: Main features of the labour market and economic activity in the native timber sector in the Ecuadorian Amazon

The study aims to understand the economic aspects of timber harvesting (volumes, type of wood extracted, income generated and prices) and the main labor features of the native timber sector of the Ecuadorian Amazon. The literature describes the economic aspects of this activity, but little is known about the labor market. The survey results reveal that around 90% of workers in the Simpli-fied Harvesting plan (PMFSI) are temporarily employed and more than two-thirds work part-time, indicating job insecurity. On the contrary, 75% of the workers in the Sustainable Harvesting plan (PMFSU) are permanent employees. Salaries in the sector are above the national average and minimum wage. However, the wage gap between workers in the two plans was up to 50%, depending on the task, with a gender pay gap of up to 40%. Understanding these aspects is essential for poli-cymaking and could contribute to the growth of the sector while generating more employment equi-ty.

The Ecuadorian native forest has great importance for local population (ITTO, Status of Tropical forest management -Ecuador, 2005) since it provides a wide range of employment opportunities and income generation (Mejía and Pacheco, 2013;CEDIA, 2018) In 2022, the forestry sector contributed 1.1% of the country's gross domestic product (GDP), ac-counting for USD 691.91 million (CFN, 2022).This contribution is relatively low compared to other sectors, given the country's strong dependence on oil and other traditional products, such as agricul-ture and fishing.Nevertheless, the forestry sector is an important source of employment (SECAP, 2014), both in the formal and informal sectors.It boosts the economy and contributes to poverty alleviation (Sanchez Calderón and Reyes Pinengla, 2015), particularly in the Amazon region, where the forest is a main source of income.
The formal forestry and wood manufacturing sector generated an average of 26 thousand jobs be-tween 2010 and 2020; whereas, in 2020, it employed 23 thousand formal employees (INEC, 2022).However, there is limited information available regarding informal employment and the working conditions within this sector, both in the formal or informal segment.This lack of information can be attributed to the absence of public disaggregated statistics (Scholtzhauer and Torres, 2017).Particu-larly, there is limited data on native forest harvesting, including costs and revenues, volumes traded, among other relevant data.It is likely that this data partially exists, but remains unpublished, incom-plete, and is not presented in a coherent and systematic way.
To carry out logging activities in native forests, a license must be requested from the Ministry of En-vironment, Water and Ecological Transition (MAATE by its Spanish acronym), which was established in response to the continued loss of forest cover since 1990 (Mejía and Pacheco, 2013;Sanchez Calderón and Reyes Pinengla, 2015).
The objective of MAATE is to promote sustainable forest use, taking into consideration the forest's capacity for regeneration and adaptation to change, and the situation of the people living in these areas (MAATEa, 2022;MAATEb, 2022).The two main types of plans in force are the simplified harvesting plan (PMFSI, acronym in Spanish), where logging must be done on a single property and with non-mechanized timber skidding, and sustainable harvesting plan (PMFSU) for mechanized operations (MAATE, 2015).
Both plans are valid for any size of land.In practice, small producers typically apply for PMFSI licenses, while medium and large-scale forestry operators apply for PMFSU licenses.The natural or legal person who applies for the license is called the execu-tor and is the one who carries out the plan.
The existing literature partially analyzed the economic activity of the license holders (executors) and the limitations they encounter in their development; however, information specific to labor market in this activity remains scarce.To address this research gap, we designed a case study aiming to an-swer the following question: what are the main aspects of the economic activity and labor market situation in the harvesting of native forests by executors holding PMFSI and PMFSU licenses in the northern Ecuadorian Amazon?Additionally, we analyzed what aspects could be strengthened in the native timber sector of the Ecuadorian Amazon.

Sample selection and survey sites
To select the executors of PMFSIs and PMFUs, we accessed a list provided by the National Direc-torate of Forestry of the Ministry of the Environment, Water and Ecological Transition (MAATE by its Spanish acronym).The list contained information about the program type, the license expiration date, the main location of the program, the total volume approved, and the program area for both PMFSIs and PMFSUs.Subsequently, we selected executors with valid licenses, focusing on the years 2021 and 2022.This focus was necessary as licenses are typically valid for only one year, ensuring the inclusion of executors within the relevant timeframe for the study.We prioritized executors with a higher number of licenses as it indicated greater experience and a larger workforce.
The study was conducted in two provinces located in the Northern Amazon region of Ecuador: Orel-lana and Sucumbíos.These provinces were selected due to their significant number of harvesting plans authorized and timber volume harvested in the last two years.
Esmeraldas (northern Coast) is the third province in this regard, but it was excluded from this study due to the prevailing social and security conditions in the province during this study.For the PMFSIs, we selected 24 executors in Sucumbíos and 25 in Orellana.For the PMFSUs, we selected 5 executors in Orellana, as no PMFSUs were approved in Sucumbíos within the period selected for this study.
Once the executors were identified, we conducted face-to-face interviews using a structured ques-tionnaire.The questionnaire consists of 26 questions, including subquestions on productivity, pric-ing, marketing, infrastructure, employment quantity, employment characteristics (such as age and gender), training, and the labor situation of employees.

Economic activity
The executors harvest hardwood, semi-hardwood and softwood1 , the latter being the main source of commercialized wood.Mainly because softwood species grow fast and because they are used for very common uses such as handicraft products, pallets, boxes for transporting fruit and are also used in the manufacture of MDF.PMFSI executors marketed mainly softwood and semi-hardwood planks, and hardwood beams.During the analyzed period, 15,600 m 3 of softwood planks, 8,000 m 3 of semi-hardwood planks, and 11,600 m 3 of hardwood beams were produced.PMFSU executors commercialized mainly softwood logs (7,600 m 3 ) and planks (1,300 m 3 ).The volumes harvested resulted in total revenues of USD 273 thousand for PMFSI executors and USD 1.034 million for PFMSU executors during the analyzed period (Table 2).The main difference of revenues between the two types of executors lies in the price of the products obtained, as they vary according to wood species.Pricing was one of the most problematic issues highlighted by respond-ents.They attributed this partly to the consequences of the pandemic, but also to the fact that tim-ber of unknown origin is being sold on the market, which is driving prices down.To address this is-sue, the executors indicated several possible solutions, such as: (i) the government establishing a minimum price (suggested only by the PMFSI executors), (ii) a tax reduction, (iii) more control over the timber marketing channels, (iv) finding new customers who pay more, (v) avoiding the use of intermediaries (who take away some of their margin), (vi) increase mechanization and cost-efficiency (only PMFSUS), among others.

Employment
The labor market situation in native forest harvesting differs greatly depending on the type of license held by the executors, but both have very little female employment.In the case of PMFSI license holders, most of the employees have temporary jobs2 , while PMFSU holders mostly employ perma-nent workers.The survey findings reveal that the lowest monthly salary was reported among permanent non-productive employees in PMFSU, amounting to USD 600.On the other end of the spectrum, the highest monthly salary noted in the survey was approximately USD 900 for chainsaw operators em-ployed in both PMFSU and PMSFI.Furthermore, the survey data suggests a notable disparity in sala-ry between permanent and temporary workers, with a gap of up to 50%.Moreover, the survey highlights the existence of a gender pay gap of up to 40%.
Although employees are paid better than the national average and the minimum wage, they are not better paid compared to other sectors.The oil sector pays its employees much more, considering that the minimum wage is average around USD 700 per month.
More than half of the PMFSI and PMFSU executors who responded to the survey said that it is difficult for them to get people already trained.Most of the workers prefer to work in energy and oil activities, mainly for the better salaries.PMFSI executors also said that a smaller proportion of employees prefer to work in agriculture and mining activities.
All license holders agree that the lack of trained personnel in forest management, harvesting and sawing is affecting their sales, in part because of migration to other drylands and that they consider it a priority to be solved.However, they do not have the funds to provide training or hire well trained employees.