CONTEXTUALIZATION
The State of Amazonas has the largest territorial extension of protected areas in Brazil, with the equivalent of 54.8% of its territory legally protected. Of this total, 19 million hectares are Protected Areas (PAs) state. However, the creation of a PA for sustainable use does not in itself guarantee environmental preservation, requiring a number of other initiatives, including management, supervision, and, most importantly, to add value for its forest assets, providing economic incentive for keeping it standing.
The lack of job opportunities and income generation makes the forest felling one of the livelihood strategies in the region, which makes it necessary to implement programs and projects that provide sustainable economic alternatives to the inhabitants in order to reduce deforestation pressures. In this context, an effective strategy is to develop an economy based on products derived from sustainable forest management.
The Bolsa Floresta Program (PBF), run by FAS since 2007, contributes to facilitate this strategy, through payments for environmental services (sustainable natural resources management, conservation and environmental protection) and products to traditional communities, in order to encourage voluntary deforestation reduction. The program has four components: Income, Association, Family and Social.
The Bolsa Floresta Income Program is directed to the generation of sustainable economic alternatives for the local population, from support for small enterprises and development of clusters. The Bolsa Floresta Association program supports the strengthening of local associations and training for the management of collective enterprises. The Bolsa Floresta Family component is a monthly credit, currently R $ 50.00, paid directly to mothers of riverine families living in protected areas. The beneficiary family is committed not to open new areas from primary forest; keep their children in school; and participate in associations and training workshops on climate change and environmental services. Finally, the Bolsa Floresta Social component includes investments in education, health, communication and transportation, from demands of the local population. The support from the Amazon Fund is directed to Income and Association programs.
THE PROJECT
The "Bolsa Floresta Program +" supports in 16 PAs of sustainable use in the state of Amazonas:
- the continuity of actions under component Bolsa Floresta Income through training in good sustainable management practices and direct investment (equipment, works and installations) to increase the production of small community enterprises. It will also be supported actions that contribute to better integration in the market for products and services for sustainable production arrangements in the region, such as: preparation of business plans, product development and certification, and technical assistance;
- the strengthening of associations representing PAs under the Bolsa Floresta Association component, through financial support both for structural actions (repairs at headquarters, equipment purchase), and for organizing meetings and other expenses necessary for the decisions and the management of investments be taken collectively;
- the management of the knowledge accumulated by FAS and the communities in implementing solutions for sustainable development in the Amazon. These actions aim to systematize and disseminate good practices and lessons learned for the various stakeholders interested in the subject, turning it into public knowledge in order to replicate the actions in other locations. Technical and scientific publications on sustainable production arrangements will be supported, including evaluations of social and economic impacts of investments in income generation. Seminars around the theme will be held, allowing the appropriation of this knowledge by academia, government and third sector. It will also supported the spread of this knowledge to the inhabitants of the region covered by the project, through dissemination actions, radio spots, workshops, community forums and discussion circles; and
- the implementation of a public call, in order to support small and medium sustainable productive community-based projects in the regions surrounding the protected areas included in the project and at the ecological corridors in the state of Amazonas.
INTERVENTION LOGIC
This project falls under the “Sustainable Production” (1) and “Land-use Planning” (3) 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.