Americans might remember Chico Mendes as the Brazilian rubber tapper who organized a passive resistance movement to fight encroachment on the forest by cattle ranchers. Now, in the Brazilian municipality of Xapuri, in Acre, the Chico Mendes Association has obtained FSC certification through Smartwood, the first community forest operation in Brazil to do so. For decades, the community has relied upon the surrounding forest for extractives such as latex and Brazil nuts. But according to Nilson Mendes, coordinator of the Agro-Extractives Project of the Chico Mendes Association, this production no longer could support the growing community. There was also demand from the outside to buy wood from the forest so they developed their own management plan that integrates traditional activities such as rubber with the production of wood.

Nine families in Acre currently participate in the FSC-certified community project, and are responsible for the management of 900 hectares of tropical forest. Workers consult with forest technicians to develop a harvest plan that meets production needs while maintaining responsible practices. “We take extreme care to ensure that we leave standing a 'child’ and 'two grandchildren’ of each tree we harvest. In this way we ensure the health and genetic strength of the forest for future generations," notes Nilson Mendes.

The FSC-certified wood is sold to the FSC-certified Etel furniture factory in the heart of the forest — a facility that provides revenue and jobs to the community. According to Virgilio Viana, scientific coordinator of the project and a partner in the furniture company, “We believe that our investment in the factory has increased the value of these certified forests, and will serve to help stop the deforestation that threatens this valuable resource."

For many in the community, their stewardship of the forest under FSC is the second phase of the Chico Mendes movement. With Acre as a model, ten other community projects in Brazil have begun the process of FSC certification.

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