The last part of the Amazonian Biodiversity Consultation Seminar was the allocation of the participants over six groups by priority actions for Amazonian conservation. From the map containing the priority areas for conservation and based upon all theme and regional discussions, the experts submitted a number of recommendations, which ensure the proper use of the data produced during the meeting.
By the closing of the event, on September 25, the reports were submitted by the coordinators os each group and approved by the plenary.
Reclaiming changed areas was recognized by "Economic Use of Changed Areas" Work Group members, chaired by Luiz Carlos Ros, from the World Bank, and the Imazon’s Eugênio Arima, as important to re-establish ecossystemic forest functions and in the creation of a buffer zone to protect forest masses against the development of economic activities. Thus, the economic use and the reclaiming of changed areas through forestry management, agricultural-forestry systems and reforestation, for example, may create a "green belt" to halt the growth of the agricultural frontier from its present standards of insustainability.
It was recommended that future human settlements be oriented towards the occupation of already-deforested areas which, in many instances, already count on good infrastructure, always complying with basic social and environmental requirements. One non-conventional funding mechanisms suggested to support economic activities in these areas is carbon sequestration. It was suggested that the Brazilian government should make progress in negotiations relating to the regulation of this mechanism.
According to group members, all actions which orientate economic use in changed areas must seek product value-adding, a more equitable income distribution, valuing local actions, the diversification of the local production base and improvement of the quality of living of local populations.
Activities recommended by the group are agricultural-forest systems, extractivism, family agriculture, reforestation, forest management, intensive agriculture and cattle raising, cattle management is floodlands and holms, the establishments, ecotourism and fishing.
The indigenous lands group, chaired by ISA’s Márcio Santilli, ranked 14 priority actions for these areas, which comprise over 20% of the entire Brazilian Amazon: (1) To complete the indigenous land identification and demarcation process; (2) Establishing a specific organization to handle biodiversity protection in indigenous lands, compatible with the exclusive usufruct of the occupant people, applicable especially to specially relevant areas from the biological and landscape viewpoint located in those lands; (3) To extend the application of legal protection over the buffer zones to the indigenous lands’ buffer zones; (4) Creating task forces made up by IBAMA/MMA and occupant indigenous communities to propose negotiated solutions on a case-by-case basis for the overlap between indigenous lands and conservation units of indirect use; (5) Reviewing (by law or decree) the acts creating National Forests – FLONAS located in indigenous lands such as to eliminate the existing overlap; (6) Supporting indigenous peoples occupying the lands included among priority lands for the conservation of biodiversity for ethnical zoning; (7) To foster technically and financially indigenous communities’s projects for the economic sustenance, sustainable management and conservation of natural resources existing on their lands; (8) To formulate and implement research programs on biodiversity among indigenous communities and scientific research institutions or centers; (9) To install, under the Environment Ministry’s coordination, a permanent multilateral forum to convene the governments, indigenous people’s and civil society’s representatives from Amazonian countries to propose joint or compatible policies for biodiversity protection in indigenous lands located in border regions; (10) To conceive and implement, within the scope of the Environment Ministry, a national program to minutor indigenous lands environmental conditions; (11) To formulate and implement a joint program for the federal agencies in charge of monitoring conservation units and indigenous lands located in the Legal Amazon; (1) To prioritize environmentally degraded areas in indigenous lands in reclaiming programs; (13) To identify areas among those located inside indigenous lands and considered to be priority for the conservation of biodiversity which may constitute exemplary cases of integrated socioenvironmental planning, specially concerning overlaps or juxtapositioning with conservation units; (14) To respect the exclusive usufruct right by indigenous communities in the process of regulating third parties’ access to genetic resources existing in their lands and to associated traditional knowledge.
Chaired by Mário Menezes and Iza Santos, the the direct use Conservation Unit and traditional populations work group offered a number of proposals vis-à-vis the two themes, reminding that traditional populations are those whose production systems and use of natural resources carry a low environmental impact, permitting the reproduction of ecossystems. They add up to approximately 2 million people in the Amazon region.
The recommendations are the following:
Traditional populations: (1) Acknowledge that traditional populations integrate a biodiversity conservation global strategy; (2) Acknowledge Collective Intellectual Right as an instrument for the the protection of the knowledge of these populations and the payback for the use of their genetic resources and associated knowledge within the scope of the bill of law which regulates access to genetic resources, whose approval by Congress is a priority; (3) To propose the deletion of item XV, article 2 of bill of law 2.892-b/92 concerning the National System of Conservation Units (SNUC), which defines traditional populations, bearing in mind that the proposed bill does not satisfactorily comply with the requirements posed by the situation of myriad populations which develop use low environmental impact production and use systems; (4) To expand knowledge of traditional populations concerning their distribution aspects (mapping, cultural and socioeconomic characteristics, organization, production systems and associated resources and sustainable development projects, as well as knowledge of the land situation and ecossystem conservation services (wild and cultivated biodiversity); (5) To establish compensation mechanisms in the format of adequate remuneration for the costs assumed in environmental conservation and managament of the Conservation Units by extrativist populations or associations; (6) To implement adequate policies to incentive and foster transportation and marketing of agricultural-extraction products within and without direct use conservation units; (7) To implement valuation, conservation and improvement initiatives in the traditional production systems in all sector policies, underscoring technical assistance, agricultural education and rural extension; (8) That the National Agricultural and Cattle Raising Research Program consider the diversity of local production systems, affording the development of technologies appropriate to the demands of traditional communities; (9) To create regular credit lines to serve the demands of traditional populations; (10) To review and revamp Prodex in Procera format; (11) To carry out studies about more adequate production alternatives for the market and the reality of extraction and traditional populations; (12) The Administration is to prioritize land regularization in the areas occupied by traditional populations, acknowledging their right to ownership of the land and respecting their manner of social organization; (13) To implement an Ecological Land Reform, considering the forest vocation of the Amazon region and the social-cultural diversity of local populations; (14) To strengthen the National Center for the Development of Traditional Populations (CNPT) institutionally, transforming it in a National Agency for the Sustainable Development of Traditional Populations, within the scope of the Environment Ministry.
Conservation Units: (1) To consolidate existing Conservation Units and apply the legal provisions for the protection of their buffer zones; extend funds for land regularization of existing units; create task forces made up by similar government agencies (IBAMA, INCRA, FUNAI, etc) and local communities involved for the resolution of conflicts in conservation unit overlapping areas; speed up use concession contracts and complete conservation unit demarcation processes; implementing management, use, master and development plans for Reservations of Extractions and other conservation units; (2) Implementing sustainable development projects, ensuring the participation of local populationsd; (3) Strengthening the institutional capabilities of social organizations, training and developing human resources in economic, environmental, social and cultural management, and implementing institutional partnerships; (4) Simplifying and streamlizing fund-clearance processes and approval of plans and projects relatred to conservation unit development; (5) Identification and recognition of local demands for the creation of conservation units; (6) Creating and consolidating conservation units to meet local demands; (7) Creating a Management Group to integrate research institutions, local populations and civil society organizations in the preparation, concession and monitoring of natural resource exploration plans in national forests; (8) Ensuring the fulfilment of proposals emanated from state ecological-economic zoning relative to conservation units; (9) Implementing produce processing and vertical integration at the local level, affording adequate power alternatives for this purpose.
The actions proposed by the Indirect Use Conservation Units group, chaired by Luiz Paulo Pinto, from Conservation International, are the following:
Existing CUs: (1) Land regularization in all Cus; (2) Resolution of conflicts with indigenous lands; (3) Conflict resolution with traditional populations; (4) Strenghtening governmental and non-governmental cooperation aiming at the implementation of Cus; (5) Studying the creation of a trust fund or other equivalent mechanisms to ensure the financial stability for the implementation and maintenance of Cus; (6) Encouraging and promoting environmental education and sustainable development practices with local populations; (7) Creating low-impact economic opportunities linked to the presence of Cus for local populations such as to minimize impacts and invasions; (8) Provide financial incentives such as the ecologic ICMS to municipalities and states which host indirect use Cus.
Creation of New Units: (1) Using Seminar results to beacon the creation of new conservation units; (2) Encouraging and standardizing different cooperation mechanisms for the management and administration of conservation units; (3) Strengthening the technical process of assessing the potential of areas for the definition of the category and to ensure the ecological feasibility, considering the social agents involved; (4) Increase the protcted area of the Brazilian Legal Amazon such as to protect, in a first stafe (onver the next five years) a minimum of 10% in indirect use protected areas.
Institutional strengthening and cooperation: (1) Strengthening institutional coalitions for the creation and operation of conservation units; (2) Strengthening public institutions managing Cus (hiring and training and developing human resources); (3) Strengthening non-governmental organizations which work with Cus ; (4) Encouraging, standardizing and implementing different cooperation mechanisms for managing CUs.
A number of recommendations were also prepared aiming at the development of scientific research and dissemination of information about these Cus.
The Group for Priority Actions for Research Into Cultural and Biological Diversity, chaired by José Maria C. da Silva, yielded a series of detailed and specific information for the following areas: (1) Training and settlement of human resources; (2) Overall policies for the strengthening of research in the region: financial support for research, strengthening of infrastructure and institutional interaction; access to biological resources; (3) Dissemination of information; (4) Priority research themes.
The recommendations produced by the Group on Anthropic Pressures and Development Axes, chaired by Imazon’s Beto Veríssimo, considered already deforested areas (15% of the Legal Amazon) and areas under plant coverage (75%). Intact areas, however with non-forest coverage were treated in the "Workshop 99: Cerrado and Pantanal."
For affected areas it was proposed to support the strengthening cattle raising by increasing productivity and improving economic profitability and settling breeders in these areas. Thus, there would be few incentives for the expansion of the agricultural frontier in forested areas.
Among the actions to ensure effectiveness of this suggestion are: improvement of infrastructure (local roads, power and communications) in deforested areas, redirectioning of credits from public banks to strengthen the sustainable use and increase the use of affected areas, restricting or burdening credit to producers who do not implement accidental fire prevention plans, among others.
For forested areas, the group recommends the assurance of maintenance of forest cover due to economic value (timber and non-timber products), environmental services (fire prevention, stream protection, climate regulation), very high biological, social and anthropological value (most Amazonian traditional peoples inhabit these forests), tourism and hydroelectric potential. For this purpose, they recommended actions such as the incentive to forest use activities (management, extractivism, ecotourism), support to the certification of sustainable forestry products, fire prevention, environmental education and others.
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