We invite you to enjoy Panama’s incredible summer, while attending a one-shot opportunity of a lifetime. Panama Teak Forestry will be holding the Panama Timber 2013 Conference on Friday, January 18th at 6:00 p.m., at the Veneto Wyndham Grand Hotel and Casino, followed by a weekend tour of plantations and mill operations.

You are cordially invited to learn about Panama Teak Forestry’s accomplishments and goals, most of all, the new timber opportunities. There is a huge opportunity in sustainable tropical timber harvesting, underwater logging for salvaged tropical wood, and the opportunity that Panama Teak Forestry investors will participate in this win-win project.

This is one of the game changers for a company like Panama Teak Forestry, which through years of laying a solid foundation, developing plantations, setting up a mill, and going through FSC (Forestry Stewardship Counsel) certification, is now uniquely positioned to embrace this opportunity. This will be the lead topic and can be a fundamental aspect of significant future growth of share value over the next few years.

Please visit www.panamateakforestry.com/english/annual-meeting-2013.php and sign up for this event with Panama Teak forestry.

The Veneto Wyndham Grand Hotel has given us great discount rates for your stay from January 13th through the 26th. . Plus! As an incentive to come to Panama, this time period coincides with the Panama Jazz Festival, which runs from will run from January 14th – 19th, a yearly event with world class jazz performers you won’t want to miss. For special rates and to reserve your room: meeting.panamateakforestry.com.

Want some beach time? The Wyndham Beach Hotel will grant discounts on the beach as well! Itinerary for the January 2013 meeting:

Friday, Jan. 18th - Veneto Conference Room - 6:00 pm meeting

Saturday, Jan 19th – Tour of the Penonome and Llano Grande Plantations and the mill.

- 8:00 a.m. Transportation from the Wyndham Grand Veneto Hotel.

- First stop is the Penonome Plantation - about 2 hours from the city

- Second stop is Santiago - tour of the mill and Llano Grande Plantations. We will check into a hotel in Santiago. If you wish to be part of these tours, please let us know ahead of time, since during summer hotels may be booked one or two months in advance! We wish to reserve accommodations for everyone.

Sunday, Jan. 20th - Visit Sona Valley, where we have a number of plantations.

- We usually take a dip in the river pool next to the waterfall in one of the plantations; or if we are at the beach area plantation, we go for a swim in the ocean, so be sure to bring swimming trunks and towels.

- Sunday late afternoon we head back to Panama City, arriving the night of the 20th (unless you book your room at the Wyndham Grand Playa Blanca, where we can drop you off on our way back!)

Cost: Meeting: $25

Tour of the mill and plantations: $75 for transportation + accommodations.

Accommodations: We have arranged for great discount room rates for your all your accommodations.

Panama City - Wyndham Grand Veneto Hotel

Single Deluxe Room - $ 99.00 per night + 10% tax – breakfast included

Double Deluxe Room - $109.00 per night + 10% tax – breakfast included

Click here to get these special rates for attendees

Santiago - La Hacienda Hotel

Single Deluxe Room - $ 50.00 per night + 10% tax. *

Double Deluxe Room - $60.00 per night + 10% tax. *

Breakfast buffet - $5.50 + 17% tax

* We have put a hold on some Single Deluxe rooms and Double Deluxe rooms for your accommodations at La Hacienda Hotel. Please include your preference in the comments section of your registration form, as all requests will be handled in the order in which they are received.

This is the best time of the year to spend time in Panama - a week in the city, before the meeting, and a week at the beach after the meeting! It’s a great break from the winter cold for those living up North, and a worthwhile opportunity to learn more about tropical timber investing.

A Tropical Vacation with a Timber Education!

Sign up now: www.panamateakforestry.com/english/annual-meeting-2013.php

We look forward to seeing you in Panama. Best regards,

Jeff Duda

President Panama Teak Forestry

Web Site www.PanamaTeakForestry.com

Email Jeff@PanamaTeakForestry.com

Ph# US 702 505 4494 Panama Cell# +507 6581 4520

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By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - The 2013 annual shareholders meeting will take place during the weekend of 18 - 20 January 2013. This year's meeting will focus on the growth of Panama Teak Forestry going forward, the timber, processing, trading and extraction partnerships we are establishing so that we can maximize profit from our plantations and mill. We will be looking at how to best manage the operation and growth of the Saw Mill, what we have done and where we are headed now. We will be discussing the new ideas we have been implementing to keep the company growing in value.

The formal shareholders meeting will be held at 6:00 pm on Friday, 18 January 2013 in Panama City. A formal tour of the teak plantations, forestry, and mill operations will take place on Saturday and Sunday, 19 and 20 January 2013.

Future investors are welcome to attend along with current shareholders. Please let us know if you plan to attend and we can send more details, and help with hotels and anything you need for the trip. Please click this link to sign up to attend this meeting.

Related Articles and Additional Information: There are several related articles available within the Teak & Reforestation Category on the Panama-Guide.com website.

Copyright 2012 by Don Winner for Panama-Guide.com. Go ahead and use whatever you like as long as you credit the source. Salud.

Panama Teak Forestry a sustainable tropical timber and teak investment company that has been growing for more than 7 years in Panama. The company is focused on maximizing investment yield in a sustainable way from a long-term, whole land management perspective. This year Panama Teak Forestry is adding a mill and kiln to our operation to maximize the return for our investors and to produce export quality teak lumber in Panama. This new video shows our plantations and the growth we have achieved. We believe in educating everyone involved in the company and adding skills and education to the local community where we have a presence. We want to thank everyone who has been involved in the company for their long-term support of the growth of Panama Teak Forestry.

Everyone is invited to attend Panama Teak Forestry's 2012 Annual Shareholder's meeting. The 2012 shareholders meeting will take place during the weekend of 27 to 29 January 2012. This year's meeting will focus on the growth of Panama Teak Forestry going forward. We will be looking at how to best manage the operation and growth of our new Saw Mill. We have some new ideas to keep the company growing in value that we will be discussing. The formal meeting will be held on Friday, January 27th starting @ 6pm in Panama City. A formal tour of the forestry and mill operations will take place on Saturday, 28 January and Sunday, 29 January 2012. Future investors are welcome along with shareholders. Please let us know if you plan to attend and we can send more details, and help with hotels and anything you need for the trip. For more information or to register to attend Panama Teak Forestry's 2012 Annual Meeting, please register by clicking on this link.

By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - I've been reading the news headlines out of Washington DC this morning. It seems the members of the "super committee" have agreed to disagree. And since they could not come to an agreement then $1.2 trillion dollars in automatic cuts will be triggered. This news caused the stock markets to "slump" or "plunge" or "drop" "decline." If you're sitting on stocks as your primary investments then I'm sure you're already aware of this - most people are when their 401K is getting kicked in the nuts. I tied this into the potential for investing in plantation teak in the Republic of Panama and specifically with Panama Teak Forestry. In short - the teak trees can't read. They don't get the news. They don't know about "super committees" - and they will keep growing whether or not the federal government in Washington DC and unscrew the economy. Thankfully. The investment grows by 1% per month or 12% per year - based wholly on the fact that the trees are growing. They get bigger every month by a measurable and predictable amount. It's really pretty simple. And how many times have you seen stocks go up and down in the last couple of years? An investment in plantation teak insulates you from that market volatility.

If You Would Like More Information: Please contact me via email at don@panama-guide.com. Or you can call my US Magic Jack number in Panama at (845) 514-9893, or my cell phone in Panama at +011 (507) 6614-0451.

Copyright 2011 by Don Winner for Panama-Guide.com. Go ahead and use whatever you like as long as you credit the source. Salud.

By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - I've recently published several articles and posted videos to YouTube about investing in plantation teak in Panama, specifically with Panama Teak Forestry. When I published this article - Ten Good Reasons To Invest in Panama Teak Forestry - I immediately started to receive questions via email regarding the "reforestation visa", such as this one - "Don, Does the teak investment qualify as 'reforestation' for immigration purposes? Thank you. DE." Well, the answer is yes and no, as you'll see.

A Straight Up Investment In The Company: If you simply invest in Panama Teak Forestry, then no, that has nothing to do with the "reforestation visa" program.

What Is The "Reforestation Visa? The Republic of Panama has passed a law which allows for foreigners to qualify for permanent residency status if they make a minimum investment of $80,000 is reforestation. The "spirit and intent" of the law is to attract new foreign direct investment in the country, to entice people to spend their money to help in the reforestation of Panama, and in return the investor qualifies for a visa as a permanent resident in the Republic of Panama. This is not a new program, it's been around for awhile. At first the minimum investment was $40,000 dollars, then they did away with it for awhile, then they brought it back and the minimum investment was raised to $80,000 dollars. And why would you want one of these things, anyway?

If You Don't Qualify For A "Pensionado" Visa: Many of the members of the community of English speaking expatriates come to Panama and obtain permanent residency status under the "pensionado" (pensioner) visa program. In order to qualify, you must have a steady source of income from something like Social Security, a military retirement or VA disability, a pension from a private company, or some other source of regular and recurring income - that you can document and prove. Panama wants retirees and pensioners to move here to live their golden years because it's a great deal for the country - earn your money there and spend it here - what's not to like? However some people want to move to Panama and live here as a permanent resident, but they don't (yet) have any kind of a steady and recurring source of income that would qualify them for the pensioner's visa. In that case, the "reforestation visa" is a viable option.

The Land It Titled In Your Name: One of the important elements of this program is that the land must be titled in your name. You own it. You spend your $80,000 dollars to purchase the land and plant the trees. This is important, and it's the reason why a direct investment in a company like Panama Teak Forestry does not qualify for the "reforestation visa" program, because you're buying shares in a company, and not land in your own name.

Certified and Approved By ANAM: In Panama the "Autoridad Nacional del Ambiente" (ANAM) (National Environmental Authority) has to certify and approve your reforestation investment in order for it to qualify under the "reforestation visa" program. This is the most difficult part to get done. The ANAM is an autonomous entity of the Panamanian government, and while it is theoretically possible to come down to Panama, spend a minimum of $80,000 on land and teak, and then do the ANAM certification and approval process yourself (without going through a company like Panama Teak Forestry) - doing so would be much more difficult, expense, time consuming, and frustrating. But anyway if you want to, go right ahead and buy your land, plant your trees, and then start to try to figure out the ANAM process. Good luck with that, and let me know how it works out for you. But there's an easier way.

Panama Teak Forestry Has It All Set Up: Over the years many people have participated in Panama Teak Forestry's "reforestation visa" process. The company already owns more than 750 hectares of land total, and they always keep a couple of what they call "visa plots" separated and ready to go. All of their teak plantations have to be certified and authorized by ANAM anyway, and it's possible to sell five hectares to an individual investor and to segregate that small lot out from the larger parcel, that's already been inspected and approved by ANAM. Right now they have two or three of these plots ready to go. They are already planted with teak (so, it's been growing for awhile). It takes about three months to do the paperwork, and after that you've got your permanent residency status under the "reforestation visa." And by the way, you also are now the proud owner of 5 hectares of plantation teak, planted with about 5,500 teak trees. Or maybe less, depending on age. Plantation teak has to be "thinned" as it grows so the total number of trees gradually reduces over time.

Does Not Include Legal Fees: Under the law, the $80,000 has to be spent on reforestation. It does not include the legal fees or expenses required to present your application for the "reforestation visa" before the Panamanian immigration authorities. I understand that costs somewhere between $1,000 to $2,000 depending on the lawyer chosen. But anyway, it's important to point out that the lawyer's fees and costs are not included in the $80,000 investment in land and reforestation teak.

I Made This Short Video: This short video covers many of the same points highlighted in this article;

If You Want More Information: Feel free to contact me via email at don@panama-guide.com. You can also call my Magic Jack (US) number (845) 514-9893 or my cell phone in Panama +011 (507) 6614-0451.

Related Articles and Additional Information:

• Carbon Sequestration by Teak Trees in Panama - YouTube Video

• Panama Teak Forestry - YouTube video shot on the plantations with Jeff Duda in August 2011.

• Burning One Gallon of Gasoline - Produces 19 Pounds of Carbon Dioxide - Makes 5.5 Pounds of Teak - Panama Guide article, 19 October 2011

• A Couple Of Days In The Interior - Looking At Teak Plantations - Panama Guide Article, 3 October 2011

• Invest In A Teak Plantation in Panama - Solid Returns, Safe, Growing Steadily - Panama Guide Article, 16 September 2011

Copyright 2011 by Don Winner for Panama-Guide.com. Go ahead and use whatever you like as long as you credit the source. Salud.

#Panama - By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - There are a lot of good reasons to invest in Panama Teak Forestry - an established company producing plantation teak in the Republic of Panama. They have a confidence inspiring managerial staff, led by my personal friend - company president Jeff Duda. Panama Teak Forestry is not a new company or a start-up. More than 70 investors have already backed this well established operation, which is now looking to expand further. An investment in Panama Teak Forestry provides a steady and guaranteed return of 12% per year, based on the steady growth rate of the more than half a million trees that have already been planted. An investment in Panama Teak Forestry is practically recession proof, and the company also has an emergency share buy-back program in case you need liquidity in a hurry. Panama Teak Forestry already owns more than 750 hectares of land total, and the underlying raw value of the land held by the company continues to rise over time. Panama Teak Forestry is a very "green" and environmentally friendly company, and the teak trees are sequestering massive amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, allowing investors to essentially erase their carbon footprint in a manner that's both profitable and environmentally sound. The company has zero debt, has diversified profit centers such as a sawmill to process the raw lumber as well as herds of cattle and sheep running under the teak trees, and imports of lumber are about to commence. This is a great time to get into this company. (more)

Related Articles and Additional Information:

• Carbon Sequestration by Teak Trees in Panama - YouTube Video

• Panama Teak Forestry - YouTube video shot on the plantations with Jeff Duda in August 2011.

• Burning One Gallon of Gasoline - Produces 19 Pounds of Carbon Dioxide - Makes 5.5 Pounds of Teak - Panama Guide article, 19 October 2011

• A Couple Of Days In The Interior - Looking At Teak Plantations - Panama Guide Article, 3 October 2011

• Invest In A Teak Plantation in Panama - Solid Returns, Safe, Growing Steadily - Panama Guide Article, 16 September 2011

#Panama - By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - I spent Friday and Saturday last week with Jeff Duda, the President of Panama Teak Forestry, looking at some of their plantations, installations, and facilities in the interior. Jeff's been quietly building his plantation teak business in Panama over the past ten years, and they now have a complete saw mill to process the lumber for export. They've also built a kiln that's practically ready to go - once they finally can jump the hurdles necessary to get the electrical connections to the mill upgraded to have enough juice to turn it on. The saw mill and kiln are located next to a relatively small town outside of Santiago, and there simply isn't enough electricity being supplied to run both the town, the saw mill, and the kiln. Jeff has been working with the electrical company to get a hefty upgrade installed, but as usual, "this is Panama" and nothing happens overnight. It turns out the electrical company was doing what they needed to do, but the whole electrical upgrade project was being held up by a need for government approvals of plans, stamps, and paperwork which has now been done. So, slow and steady progress. Jeff's operation is really very impressive, very "green" and environmentally friendly. They buy farms that were previously being used as pasture and grazing land for cattle. Normally when Panama Teak Forestry buys the land, the existing soil is so burned out it can barely support even one head of cattle per every two hectares, if that. The soil has been abused for so long it's normally exposed to the elements and eroding into the neighboring streams. If you look hard a pasture land in Panama currently being used for cattle, you can easily see the bright red clay soil (exposed) carrying a relatively thin cover of grass. Once Panama Teak Forestry buys the land, they plant about 1,100 teak trees per hectare (initially) and use environmentally sound agro-foresty management techniques such as organic fertilizers, the recycling of all byproducts such as sawdust, tree bark, and animal manure. The end result is land that is recovering, teak trees that are healthy and growing, and soil that is getting better and healthier with each passing day.



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By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - In today's rough economical waters many investors are sitting on the sidelines, afraid. If you're looking for a safe and stable long term investment, consider teak. The trees in our plantations continue to grow steadily, impervious to market swings, currency fluctuations, or other outside influences. Once planted and then property managed, the teak trees grow and mature over a 25 year period to where they can be harvested for the wood they contain. Think of teak as a very slowly growing crop, just like any other. When harvested the wood becomes an exceptionally valuable commodity to be sold at the best possible price on the world's markets.

What is teak? On our plantations we grow Teak - scientific name Tectona Grandis - from seeds originally from Burma, imported to Costa Rica, and then Panama. Teak is a very dense tropical hardwood naturally occurring in jungles and rain forests around the world. Teak is a very hard, heavy, durable, and strong wood, distinctively oily to the touch. The naturally occurring oils and silicates in teak make the wood perfect use in outdoor furniture, boat decking, and anything exposed to the elements. You see, Tectona Grandis evolved in a very tough neighborhood indeed. The trees developed resistance to the rot, fungus, and boring insects found in the jungles of the world in order to survive. These characteristics, evolved over time, and they make teak a very valuable commodity in our modern world. When first cut, teak has a tawny golden color streaked with dark brown and gold. The color lightens as it dries and can look almost white once it has been aged and sun bleached, as on boat decks. Outdoor furniture made out of teak will probably out live all of us.

Teak As An Investment: The idea of growing teak in plantations to make money is not new. However, many people have tried to grow plantation teak and failed. Teak only grows well in a very narrow band within 10 degrees of the equator. If you look around the world close to the equator there's a lot of oceans, a lot of desert, and a lot of unstable governments. Panama offers all of the right conditions where teak will not only survive, but thrive. With proper care and forestry management plantation teak in Panama can produce excellent results in terms of healthy trees, good growth rates, and quality lumber. Teak also requires a distinct wet and dry season in order to produce good heartwood, the most valuable part of the tree. Some plantations have made poor choices in terms of land selection, and while their trees might appear to be growing big and tall they might contain relatively small amounts of heartwood, due to a lack of a distinct wet and dry season. Teak can and will grow very well in Panama, but plantation management starts before the first seedling is planted, with proper land selection. Soil conditions, soil composition, drainage, and topography are all very important - part of the sophisticated knowledge we've developed over time.

Excellent Rate of Return: Conservatively speaking, one mature teak tree at 25 years will produce about 350 board feet of lumber. When first planted there are 1,100 trees per hectare, however these trees are thinned at the 7, 12, and 18 year points as the plantation matures, when the best and straightest trees are left standing and the imperfect trees are removed to allow the best trees access to sunlight, water, and minerals in the soil. Therefore when the part of the plantation that will be harvested reaches the 25 year maturity point there will be 260 trees per hectare. Doing the math - 260 trees and 350 board foot of lumber per tree - comes to 91,000 board foot of lumber, per hectare. Oh, first you need to know what a "board foot" is. That's a piece of wood, 1" thick and 12" by 12" on the surface. So, assuming a 1" thick plank that's 6" wide and 10' long, that would be five board feet of lumber. Now you can go out on Google and do a search for "teak price board foot" and you tell me how much the lumber from that one hectare of teak will be worth when it's harvested. Do your research, pick a market price, and multiply that times 91,000 = value of one hectare of mature teak. No, it's right, and your calculator is not broken. So, if you're a hard-nosed businessman who only cares about the math, numbers, and making money, teak is the investment for you. We currently have more than 500 hectares of teak planted at different ages and stages of development, with plans for much more. That's were you come in. We are currently looking for new investors to continue our expansion plans, to buy more land, to plant more trees, and so on.

How Green Are You? Teak is an excellent investment for those who are concerned about greenhouse gases and the environment in general. We buy land previously being used to graze cattle, clear cut decades ago. The soil has been exposed to the elements for a very long time and now these lands can only grow enough grass to support one head of cattle per hectare. There are problems with erosion and soil loss - the land is basically "burned out" when we get it. To date we have already planted more than half a million trees, and we keep planting more. Teak trees are basically "carbon sinks" - meaning they draw massive amounts of CO2 out of the atmosphere and sequester that carbon as wood. We use natural and organic fertilization methods, we compost every scrap and particle of sawdust, and return it back to the land. And even when the trees are harvested there will still be other large tracts of land in the plantation that are still maturing. Our strategic goal is to only harvest a relatively small percentage of the plantation in any maturity year, and then of course that land will immediately be replanted with new trees. So, if you're a very green and environmentally conscious person, teak is the investment for you.

Plantation Teak vs. "Blood Teak" - The government of the United States as well as the European Union have placed tough restrictions on the importation of teak from Burma, also known as Myanmar. The government of this country is something akin to that of North Korea - totalitarian, communist, and bloodthirsty. They allow the clear cutting of their forests to get at one of the few remaining resources they have, the teak which grows in the jungle. The simple fact of the matter is that naturally occurring sources of teak - also known as "jungle teak" or in the case of Burma "blood teak" - are drying up. In a few years only plantation teak will be legally available for sale on the world's markets. Naturally occurring market forces of supply and demand will continue to exert upward pressure on the price of teak, a trend that has already started and which we expect will accelerate over time.

Good Place to Park Money In Troubled Times: An investment in teak is basically recession proof. If you're giving yourself heartburn every night, watching your investments in the stock market or other instruments, you'll appreciate the peace of mind that comes with an investment in teak. The trees don't care if Fanny Mae or Freddy Mac explode and fall into the ocean. The markets tremble in reaction to higher than expected unemployment figures, but the teak trees on the plantation never get the message so they just keep growing. Simple, steady, and as regular as clockwork - no matter what happens "out there." An investment in teak is an excellent long term investment for those who want to park money somewhere out of harms way.

If You Would Like To Know More: Please contact me directly at email don@panama-guide.com, via telephone on my US Magic Jack number (845) 514-9893, or on my cell phone in Panama at +011 (507) 6614-0451. I'll be happy to provide any additional information you might need, and to answer all of your questions. Thank you very much for your interest.

Copyright 2011 by Don Winner for Panama-Guide.com. Go ahead and use whatever you like as long as you credit the source. Salud.

(CNN) -- True or False: More carbon dioxide is good news for trees as it will boost growth levels. The answer is: FALSE Trees evidently need carbon dioxide (CO2) to survive, and in some cases plant life can benefit from increased CO2, but over time more CO2 does not necessarily mean more life. Some experiments have found that exposing plants or trees to enhanced levels of CO2 have resulted in higher growth levels, but according to the New Scientist, these bursts in growth "have tended to level off within a few years" because of other factors, often related to water or nitrogen levels - and notably, temperature. Higher CO2 levels will bring climate changes to different regions which will have a direct impact on plant growth, to the extent that in some cases, any advantages increased CO2 levels may have on plant life could be counteracted by the impact of increased CO2 levels on the weather. This has been shown in the tropics, for example, where the majority of the world's rainforests lie. A study of rainforest plots in Panama and Malaysia found that an increase in temperature of 1 degree Centigrade actually reduced tree growth by as much as 50 percent.

Source: GreenBiz.com PANAMA and CHINA, Mar. 30, 2007 -- Two reforestation projects, intended to improve the immediate ecosystem as well as fight climate change, have received the first certification under comprehensive new standards launched by the Climate, Community & Biodiversity Alliance. The projects, on Panama's Pacific Coast and in Tengchong, China, together cover over 3,000 acres of land, with the Panama project expected to grow to over 10,000 acres in the next decade. The trees planted in these areas will together remove over 850,000 tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere over the next 30 years. Certified under the Carbon Forestry Project Standards, these projects go beyond Kyoto Protocol requirements and meet 15 criteria that ensure they will help mitigate climate change, conserve biodiversity, and improve socioeconomic conditions for local communities. "We are thrilled to have the first two of many anticipated forestry projects to be certified under the CCB Standards," said Toby Janson-Smith the director of Climate, Community & Biodiversity Alliance. "After all the hard work by some of the world's top NGOs, companies and research institutes ... it is satisfying to see the CCB Standards making a real difference on the ground." (more)

Darien, Panama – A milestone in the history of forest conservation has been marked in the dense tropical rainforests of Panama’s eastern Darien region. As part of a sustainable forest management and trade project coordinated by WWF, the region’s first sustainable harvesting plan has been launched, ensuring that forest areas are cut in 25-year cycles. “This ensures that logging does not exceed what the forest can regenerate,” said Mauro Salazar, WWF Central America’s Forestry Director. Under the plan, a limited number of mature trees are harvested the first year in one forest area, cutting only four to five trees per hectare so that the forest’s ecological integrity is not harmed. The oldest seed-producing trees are not cut down so as to ensure the survival of the species. The following year logging would be allowed in a second area so that tree species in the first area could regenerate. A similar practice will continue in other areas throughout the forest over a 25-year logging cycle. When this cycle comes to an end, a new one will start again in the first area. This model is based on the “Forests Forever” concept which takes into account the principles and criteria of the Forest Stewardship Council, the world’s leading forest certification organization. (more)

By Susan Whitney for the Deseret Morning News - Fifteen years ago, Phyllis Coley and her husband, Thomas Kursar, decided they had a moral obligation to save the rainforests of Panama. But they realize now that they were quite naive. They were (and are) biologists at the University of Utah, doing the kind of research that is standard in biology. Coley knows a lot about plant physiology, and Kursar knows a lot about ecology, but neither is an expert at discovering new pharmaceuticals. Neither has a degree in economic development. And yet because they spend four months of the year in the tropics of Panama, they were the ones to realize, in fact, it is possible to save the rainforests. They realized drug research could trump logging. Coley and Kursar may have been the first to envision first- rate laboratories being built in Panama, laboratories that would lure Panamanian-born scientists back from their careers in the United States and Europe. They were definitely the ones who went out and got grants and made it happen. Although, they explain, they knocked on doors for five years before they could find anyone to listen. Coley and Kursar's story is glamorous in some ways and not so glamorous in others. (One nonglam detail: They job-share, which means they each work 80 hours a week and get paid for 15.) They will tell their story on Tuesday in a talk titled "Ecology, Drug Discovery and Conservation: Research in the Panamanian Rainforest." Theirs is part of a series of lectures sponsored by the Utah Museum of Natural History and the Nature Conservancy.

Futuro Forestal is a private German-Panamanian Reforestation and Forest Services Company that has spent the last 11 years developing and refining an innovative investment model based on ecologically and socially sustainable reforestation in the tropics. Futuro Forestal offers investors the chance to own a forest that produces high yield, fine tropical hardwoods. The sale of the wood, seeds, as well as carbon credits enables the savvy investor to make a substantial profit while contributing to a socially and environmentally sustainable project. Investors receive fully titled land, planted with up to seven species of valuable tropical hardwoods, AND the forestry services of Futuro Forestal for 25 years. Profits of 6-11% IRR can be obtained on a 25 year term. Futuro Forestal was founded in 1994 by German geographer Andreas Eke and his Panamanian wife Iliana Armién, forest engineer. Futuro Forestal has successfully reforested over 700 hectares of pasture land in Panama’s Chiriqui and Veraguas Provinces. The areas selected for reforestation were originally covered by forests, and have since been deforested and used for agriculture and subsequently for cattle ranching during the last decades. The multi-species approach of Futuro Forestal promotes biodiversity by planting six native forest tree species with high commercial value plus Teak and up to 50 other native species forest trees with less commercial value, which increase ecosystem stability and habitat biodiversity.

By Caitrýona McBride: Green Belt manages 160,000 acres of forestry across Ireland and plants more than 10,000 acres of new forests each year. Its customers include Irish farmers and private and institutional investors. Maurice Ryan, managing director of Green Belt, said Panama was chosen for its political stability and climate. ‘‘I spent three years researching this project and Panama was by far the most attractive location in Central America,” he said. ‘‘It’s politically stable, the tropical heat is perfect for teak and land is affordable.” Ryan said teak was one of the most sought-after types of wood in the world because of its natural strength and durability. ‘‘Teak is always popular for furniture and floors and we were searching for years for the right plantation. We had to find a foreign location because Irish land will not sustain teak,” he said. Green Belt is looking for investors willing to put up at least €50,000 each. ‘‘That is the least amount that you would need to make it worth your while,” said Ryan. ‘‘This would plant six hectares for the investor, which we then manage.” The company promises a return to investors of more than 12 per cent per annum over the 18-year investment period. Ryan said some people were investing money in the scheme as a pension fund.

By Tony Hetherington: FINANCIAL Mail readers were warned against it. Investment watchdogs in a dozen countries issued public alerts about it. But still the president of Panama cosied up to Prime Forestry, a shady Swiss company that claimed to offer 14% annual returns to anyone who put their savings into growing teak trees. Now Prime Forestry has been declared bankrupt and a political scandal is developing in the central American state as links emerge between the government and a Zurich businessman named as a one-time Mafia associate. Prime Forestry attracted an estimated £26m from more than 3,000 investors, many in Britain. They were told it would take 20 years for their trees to mature and be sold, but interim payments could be withdrawn after seven years. The company also claimed to be working on an ecological project with Yale University and the Smithsonian Institution in Washington. However, last week the Smithsonian said: 'The Smithsonian and Yale University have no relationship of any kind with Prime Forestry.'

In a message dated 11/20/2004 11:50:00 PM SA Pacific Standard Time, akospm@pro...(snip) writes: IL recommends United Nature for teak investment to get a visa. This method would work well with me but after the McMurrain scandal I'm worried about trusting anyone. Does anybody have any good experience with teak in Panama?

There's still another way to legally obtain your residency visa -- by investing $40,000 is a recognized and authorized reforestation program. There are many things to consider before going down this road, however...