Lessons from Brazil in tackling deforestation<\/p>\n
Josef Leitmann, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Brazil, like Indonesia, is confronted with serious
\ndeforestation of its tropical forests. Through years of debate
\nand experimentation, the country has now developed several good
\npractices and an action plan for combating deforestation in the
\nAmazon that could benefit Indonesia in its journey towards
\nenvironmental sustainability.<\/p>\n
The Amazon, spanning around 5.1 million kilometers with around
\n80 percent being actually forest, covers some 60 percent of the
\nBrazilian territory. Twelve percent of Brazil's 175 million
\npeople lives there. It is the largest rain forest biome in the
\nworld, with 50,000 known species of plants, 3,000 of fish, 2,000
\nof birds.<\/p>\n
The Brazilian Amazon is challenged by a wide range of issues,
\nnamely: The lack of consensus about the rules of the game for
\ndevelopment; the sheer physical size of the region makes it
\ndifficult to provide social services (health and education),
\ninfrastructure and transportation; unclear property rights and
\nensuing land use conflicts; unmanaged expansion of cattle
\nranching and agriculture.<\/p>\n
The major cause of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon is
\nthe unmanaged expansion of cattle ranching and commercial
\nagriculture, which have rapidly expanded over the last 25 years.
\nSince 1970, over 90 percent of the additional deforested land has
\nbeen converted into pasture.<\/p>\n
One long-term study indicates that, if present trends
\ncontinue, only 44 percent of the original forest cover will
\nremain at the beginning of the next century, with pasture and
\nabandoned pasture becoming the dominant land cover.<\/p>\n
Despite the problems and dynamics of deforestation, Brazil has
\nundertaken several successful experiments to slow and even
\nreverse environmental degradation. Examples include:<\/p>\n
* Giving private landowners responsibilities and incentives --
\nprivate landowners in the Amazon are legally required to keep 80
\npercent of their land as forest. In some states, they can trade
\nthis requirement to allow more productive land to be developed.
\nLandowners can receive exemption from the rural property tax on
\nland that they establish as a privately protected area.<\/p>\n
* Using high technology for monitoring and control -- the
\nfederal government has invested over US$1 billion to create a
\nsystem of real-time satellite surveillance of the Amazon, partly
\nto monitor illegal logging and forest fires. At least one state
\nhas combined this monitoring with an environmental licensing
\nsystem to enforce the legal reserve requirement and fight fires.<\/p>\n
* Giving property rights to indigenous forest dwellers -- up
\nto a quarter of the entire Amazon forest in Brazil is being
\ndemarcated as reserves for indigenous people, often by training
\nand equipping indigenous groups. They use a variety of
\ntraditional and modern techniques to manage and protect forest
\nresources.<\/p>\n
* Empowering local sustainable management -- forest
\ncommunities are empowered through the creation of extractive
\nreserves where they agree to use resources sustainably in
\nexchange for property rights and infrastructure, through
\nfinancing of demonstration projects that support sustainable
\ncommunity enterprises, and through soft loans in exchange for
\nprotection of environmental services.<\/p>\n
* Building capacity -- environmental agencies in the nine
\nstates that comprise the Amazon have been created and reinforced,
\nincluding a) negotiating ecological-economic zoning for critical
\nareas, and b) hiring and training more than 2,000 environmental
\npolice who engage in education as well as enforcement. At the
\nsame time, a network of 600 NGOs has been created to share
\nknowledge and lobby for change.<\/p>\n
* Sustainable financing parks -- an endowment fund of over
\n$200 million is being initiated, with support from the Global
\nEnvironment Facility, to finance the creation and management of
\nnational parks in the Amazon in perpetuity.<\/p>\n
* Supporting well-managed forestry -- funds have been provided
\nto allow private companies to experiment with sustainable forest
\nmanagement; a training program and center on sustainable forestry
\nhave been created; and certification for both buyers and sellers
\nof tropical hardwoods has been initiated.<\/p>\n
Many of these innovations were pioneered by the Rain Forest
\nPilot Program, a $450 million partnership of the Brazilian
\ngovernment, society, international donors, and The World Bank<\/p>\n
Three recent developments are helping Brazil confront its
\ndeforestation problem.<\/p>\n
First, a deforestation action plan, developed by a task force
\nrepresenting 11 federal ministries, proposes 149 integrated
\nactions in the areas of: Land use management and tenure;
\nenvironmental monitoring and control; support to sustainable
\nproductive activities; and environmentally sustainable
\ninfrastructure. This will involve partnerships between the three
\nlevels of government, civil society and the private sector.<\/p>\n
Expected results include: A reduction in the rates of
\ndeforestation and illegal burning; a reduction in land
\nspeculation in sensitive areas; a reduction in illegal logging;
\nan increase in the prevention and control of fire, pasture
\nmanagement and sustainable agricultural practices; an increase in
\nrural properties that respect the legal reserve requirements;
\nprogress towards a more environmentally-sound model of agrarian
\nreform; creation of additional conservation and indigenous areas
\nin critical regions; and an increase institutional capacity to
\ncontrol deforestation and support sustainable production.<\/p>\n
Second, the Sustainable Amazon Plan, developed by the
\nMinistries of Environment and National Integration, proposes
\nspecific strategies for three macro-regions in the Amazon: i) The
\ndensely populated zone --the most deforested areas of the Amazon;
\nii) Central Amazon --the area currently under threat from
\nexcessive development; and iii) Western Amazon --virgin areas
\nthat are distant from roads.<\/p>\n
Third, an offspring of both the interministerial work group on
\ndeforestation and the Sustainable Amazon process has been the
\ncreation of a group to prepare a land management and sustainable
\ndevelopment plan for the region that will be impacted by the
\nfinal paving of the Cuiaba-Santarim highway. The process will
\nserve as a model for reducing environmental impacts and
\nincreasing the sustainability of other major federal investments
\nthat are anticipated for the Amazon region.<\/p>\n
What can Indonesia learn from this story? Obviously, many of
\nthe Brazilian experiences are specific to that country's history,
\nenvironmental conditions, culture, and political arrangements.
\nHowever, there are some generic lessons: Transferring resources,
\nrights and responsibilities to local communities has been a key
\nto success; one size doesn't fit all -- approaches must be
\ntailored to the degree of political will and technical capability
\navailable; innovative pilots for managing tropical forests can
\nsucceed and be scaled up; and this process can be financed at low
\nor no-cost with the involvement of international partners. Now,
\nit will be interesting to see what can be applied here... and
\nwhat Indonesia has to teach Brazil!<\/p>\n
The writer was the World Bank's sector leader for
\nenvironmentally sustainable development in Brazil until July
\n2004. He is currently the Lead Environmental Specialist at the
\nWorld Bank Office in Jakarta.<\/p>",
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