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Project Profile: Forest Valuation
at Finca La Perla, Guatemala
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Guest Project Profile:
Forest Valuation at Finca La Perla, Guatemala
Dave Barker, Dave Barker and Associates Ltd.
Introduction
Carlos Esteban, the pilot, slowed the twin-engine Navajo aircraft as we headed across the Ixtupil River Gorge, which divided Finca La Perla ("The Pearl Farm") in half. The farm was very isolated in the central Guatemalan highlands in the province of Chiche, about two hours north from Guatemala City. There was no road into it, thus the use of the chartered plane. Carlos explained that it was a bit tricky on landings, because of the updrafts from the gorge, so he had an approach that seemed to be heading straight into the top edge of it, a few metres lower than the bottom elevation of the air strip. At the last second, the plane lifted above the lip of the gorge and after Carlos cut power, the wheels touched and we sped up the 30% slope of the 500 metre airstrip. The steep slope helped slow us down and we stopped 50 metres from the end. My heart was pounding! What a way to start a project!Background
The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) was sponsoring the La Perla pilot project, which was part of a post-civil war land redistribution strategy within Guatemala. In the past, land reform in other Latin American countries had not worked well. At this large farm a new model was proposed, which would transfer larger land units as viable economic parcels to the local villagers. The main village, La Perla, was the centre of the 5,000 population in and surrounding the farm. The village collective were in the process of purchasing a 49% interest in the farm from the wealthy owners in Guatemala City. Both would be involved in running the farm. The objective for this part of the project was to provide an independent forest valuation, including timber, watershed and wildlife values.The farm covers 2,700 hectares and the forested area is 340 hectares. Much of the farm is steep, with many gorges and some flatter areas. The forests found on the farm contain nearly 50 species of trees, many of which are suitable for uses such as firewood, construction and furniture. Much of the forest has semitropical broadleaf tree species. Some of the forests are considered "protection forest" and were valued as such, rather than for timber products.
Forest Valuation
The forest valuation was based on information acquired during the farm visit, and from information gained from the farm workers, current owner, in-country research and a local forestry consultant hired by the farm owners to prepare a preliminary forest inventory. The revised forest inventory shown in my report was based on limited fieldwork, an overview flight and old aerial photographs taken during 1991.
Efrain and Dave Barker with the forest
in the background. The midground
shows a cardamom plantation with Inga
trees (low, flat topped trees, khaki colour)
and taller pine.Field plots consisted of a series of 2/100th ha strip plots through various forest types. This would determine the proportion of the forest suitable for commercial prodcuts (boards for construction and firewood). I was assisted in the fieldwork by members of the village cooperative, especially Efrain (photo, left). Efrain assisted me in establishing tree plots and identifying the 30 species found in the plots in this area.
The crew consisted of three people. Jose measured the centre line of the plot and cut a trail. Efrain identified the trees and measured diameters. I measured heights, assessed the commercial volume and grade of each tree and took notes. In addition to the forest inventory work, I carried out the following on the farm:
of the farm vs. the forested area.The challenges for this project included its isolation, the fact that there was no local commercial timber market and limited methodology for valuing the protection forest. Despite these challenges, by getting both parties to agree on a valuation method ensured that the results would be accepted. The results of the project were a report and map showing forest cover, land use and the extent of the farm. Values were given for commercial timber and firewood, and for forests which had water and wildlife protection as the main goal.
The day we left La Perla, it was a typical morning in the Guatemalan highlands. A slight drizzle was falling and mist swirled amongst the mountains. We walked over to the landing strip and rounded up the cattle. The twin-engined Navajo was right on time, and after the preliminary overflight, touched down lightly on the grass strip. We turned the plane around by hand and jumped on board. Carlos stood on the brakes and increased engine speed to takeoff power. The plane was vibrating like mad! He released the brakes and we quickly picked up speed going down the 30% slope, the gorge of Ixtupil yawning ahead of us. At the last second, he pulled back the yoke and we were airborne, heading back to Guatemala City. Slowly, La Perla disappeared into the mists as we climbed above the clouds to a sparkling morning.
Association Agreement: Dave Barker & Associates Ltd.
Timberline is pleased to announce establishment of an Association Agreement with Dave Barker and Associates Ltd., a forestry and environmental services consulting company based in Victoria, British Columbia. Since 1992, the company has been assisting national and international clients with a wide variety of projects. To download a brief company profile, click here.
Dave Barker brings his company’s substantial expertise in valuation, certification, tropical forestry, agroforestry, and forest engineering to Timberline. In return, Timberline is providing access for Dave’s company to our full range of consulting services and some administrative support. In particular, Timberline and Dave Barker hope to work together to expand our business in the environmental management field, especially internationally. Dave Barker may be reached by email at davebarker@shaw.ca or by phone at 250.744.3226. His company’s website address is http://www.djbarker.com.
Association Agreements are a new concept at Timberline. Their purpose is to improve business opportunities, provide for higher-quality execution of projects for both parties, and to provide a structure within which to execute joint projects. The benefit of association is that together both parties expand the scope of services offered to joint clients. Timberline’s relationship with Dave Barker and Associates Ltd. is the first of several Association Agreements to be set up over the coming months. Each new Agreement will have a designated lead contact within Timberline. David Carson, Victoria Branch Manager, is the lead contact at Timberline for Dave Barker and Associates Ltd. He may be reached by email at dmc@timberline.ca or by phone at 250.480.3302.
http://nfsc.forest.ca/index_e.html
National Forest Strategy Coalition webpagehttp://www.theexplorationplace.com/eforest/index.html
Visit the electronic forest - an educational site about forest management in central British Columbiahttp://www.fs.fed.us/global/nafc/welcome.html
Homepage for the North American Forest Commissionhttp://atlas.gc.ca/site/english/learningresources/theme_modules/borealforest/index.html
Take a journey through the Boreal Forest - Canada's Forest Capital for 2005Know of a link that others would be interested in? Email it to our attention.
Timberline opens new B.C. branch office
On December 1, 2004 Timberline Forest Inventory Consultants Ltd. will open a branch office in Kelowna, British Columbia. This new office will benefit our clients in the southern interior of B.C. by providing a local window into the full range of services offered by Timberline. These services include resource and timber supply analysis, GIS, forestry operations, cruising, inventory, ecology, environmental trend reporting, sustainable forest management planning, habitat supply analysis, data custodianship, and software development.
Kelly Sherman R.P.F., formerly based in Timberline's Victoria office, will assume management of the Kelowna operation. Kelly is an accomplished resource analyst with a background in inventory and ecology, and brings a high level of energy and innovation to his work. Dave Myers B.Sc., also from Timberline, Victoria, will bring strong GIS and information system skills to the Kelowna team. This initial staffing will ensure that we continue to serve our clients in the most professional manner possible, and deliver the highest possible quality products.For more information, contact Kelly Sherman at kls@timberline.ca.
Canadian firms capture Mexican forest inventory contract
Atticus Environmental Services (Canada) Ltd. of Kelowna, B.C. and R. White Woods Inc. of Victoria, B.C. along with their partners are pleased to announce the signing of a 1.8 million dollar (CDN) contract for the Supervision and Quality Assurance of Mexico's National Forest Inventory. The contract will be performed for the Comisión Nacional Forestal (CONAFOR).
Both Canadian firms are members of CNRG International Inc. - a Canadian natural resources consortium of private agencies, government and university departments formed for the specific purpose of marketing Canadian natural resource expertise internationally. Timberline Forest Inventory Consultants Ltd. and Hatch Woodlands Ltd. also participated in the bid.
TERGA Recursos S.A. de C. V. with headquarters in Guadalajara, has been incorporated to accomplish the 27-month contract commencing October 2004. The project requires TERGA teams to supervise all of the forest inventory sampling crews and to complete field checking of approximately 2,200 (10%) of the 22,000 inventory plots to be established throughout the country. Each TERGA team is comprised of a senior Canadian inventory forester, a Mexican botanist and regional or local field assistants.
TERGA employs both Mexican administrators as well as technical and professional Mexican specialists for taxonomical, legal and accounting services. One of TERGA's objectives is to share Canadian technical expertise and tools with Mexican teammates in order to fully develop the capacity of all TERGA employees and to provide methodologies and techniques to the developing Mexican forest sector. TERGA executive members wish to acknowledge the support and guidance of key Canadian agencies that have helped greatly in the pursuit and awarding of this contract. They include the Canadian Consulate in Guadalajara and the Vancouver offices of Export Development Canada, International Trade Canada, Leading-Edge BC as well as affiliated members of CNRG International Inc.
For more information, contact Terry Conville at t_conville@atticus.bc.ca
or Ralph White at rwhite@whitewoods.com.
Inventory, mapping know-how applied to fire risk assessments
The Edge, Forest Business magazine, October 2004
Timberline Forest Inventory Consultants has been putting its inventory and mapping skills to a whole new set of uses recently.
The company built at least part of its reputation on providing industrial clients with an accurate picture of what sizes and sorts of merchantable timber exist on the landscape. Now it's providing a similar service to municipalities concerned to know what fire hazards exist in and near their jurisdiction. A project for the City of Kelowna is a prime example.
"A key recommendation of the 2003 Filmon Report (into British Columbia's massive wildfires of that year) dealt with the need to identify and deal with fire fuel hazards," says Warren Nimchuk, Branch Manager of Timberline's Vancouver office. Kelowna, a city hard hit by wildfires that stormed into the urban area, asked Timberline and collaborator Diamond Head Consulting to produce a detailed forest cover inventory, hazard assessment and a treatment plan to minimize future disasters.
"We are producing an enhanced inventory for the city and part of the surrounding Central Okanagan Regional District," Nimchuk says. "It's a landscape-level overview of the fire risk/wildfire threat, with risk assessments based largely on our new inventory information. We have collected a large amount of data throughout the city's approximately 10,000 hectares. The project area is somewhat smaller than a typical forest inventory, but the inventory covers some different elements - swimming pools and golf courses, for instance.
By late Fall the city hopes to have recommendations regarding some key candidates for fuel reduction and hazard abatement. Timberline and Diamond Head are working closely with city departments to ensure all the data can be incorporated into Kelowna's own systems.
In its Athabasca office, meanwhile, Timberline has developed a full-service mobile GIS lab to provide almost-instant fire maps for use by emergency personnel. From its previous work with forestry clients the company already has GIS-based maps showing municipal and industrial assets on the ground, as well as other landscape features. Using a helicopter and global positioning system (GPS) unit, staff can add details about a fire's boundaries and the location of fire guards, water pumps and more. Coupled with a weather forecast, it gives the fire boss the information needed to plan the day's attack. The lab can be used for fires anywhere, and was successfully used with the fires of 2001, says Timberline's fire and GPS services coordinator, Cary Gulka.
Piikani Nation develops logging plan for forest-based opportunities
First Nations Forestry Program Bulletin, 4th edition, October 2004
Working in partnership with the First Nations Forestry Program (FNFP) and Timberline Forest Inventory Consultants, Edmonton, the Piikani Nation is currently developing a detailed logging plan and pre-harvest ecological assessment (PHEA) for Reserve #147B, located west of Lethbridge, Alberta along Highway 3, between Fort Macleod and Pincher Creek. The Nation's goal is to create forest-based opportunities for its members.
Logging plans will detail an annual allowable cut of 5,000 cubic metres per year over the next five years (2004-2009). The plan will identify proposed harvest areas, field layouts (marking temporary roads and cutting area boundaries), PHEA for logging planned in years two through five, as well as any partial cuts.
Another integrated and critical component of the plan will be the completion of a Mountain Pine Beetle survey and assessment. Financial support from both the FNFP in Alberta and the Canadian Forest Service's Mountain Pine Beetle Initiative from British Columbia have made this aspect of the five year plan possible for the Piikani Nation.
With Indian and Northern Affairs Canada's (INAC's) approval, Piikani expects to begin logging operations during the winter of 2005.
Partnering with Timberline sets the stage for the Nation to work directly with, and learn from, the forest inventory consultants' expertise in controlling the establishment, composition, growth and quality of forest stands to achieve management plan objectives - that is, silviculture.
For more information about the Piikani Nation's Forestry Operations Planning and Layout Project, contact Lorne West, Canadian Forest Service, Northern Forestry Centre, Phone 780.435.7279; email: lwest@nrcan.gc.ca or the Piikani Nation's representative, Tobias Provost, 403.965.3940 Ext. 206; email: tobiasprovost@hotmail.com.
To subscribe to the FNFP Bulletin, contact: FNFPNewsletter@NRCan.gc.ca.
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