The North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation: Chamaedorea Palm Certification Project

The North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation (NACEC) and the University of Minnesota Center for Integrated Natural Resources and Agricultural Management (CINRAM) are working together with the Rainforest Alliance TREES program, Smartwood, and TransFair to certify palms harvested from the forests of Mexico and Guatemala for sale to Christian congregations in the United States and Europe.

Dean A. Current, a professor of natural resources management at the University of Minnesota, was called in to study the economics of the palm industry. He discovered that about 10 percent of the palms sent to the United States were bought by churches. The rest go to florists, who often use them in arrangements for weddings and funerals.

In surveying churches, Mr. Current found that most were willing to pay up to double the going price to be sure their palms were responsibly harvested. A big church might spend as much as $1,500 on palms for Palm Sunday.

New York Times: U.S. Churches Go ‘Green’ for Palm Sunday


Why Eco-Palms?

•Eco-Palms preserve the vitality of the communities and forests for years to come.

•Community groups receive 5 to 6 times the normal payment per frond.

•Eco-Palms are purchased directly from the communities, which lessens the impact of the fluctuating market and allows value-added processing to take place within the community.

•A typical Eco-Palm is harvested in the forest by men and processed by women in the community. This increases employment opportunities for women in the community and helps them contribute to their family’s financial stability.

•Continue to buy palms for Easter Season and floral arrangements. Without a market for the palms the forests are at risk of being converted to agricultural fields.

Chamaedorea Palm Fast Facts

•Non-oil palm plants are used in many facets of life, including religious ceremonies and floral arrangements.

•Approximately 308 million palm fronds were consumed in the United States in 1998.

•Each palm plant produces 2 to 5 harvestable leaves over a 2 to 4 month period.

•Palm gathering actually protects valuable natural forests. Gatherers protect forest areas where palm grows.

•Many of the palm producing forest areas are important “biosphere reserves” and tend to be the home of poorer segments of the rural population.

•There is currently an effort to certify these palms from communities practicing sustainable forest management.
  
 
How to work with your retailer

Talk to your current palm distributors and ask if they are aware of the source of their palm fronds. Let them know about your environmental and social justice concerns. Ask them if they would be willing to participate in distributing Chamaedorea palm fronds from certified operations.

How to work with your congregation

Inform your parishioners about the opportunity to improve the conservation of forests and forest species by improving the livelihoods of people living near the forests. Instruct them about the value of their consumer choices and how these choices have direct impacts on the environment and social justice.

Eco Palms

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