Reports: 2025

Eli Prins, Andries Polinder, Mark van Benthem, juni 2025

An exploration of Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) to provide additional income for forest-dependent communities in Suriname

This report explores the potential of Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) as a sustainable income source for forest-dependent Indigenous and Maroon communities in Suriname. The publication is part of the SUSTAME project.

While forest-dependent communities play a vital role in forest conservation, they face significant barriers to accessing sustainable income from timber and other forest products due to limited market access, investment capital, and technical capacity.

Andries Polinder, Gryanne Hamming, Eli Prins, juli 2025

This report investigates the current and potential income sources available to managers of natural tropical forests, with a focus on enhancing sustainable forest management. While timber remains the dominant and most reliable source of revenue, the report emphasizes the importance of diversifying income streams to improve economic resilience and sustainability. It explores four main categories of forest-based revenues: timber and wood products, fuelwood and charcoal, non-timber forest products (NTFPs), and payments for ecosystem services (PES), including carbon credits.

Eli Prins, Bas Siebelink, Andries Polinder, Mark van Benthem, juli 2025

Suriname is by percentage the most forested country in the world, with over 90% forest cover, divided over the coastal plain, the savannah belt, and the country’s interior. Most forestry activities take place in the Forestry Belt, a 50 – 200 km wide, accessible zone of lowland rainforests across the northern part of the country. The forest management system of Suriname is based on a Reduced Impact Logging (RIL) system, implemented and supervised by the Foundation for Forest Management and Production Control (SBB).

Mark van Benthem, Andries Polinder,  May 23th 2025

The Selva Maya Tropical Timber Trade Mission took place from Nov. 17-23, 2024. It was organized by the Rainforest Alliance and the Probos Foundation, together with local FSC offices in Guatemala and Mexico. The main purpose of the mission was to explore opportunities for conservation timber. 

Eli Prins, Jasper Velthuis, Robin Zwijgers, Sander Teeuwen & Mark van Benthem, January 2025

The Dutch government and the EU aim to prevent deforestation and forest degradation while promoting sustainable forest management, Responsible Business Conduct (RBC), and Sustainable Public Procurement (SPP). Standardizing sustainably sourced timber on the Dutch market contributes to these objectives. To achieve this, policies focus on stimulating sustainable forest management in timber-producing countries, combating illegal logging, and encouraging the use of sustainably produced timber in the Netherlands.