Topic of the year: Economic approaches to change

The private sector is crucial to advancing the systemic change necessary to protect our planet. What does economic activity that considers the needs of nature and people look like?

We closely examined this question in the year under review. This includes, for example, Peru, where our local partners are collaborating with Amazon nut (also known as Brazil nut) farmers to develop an innovative and sustainable tourism offering in the Tambopata National Reserve, in the region of Madre de Dios; the Canton of Bern, where we aim to sustain the forest and simultaneously improve the value chain of the regional timber industry; Kenya, where community groups are earning income, from dried oyster mushrooms grown on elephant dung; and finally Laos, where we conducted a study on the economic potential of non-timber products.

Hub Bern: Innovative products made from difficult-to-market raw wood

Regional value chains for wood already exist in the Canton of Bern. But there is still a lot of potential for the development of new, environmentally sustainable products that can be gradually rolled out and established in the market. In parallel, it is also essential to forge a network between businesses active in this area, as well as to strengthen trust between the many interest groups from industry, politics, and society who are part of the value chains. In addition to forest owners, these include sawmills, wood planing and gluing plants, builders and carpenters, as well as customers, architectural firms, forest visitors, hunters, and conservationists.

This is the starting point for several incubator projects launched in the Oberland-Ost and Emmental regions by the Wyss Academy for Nature’s Hub Bern, together with Lignum Holzwirtschaft Bern and the Office for Forests and Natural Hazards (AWN) of the Canton of Bern. In addition to enhancing markets and networking, these projects aim at improving forest ecosystem services. One of the projects focuses on the commercialization of difficult-to-market raw wood, including pine, beech, and spruce: desire for them is low, despite increasing demand for wood. In surveys and workshops with stakeholders led by the Bern University of Applied Sciences (BFH), new ideas were identified and compiled for how to market the wood regionally at a higher price than firewood. Following a multi-stage expert review of the various proposals, four product or project ideas were finally defined and developed into business cases in 2023: biochar, charcoal for grilling, fuelwood for electricity generation, and glue-laminated timber.

“Biochar can be used as a methane-reducing additive in animal feed,” explains project leader Stefan Lobsiger from BFH in a video interview. “It can also be used in plant cultivation, where it saves water, provides nutrients, and makes plants demonstrably more resistant.” 
 

There is still a lot of potential for the development of new, and environmentally sustainable products

The charcoal used for grilling in Switzerland is largely imported – including from forests without sustainability certification, according to WWF Switzerland. This creates an opening for Switzerland to produce its own grilling charcoal from regional wood. Such wood could also be used to produce electricity. One large-scale power plant in Stans, for example, currently produces 1,200 megawatts of electricity from wood, covering the yearly needs of 1,000 single-family homes. Also conceivable is the production of glue-laminated timber for concealed structures such as industrial halls. Each business case that is developed includes various criteria for product evaluation – including risk factors, economic viability, and social acceptance – as well as concrete recommendations for action. These form the basis for a catalog of measures which will be subsequently discussed and adopted together with stakeholders in 2024.

Additional Hub Bern projects concerned with economic approaches for change can be found here: 

• Sustainable use of water and soil in the Three Lakes Region (Bernese Seeland) (LANAT-2)
• Climate neutral Region Oberland-Ost (AUE-1)
• Replacement of raw materials in the circular economy (AWA-1)

Hub South America: Secure income thanks to the Amazon Nut Route

In the Peruvian province of Tambopata, in the region of Madre de Dios, the Wyss Academy for Nature’s Hub South America is working together with stakeholder groups to test approaches to fostering sustainable economic development in unison with conservation goals. This includes projects to market Amazon nuts (also known as Brazil nuts) whose trees live and are protected in concession areas. In 2023, a total of five organizations carried out various entrepreneurial and innovative experiments along the value chain of this beneficial non-timber product, with the support of the Hub South America team. Among them is our partner organization Shiwi, a private company that strengthened the so-called Amazon Nut Route, a gastronomic and cultural touristic experience. Its aim is to improve the living conditions of nut collectors. On the one hand, the collectors diversify their economic activities by being an active actor along the Route, and on the other, increase their family income.  “We make sure that the income generated is distributed fairly through offering a variety of goods and services from the nut collectors involved in the initiative – including boat trips, foods, and the maintenance of tourist areas,” explains Sofia Rubio, founder of Shiwi. “The Amazon nut activity is a seasonal business. To make a living in the off-season, many nut collectors work as loggers or farmers; or they work in artisanal gold mining.”
 

Nature-aligned alternatives can improve living conditions

The Amazon Nut Route provides them with alternatives that align with nature – for example, the joint development of sustainable tourism offerings in the region, including guided jungle hikes and culinary experiences. “Right now, we’re also involved in a tourism program that the Wyss Academy is carrying out together with Swisscontact, where members of the Route are also participating in this program, enhancing their knowledge and abilities,” says Sofia Rubio.  

Further information on the Amazon nut value chain network and sustainable tourism in Madre de Dios can be found on the Hub South America annual report page.

Hub East Africa: Sprouting value — and mushrooms — from an innovative idea

At the Wyss Academy’s Hub East Africa, economic approaches to change took an interesting turn; creating value in elephant dung, and diversification of diets for a largely meat-eating community in semi-arid northern Kenya. 

Through a partnership between the Wyss Academy for Nature, the National Museums of Kenya (NMK), and community group Green Earth Warriors, a new farming technique was successfully piloted to grow nutritious oyster mushrooms using elephant dung as a substrate. The innovative approach combines scientific methods with local capabilities to bring about food security, nutritional diversity, and improved livelihoods for residents of Naibunga Community Conservancy in Laikipia County, Kenya. “Working out in the field, and on various projects around rhinos and elephants, I wondered if in addition to conservation, food security could also be a consideration for the communities we work in," said Antony Wandera, Projects Manager at the Wyss Academy for Nature Hub East Africa, and originator of the idea.

Dubbed the “mushroom project”, it has not only delivered a delicious plant protein, or generated work and income, but it has also empowered the community—especially the women. As pointed out by Susan Kabacia, Research Scientist at the NMK, “With this new confidence, there’s also the motivation to transfer the acquired knowledge and skills to women in neighboring communities, thus fostering cohesion and unity – a win for all-around development in the area.”    

In less than six months, the Green Earth Warriors mobilized 25 women to work on the project. The resulting "Mushroom Women Group" was trained on the entire mushroom production process, including collection and processing of elephant dung substrate, as well as mushroom cultivation, storage, processing, and preparation. "The women are happier, they feel more productive, and directly contribute to the health and wellbeing of their families," said Elizabeth Kuraru, Gender Representative of the Green Earth Warriors.

Hub Southeast Asia: Use of non-timber products to create value, and for reforestation

In Southeast Asia, economic pressures have triggered a profound and drastic transformation in the landscape, highlighting the urgent need for new economic approaches that bring positive change for both communities and the environment. In Sayaboury Province, Laos, more specifically, a decade ago, the Nam Tien Reservoir was used to supply water to rice farmers downstream and was surrounded by dense forests, providing habitat for rare bird and animal species. Fruits, nuts, herbs, and mushrooms thrived in these forests, forming an integral part of the local communities' diet. Since then, the landscape has undergone significant changes, with hundreds of hectares cleared to make way for crops demanded by foreign investors. Despite being designated a ‘Provincial Protected Area’ by the provincial government, research revealed alarming trends, including the replacement of natural vegetation with banana plantations treated with pesticides, extensive melon fields covered in plastic sheeting, and the cultivation of maize and cassava on rapidly eroding slopes.

A study conducted in 2023 by the Wyss Academy, in collaboration with our partners, the CDE (Centre for Development and Environment) and Swisscontact, focused on current practices involving non-timber forest products, as well as identifying potential interventions which may be adopted to combine replanting efforts in the forests and at the same time, bring economic benefits for the local communities. The analysis of non-timber forest product value chains resulted in a list of products that may be used to counteract current trends. It demonstrates, for example, the potential for growing and commercializing a selection of herbs native to Southeast Asia that hold great significance in traditional medicine and may also serve as a food source. Other options include fostering the production of mushrooms to supply the internal market, or focusing on the exportation of sugar palm fruits, also known as Asian palmyra palm fruits, which have a high market value. The overall goal is to replace unsustainable mono cropping with multi-story agroforestry systems to improve ecosystem services, while also improving local livelihoods. The research work was accompanied by workshops and by the initial foundation of a multi-sector stakeholder collaboration, which brings promising avenues for the sustainable development of new ideas and initiation of new incubators.