1. FFI Australia
  2. FFI US
  3. Conservation Circle
DONATE

Brazil

Located in:

,

Key species include:

Brazil is a country of superlatives. 20 per cent of the planet’s fresh water. One third of all species. The largest wetlands on Earth. Five different terrestrial biomes, from open fields, wetlands, dry woodlands, savannas, to the outstanding Amazon and Atlantic rain forests. 3.5 million km2 of marine areas.

Sadly, the conservation challenges are also superlatives. Nearly 200 million people live in Brazil, most of them in big cities along the Atlantic coast. This has caused high rates of habitat loss – less than 7 per cent of the coastal rain forest remains.

The Brazilian savanna vegetation, the cerrado, is likely to disappear completely by 2030, giving way to soya farms, cattle ranching and sugar cane plantations for ethanol. Deforestation and fires in the Amazon forest account for 75 per cent of Brazil’s carbon emissions.

Yet Brazil has one of the best environmental legislation frameworks. A versatile system of protected areas provides a spectrum of conservation options from full protection to sustainable use managed by indigenous communities.

Though the number of private protected areas is increasing, the majority of the protected areas are still paper parks. Less than 9 per cent of the country is protected. Emerging mechanisms to protect ecosystem services, such as freshwater provisioning, represent a major opportunity to conserve Brazil’s stunning landscapes.

Fauna & Flora International (FFI) is working through partnerships with national institutions, government and the private sector to fill key conservation gaps in the Amazon rainforest.

Our work in Brazil

Amazon basin: Cristalino State Park and adjacent landscape

brazil-timber

Despite the global importance of the Brazilian Amazon and the official Brazilian government strategy to protect it, the world’s largest forest is still threatened by cattle ranching, illegal logging, new access roads and agriculture. FFI is working to curb the advance of deforestation by helping the State Ministry of Environment to implement the Cristalino State Park management plan, a process which we helped to facilitate. We also support the Cristalino Ecological Foundation (CEF) to protect 6,000 hectares of adjacent private reserves and with CEF and other local partners to assist local communities living within the zone of influence of the State Park to improve their land use and livelihoods. FFI is also endeavouring to strengthen CEF technically, financially and in terms of corporate governance, so that it can increase its effectiveness and sustainability.

External link: Cristalino Ecological Foundation

Private protected areas: catalysing conservation through private reserves

brazil-protected-area

Brazil’s excellent legislation on creating private protected areas (PPAs) is proving an invaluable tool for conserving the country’s forests. FFI’s regional and Brazilian experience with PPAs lends itself well to our current focus, which is strengthening the support provide to protected area owners. We are also looking at ways to help address the critical need for economic incentives, such as payment for ecosystem services that can increase the viability and sustainability of conservation. We also intend to facilitate links between specific PPAs and potential sponsors, including corporations in Brazil.

Related news

Key species include:

Support Fauna & Flora International