Research Income Generating Alternatives at Iracambi

Research Area: Income Generating Alternatives

Developing additional income sources from the forest to increase the incentives for farmers to conserve it

If the forest could provide additional revenue, this could be the deciding factor as to whether a farmer will cut down or preserve.

One such alternative, on which Iracambi is already working, is medicinal plants. Hundreds of plants in the rainforest have recognized medicinal properties, and many more are traditionally used, but have not been scientifically evaluated. We aim to identify the plants by drawing on local knowledge and scientific research, and determine how they can be harvested and marketed for a profit, creating an incentive to keep the forest intact.

Objective:

To create an alternative and viable method of income generation by identifying, researching and marketing medicinal plants native to the rainforest as well as adding value by creating a line of medicinal products. The focus will be on:

Identifying other income generating forest products (such as hearts of palm, ornamental plants),
Identifying opportunities for farmers to receive financial incentives for forest conservation and environmental services (carbon trading, water-shed protection);
Continuing our research on identifying the existing and potential medicinal plants, and how they may be sustainably grown, processed, harvested, packaged, and marketed.

Activities

Iracambi Medicinal Plants project: identifying, researching and marketing medicinal plants native to the rainforest as well as adding value by creating a line of medicinal products; participation in an international program to establish criteria for sustainable harvesting.
Payment for Environmental Services Water Project: identifying priority areas for forest conservation to ensure that the watershed is protected for downstream users. Working with governing bodies to ensure that payments are fulfilled for the conservation of these areas, and establishing a community-based and technical monitoring scheme for the Graminha hydrological basin.

Outcome:

Recommendations for the production and marketing of medicinal plants;
Development of other forest-derived product lines.

Papers:

Iracambi Medicinal Plants:

Eleanor Gallia, Karen Franz	Iracambi Medicinal Plants: Sustainable Harvesting Summary	May 2005
Joe Greet	Capeba: Biological, Ecological and Cultural Characteristics	April 2005
Eleanor Gallia, Karen Franz	Development of the International Standard for Sustainable Wild Collection of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants	June 2005
Caroline Currid	Pharmacological Report for Iracambi	December 2000
Alonso, de Mendiola, Tudó, Usan	Proyecto de Plantas Medicinais (study of plant communities)	March 2001
Josh Kohler	Inventory of Capeba in Eucalyptus Forest	August 2005

Iracambi Water Project: Hydrological Monitoring and Payment for Environmental Services:

Karen Franz	Summary Document for Iracambi Water Project: Payment for Environmental Services:	July 2005
Karen Franz	Graminha Basin Water Modeling: a geographical sample of the upstream river basins of Southeastern Minas Gerais	May 2005
Tamar Bourne	Market Creation for Watershed Services	March 2004
Alejando Olivera	Value of Water in Fumaça and Preto Rivers	May 2004

Other Alternatives

Sarah Greene	Proposal for a carbon sequestration model at Iracambi	August 2002
Elise Ferreira	Projeto de Atividade Turistica	July 2005
Nina Baliga	Butterfly Farming Report	August 2001