Arellano 1

Gisela Arellano
comm 1080
5/6/15
Case Study
Timber is a type of wood that is highly valuable. It is widely used for buildings and
carpentry because it is non-toxic, renewable, easy to work with, and a great insulator. It can be
found all over the world including at the Blue Forest in Honduras. Unfortunately, at the Blue
Forest three communities were in conflict over the use of the forest. With the help of conflict
consultants from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations the conflict was
able to de-escalate and be resolved, at least temporarily. In order to keep the peace established it
is necessary to keep up-to-date information on any cultural changes along with what each
generation values, provide free workshops to the communities with the goal to improve their
understanding on collaboration, and maintain a power balance between the three main
communities.
Background:
The Blue forest suffered from illegal exploitation, 50% of it was transformed into
agricultural land leaving 50% left for the production of timber and for watershed protection. Two
main benefits that the forest provides for surrounding communities are drinking water for at least
30 communities and irrigation for the banana plantations. With the conversion to agricultural
land those to benefits were negatively impacted. The original set up for the forest was suppose to
be 85% for the production of timber and other forest goods and 15% for watershed protection.
Therefore, with half of it converted there had to be quick intervenience to preserve what was left
of it.

Arellano 2

The following were the communities involved: San Ramon, Nueva Granada, and Brisa
del Norte. San Ramon had the formal rights to forest access, was the oldest and least poor
community, but was at a three hours distance from the forest. Nueva Granada was not too young
and not too poor, there was illegal exploitation of timber and conversion of agricultural land, was
at an hour and a half away from the forest, and the road use for smuggling passed through it.
Lastly, Risa del Norte was also illegally exploiting timber and creating agricultural land, it is the
youngest and poorest, and is right by the border of the forest.
The consultants had to figure out a way to convince the people to do the things the legal
way even if it meant more work, not as much money, and not as many incentives. There was a
lack of trust by the communities for which they first had to get through and gain. The people
tended to avoid problems rather than confront them which was an obstacle to get through in
order to achieve collaboration. Finding the right mediator was then done through a process of
trial and error. The community got to learn that for breaking legal laws there was going to be
negative consequences which included going to jail. This gave the people motivation to do things
the legal way in order to prevent going to jail. Lastly the consultants were able to convince the
communities that negotiation was important and necessary.
When the consultants were able to sit and talk with the leaders of the communities the
following changes occurred: two leaders per community were assigned to eliminate the
possibility of a corrupt leader, acceptable terminology was identified, medical aid was provided
to those who had timber related injuries (incentive), and the communities started putting pressure
on their members to follow the law to prevent any illegal activities which were of course frown
upon.
Maintaining the agreed terms on the Blue Forest by the communities:

Arellano 3

In small communities, the people tend to be really close. By that I mean it in a sense that
in a "pueblo" everyone seems to know each other, if someone is doing something wrong it is
immediately known, festive celebrations are important, religion can play a huge role, and when
newcomers come to the community they receive a lot of attention. Two consultants should be
part of each community. Their job would consist of maintaining relationships with the
community population by participating in community projects, attending festive celebrations,
walking around the city and checking up on how people are doing, and investigating any illegal
activities. The consultants would not have to live at the community they are assigned, rather,
would come and visit once a week. Building relationships with the young would result
beneficiary as well. The young would be influenced in their decision making when dealing with
forest and how it is suppose to be treated.
Workshops providing information on how collaboration can be applied not just to
business matters but to their daily lives will give a better sense of understanding and add
resources to the communities. For completing the workshops each person who attends would get
a certificate of completion for the purpose of acknowledging their efforts. Other workshops with
exciting subjects such as cosmetology, cooking, photography, etc should be provided as well so
that the communities would get to explore fun topics and see that the Food and Agriculture
Organization is still looking out for them and not just for the forest.
In order to maintain the power balance between the communities is important to help
built up the poorest communities to a level close to the one of San Ramon. By having all three
communities at a similar economic status, trade between the communities would be easier
because merchants would have similar cost of goods. Also, another power balance activity would
be having monthly meetings in which the leaders met and discussed any new problems or

Arellano 4

conflicts and presented them to the Food and Agriculture Organization. Each month the monthly
leader's location would rotate to each community. The reason to the constant change of location
is so not one community overpowers the others.
It is absolutely important to continue building and maintaining the relationships with the
communities. Strong relationships lead to trust and openness. New ideas from the communities
members are going to feel welcomed and treated with importance. If a new conflict presents
itself the people will be able to collaborate and find a solution. Through continuous visits from
consultants, free workshops, and power balancing activities the compromises between the
communities will remain strong.

Works Cited
"The Benefits of Building with Timber." Tasmanian Timber. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 May 2015.
Natural Resource Conflict Management Case Studies: An Analysis of Power, Participation and
Protected Areas. Edited by A. Peter Castro and Erik Nielsen. FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL
ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS. 2005. Print.