Brazil continues to be the frontline of the global climate crisis, as it is home to one of the earth’s largest and most threatened carbon sinks, the Amazon rainforest.
Economic alternatives that can both reduce or halt deforestation and promote restoration of already damaged areas, will be crucial for the effective mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions and their related socioeconomic impacts in Brazil and beyond.
State policies for valuing forests, jurisdictional REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) and Environmental Services systems are essential to guarantee the preservation of forests’ ecosystem services, such as climate regulation and high quality carbon that maximizes social co-benefits. As they so stand, these policies must be strengthened technically, scientifically and legally to better protect the forests, and sustain restoration projects.
Conservation Strategy Fund (CSF) Brazil is working with IPAM (Instituto de Pesquisa Ambiental da Amazônia, Amazon Environmental Research Institute) on a project to develop a strategy to: (a) avoid legal and illegal deforestation; (b) restore degraded areas with agroforestry; and (c) work with the public sector to avoid deforestation in protected areas.
We will complete a valuation of forest assets such as carbon, water, and non-timber products, and help implement a jurisdictional public-private arrangement for landscape protection, conservation, and restoration in well-defined geographical areas in the Amazon biome.
CSF Brazil will deliver: (1) a list of promising territories for action, with a strategic vision for implementation; (2) a qualitative analysis of business and operation models for the selected areas; and (3) a quantitative pre-feasibility study detailing the economic models for the selected initiatives.
The guidance resulting from this project will provide our partners in the for-profit and government sectors with a strategic plan for conservation and restoration initiatives as financially viable business opportunities.
Photo: Woman with oenocarpus Bacaba, a fruiting palm in Brazil
Photo Credit: Shutterstock.com
