Forest Valuation Project at Finca "La Perla" Guatemala

Introduction

Carlos Esteban, the pilot, steeply banked the twin-engine Piper Navaho over the sloping landing field, looking for any stray cattle. All was clear, so we headed in a large circle to start the approach. Finca La Perla¹ 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. The nearest large town, Chajul was 20 km away.

We were slowing as we headed across the Ixtupil River Gorge, which divided the farm in half. The pilot 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 meters lower than the bottom elevation of the air strip. Strong air currents buffeted the Navaho and the pilot fought to keep the plane on a level approach, slowing all the time. Seemingly at the last second, the plane lifted above the lip of the gorge and floated just above the strip. Cutting power, the wheels touched and we sped up the 30% slope of the airstrip.
“Es corte, pero sirve bien”,² said Carlos, about the 500 m strip. The steep uphill slope helped slow us down and we stopped 50 m from the end. My heart was pounding! What a way to start a project!

Background

The Canadian government (CIDA) was sponsoring the La Perla pilot project, which was part of a land redistribution strategy within Guatemala. After a long and bloody civil war, a cease fire between the rebels (mostly Mayan heritage) and the government had occurred six months previously, and land reform was big on the agenda.

Land reform in the past 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 indigenous villagers. The main village, La Perla, was the centre of the 5,000 population in and surrounding the farm. The village collective was in the process of purchasing a 49% interest in the farm from the wealthy family in Guatemala City that owned it. The family would provide working capital, farm product transportation and marketing expertise, while the villagers would supply labour and on-farm management. 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 ha or 60 caballarias³, and the forested area is 340 ha. Much of the farm is steep, with many gorges and some flatter areas. Rainfall is 4,500 to 6,000 mm per year, principally from June to November, with a moderate dry period.

The principle land uses (besides settlement) were:

cultivation of coffee and cardamom for export and corn for local consumption.
horse and cattle grazing.
abandoned pasture (charral).
firewood collection from the forest and agricultural plantations.

Some pine trees, Pinus patula var chapensis had been planted in a few instances among the coffee and cardamom plantation, however in the main, little reforestation had been carried out on the abandoned pastures. The coffee and cardamom were interplanted with three species of Inga⁴ trees.

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 forests in the areas known as Bienvenidas, Pamaqui and Xamac 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.

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 products (boards for construction and firewood). I was assisted in the field work by members of the village cooperative, especially a fellow named Efrain. (Photo shows Efrain and David Barker with the Bienvenidas forest in the background. The midground shows a cardamom plantation with Inga trees (low, flat topped trees, khaki colour) and taller pine scattered in the upper area. Efrain assisted me in establishing tree plots and identifying the 30 species found in the plots in this area.

Our inventory crew consisted of three people. Jose measured the centre line of the plot and cut a trail through the thick jungle with his machete. Efrain identified the trees and measured diameters. I measured heights, assessed the commercial volume and grade of each tree and took notes. Lunch was a treat. Efrain started a fire and we toasted our hand-made tortillas on it. We then roasted our left-over chicken from last night’s dinner and chatted. Drinks consisted of guava juice with mangos for dessert.

Getting to the forest was a challenge. Most of the roads were little more than horse tracks, but some was passable by tractor. There were about 300 horses and a few cattle on the farm. The horses were used to transport coffee and cardamom from the fields to the roadside. Most days we traveled in a trailer towed behind one of the tractors. The owners had air-lifted the tractors in parts and the workers reassembled them on site.

In addition to the forest inventory work, I carried out the following on the farm:

Reviewed forest management goals with the owners and worker’s cooperative.
Established soil samples.
Held meetings with the worker’s organization and village representatives to explain what we were doing and to enlist their help.
Conducted an overflight of the farm to determine the extent of the coffee/cardamom and 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 and provide a fair basis for negotiation.

The results of the project were a report and map showing forest cover, land use and the extent of the farm. The total commercial timber volume was estimated at 11,000 m3 while 88,000 m3 were in the protected area. Values were given for commercial timber and firewood, and for forests which had water and wildlife protection as the main goal.

Leaving

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.