Amazon Fund

CONTEXTUALIZATION

A national forest inventory covers the entire country and is carried out periodically through sampling techniques, fostering on-going monitoring of forest resources. It also fosters improved management of these resources and collection of more information to help define forest policy as well as plans for use and conservation.

The only edition of the forest inventory at a nation-wide level in Brazil dates back to the 1980s and was aimed at producing information on timber stocks in natural and planted forests, that is, it was mainly aimed at timber production.

Some regional inventories were also carried out to meet specific demands for information and help colonization or planning programs. Nevertheless, no nation-wide system was prepared since 1983.

THE PROJECT

Besides aiming to measure timber stocks, carrying out the National Forest Inventory (IFN) seeks to know what the stocks of biomass and carbon are, biodiversity, the forest’s vitality and health, in addition to the standard of living of the populations that live in the forest or near them.

The variables that are collected in this in this edition of the NFI are: biophysical, to verify the Forest dynamics; socio-environmental, to check the importance of forests to the population that live there, in surrounding areas, or the relevance of exploring resources; and administrative, which will be used to monitor field work.

In addition to the biophysical data, collecting socio-environmental variables is aimed at: accompanying the use and the perception of people over time in relation to forest resources; improving and strengthening the circumstances for sustainable use of forests; assessing the effectiveness of implementing the public policies in this sector; helping formulate and adjust norms and regulations for exploring and conserving forest resources; identifying research demands, new uses of products and services and strategies to add value to the sustainable use of forests.

This project aims to implement the NFI in the entire Amazon Biome, therefore, covering an area of 419,694,300 hectares, which represents more than 40% of the national territory.

INTERVENTION LOGIC

This project falls under the “Sustainable Production” (1), "Monitoring and Control" (2), "Land-use Planning" (3) and  "Science, Innovation and Economic Instruments" components of the logical framework of the Amazon Fund.

Click on the following image to view its objectives tree, that is, how the project's outputs and linked to the expected outcomes and impact.

ACTIVITIES CONDUCTED

The National Forest Inventory (IFN) has advanced in the collection of biophysical and socioenvironmental data in the auctioned lots, concluding 2,333 out of a total of 3,498 prospective sampling points.

Botanical samples from 20,089 plants were collected, besides 7,494 soil samples. Socioenvironmental interviews were conducted with 5,985 rural residents living in the sampling points’ surroundings.

In regard to institutional articulations, partnerships were established with the Federal University of Amazonas (Ufam), the Federal University of Acre (Ufac) and Embrapa Amazônia Oriental (Cpatu). Encompassing a total of 16 instruments, these partnerships should increase data output and strengthen forest management.

The activities below were also carried out:

• A meeting between forest inventories directors of Amazonian and Mesoamerican countries, to exchange experiences and build alignment and cooperation between different IFNs. The meeting took place in collaboration with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza (Catie);
• A second Technical Meeting for inter-IFN alignment in the Amazon and Mesoamerica, which took place in Turrialba, Costa Rica; a technical visit to establish an Agreement with the government of Amapá;
• Negotiations with the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) to provide taxonomists with research grants and advance in the identification of botanical samples collected in the Amazon IFN.

Two instructors were qualified for the IFN program, 31 technicians were qualified in field-data collection, three civil servants were qualified in Quality Assessment and Control, and 13 in IFN methodology and process flow. Botanical identification efforts were reinforced by the purchase of equipment for partnering herbariums and the hiring of several specialists (the latter using Global Environment Facility resources).

In terms of communication, the Amazon Fund’s IFN page was restructured, and its communication plan was defined. Materials were made available to publicize the project during fieldwork.