Eco-Labeling Native American Forest Products

* Eco-Labeling Native American
Tribal Forest Products

Presented by:

Dr. Indroneil Ganguly
Center for International Trade in Forest Products (CINTRAFOR)
University of Washington

Co-authors:

Dr. Ivan L. Eastin & Dr. Gary S. Morishima

Presented at the:
Forest Resources Summit
Menominee Casino Resort, Keshena, WI
June 6th – 7th, 2012

* Research sponsored by:
* Intertribal Timber Council

* Contributors to the research:
* C. Larry Mason; James D. Petersen; Wade Zammit; James
Freed; Scott Atkison

*Acknowledgements:

1. Background
2. Objectives
3. Survey
4. Results on Branding
5. Results on Certification
6. Summary
7. Post research activities and initiatives

*Outline

*America’s Indian tribes own and manage more than 7.7
million acres of timberland and another 10.2 million
acres of woodlands in the continental United States.

*Alaska natives own another 44 million acres of
forestland.

*Native Americans have been managing forests for
millennia and, unlike other forestland owners, have an
intergenerational cultural commitment to continuation of
stewardship practices in perpetuity.

Total area of tribal reservation
(in the continental US)

57,105,943 acres

Forested (32%)
18,637,903 acres

Unreserved (90% of forested)
17,382,324 acres

Accessible
forestlands
15,330,420 acres

Timberlands Woodlands
6,316,133 acres 9,014,287 acres

Commercial
Timberlands Timberlands

5,959,361 acres 3,810,083 acres

Summary: Commercial forestland totals 9,769,444 acres with 61%
being located in timberlands and 39% located in woodlands

* Summary statistics of tribal forestland in the US, in acres:

* Exploring potential opportunities and benefits from
branding and marketing initiatives of tribal products:

* Differentiate forest products from Indian lands by virtue
of
* Unique cultural aspects
* Environmental services
* Public benefits
* Sustainability, and
* product quality values provided through Tribal forest
management.

*Project Objective

* Enhance value from forest resources to enable
tribes to care for their lands and people

* Increase public awareness of the virtues of tribal
natural resource management
* Potential strategic importance in efforts to protect and
advance tribal sovereignty and influence natural
resource management across the landscape

*Beyond Wood Products

*The specific sub-objectives of the tribal branding
study conducted by CINTRAFOR were to:

1. Understand how various forest certification and
eco-labeling programs are perceived and used by
the tribes in marketing their wood/wood
products
2. Explore the potential and acceptability of a
tribal branding program and
3. Identify the branding attributes favored by
Tribal respondents

*Specific Sub-Objectives

*The study explored
opportunities in

A total of 54 tribes responded to the survey out of a
population of 229 tribes for a response rate of 23.6%.
Total reservation area is 57,105,943 acres and survey
respondents represent 31,255,168 acres with tribal
reservation coverage of 54.7%.
Total forest area is 18,637,903 acres and survey
respondents represent 12,929,237 acres with tribal forest
coverage of 69.4%.
The total commercial forest area of the tribes is
9,769,444 acres and survey respondents represent
6,540,013 acres, with tribal commercial forest coverage
of 66.9%.
Response rate for ITC member tribes was 62.3% (38 of 61
members responded)

*Survey Response: various metrics

AK
2

Forestland Surveys
Processing Facility Surveys

*Location of respondents

*Comparative interest
in the three potential tribal marketing programs

Interest in a Tribal Branding Program
40%
36% 36%

35%

30%
Percentage of Respondents .

25%

20%
20%

15%

10%
6%

5%
2%

0%
Not Interested Not Very Neutral Somewhat Very Interested
At All Interested Interested

Interest in participating in a tribal branding program
Center for International Trade in Forest Products

Attributes for a Branding Program

Respondent ranking of tribal values in forming the foundation of a
tribal forest products brand

Tribal interest in
supporting economic
development

West
High quality wood
South

Midwest
Spiritual/Cultural
respect for the land Northeast

Traditional forest
stewardship

1 2 3 4 5 6
Importance .

Respondent ranking of attributes varied substantially by region


Tribal interest in
supporting economic
development

High quality wood

Spiritual/Cultural
respect for the land

Traditional forest
stewardship

1 2 3 4 5 6
Importance .
< 10,000 acres 10,000 to 100,000 acres > 100,000 acres

Respondent ranking of attributes were quite consistent by size of
forest area

Suggestions for tribal forest product brand
(some examples)

Tribal Certification
Results

Interest in a Tribal Certification Program
35%
32%
30% 30%
30%

25%

20%

15%

10%

5% 4% 4%

0%
Not Interested Not Very Neutral Somewhat Very Interested
At All Interested Interested

Interest in participating in a tribal forest certification program

Forest Certification Status
45%

39%
40%

35%

29%
30%

22%
25%

20%

15%

10%
6%
4%
5%

0%
Not Aware Aware but never Considering forest In the process Have certification
considered certification

Tribal awareness and current status of forest certification


Usefulness of Forest Certification
35%

29%
30%
27%

22%
25%

20%

13%
15%

9%
10%

5%

0%
0%
I don't know Not At All Not Useful Neutral Somewhat Very Useful
Useful Useful

Tribal perceptions of the usefulness of forest certification

Perceptions of Price Premiums
50%
45%
45%

40%

35%
30%
30%

25%
21%

20%

15%

10%

5% 2% 2%

0%
Don't know No price premium Small price Substantial price High price
premium premium premium

Forest managers perceptions of price premiums for certified wood


• Respondents presented a mixture of experiences and expectations
with many (especially in the South) indicating little knowledge of
certification options.
• Better understanding of the costs and benefits of certification for
aiding sales into emerging “green building” markets could
benefit Native forest products marketing programs.
• Despite regional differences, the tribal branding program is
generally preferred by the tribes over other options across the
country.
• Development of a tribal brand will require a long-term
commitment of resources (both financial and human) to create,
promote, and maintain an effective branding program.
• The branding campaign will emphasize the tribal values
identified in the research

*Summary Results

The survey results also suggest that a large number of tribes are
interested in learning how to access international markets to
provide a measure of protection against downturns in the domestic
markets and/or to receive higher prices for their forest products.

While domestic market remains in recession, US exports of wood
in products increased by 29.6% in 2010

Given the interest by the Obama administration in increasing US
exports by 50% by 2015, how might Native American tribes take
advantage of this effort to increase their international marketing
capacity and expertise?

*Summary Results

Tribal Branding Program

The survey results suggest that there is support for
developing a tribal brand for forest products that could
be based on a unique set of tribal values:

• Traditional forest stewardship ethic

• Spiritual and cultural respect for forests and land

• High quality timber resource


Then we talked to the
tribes


First Things First

1) Do the tribes want to proceed with the
development of a tribal brand for forest
products?

2) Do the tribes want to proceed with a cooperative
marketing program?

3) Do the tribes want to proceed with a tribal
certification program?


Strategic Issues
1) Scope of a tribal brand
• national vs. regional vs. enterprise specific
• solid wood products vs. generic forest products (incl.
NTFP’s)
2) Brand Development (who takes the lead in the development of
a tribal brand and quality standards?)
• ITC
• tribal forest products brand council
• outside consulting firm
3) How would a branding program be funded?
• start up funding
• programmatic funding
4) Which tribal enterprises wish to participate?


Initiatives taken by
CINTRAFOR

Project funded by US Department of Commerce:
Developing the International Forest Products Marketing
Capacity of Native American Tribes (Eastin and Ganguly)

1. assessing the technical and marketing capabilities of tribal
forest operations
2. identifying potential niche markets where tribal forest
products would be competitive
3. providing workshops on export topics such as international
marketing, export logistics and export financing,
4. working with tribal cooperators to develop strategic
business plans for export markets,
5. linking tribal managers with potential customers in
international markets through trade missions


Project funded by USDA-CSREES – NNF program:

National Needs Fellowship for Tribal Students (Eastin and
Ganguly)

Developing a strategic partnership with Native American
colleges, this program will identify qualified students from
tribal communities to transfer the necessary technical and
forestry business skills into Native American communities.


Eco-Labeling Native American Forest Products

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