Project Report: Indigenous-Led Reforestation in Panama and its Contribution to Sustainable Development Goals

A collaborative reforestation initiative in Panama is demonstrating a progressive model for environmental restoration and community development, aligning strongly with several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The project partners two Indigenous groups in the Ñürüm district of the Ngäbe-Buglé Comarca with researchers from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI).

Strategic Partnerships for Sustainable Goals (SDG 17)

The project exemplifies a multi-stakeholder partnership essential for achieving the SDGs. This collaboration brings together:

• Local Indigenous leadership and community members
• The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI)
• Financial partners, including the Rohr Family Foundation and the U.K. government’s Global Centre on Biodiversity for Climate

This alliance ensures that scientific expertise is combined with local knowledge and that the project is adequately funded, directly supporting SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals.

Environmental Restoration and Climate Action

Halting Land Degradation (SDG 15)

The project directly addresses SDG 15: Life on Land by aiming to reverse decades of environmental damage. The landscape of Ñürüm has been severely degraded by deforestation for agriculture and cattle ranching, compounded by poor soil quality. The initiative seeks to restore this ecosystem by planting 100 hectares with native tree species.

Based on two decades of research from STRI’s Panama Canal Watershed Project, species have been selected for their suitability to the local environment. Key species include:

• Cocobolo (Dalbergia retusa): A nitrogen-fixing tree that improves soil health, is highly water-efficient, and thrives in poor conditions.
• Zapateros (Hyeronima alchorneoides): A native species that grows well in the region.

By reintroducing native flora, the project aims to restore biodiversity, improve soil fertility, and enhance water filtration, combating land degradation and desertification.

Carbon Sequestration and Climate Action (SDG 13)

The primary environmental objective is to mitigate climate change through carbon sequestration. By planting native trees, the project creates a significant carbon sink, contributing directly to the targets of SDG 13: Climate Action. The model is designed so that participating community members will eventually receive carbon payments, creating a direct economic incentive for climate-positive actions.

Socio-Economic Advancement and Reduced Inequalities

Poverty Alleviation and Decent Work (SDG 1 & SDG 8)

The project provides tangible economic benefits to the participating Indigenous communities, addressing SDG 1: No Poverty and SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth. The economic model includes several layers of support:

• Payment of a daily wage for land maintenance and planting activities.
• Provision of necessary seeds and tools, removing financial barriers to participation.
• Long-term income streams through future carbon payments.
• Potential for future revenue from the sustainable harvesting of high-value timber.

This structure provides immediate income while building a foundation for long-term, sustainable economic self-sufficiency for the nearly 30 individuals and families involved.

Empowerment and Reduced Inequalities (SDG 10)

A cornerstone of the project is its commitment to SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities by ensuring the rights and empowerment of the Indigenous communities. This approach stands in stark contrast to previous government-led initiatives where communities lost ownership of their land.

The project’s framework guarantees that the communities retain full ownership of their land. Furthermore, the implementation was guided by the principle of free, prior, and informed consent. The process involved:

1. A year-long consultation period with forums and community meetings.
2. Dedicated efforts to ensure a full understanding of the project’s scientific and economic concepts, including carbon storage.
3. Transparent communication regarding compensation, benefits, and long-term outcomes.

This rights-based approach empowers the Indigenous population, ensuring they are active partners and primary beneficiaries of the initiative, thereby reducing systemic inequalities.

SDGs Addressed in the Article

• SDG 1: No Poverty – The project provides a direct income stream (“paid a daily wage”) and future income (“earn carbon payments”) to participants from Indigenous communities, addressing economic vulnerability.
• SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth – The project creates local employment opportunities (“Nearly 30 individuals and families had chosen to participate”) by paying community members for planting and maintaining the trees.
• SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities – The project focuses on empowering Indigenous groups (“Two Indigenous groups in Panama”) by ensuring they retain land ownership and are included in decision-making through “free, prior and informed consent.”
• SDG 13: Climate Action – A primary goal of the project is climate change mitigation through “growing native trees for carbon sequestration.”
• SDG 15: Life on Land – The article is centered on reforestation (“plant native trees across 100 hectares”), restoring degraded land (“heavily deforested for decades”), and improving soil quality (“It grows on crappy soils…it enhances filtration”).
• SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions – The project emphasizes inclusive and participatory decision-making, as the Smithsonian team “spent a year holding forums and meetings to obtain the Indigenous peoples’ free, prior and informed consent.”
• SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals – The project is a multi-stakeholder partnership involving “Indigenous groups,” “researchers from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI),” and international funders like the “Rohr Family Foundation and the U.K. government’s Global Centre on Biodiversity for Climate.”

Specific SDG Targets Identified

1. SDG 1: No Poverty

   • Target 1.4: By 2030, ensure that all men and women, in particular the poor and the vulnerable, have equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to basic services, ownership and control over land.
     
     Explanation: The article explicitly states that a key feature of the project is that “the communities retain full ownership of their land,” directly addressing land tenure security for a vulnerable group.

2. SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

   • Target 8.5: By 2030, achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men, including for young people and persons with disabilities, and equal pay for work of equal value.
     
     Explanation: The project provides employment to local community members, who “get paid a daily wage for cleaning and maintaining the land.”

3. SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

   • Target 10.2: By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status.
     
     Explanation: The project is specifically designed to include and empower the Ngäbe-Buglé Indigenous people, ensuring their participation and benefit, contrasting with a past project where they lost land ownership.

4. SDG 13: Climate Action

   • Target 13.3: Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning.
     
     Explanation: The project team worked to “ensure the communities understood the concept of planting trees to store carbon, and the compensation and benefits involved,” which builds local capacity and awareness for climate mitigation.

5. SDG 15: Life on Land

   • Target 15.2: By 2020, promote the implementation of sustainable management of all types of forests, halt deforestation, restore degraded forests and substantially increase afforestation and reforestation globally.
     
     Explanation: The project’s core mission is to “plant native trees across 100 hectares” in an area that has been “heavily deforested.”
   • Target 15.3: By 2030, combat desertification, restore degraded land and soil, including land affected by desertification, drought and floods, and strive to achieve a land degradation-neutral world.
     
     Explanation: The project is taking place on land with “clay, acidic, phosphorous-deficient and of low fertility” soil, aiming to restore this degraded landscape.

6. SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

   • Target 16.7: Ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels.
     
     Explanation: The project’s methodology involved spending “a year holding forums and meetings to obtain the Indigenous peoples’ free, prior and informed consent,” demonstrating inclusive and participatory decision-making.

7. SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

   • Target 17.16: Enhance the global partnership for sustainable development, complemented by multi-stakeholder partnerships that mobilize and share knowledge, expertise, technology and financial resources.
     
     Explanation: The article describes a partnership between local Indigenous communities, a scientific research institute (STRI), and international financial partners (Rohr Family Foundation, U.K. government).

Indicators for Measuring Progress

1. For Target 15.2 (Reforestation)

   • Indicator: The area of land being reforested.
     
     Mention in Article: The project aims to plant trees “across 100 hectares (nearly 250 acres) in Ñürüm.” This provides a clear, quantifiable metric for progress.

2. For Target 1.4 (Land Ownership)

   • Indicator (Implied): The legal status of land tenure for participants.
     
     Mention in Article: The statement that “the communities retain full ownership of their land” serves as a qualitative indicator that this target is being met for the project participants.

3. For Target 8.5 (Employment)

   • Indicator (Implied): The number of people employed by the project.
     
     Mention in Article: The article notes that “Nearly 30 individuals and families had chosen to participate,” providing a baseline number for employment created.

4. For Target 13.3 (Climate Mitigation)

   • Indicator (Implied): The amount of carbon sequestered or the value of carbon payments.
     
     Mention in Article: The goal of “growing native trees for carbon sequestration” and the promise that farmers will “eventually earn carbon payments” imply that carbon sequestration rates and payments will be key metrics of success.

5. For Target 16.7 (Inclusive Decision-Making)

   • Indicator (Implied): The process for community engagement.
     
     Mention in Article: The description of the process—”spent a year holding forums and meetings to obtain the Indigenous peoples’ free, prior and informed consent”—serves as a procedural indicator of participatory governance.

SDG Analysis Summary

Source: news.mongabay.com