Rainforest Alliance 2017 Annual Report Landscapes
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Rainforest Alliance 2017 Annual Report landscapes. The merger will directly affect our The Rainforest Alliance sustainable agriculture work—by creating a A MILESTONE YEAR stronger, more impactful sustainability INTRODUCING works to conserve certification system—and it will ultimately strengthen the Rainforest Alliance’s mission OUR NEW CEO biodiversity and ensure We knew at the outset that 2017 would be a delivery in vulnerable regions and production milestone year. After all, it was our 30th anni- landscapes globally. sustainable livelihoods versary—an opportunity to reflect on what we Upon completion of the merger in January have accomplished over a remarkable three- At the heart of everything we do is our commit- 2018, Han de Groot, the former executive by transforming land- decade span and inspire our partners and staff ment to the farmers, workers, forest communi- director of UTZ, became CEO of the new as we greet new challenges and opportunities ties, and indigenous people we’re working with Rainforest Alliance. Han has dedicated use practices, business ahead. to build a more sustainable future. They are the his career to sustainable development, life force of our mission. overseeing the rapid growth of UTZ since Rainforest Alliance practices, and consumer But 2017 turned out to be more momentous 2010, leading Oxfam Novib’s work in than we’d imagined: In June, the Rainforest In the following pages, you will meet some mem- Eastern and Southern Africa, and working behavior. Alliance leadership signed a letter of intent to bers of our family and learn about their incredi- for the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, merge with UTZ, a Netherlands-based inter- ble achievements over the past year. They, along Nature and Food Quality. He is now based national program and label for sustainable with the rest of us in the Rainforest Alliance in the New York office. farming. We officially completed the merger at family, thank you for being such an invaluable BOARD OF DIRECTORS (through 2017) the beginning of 2018. part of our alliance. Your dedication, partner- Daniel R. Katz, Chair ship, guidance, and generous support are vital Roger Deromedi, Vice Chair 1 Wendy Gordon, Vice Chair We initiated this unprecedented merger to to improving our work on the ground. We look Peter M. Schulte, Treasurer scale up and accelerate our efforts to address forward to our continued collaboration. Labeeb M. Abboud today’s most urgent challenges: climate change, Tasso Azevedo 2017 Annual Report Marilú Hernández de Bosoms deforestation, food insecurity, and social Seth Cohen inequity. While both the Rainforest Alliance Sonila Cook and UTZ have already driven significant Daniel Couvreur Laura Kirk transformations across commodity sectors and Peter Lehner landscapes, the imperative to evolve, innovate, Lawrence Lunt and scale up is clear. Together, we will be in a Count Amaury de Poret David S. Ross far stronger position to rejuvenate agricultural Eric Rothenberg landscapes and conserve forests; foster sus- William Sarni tainable livelihoods and build climate resilience Kerri A. Smith Annemieke Wijn across vulnerable regions; and transform busi- ness practices, drive supply-chain innovation, EMERITUS BOARD MEMBERS and engage consumers in positive change. Nigel Sizer Daniel R. Katz Adam Albright Henry P. Davison, III President* Board Chair Patricia Scharlin From Guatemala and Ghana, to Indonesia Martin Tandler and beyond, we will carry out this work in the Alan Wilzig *Nigel Sizer transitioned to his new role as Chief Program Officer world’s major forest frontiers and production in January 2018, upon completion of our merger with UTZ. WE ARE THE RAINFOREST ALLIANCE Our alliance reaches Rainforest Alliance far and wide across the globe. In the 16 Carmelina Martínez 2017 Annual Report following pages, we 22 Álvaro Alvarado Melanie Bayo 10 profile members of our 13 Giri Kadurugamuwa 2 3 extended family who Nadège Nzoyem 19 2017 Annual Report bring our mission to life in 7 Edwin Vásquez 25 Fransiska Dewi critical tropical hot spots. Their work to transform Rainforest Alliance agriculture and conserve high-value forests Reiko Enomoto 4 delivers tangible climate benefits to the rest of the world. took charge of the videography and invited our Madagascar national coordinator, who “If training was as fun REIKO speaks both Malagasy and French, to direct the farmers-turned-actors. The team com- as watching a salsa pleted shooting and editing in just two weeks ENOMOTO and premiered the first episode at the weekly dancer, everyone movie night to great excitement—including plenty of affectionate laughter among villagers would watch it. If it upon seeing their fellow farmers in their new, Our globe-trotting A description of the on-screen roles. The weekly movie night was was as fun as listening devoted to subsequent episodes over the next training manager brings person goes here and few months—reinforcing important sustain- to piano music ability practices, not just to farmers, but also to Rainforest Alliance an artist’s approach to here and here and right their wives, children, and neighbors. composed on the sustainability education. here as well This ingenuity is Reiko’s hallmark, and it has spot, no one would fall defined how she has tackled the challenge presented to her when she first joined the asleep.” 2017 Annual Report After traveling by plane, 4x4, boat, and foot Rainforest Alliance staff in 2009: to elevate the for three days to reach a remote cocoa-farming quality of our training programs across Africa, village in Madagascar, Rainforest Alliance agri- Asia, and Latin America. Given the sheer scale 4 cultural trainer Reiko Enomoto pondered the of our agriculture work, Reiko has developed 5 puzzle she must consider at the outset of every an engaging, “no-lecture” training methodolo- project: how to teach farmers about the com- gy, complete with linguistically and culturally plexities of sustainable farming in an engaging, appropriate materials, for other trainers to use 2017 Annual Report Worldwide Region, Country memorable way. She learned that most of the across more than 20 countries. farmers in this particular village were com- pletely illiterate, and the area is so remote that Reiko applies a bespoke approach to every she wanted to leave behind a solid, non-textual region she visits. She spends the first several Rainforest Alliance CARMELINA training tool to be used in subsequent years. days staying with farmers and watching how Her “aha” moment came when she learned that they work. She consults with local farmers and the village leader turns on a generator every trainers to decide on suitable, frugal solutions MARTINEZ Saturday night to power the community’s single to their challenges (a used chicken cage or an television for its regular village movie night. old metal barrel can be repurposed for storage organizers, for example). Once she determines Reiko quickly enlisted the help of the villag- the precise sustainability improvements that ers to produce a Rainforest Alliance movie are needed in that particular area, she develops series, devoting each of its 16 episodes to one a set of visual training materials and interactive aspect of the sustainability standard used methodologies that local trainers and farmers for Rainforest Alliance certification. Reiko continue to use long after she has gone. The materials she has created over the years are now part of a training toolkit with more than 500 assets, from videos and lively anima- EDWIN tions, to illustrated posters and guides. And this toolkit continues to grow and adapt to changing times; the most recent addition is an VÁSQUEZ online training course with 21 video sessions in five languages, available for download on our new mobile farmer app. All told, hundreds of thousands of farmers have received Rain- An indigenous leader forest Alliance training that is based on Reiko’s materials and methodology, which boast the is forging a new flair of this once-professional salsa dancer and Rainforest Alliance piano composer who speaks 11 languages (five partnership with the of them fluently). Rainforest Alliance to There is a simple, powerful conviction at the heart of Reiko’s work: that learning can and cultivate sustainable 2017 Annual Report should be fun. “If training was as fun as watch- ing a salsa dancer, everyone would watch it,” forest economies across she said. “If it was as fun as listening to piano 6 music composed on the spot, no one would fall the Amazon. 7 asleep.” 2017 Annual Report Rainforest Alliance Perú of them, still live from their culture and their “As indigenous traditions.” people, we make Communities organized around these forest- friendly economic activities have proven to be use of our natural powerful defenders against the ever-present threats of illegal logging and industrial mining. resources—but we do To this end, COICA and the Rainforest Alliance have entered into a landmark partnership that it sustainably, without leverages indigenous expertise and leadership networks to scale up a collaborative model of laying waste to our sustainable economic development that the Rainforest Alliance developed in partnership Rainforest Alliance Amazon.” with forest communities in Guatemala and the Madre de Dios region of the Peruvian Amazon. The efficacy of this model is supported by a scientific study released by RAISG** on the eve of the the November 2017 Bonn Climate Con- 2017 Annual Report In November 2017, a delegation of indigenous ference. The study analyzes 15 years’ worth of and