Introduction to ELTI Tropical Reforestation Information Clearinghouse/Database Strategies for Landscape-Scale Restoration in the Tropics

The Environmental Leadership & Training Initiative (ELTI) is a joint program of the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies (F&ES) and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI), whose mission is to enhance environmental management and leadership capacity in the Neotropics and tropical Asia by offering capacity-building and networking opportunities to individuals whose decisions and actions influence the management of forests in working landscapes. A key mission of the Environmental Leadership & Training Initiative (ELTI) is to help environmental leaders and practitioners learn about and engage in reforestation of degraded tropical lands. Unlike the industrial scale use of exotic tree species for reforestation, restoration of tree species native to a given region can promote greater biodiversity and ecosystem services. Individuals engaging in and researching native species reforestation are highly spread out around the world and work in many different capacities. The objective of the Tropical Native Species Reforestation Information Clearinghouse (TRIC) is to combine the information gleaned from different sectors throughout Latin America and tropical Asia into a single searchable database. These entries provide information about literature and projects for use by environmental practitioners, scientists, and leaders worldwide.