Futuro Forestal S.A.
History. Futuro Forestal was founded 1994 by Andreas Eke and Iliana Armién. Since that time, the company developed from a small retail investment to a timber investment management organization to an impact forestry company with up to 2,500 employees. Services. Futuro Forestal provides sustainable reforestation services including timber investment management, eco system restoration, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) project execution and social services like education for rural communities. Timber investment. Futuro Forestal developed plantations where native hardwood species like Roble Coral ("Amazonia terminalia"), Cocobolo ("Dalbergia retusa") and Zapatero ("Hiernonyma alchorneoides") are planted according to site-specific soil conditions . The philosophy was also applied to exotic teak ("Tectona grandis"). This helps optimize soil conditions and creates multi-faceted habitats for wildlife, particularly when compared to monoculture plantations. In Futuro Forestal's plantations a significant percentage of the land areas is allocated to environmental protection. Furthermore, "[...] the company has been the first to sell carbon credits from reforestation as a business in Panamá" (Montagnini 2005, p. 181). Ecosystem restoration. Ecosystem restoration is the return of a damaged ecological system to a stable, healthy, and sustainable state. Futuro Forestal was awarded an important mitigation project for Minera Panama. The 7,000+  hectare project aims to: CSR project execution. In view of CSR projects is solely the sustainability of reforestation's social and environmental impact. Education. Together with Nicaraguan Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development Futuro Forestal started environmental education in forest-dependent communities. Children are educated in primary schools and adults get theoretical knowledge about agroforestry, like sheep-farming with Pelibüeys and beekeeping. Practical development is generated through microcredits for sheep and beehives. Scientific cooperation. In 2001 Futuro Forestal, the Native Species Reforestation Project of the Yale University's School of Forestry and Environmental Studies & the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute  conducted a native species project in Panama. Through this, the partners researched native species silvicultural and practical application of forest management techniques. Subsidiary. Forest & Community Foundation (nonprofit)