Avoided Deforestation (REDD) and Indigenous ... - Amazon Fund

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agricultural regions and metropolitan areas of Brazil’s Center-South, Northern Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, by means of “Flying Rivers”, which is also the name of a project involving a large number of researchers (see: http://www.riosvoadores.com.br/). Estimates of these carbon stocks indicate the importance of their impact on climate and can also be used as variables to determine monetary values in compensatory projects in carbon markets and international grants for forest protection. But it should be remembered – with necessary estimates – that behind these stocks there are complex processes which affect climate and which add value to any project results. With regard to indigenous lands, specifically, fundamental cultural values – even those affected by acculturation processes – favor conservation of forests and will play a crucial role in determining their future availability. Therefore, even if the value of projects is established based on market fluctuations relative to carbon stocks, it should be kept in mind that what matters for climate is long-term conservation of these stocks, at costs which are, at the very least, the real cost of any project. And, of course, conservation cannot be achieved in indigenous forests without the direct involvement of its inhabitants. Forest Carbon in the Amazon When talking about the Amazon, it is wise to first agree on its boundaries. The Amazon basin has a total area of 6.5 million km2 , 60% of which are located in Brazilian territory, and the remainder is in Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, and Guyana. A large variety of forest phytophysiognomies covers this basin which are mapped, researched, and classified in varying manners in each country and traditional culture. Dense rainforests – most commonly associated with the image of the Amazon tropical rainforest – cover 60% of the basin’s total area and 39% of its area in Brazilian territory (considering only the dense rainforests in the Legal Amazon) (Armenteras & Morales, 2008). It is also connected with tropical forests in neighboring river basins, such as the Orinoco (Venezuela) and others in Suriname and French Guyana. The boundaries of the Brazilian Legal Amazon are established by political and juridical conventions, covering, in addition to the total area of the Amazon basin in Brazil, territories located in the southern state of Mato Grosso and the western state of Maranhão, in addition to most of the Araguaia-Tocantins basin, considered independent of the Amazon basin. The area monitored by the National Institute for Space Research (Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais - Inpe) in order to calculate deforestation rates in the Amazon corresponds to the part of Brazilian Legal Amazon which is covered by dense rainforest and other associated formations, also known as 10 Av o i d e d d e f o re s t A t i o n (redd) A n d i n d i g e n o u s p e o p l e s: experiences, chAllenges A n d o p p o r t u n i t i e s in t h e A m A zo n c o n t e x t
“Amazon biome,” which does not include Cerrado and pre-Amazon regions, the Roraima savanna and other parts which are in the Amazon basin. Carbon stock estimates in the Brazilian Amazon are the result of mapping and the extension of different forest phytophysiognomies occurring in the basin, and amounts of carbon per hectare found in scientific research carried out in each phytophysiognomy. Mapping may be done in varying scales, methodologies and classification criteria, but in Brazil official forest cover maps produced by IBGE are used as the main reference. There are also different levels of accumulated knowledge about each phytophysiognomy, as well as different numbers of carbon stock measurements in each phytophysiognomy, in addition to different measurement methodologies (which, for example, may or may not consider underground carbon stocks accumulated in plant roots). With caveats duly noted, forest carbon stock in the Brazilian Amazon – in the Amazon basin and in Brazilian territory – is estimated at 62 Gigatons of carbon (GtC), which corresponds to the total volume of global emissions for a period of over two years, considering 2007 levels (EIA, 2009). In order to calculate Amazon forest carbon stocks for REDD and the like, it is prudent to consider numerical averages or variation ranges resulting from different measurements and methodologies. Components which make advances in scientific knowledge possible should also be included in the scope of these projects, as well as periodical assessments of existing stocks in the specific locations in which these projects are carried out. For a preliminary calculation of compensation values, especially for projects aimed at the carbon market, adoption of more conservative figures found in serious studies about existing stocks are recommended. Indigenous Lands in the Brazilian Amazon Indigenous lands with some level of official recognition by Brazilian government cover a total area of 110 million hectares, which correspond to approximately 13% of the total area of Brazil. There are also approximately two hundred outstanding demands by indigenous people for land listed in the federal indigenous agency, although these have not yet been recognized and demarcated, having no defined perimeter or area. Approximately 98% of indigenous lands in Brazil are located in the region known as the Brazilian Legal Amazon, where 60% of the Brazilian indigenous population lives. The others live in the country’s Northeast, Southeast and Center-South, often crammed into tiny areas, which account for less than 2% of the total area of indigenous lands. Indigenous lands cover 22% of the total area of the Brazilian Legal Amazon (Figure 1). Av o i d e d d e f o re s t A t i o n (redd) A n d i n d i g e n o u s p e o p l e s: experiences, chAllenges A n d o p p o r t u n i t i e s in t h e A m A zo n c o n t e x t 11
Page 1 and 2: Avoided Deforestation (REDD) and In
Page 3 and 4: Avoided Deforestation (REDD) and In
Page 5: Summary Introduction Raul Silva Tel
Page 8 and 9: Amazon region is currently the pref
Page 11: Indigenous Lands and the Climate Cr
Page 15 and 16: approximately 13 million hectares,
Page 17 and 18: The tables below display data regar
Page 19 and 20: In practice, the main decisions reg
Page 21: Nogueira, EM., Fearnside, PM., Nels
Page 24 and 25: 22 Av o i d e d d e f o re s t A t
Page 26 and 27: Given the absence of legal definiti
Page 28 and 29: internal debates on this issue, pre
Page 30 and 31: which they have traditionally owned
Page 32 and 33: which Bolivian legislation calls
Page 34 and 35: consultation” in its articles 30.
Page 36 and 37: are also facilitated by the strong
Page 38 and 39: legal risk that these lands can be
Page 40 and 41: has the duty (and exclusive compete
Page 42 and 43: derived from them, such as from the
Page 44 and 45: On the other hand, the Colombian le
Page 46 and 47: “the special norms which regulate
Page 48 and 49: framework of ecological function an
Page 50 and 51: The law permits and stimulates refo
Page 52 and 53: the use, enjoyment, control, admini
Page 54 and 55: One of these bills relates to the e
Page 56 and 57: the constitution which still has no
Page 58 and 59: Since there is not a specific law r
Page 60 and 61: communities of the sierra and jungl
Page 62 and 63:
the lands that they possess and tha
Page 64 and 65:
and legal instruments to guarantee
Page 66 and 67:
those recognized “in internationa
Page 68 and 69:
limitation for implementing eventua
Page 70 and 71:
REDD in Venezuela Since REDD mechan
Page 72 and 73:
to implement REDD projects with bec
Page 74 and 75:
Can IPs dispose of the forestry res
Page 76 and 77:
Ecuador Yes. However, it will be ne
Page 78 and 79:
to reductions in GHG emissions and
Page 80 and 81:
did not establish any mechanism to
Page 82 and 83:
On the other hand, there is a growi
Page 84 and 85:
the co-existence of diverse culture
Page 86 and 87:
In accordance with this internation
Page 88 and 89:
Indigenous Peoples as Protagonists
Page 90 and 91:
e considered a security under Brazi
Page 92 and 93:
cannot dispose of the lands they tr
Page 94 and 95:
Article 34 of the Indian Statute (F
Page 96 and 97:
is a legal obligation and there is
Page 98 and 99:
State or to third parties. Since ca
Page 100 and 101:
equired for the acts of civil life,
Page 102 and 103:
indigenous peoples could only have
Page 104 and 105:
Indigenous Collective Ownership Fin
Page 106 and 107:
of their interest is indivisible (L
Page 108 and 109:
equired before the benefits may be
Page 111 and 112:
The Surui Project: Building Indigen
Page 113 and 114:
has decimated much of their forest.
Page 115 and 116:
Reducing Risks: Framework for Proje
Page 117 and 118:
Michel Pellanders/Hollandse Hoogte,
Page 119 and 120:
evitalization. Therefore, the REDD
Page 121 and 122:
Volume: To assess the volume of the
Page 123 and 124:
2009). The Surui are also engaging
Page 125 and 126:
will be critical, given that eventu
Page 127 and 128:
Legal Aspects of the Surui Carbon P
Page 129 and 130:
from afforestation, reforestation,
Page 131 and 132:
of representing their respective co
Page 133 and 134:
they are entitled to participate in
Page 135 and 136:
In the case of Brazil, the prolifer
Page 137 and 138:
• Article 11, IV of the referred-
Page 139 and 140:
Sole paragraph. The rule of this Ar
Page 141 and 142:
constitutional rights of Brazilian
Page 143 and 144:
of exploitation or use, and belong
Page 145:
alignment with the Brazilian consti
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