Financial Analysis of Enrichment Model Using Timber and Non-Timber Products of Secondary Remnants in the Atlantic Forest

Abstract

Socio-economic aspects can limit the expansion of ecological restoration. One alternative to address this question is the development of restoration models that generate income to farmers in addition to the benefits from conservation itself. We designed and implemented the initiative "Sustenta A Mata," a project developed by The Nature Conservancy and supported by the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES), to generate economic and social benefits for the communities involved. This study aims to analyze the financial viability of the enrichment restoration initiative in forest remnants based on a 30 year projection. The project was implemented on 17 hectares of land that included timber and non-timber species with a focus on the Juçara Palm (Euterpe edulis Mart.) for the production of fruit. Estimated earnings come from both the production of timber and juçara fruits. We considered input, equipment and labor costs for implementation, maintenance, and harvesting. For the economic analysis we used the following criteria: Net Present Value (NPV); Return on Investment (ROI); Benefit/Cost Ratio (B/C), and Payback. From these indicators the following values were obtained as results: US$4,040.80 of NPV, 13 percent of ROI, 1.59 of B/C and a 13-year Payback. These positive results for the aforementioned indicators reveal that the use of the enrichment restoration initiatives utilized in this project may contribute to the economic viability of the endeavor, contributing to a greater sustainability in rural areas.

Fostering natural forest regeneration on former agricultural land through economic and policy interventions

“…Small-scale management of secondary forest in this region has the potential to produce sufficient merchantable timber to become an incentive for land owners to maintain and recover forest on their farms. Enrichment of young regenerating forests with native palm species used for commercial fruit production and timber species generated an economically viable production model over a 30 year period in the Atlantic Forest of southeastern São Paulo, Brazil (Maier et al 2018).…”

Costs and benefits of restoration are still poorly quantified: evidence from a systematic literature review on the Brazilian Atlantic Forest

“…Within the forest restoration process, there is a great opportunity to foster monetizable native species for NTFP that could contribute to a biodiversity‐based economy. Considering that currently only few examples of an economic utilization of the Atlantic Forest's rich biodiversity exist (Trevisan et al 2015; Maier et al 2018), there are valuable lessons that can be learnt from the Amazon biome. The Amazon has a long history of biodiversity‐based value chains, including rubber ( Hevea brasiliensis ), açaí ( Euterpe oleracea ) and Brazil nut ( Bertholletia excelsa ), among others (Richards 1993).…”

Multifunctional Forest Restoration in Brazil: A Critical Analysis of the Trends and Knowledge Gaps in the Scientific Literature

“…Only recently has forest restoration been studied from a socioeconomic perspective around the world [8,52,[86][87][88]. In California, Elias et al [89] showed that the exploitation of several, highly profitable products from forest restoration is not only possible but can provide financial support for the restoration efforts.…”