CONTEXT

Community forest management, both timber and non-timber, has been identified as an important tool to reduce deforestation, since it is characterized as an important source of sustainable income for managers, an alternative to predatory practices of conventional exploitation. 

When carried out in a communitarian way, management has the potential to strengthen the social and political space of families and the community - since they must act as protagonists in the production and organization process - in addition to providing productive inclusion, income guarantee and greater appropriation on land. However, there are barriers to be overcome for the consolidation of community forest management, such as: ensuring access and use of the forest, strengthening social organization, credit, technical assistance and market access. 

Management promotion is particularly relevant in the state of Amazonas, which, on the one hand, holds the largest area of conserved forest in the Amazon, but, on the other hand, presented the highest deforestation growth between 2015 and 2016. Although approximately 10% of the area of the State of Amazonas is devoted to plant extractivism, the participation of smallholder timber management plans (small scale, lower impact and floodplain) in relation to total licensed volume was not very expressive: 4% during the period from 2010 to 2014, ranging from 8% in the first year to 2% in the latter. And, according to an IDESAM study, only 20% of the volume of timber licensed in 2014 for small-scale management plans developed by the institution were commercialized.

THE PROJECT

The project foresees the structuring of the Forestry Cities network which includes the physical structuring of a Forest Center - which will serve as the technology core of the project, besides facilitating the connection of forest actors - and the development of a technological platform. The tool will be dedicated to the management of the property, the elaboration and execution of the management plans and the connection between the forest actors. The use of the platform seeks to ensure that the forest management of small farms is carried out in accordance with the applicable legislation, favoring adherence to public policies and promoting the commercialization of managed production.

In addition, the project will support the implementation of 25 management plans to be executed by 15 local associations, with the goal of increasing 40% of the current supply of wood from small-scale timber management plans in Amazonas. The support for the implementation of the plans will be provided through: i) training of managers for a better use of the raw material, safety, planning and marketing; ii) field actions for the exploitation and commercialization of wood.

The project will also support other actions dedicated to structuring a network of vegetable oils in the Amazon and increasing the attractiveness of forest products, such as the certification of production chains. 

INTERVENTION LOGIC

This project falls under the “Sustainable Production” (1) and "Science, Innovation and Economic Instruments Component" (4) 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 main activities carried out by the project were:

1. Installation of the Forest Cities Network

• Structuring of the Forest Central with the renovation of Idesam’s headquarters;
• Development of the Forest Cities web platform. The app is available for free on the Play Store, and the public information collected by its users can be viewed at https://cidadesflorestais.org.br;
• Installation of satellite antennas at the oil mills of APFOV in Apuí, Lábrea, São Sebastião do Uatumã, and Carauari;
• Development of audiovisual material on forest management and exploration, best practices in the production of vegetable oils, marketing, forest certification, associativism, and cooperativism; tutorial videos on the Forest Cities app; and material related to safety processes and procedures for project operations;

2. Multiple forest use: technical assistance, training, and promotion of the small-scale managed wood chain

• Construction of two sheds to store forestry machinery (work started in the municipalities of São Sebastião do Uatumã and Itapiranga and already completed in Apuí);
• Development and licensing of Forest Management Plans: Uatumã RDS, which has 2,041 hectares (IPAAM); Annual Production Unit (UPA) 03 of the Forest Management Plan for the Ituxi Extractive Reserve, which has a managed area of 1,403.53 hectares (ICMBio); ASPROC, which has 2,018.97 hectares, developed by the Resex Médio Juruá Council and under evaluation by ICMBio;
• 017 hectares of forest management with active licenses related to the Ituxi Resex and Uatumã RDS plans, as well as two small-scale plans in Boa Vista do Ramos; plus 3,446 ha related to six other management plans in the licensing process;
• Action in São Sebastião do Uatumã with the furniture-making hub represented by the Constrói Cooperative, with technical visits and document preparation for 35 furniture workshops, and the licensing of six furniture workshops, whose processes are under evaluation by IPAAM;
• Forest management, logging, and machinery use courses; with the participation of 872 people, including 434 women;
• Acquisition of personal protective equipment (PPE); production of customized t-shirts, pants, and hats for the project; and acquisition of forestry machinery kits;

3. Amazon Vegetable Oils Network: integration, strengthening, and support for the community-based production chain in Amazonas

• Completion and inauguration of the vegetable oil mills of the Uatumã RDS and Apuí;
• Acquisition of machinery for existing mills and for mini-mills under construction;
• Course on best extractivist practices at the Uatumã RDS and Apuí; forest management in Carauari, São Sebastião do Uatumã, and Itapiranga; and forest exploration in Lábrea;
• Launch of the Inatú brand, which unifies the products of the project’s “Vegetable Oils Network,” allowing sales to resellers and small/medium companies of bottled oils with the ANVISA seal. The total sales value achieved by the project so far is R$1,459,258;
• Hiring of consultants to improve production quality and management of mini-mills, as well as support and monitoring of vegetable oil production and commercialization in Apuí, Carauari, Lábrea, Itapiranga, São Sebastião do Uatumã, and Silves;

4. Visibility of forest products

• Holding of the “Manage – Family and Community Forest Production of Amazonas” forestry seminar in Manaus, which had an audience of 131 people, including rural producers, forestry professionals, students, and representatives of governmental organizations;
• Conducting seven workshops introducing FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certification for timber and non-timber forest products, and organic certification for non-timber products;
• Completion of the study “Opportunities in Environmental Services for the Forest Productive Chains of Amazonas,” whose central goal is to promote additional financing mechanisms to enable the continuation and scaling of project activities in the medium and long term.