FORESCOM (Empresa Comunitaria de Servicios del Bosque) was established in 2003 as a private company from the same community organizations that together comprise ACOFOP. The origins of FORESCOM stem from the idea of reducing the costs of marketing, forest management, certification, infrastructure development and maintenance and other related expenses required for the operations of concessions by creating “blocks” of forest with neighboring communities. As CONAP matures as an independent government institution, the more that international assistance has been fleeing the RBM and affecting the funding for many of the NGO's that were committed to the communities to provide the needed technical assistance and entrepreneurial expertise for the proper management of the forest leading to the financial burden of conservation to fall more and more on the communities. CONAP has readjusted some regulations to make it possible for communities to choose certified forest agents to fulfill the would-be roles of NGO's. Many of these agents have already been contracted by FORESCOM, but FORESCOM is also becoming one of these certified forest agents to be able to provide these services itself. Estimates have been made that upon completion of certification, FORESCOM will create a 20% reduction in the cost of audits and recertification required every five years. Additionally, USAID donated $300,000 to develop road infrastructure leading to and within concession areas for more environmentally friendly transport of products. Besides providing marketing, accounting and financial planning services, FORESCOM is also considering expanding their capacities to include processing of wood materials to meet the demands of an international market for dry and semi-processed wood and to add value to the products coming out of the concessions. Due to its close ties with ACOFOP, the Forest Stewardship Council, the certifying body of forest agents, will have to oversee concerns for corruption and quality deterioration. Although the certification from the FSC does not add value or open markets to concession products, it does help the community forestry framework maintain a “green image” by indicating strict rules for forest management.
