Effective forest and farm producer organizations: "Sustainable ranching and restoring forests in agricultural landscapes, Panama"

This latest edition of ETFRN News contains more than 200 pages of stories from local producer organizations, associations and federations, and from those that speak for them at national and international levels. Reporting on issues of inclusiveness, this is also reflected in the authorship, with most of the 80 contributing (co)authors from the Global South, representing NGOs, UN organizations, government bodies and private companies as well as producer organizations, a third of them women. The result is a compilation of experiences that adds significantly to a growing body of knowledge. Forest and farm producer organizations speak of their achievements and successes – and challenges, some overcome, some not. They share how they have organized themselves, what support they have received, and whether this was for better or for worse. Some benefits were expected, others unexpected. Problems remain, and some were made worse, even with well-meaning intentions of ‘outsiders’. ELTI's Leadership Program supports the establishment and development of farm producer organizations, so that ELTI alumni can put forest restoration course themes into practice. Since 2009, ELTI has supported the establishment of the Association of Livestock and Agro-Silvopastoral Producers of Pedasí (referred to by the Spanish acronym APASPE), which is Panama's first community-based sustainable cattle ranching association and formed mainly by ELTI alumni. This article highlights ELTI's work to establish APASPE as well as initial challenges and APASPE's ability to promote landscape-scale forest restoration practices, as empowered environmental leaders. The article "Sustainable ranching and restoring forests in agricultural landscapes, Panama," can be found in Section 1: Local producer organizations, on pages 31-38. (