[MPWG] Fwd: USFS International Programs Seminar: Green Value – An innovative tool for...community forest enterprises: June 12 (12-1 EST)

[De Angelis, Patricia]

This webinar that may be of interest...tho the focus is not US, the
community forestry aspects and the Green Value tool may have looks looks
like it could be useful for our medicinal plant realm. The presenters are
also based in the US, and it would be interesting to know if they are
involved in similar efforts here at home.

The webinar is free but you need to RSVP.

Patricia S. De Angelis, Ph.D.
Botanist, US Fish & Wildlife Service-Division of Scientific Authority
Chair, Plant Conservation Alliance-Medicinal Plant Working Group
703-358-1708 x 1753

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Henkai, Pari -FS <phenkai at fs.fed.us>
Date: Fri, Jun 5, 2015 at 12:08 PM
Subject: US Forest Service International Programs Seminar Series presents:
Green Value – An innovative tool for evaluating and strengthening the
financial viability of community forest enterprises
To: "Patricia_DeAngelis at fws.gov" <Patricia_DeAngelis at fws.gov>


 US Forest Service International Programs Seminar Series presents

WHAT:  Green Value – An innovative tool for evaluating and strengthening
the financial viability of community forest enterprises

WHO:  Shoana Humphries, PhD, Scientist, Earth Innovation Institute, and
Thomas Holmes, PhD, U.S. Forest Service

WHEN: (Friday) June 12, 2015 12-1pm

WHERE: U.S. Forest Service International Programs (near McPherson Square
Metro).  1 Thomas Circle, NW, Suite 400 Washington DC-20005

Please R.S.V.P. Pari Henkai 202-644-4587 or phenkai at fs.fed.us

CONNECT REMOTELY:  If you cannot attend the seminar but would like to hear
it using ADOBE CONNECT, please see the instructions at the end of this
message.


ABOUT THE PRESENTATION

One of the biggest weaknesses of community-based forest enterprises in the
tropics is financial management, and the Green Value tool aims to address
this challenge.  Green Value originated from work in 2007 and 2008 by Dr.
Thomas Holmes (US Forest Service) and Dr. Shoana Humphries (Earth
Innovation Institute) in response to the need for simplified procedures to
conduct financial analysis for community-based forest enterprises producing
timber in Brazil.  From 2013 to 2015, with support from USAID and the US
Forest Service’s Office of International Programs, the original worksheets
have been expanded into a tool with a User’s Guide and six easy to follow
steps.  To date this tool has been used to train over 180 people in six
countries and to analyze family and community production of a wide range of
forest products and services.  The tool is innovative in that it includes
all costs, including those that are subsidized (e.g., technical assistance
and machinery), it breaks down costs by productive activities and inputs
(labor, materials/services, and machinery/equipment), and it provides the
average cost per unit sold (in addition to other financial indicators).
These results allow for better planning and decision-making by
community-based forest enterprises and their collaborators, and provide
transparent financial information that can improve community-based forest
enterprises negotiations with buyers and attract investors.  Furthermore,
the results help inform policy-makers and others working to support
community-based forest enterprises on the financial challenges
community-based forest enterprises face as well as the financial benefits
they provide local communities through wages and purchases of materials and
services. Examples of family and community enterprise products analyzed to
date include logs, finished wood products, Brazil nuts, carbon credits,
tourism, bamboo, and traditional crafts.  The tool is now available on
EII’s website in English, Spanish, and Portuguese (
www.earthinnovation.org/green-value-continued).  An overview of Green Value
and details on its use to date will be provided, as will a discussion of
next steps.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Shoana Humphries has a Ph.D. in Forest Resources and Conservation with a
minor in Food and Resource Economics from the University of Florida. She
has worked in community forestry and forest certification for the last 18
years in the US, Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Mexico, and Germany.  Shoana’s
international community forestry experience began with a short term
consultancy in 2000 with the Bolivian Sustainable Forest Management
Project, which then led to two years in Peru with ProNaturaleza.  After
completing her PhD, which focused on community forestry in the Brazilian
Amazon and southern Mexico, she worked for three years as the Social Policy
Manager for the Forest Stewardships Council International Center, in
Germany, to make certification more accessible and beneficial for
smallholders around the globe.  Today  Shoana is part of Earth Innovation
Institute’s smallholder program, which seeks to strengthen the role and
recognition of smallholders as key actors in low emission rural development
in the tropics. Her work focuses on training and applied research with
family and community forest enterprises in the Amazon region.

Tom Holmes is a Research Forest Economist with the Southern Research
Station, U.S. Forest Service.  He received his Ph.D. in Agricultural &
Natural Resource Economics from the University of Connecticut in 1986.
Prior to his current position, he spent two years as a Research Economist
with the Economic Research Service investigating water quality issues.  His
current research is focused on understanding the ways in which forest
ecosystems contribute to societal well-being.  This is accomplished using
market and non-market valuation methods to research topics in forest
health, wilderness economics, behavioral economics, invasive species
management, climate change, wildfire risk, water management and tropical
forest conservation.

ADOBE CONNECT instructions

To access the Adobe Connect web meeting, please ensure that your computer
has a good Internet connection. A hard-wired connection is better than
wireless. Also make sure your computer has Adobe Flash Player (11.2 or
higher).  No additional software is required. To make sure your connections
are configured correctly before the seminar, test them by visiting: Adobe
Connect Test. Also, users find that wearing a headset for the audio is
better than listening through a computer’s built in speakers.  If you have
technical questions, contact Adobe Connect at 800-422-3623.

Once you know you can connect, follow these steps:

1.      Connect your computer/mobile device to the Adobe Connect web
meeting:  https://usfs.adobeconnect.com/ip/

2.      Select “Enter as a Guest” (you do NOT need a login and password)

3.      Type your name or location (if multiple people are joining
together) into the “name” box

4.      Click “Enter Room”

5.      Feel free to send in any questions for the speaker in the chat or Q
& A box. For technical issues, please contact Adobe Connect at 800-422-3623

***************************************************************************
For more information on US Forest Service International Programs, please
visit http://www.fs.fed.us/about-agency/international-programs

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