Headed by third sector organizations, sharing tools for sustainable solutions strive to integrate nations by conservation.
The coordinator of SDSN-Amazônia, Virgilio Viana, speaks during the event at COP23 | Photo: Felipe Irnaldo
Three initiatives toward the valorization of the Amazon rainforest were presented on this Monday, November 13th, during the United Nations 23rd Climate Change Conference, COP 23, in Bonn, Germany.
Headed by the Amazonas Sustainable Foundation (FAS) and the Sustainable Development Solutions Network for the Amazon (SDSN- Amazônia) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the tools present success initiatives in Amazonas toward forests conservation, engaging nations by sharing experiences among them. One of them is the Bolsa Floresta Program (PBF) toolkit, initiative which helps improve the quality of life of 40 thousand inhabitants of over 10 million hectares of the Amazon region, decreasing in 37% the numbers of deforestation in the assisted locations.
Presentation of the projects for the guests and participants during the COP23 at the University of Bonn. | Photo: Felipe Irnaldo
The projects were presented at Bonn University in a side event of COP 23, gathering students of different nations. Amongst the participants, attended the CEO at FAS, Virgilio Viana, the secretary of the Ministry of Environment of Brazil, Marcelo Dutra, the president of the Brazilian Forum on Climate Change (FBMC), Alfredo Sarkis, research scientists of respective universities of Minas Gerais (UFMG) and Bonn University, Britaldo Soares and Jan Borner and, as a representative of IDB, João Pedro Bonilla,
Environmental Services Toolkit
With almost 10 years of operations in the Amazon region, FAS presented the toolkit “Desenhando esquemas inovadores para pagamento por serviços ambientais”, designed in partnership with IDB. The tool aims to worldwidely replicate the PBF methodology, project of Payment of Environmental Services that rewards around 9 thousand families committed to not deforest in 16 protected areas.
Largest Environmental Services Program in extension, Bolsa Floresta Program brings fundraising initiatives and supports tourism, fishing and chestnut management, then making forest worth more standing than cut. “This toolking encourages the development of programs such as the Payment for Environmental Services throughout the world, considering every single environmental and social issues involved. The idea is that each project can be built parting from the local
awareness, an environmental services strategy toward forests conservation”, explains Virgilio Viana, CEO at FAS.
The program toolkit, designed in partnership with IDB, was planned by a team of 25 researchers of several nations over two years. The tool is divided in three chapters: in the first, an explanatory summary of Bolsa Floresta, which presents a concise contextualization and details its replicability. In the second, there is a canvas model for analysis and replication of the initiative: a diagram to structure the implementation arrangements in different contexts; and the third, which consists practical examples of how the program works and its impacts. You can download it for free in: www.fas-amazonas.org. “One of the biggest challenges for the Amazon is how to promote development while keeping the forest stood. That replicates solutions that work, because Amazonas is too big to fail”, Viana defends. International Platform for Sustainable Solutions On the fields of education toward sustainability, the Sustainable Development Solutions Network for the Amazon (SDSN-Amazônia) launched two online innovative platforms: the SDSN Platform, which seeks to find and share initiatives focused on the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) in nine nations of the Amazon Basin and the online free course “Gerenciamento e conservando nosso ecossistema terrestre”, directed to academics in different levels for them to learn about forest conservation. The first platform is a partnership of SDSN-Amazônia, FAS and the Environmental UN. It aims to promote new technologies, business models and public policies that have impact to transform the region. “The platform’s concept is to be a simple tool , a place for any person to develop an initiative and register it. A scientific committee will make a brief evaluation and, after that, the initiative will be incorporated and replicated to all over the world”, explains Thais Megid, SDSN-Amazônia coordinator. The entrance of case solving will undergo through a set of criteria amongst the SDSN guidelines. This initiative will result on an open access platform for sustainable development solutions for the Amazon. The platform will be available on: www.maps.sdsn-amazonia.org/pt
MOOC course: From the Ground Up: Managing and Preserving our Terrestrial Ecosystems Also on this Monday, FAS, in partnership with SDSN-Amazônia, launched the online course “From the Ground Up: Managing and Preserving our Terrestrial Ecosystems”.
During 7-week, students will learn the impacts of deforestation, environmental degradation and climate changes, comprehending the impact of human activities and their interactions with natural ecosystems. The course will have illustrious attendants such as Emma Torres from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Jeffrey Sachs, professor at Columbia University, Rita Mesquita, from the National Institute of Amazonian Research (INPA), Thomas Lovejoy, from George Manson University and Peter May, from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ).
The course will be available on: https://courses.sdgacademy.org/
