Sustainable Forestry in Puerto Rico

Tropic Ventures, Puerto Rico, was established in 1983. Located on some of the most challenging steep slopes and diverse ecology in the mountains of south-eastern Puerto Rico, the project uses a total systems approach to utilize a rainforest environment for profit without diminishing its species richness, biological diversity or total biomass.

The project is located about one hour from the San Juan International Airport and within easy reach of major commercial centers and beaches. The forest's elevation of 600 meters provides year round temperatures averaging 22°C/71.7°F. With the prevailing Easterly trade winds delivering an average annual rainfall of 3 m, the year-round humidity is high.

The area is mostly representative of old secondary forest. It is one of the very few secondary forests where its management addresses conservation and utilization issues, as most other ecological work is being done in mature (usually "climax") rainforests. Human intervention has extensively disturbed most of the mature rainforests in Puerto Rico during the last few centuries including the use of rainforests for agriculture, coffee plantations and pastures.

Increased standards of living on the island have led to a decline in agricultural land use and in the use of wood or charcoal for burning. The most marginal of these lands have reverted to secondary forests and they are left untended until it proves profitable to use them again for timber fuel or agriculture.

It is clear that research into the sound ecological management of timber production in tropical and subtropical secondary rainforest areas could make a valuable contribution to the future preservation of rainforest land and its species by providing a method of sustainable utilization of the land for profit without destruction of the local ecology. In the case of Puerto Rico, it could also make a considerable contribution to the island economy.

It is estimated that in 1828, half of the lands previously owned by the Spanish Crown in Puerto Rico had been ceded to settlers whose main occupation was agriculture. At that time, approximately 72% of the island was still covered by forest. By the end of the 19th century 90% of the land had been ceded to settlers, and only 25% was still forested. 4% of this forestland was government owned and 21% privately owned. By 1935, 17% of the island was privately owned forestland; this percentage increased after World War II when much of the land that had been cleared for sugar cane became unproductive and was abandoned (Pico, 1974).

In general, the exploitable species found in the secondary forest areas are fruit trees in the old plantation areas and shade trees in the old coffee growing regions. Valuable timber is generally only found in government reserves and the less accessible parts of some farms.

Frank Wadsworth has estimated that in order to adequately protect the soils and watersheds of Puerto Rico, 25% of the island would need to remain forested (Pico, 1974). Puerto Rico currently imports nearly all of its timber from the U.S.A. and Canada at an estimated value of $130 m. Wadsworth has suggested that at least 48% of this timber could be produced in Puerto Rico's secondary forests without touching any land currently under agricultural use, thereby reducing the island's net payments and providing approximately $20 million USD in employment (Pico, 1974). This would be particularly significant in rural undeveloped areas such as Patillas (the municipality in which the project is situated) where unemployment in some sectors is as high as 40%.

The clearing of secondary rainforest in the area around the project site is caused mostly by agriculture and livestock grazing. Much of the land in this area is on very steep slopes which cause severe erosion, and production is poor without heavy use of chemical fertilizer.

It is hoped that a demonstration of timber production on lands unsuited to long term agricultural use will encourage similar practices resulting in sustainable practices.

In 1984, Tropic Ventures started a program of line planting valuable hardwood timber trees within the existing secondary forest. Approximately 40,000 trees have been planted to date on 87 hectares, with a spacing of 3 m between trees in the rows.

Since 2003,the valuable hardwood, Blue Mahoe, has been selectively harvested and sold at Tropic Ventures.