www.CREA-Panama.org

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Part of Trees Issue 2

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Special thanks to:

CREA www.cocobolonaturereserve.orgwww.CREA-Panama.org

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CREA is a not for profit organization, registered in the US, UK and Panama, that is dedicated to the conservation of our natural environment by conducting innovative research, increasing eco-logical literacy and halting unsustainable natural resource use.

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baTo learn more about CREA,visit our main website: www.CREA-Panama.org

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In 2006 CREA, a non profit or-ganization, stepped in when a 1000 acre forest in Panama was about to be sold to cattle ranch-ers. CREA found a donor to buy this forest in order to protect its abundant forest, water reserves and biodiversity. in 2007 CREA incorporated this forest as a na-tionally registered private na-ture reserve called COCOBOLO NATURE RESERVE.

In order to maintain and protect this reserve CREA is reaching out. We invite you to become a Rainforest Guardian of this reserve and to help us protect it from illegal hunting, logging and burning. You can become a Rainforest Guardian of this rainforest for a minimum dona-tion of $39 for one year.

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When you become a Rainforest Guardian of 1 acre of the

Cocobolo Rainforests, you...

* ensure that 100 tons of CO2 is not released into the air * protect hundreds of species of plants and animals, many rare or endangered * preserve our precious natu-ral heritage from being burned or illegally hunted * support CREA in its farmer training program

* a beautiful certificate with your name and a description of your rainforest * membership into the online gallery of rainforest guardians (publishing is optional) * a newsletter updating you about the Cocobolo Nature Reserve rainforests

When you become a Rainforest Guardian

you receive...

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* Trains subsistence farmers to use sustainable farming techniques in order to combat the cycle of poverty and environmental degradation of tropical rainforests * Provides environmental education on tropical rainforests for schoolchildren and academic cours-es for undergraduates * Undertakes research on the effects of human impacts on tropical rainforests and how to solve environmental problems * Protects critical tropical rainforest areas for biodiversity conservation

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CREA is undertaking a host of different projects that aid us in our understanding of ecosystem function and the threats that these ecosystems face. It allows us to monitor and protect them more efficiently and also al-lows us to prioritize our efforts. CREA undertakes some of these projects together with Univer-sity and/or funding agency part-ners, while others are publicly supported through donations. Please contact us for further information on any project you find of interest.

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Tropical rainforests cover a mere 6% of the Earth’s land surface yet harbour over 50% of the Earth’s terrestrial biodiver-sity. Tropical rainforests are a place of enchantment and repre-sent the splendour and potential of life on our unique planetary home.

20% of all CO2 released comes from forest burn-ing for agricultural expansion, more than all

global transportation combined

Besides being a place of incredible beauty and wonder, tropical rainforests are also important to us. Of the 3000 plants identified by the Na-tional Cancer Institute as a source of cancer fight-ing chemicals, 2100 are from the world’s tropi-cal rainforests. Less than 1% of the estimated 125,000 flowering plant species of tropical rain-forests have been examined for their medicinal properties. This is but one example of the richness that exists within rainforests.

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However, about 50 million acres (approximately the size of Great Britain) of tropical rainforests are destroyed each year. Much of this deforestation occurs through slash and burn agricul-ture by subsistence farmers who lack knowledge of sustainable alternatives. The effects of glob-al warming through slash and burn are enormous. It is respon-sible for 20% of the total global emissions of CO2 into our atmo-sphere each year. To halt fur-ther effects of global warming we must implement climate change mitigation through reforestation programs and insist on the full protection of remaining tropical rainforests. Tropical deforesta-tion also leads directly to the extinction of several thousands of animal and plant species ev-ery year and causes changes to global water cycles.

Tropical rainforests are the rich-est ecosystem on our planet and are an essential element to the planet’s life support machine. In 3 acres of tropical rainforest one can find up to 300 species of trees as opposed to up to 10 in a temperate forest. Panama has over 3000 species of trees in the rainforests of the Panama Canal alone.

Nearly 80% of the Earth’s animal species are from tropical rainforests. It is estimated that each tree in the rainforest could harbor over 400 unique species of insects found nowhere else on earth, such is the immense diversity of tropical rainforests.Tropical rainforests store ap-proximately 46% of the worlds living carbon and 11% of all soil carbon. The loss of tropical rainforests is more than just the

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s loss of trees, it is the removal of a critical element necessary for our survival. Eighty per-cent of the nutrients in tropical rainforests are in the vegetation and not in the soil. This means that the soils are nutrient-poor and become eroded and unpro-ductive within a few years af-ter rainforests are cleared. The uneven distribution of wealth and land is one major factor in the destruction of tropical rain-forests. Over one billion people worldwide depend directly on tropical rainforests. Many of them exist in absolute poverty.

This is causing further destruc-tion of rainforests through the inefficient and unsustainable use of their resources through lack of knowledge.

Unfortunately the pressure on tropical rainforests is not de-creasing but increasing and it is estimated that within a few de-cades no large expanse of tropi-cal rainforests will exist.

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Cocobolo Nature Reserve covers over 1000 acres of primary and secondary lowland rainforest and harbors endangered wild-life such as ocelots, margays, crested curassows and harlequin frogs to name a few. Within the reserve are important headwa-ters of the Mamoni river. The reserve is located at the nar-rowest stretch of Mesoamerica, and thus represents a vital piece of the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor, an ambitious project that aims to preserve a network of conservation regions extend-ing from Mexico to Colombia.

Unsustainable use of land for farming is forcing farmers to push further into unprotected forests of the region. Within Cocobolo Nature Reserve is CREA’s field school where school groups and local com-munities participate in educa-tional activities. In one area of the reserve CREA has set up an agricultural demonstration farm that shows ways in which agriculture can comply with lo-cal ecological systems. The pur-pose of Cocobolo Nature Reserve is to primarily protect habitat for biodiversity while aiding lo-cal communities to develop local solutions for specific agricultural practices that increase wildlife habitat, food production and protect remaining forests simul-taneously.

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Cocobolo Nature Reserve covers over 1000 acres of primary and secondary lowland rainforest and harbors endangered wild-life such as ocelots, margays, crested curassows and harlequin frogs to name a few. Within the reserve are important headwa-ters of the Mamoni river. The reserve is located at the nar-rowest stretch of Mesoamerica, and thus represents a vital piece of the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor, an ambitious project that aims to preserve a network of conservation regions extend-ing from Mexico to Colombia.

Unsustainable use of land for farming is forcing farmers to push further into un-protected forests of

the region. Within Cocobolo Na-ture Reserve is CREA’s field school where school groups and local communities participate in educational activities. In one area of the reserve CREA has set up an agricultural demon-stration farm that shows ways in which agriculture can comply with local ecological systems. The purpose of Cocobolo Nature Reserve is to primarily protect habitat for biodiversity while aiding local communities to develop local solutions for spe-cific agricultural practices that increase wildlife habitat, food production and protect remain-ing forests simultaneously.

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The majority of the 1 million (37%) poor in Panama are rural sub-sistence farmers who are the most affected by unsustainable land use practices. The poor are forced to occupy cheap, often hilly, mar-ginal areas and it is here where one finds the greatest poverty and the greatest ongoing loss of biodiversity. Poor farmers use slash and burn or “swidden” agriculture where forest is first cut and burned, then crops are sown for only one or two years before the soil becomes exhausted forcing the farmers to move on to another patch of forest. It is in these “conservation frontline” areas where the rural poor need knowledge of how best to survive within their environmental means, so that they do not inflict further environmental damage thereby reducing the ability of their children to break the poverty cycle. Such information, often very basic, is lacking in these com-munities where old, unsuitable traditions are used simply from lack of any alternatives. Alternative sustainable practices exist and have been used globally, with success.

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CREA promotes conservation at several levels. Our core initiative is to work with farmers to better their lives while ensuring the con-servation of the natural resources and services that surround their communities. We do this through agricultural education that allows them to farm more efficiently and productively and through action initiatives that include providing them access to markets so that they can embed themselves into the local or national economy.

Also on this page we wish to give you a sample of some of the actions CREA is taking and the stand that it is taking on several issues and how you can get involved.

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CREA is dedicated to the cause of educating these poor rural communities for the ultimate protection of Panama’s rain-forests which are being cut and burned at an unprecedented rate.

An important part of farmer training is making the information disseminated to a few farmers benefecial for all in the community. In other words how do we make our actions multiply themselves? We do this by training farmers how to train other farmers. We teach them skills in communication and demonstration. We supply them with teaching materials to use in their training. By doing this we leave information within the communities

CREA is training poor farm-ing communities in alternative methods of farming that do not require continuous moving and cutting. Using various crop mix-tures, soil conservation measures and adding organic fertiliser can increase the life of a single patch of cut forest by 25 times.

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Over 125,000 acres of tropical forest are being de-stroyed in Panama each year. A large amount is destroyed and burned by small scale farmers for their survival but are doing it because they know no other techniques for farming. 100 tons of car-bon is released for each acre burned, contribut-ing significantly to global warming. Indeed 20% of all greenhouse gases are emitted because of land use change (ie conversion of forests to agriculture) around the world.

By donating to causes like ours we will be able to invest resources in order to train farmers to be-come more sustainable, living and working within the capacity of their environment, which means no more cutting of forests. We are also training farmers in sustainable livelihoods that can provide families with a greater income while having less impact on natural resources.

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toNakedPlanet mag.- will help you to be up to date and be involved with world problems and issues. You will find the magaiznefull of interesting articles and profiles of CREA alike companies, that work hard to make difference.Find the subscription pack in-cluded in the magazine.

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You can write to local and national representa-tives of your country to make them aware of the lack of environmental safeguards currently being executed in Panama. You can advise them to op-pose your country’s trade with Panama’s gold or copper. You can stop buying gold and reduce as much as possible your personal consumption of mined metals. You can sell your shares of Peta-quilla and parent companies or make sure that you have no investments that include this pub-lic company (listed in the Germany, Canada, and Australia). You can also communicate with the companies themselves:

to CREA

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Petaquilla Minerals Ltd. (OTC: PTQMF)Suite 410 - 475 W. Georgia St.

Vancouver, British Columbia V6B 4M8, CanadaPhone: 604-694-0021Fax: 604-694-0063

Toll Free: 877-694-0021

Inmet Mining Corporation (OTC: IEMMF)330 Bay St., Ste. 1000

Toronto, Ontario M5H 2S8, CanadaPhone: 416-361-6400Fax: 416-368-4692

http://www.inmetmining.com

200 Burrard St., Ste. 600Vancouver, British Columbia V6C 3L9, Canada

Phone: 604-687-1117Fax: 604-687-6100Primary US Office:

http://www.teckcominco.com

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Please help us protect the Cocobolo Nature Reserve by filling the form on the card

attached and guarding an acre of rainforests.

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CREA

PO Box 0843-02479

Ancon

Panama

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