DETERMINACIÓN DE LA CAPACIDAD BACTERICIDA Y BACTERIOSTÁTICA DE LA CREMA DE USO

Private investors, such as large pulp companies, sawmills or fruit companies, promote enterprise-initiated plantations, which are often subsidised because they are expected to create economic development opportunities for rural areas. For example, many existing pulp plantations established in Brazil between 1966 and 1988 received federal support (Fiscal Incentives for Forestation and Reforestation – PIFFR), and the plantation boom in countries such as Uruguay and Chile in the 1990s was encouraged by massive international funding. In addition to direct payments, subsidies included road construction, finance and reduced taxes, often by up to as much as 50 per cent (Cossalter and Pye-Smith, 2003; Nilsson, 2003; Bacha, 2006).

Generally, two types of plantations can be distinguished in this category: fibre plantations and plantations for timber and NTFPs.

• Plantations established for the production of fibre for pulp are initiated mostly by medium- to large-sized companies, including estate management

Table 6.1 continued

Size Species Technologies Production goals Growers

SMALLHOLDER-DRIVEN

Production forests

Up to 20ha High-value timber species, Low timber, firewood, Smallholders firewood, NWFPs rubber, fruits, rattan,

bamboo, medicinal plants

Agroforestry systems

Usually between High-value timber species, Low timber, firewood, Smallholders 0.5 and 5ha fire-wood, NWFPs, as well forage, rubber, fruits,

as legumes and shadowing rattan, bamboo, tree species in combination medicinal plants with perennial crops such

as coffee, cacao etc. Homegardens

0.1–10ha Multi-use domestic tree Low Multi-use for Smallholders

species subsistence; seldom commercialization

Growing of single trees

Single trees Multi-use domestic tree Low Multi-use for Smallholders (few up to species subsistence, financial

several reserves thousand trees)

1 e.g. Pinus radiata, Pinus patula, Pinus merkusii, Araucaria augustifolia, Copressus spp.; Eucalyptus spp.; Acacia

mangium, Acacia spp.

2 e.g. Heva brasilliensis; Cryptomeria japonica; Chamaecyparis obtuse; Lavix leptolepis; Ginelina arborea,

companies (Cossalter and Pye-Smith, 2003). Rotation periods are short, and vary from 4 to 15 years. The plantations are managed with sophisticated technologies such as polytube systems, single-cell container systems, intermediate treatments and mechanized harvest operations. Most companies produce their own seedlings, sometimes up to 50 million per year (Maturana, 2005). The control and prevention of fire and disease is highly important and is handled by specialized departments.

• Plantations for wood and NTFPs are initiated by larger companies, individual entrepreneurs, as is the case for the coffee (Coffea) and cacao (Theobroma cacao) plantations in Africa, Latin America and Asia (Rice and Greenberg, 2000; Baffes et al, 2004), as well as estates, for example many of the rubber (Hevea) plantations in Asia (Ali et al, 1997). These plantations vary significantly in size (from small patches of less than 100ha up to thousands of hectares) and in the level of technology and organization depending on the product and socio-environmental conditions. Mostly, the technology used is less sophisticated than in pulp plantations.

For local people, employment opportunities are the most important benefit from this kind of plantation. However, such opportunities are often limited to unqualified labour during seasonal peaks, sometimes only for a few weeks each year. In comparison with other land uses the employment levels are relatively low and rarely exceed 1–3 direct and a further 1–3 indirect jobs for every 100ha planted (Cossalter and Pye-Smith, 2003; Schirmer and Tonts, 2003; WRM, 1999; Aracruz, 2001; WBCSD, 2001). In particular, Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-certified enterprises provide good working conditions, often accompanied by the provision of education and health services. A few companies also run programmes to provide these services to local families living near the plantations. To simplify, the social impact of pulp plantations depends on two key factors: population density and former land uses. Both are influenced by a third parameter: the soil fertility (Figure 6.1).

If population density is high and plantations have replaced natural forests, local impacts tend to be more negative because, compared to original land uses, the plantations provide relatively few jobs, generate locally irrelevant products for export and tend to diminish the environmental quality of the landscape. Even deforested land provides essential goods and services to locals and tends to achieve a higher environmental value in the course of secondary succession. This is even more relevant as commercial investors generally avoid planting on strongly degraded soils for economic reasons. Furthermore, in populated areas, the probability of conflict over land tenure is always high. Indirect benefits to local people are confined to improved main roads, since investments in health and education are normally restricted to employees. If population density is low, the social balance of plantations tends to become more positive. But conflicts with traditional land-use practices and property rights remain probable, and plantations also limit the future options for local smallholders for a long time. Nevertheless, although the effects of plantations on local people may occasionally be dramatic, they are mostly indirect and often irrelevant. Any benefits are basically limited to the relatively low number of employees.

Outgrower schemes

First implemented in South Africa during the 1960s by pulp industries to guarantee the availability of raw material (see Box 6.1), outgrower schemes became important as a mechanism to soften existing conflicts with local communities about resource access, land tenure and the effects of environmental damage (Desmond and Race, 2000; Cyranoski, 2007). Outgrower schemes are production partnerships encouraging smallholders to grow trees on their own land as a source of raw material for industry. Generally, the company offers technical and financial support to establish and maintain the plantation, and ultimately purchases the products from the smallholder. In some cases the company also provides marketing and production services. The two most typical products of outgrower schemes are pulpwood and fruit. Outgrower schemes are usually established in areas with good infrastructure, clearly defined land tenure and favourable environmental conditions, and provide attractive income opportunities for the farmers (Mayers and Vermeulen, 2002; Nawir et al, 2002; Vidal and Donini, 2004)