discussed for later implementation in Mexico, then other countries where it may be useful.
Agroforestry is widely promoted for developing countries, but also for ecological and sustainability reasons. Demonstration areas for practices already well-studied and reported will be created. These will be fully operational for food supplies for guests and employees as well as for demonstration purposes.
Reports of area biodiversity (several measures) will be made showing the national the world context of the Lasting Forests biodiversity.
Competency, the proposed professional testing enterprise, will be promoted for international use.
The Wildland Knowledge Base (the WKB), where possible, will expand to access translations and the international literature.
Language students will be recruited for translation services. Intensive Spanish classes combined with wildland work will be offered to select Peace Corps staff.
The Agenda 21 of the UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) at Rio de Janeiro called for action for women toward sustainable and equitable development. We propose to develop local strategies to address this call.
Income to this program, shared among landowners, is from tours, local and international, and publications. Other income is from research and development project fund overhead. The enterprise supports the WKB and others.
Other Thoughts about Regional and International Marketing
When does 1 + 1 + 1 = 4? Impossible! Wouldn't it be great if those were dollars! Four can result if the "ones" are seen as triangles. You put them together and form a tetrahedron. The fourth triangle results from the arrangement; the fourth is "free." Strategic arrangements are needed and rare --a systems approach, gains from forming associations and memberships, reducing risks, adding value, developing specialized insurance, developing computer-based dynamic planning systems, and using computer-based geographic information systems linked to optimization software -- these are the ingredients for specialized services and "deliverables" for the developing markets of developing regions and countries. The winning hand in this important game will hold the key cards of:
Every village I have visited in the backcountry of 5 countries is like a person with a business idea. They are unique, special, have grave risks, but need venture capital, and management skills. They are long on risks, short on capital and management. Language is a very big problem in all of these countries. They need to be linked to achieve economy of scale; they need to grow the right things in the right places (applied ecology); they need to store and market meaningful products; they need to optimize (close-enough is not good enough); they need dense information (site specific from GIS, research results, and expert systems); they need at least phase-one processing to achieve added value on site; they need to stay in place; local people must be the managers (not consultants, etc.). Most of these can be gained by a non-governmental, for-profit organization (with some research, etc. contracts). Voluntary joins, financial and health incentives for workers, percentage profits for the support company; between unit (villages, etc.) synergism, shared computer services (e.g., GIS, optimization, inventory, etc.); memberships (that include stock in the named region under development). Money talks, especially to desperate people. The environment is likely to be protected when it is the source of food, fiber, health, and the profitable company for the family future.
What we might create is a system that unifies (as an example for one producing unit) using the support functions of a central management, computer, information system, banking, insurance, and marketing/advertising unit:
Grazing optimization, pasture improvement, hide processing, bone processing for ornaments, glue production, glue to produce woven cages, breeding of tropical birds (careful exporting conditions), feeds grains for the birds, bird mats, bird trinkets, trips to see the birds in the wild, bird houses, bird feeders, optimum mixes of bird feeds; a new sport of "bird golf" with course franchises, binocular and local equipment sales, membership in the Avi group, contests to see who has seen the most birds on the courses, international tourism sales and services, special clothing for each area (unique designs), poultry raising, use of nitrogen in crop production, use of nitrogen in aquaculture, fish food sales, a new sport of non-game fish watching (like birdwatchers do), plant nut and part collection and processing, goat herds, pasture improvement, special cropping systems (agroforestry), special use of goat hides, crop uses and sales for goat feces, sales of efficient cookers, guide services, other services for tourists, transportation, catered meals and services, ... and more.
The emphasis ... a diverse single system with all sharing based on an incentive-driven scheme for personal wealth development, all unified by a common support group.
There is access to World Bank information on the environment.
See a Global Development Organization.
If you are interested in assisting in developing the international components of Lasting Forests, please contact Dr. Bob Giles and ask for a lecture about the V-Paradigm within Lasting Forests.
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This Web site is maintained by R. H.
Giles, Jr.
Last revision January 17, 2000.