Protected Areas

Federative Republic of BrazilPresident: Luiz Inácio Lula da SilvaVice-President: José Alencar Gomes da SilvaMinistry of EnvironmentMinister: Marina SilvaExecutive Secretary: João Paulo Ribeiro CapobiancoSecretariat for Biodiversity and ForestsSecretary: Maria Cecília Wey de BritoBiodiversity Conservation DepartmentDirector: Bráulio de Souza Ferreira DiasForests DepartmentDirector: Fernando de Paiva ScarduaProtected Areas DepartmentDirector: João de Deus MedeirosAtlantic Rain Forest and Pampa Biomes DivisionCoordinator: Wigold SchafferCaatinga Biome DivisionCoordinator: Joao Arthur Soccal SeyffarthMarine and Coastal Zone DivisionCoordinator: Ana Paula Leite PratesCerrado and Pantanal Biomes Division

Implementation of theCBD in Brazil: Issueson the Agenda of COP9Brazil2008

ForewordThe Brazilian Ministry of the Environmenthas the mandate to coordinate theimplementation in Brazil of thecommitments made under the Conventionon Biological Diversity (CBD). Thisresponsibility falls with the Secretaryof Biodiversity and Forests, establishedin 1999 to coordinate policies relatedto the conservation and sustainableuse of biodiversity, forests, fisheries,agrobiodiversity and protected areas aswell as the policies for the access togenetic resources and the associatedtraditional knowledge and the sharing ofbenefits derived from such access.In 2003 the Coordinating Committeeof the National Biological DiversityProgram, established in 1994, wasreformed and upgraded into the NationalBiodiversity Committee – CONABIO withan expanded mandate to coordinate theimplementation of the CBD in Brazil andto coordinate the implementation of theprinciples and guidelines of the NationalBiodiversity Policy, established in 2002.This committee, with representativesfrom 10 governmental sectors and from10 sectors of the civil society, has sinceadopted the National Biodiversity ActionPlan, the National Priority Areas forBiodiversity and the National BiodiversityTargets for 2010, among other policydecisions of relevance.The Secretary of Biodiversity andForests (SBF) operates in a matrixstructure with a focus on major thematicagendas and on the major biomes ofthe country. It operates through fourNational Departments, the Departmentof Biodiversity Conservation (DCBIO),the Department of Forests (DFLOR), the

Department of Protected Areas (DAP)and the Department of Genetic Patrimony(DPG); four Biome-focused Sectors, theNucleus on the Coastal and Marine Zone,the Nucleus on the Atlantic Forest andthe Pampa, the Nucleus on the Cerradoand the Pantanal, the Nucleus on theCaatinga; as well as the CoordinationUnits of several national and regionalprogrames, projects and committees.The Secretary of Biodiversity and Forestsdoes not operate alone as it work inpartnership with the other secretariesof the Ministry of the Environment -the Secretary of Climate Change andEnvironmental Quality, the Secretary ofWater Resources and Urban Environment,the Secretary of Extractivism andSustainable Rural Development, theSecretary of Institutional Coordinationand Environmental Citizenship, and theExecutive Secretary. The Biodiversitypolicies and programs are implementedmostly through the executive arms ofthe Ministry of the Environment: theBrazilian Institute of the Environment andRenewable Natural Resources (IBAMA),the Chico Mendes Institute of BiodiversityConservation (ICMBIO), the BrazilianForest Service (SFB), the Rio de JaneiroBotanical Garden Research Institute(JBRJ), the National Water Agency(ANA), and the National EnvironmentalFund (FNMA). Finally, a large network ofpartner institutions of federal agencieslinked to other sectoral ministries, stategovernments, civil society organizationsand donor foreign agencies cooperateswith the Ministry of the Environmentto implement the biodiversity policies,programs and projects.and to achieve the 2010 BiodiversityTarget and sub-targets agreed in COPdecisions VII/30 and VIII/15 and inCONABIO Resolution 3/2006. Thisbooklet provides an overview and updateof the major initiatives taken by theBrazilian Government in relation to themajor issues in the agenda of the 9thConference of the Parties held in Bonn.Maria Cecília Wey de BritoSecretary of Biodiversity and ForestsBrazilian Ministry of the EnvironmentSince the 8th Conference of the Partiesheld in Curitiba in March 2006, theBrazilian Ministry of the Environment hasintensified its efforts to implement thebroad agenda adopted under the CBD

Agricultural BiodiversityConservation and sustainable use ofagrobiodiversity are strategic objectivesthat ensure the food and nutritionalsafety of urban populations, promotefamily agriculture, protect traditionalpeoples and communities and areessential components of the sustainabledevelopment and maintenance of thegenetic diversity of species that are ofcurrent or potential social-economicimportance to the country.Over the last four years, many activitieshave been carried out including, forexample, the creation of OutreachCentres for Agrobiodiversity Management(Centros Irradiadores do Manejo daAgrobiodiversidade – CIMAS), whoseobjective is the recovery, conservationand sustainable use of components ofagrobiodiversity using agro-ecologicalprocesses and principles. Organizationof seed exchange fairs, congresses andworkshops have also been supported bythe MMA. Another activity related to thematter was the effective participationof the MMA in the development ofthe National Policy on Medicinal andPhytotherapeutic Plants (PolíticaNacional de Plantas Medicinais eFitoterápicos).In conjunction with other governmentalbodies that also work withagrobiodiversity, the MMA led thecreation of a more ample governmentprogram that was started in 2008.This program involves MMA activities,as well as those of the Ministry forAgrarian Development (Ministério doDesenvolvimento Agrário – MDA), SocialDevelopment (Desenvolvimento Social– MDS), and the Ministry of Agriculture,Livestock and Supply (Ministério daAgricultura, Pecuária e Abastecimento- MAPA). Other government bodies suchas the Brazilian Agricultural ResearchCorporation and the National SupplyCompany (Companhia Nacional deAbastecimento – CONAB) are also part ofthe new program.The Programme for the Conservation,Management and Sustainable Useof Agrobiodiversity strives to ensureconservation and sustainable use ofagrobiodiversity components so as ensurefood safety, employment and income11

generation, retribution for environmentalservices. Activities foreseen include:a) identification of and research onfauna and flora species of economicimportance; b) support to demonstrativeprojects aimed at establishing sustainableproduction systems; c) support to themanagement of natural resources ingrasslands of the Amazon region; d)stimulate the establishment of communitysystems for the conservation andsustainable use of agrobiodiversity; e)establishment of territorial units of ruralenvironmental management; f) supportto technological innovation, conservationpractices, use and management ofagrobiodiversity developed by familyproducers, traditional peoples andcommunities; g) development of organicagriculture; h) strengthening andvaluing of territorial initiatives for themanagement and sustainable use ofagrobiodiversity; j) research, promoteaccess and appropriation of technologiesaimed at the sustainable managementof agrobiodiversity with an agroecologicalfocus; k) implementation ofplans for expanding the pro-environmentdevelopment sites at national scale and;l) monitoring the participation of foodproducts from agrobiodiversity in the foodacquisition program.PollinatorsPollination is one of the most relevantenvironmental services for thesustainability of agriculture. Recentstudies show not only its economicvalue, estimated to be of several billiondollars at the global value, but alsothe existence of a global process ofdecreased pollinators resulting especiallyfrom deforestation, the excessive use ofpesticides, and the predatory destructionof nests. A deficit of pollination in severalagro-ecosystems is observed, and thisleads to losses in the productivity andquality of agricultural products.Due to the importance of the matter,the Conference of the Parties of theConvention on Biological Diversityapproved the creation of an InternationalPollinators Initiative (IPI) (Decision V/5) inthe scope of the Thematic Work Programon Agricultural Biological Diversity(instituted by Decision III/11), as well asa Plan of Action for its implementation(Decision VI/5).Several countries have establishedmeasures to promote implementationof the IPI, and the initiatives of NorthAmerica, Europe and Africa arehighlighted. Brazil has been participatingin these international discussions onIPI in the scope of the CBD, and hasorganized three international meetings onIPI.With the objective of promoting theimplementation of IPI in developingcountries, the Food and AgricultureOrganization (FAO) invited Brazil totake part in an international projectentitled Conservation and Managementof Pollinators for Sustainable Agriculturethrough an Ecosystem Approach, withSouth Africa, Kenya, Ghana, India,Pakistan and Nepal. This project includesfour components: a) development ofbasic knowledge; b) extension andpromotion of good practices in benefitof pollinators; c) capacity buildingand promotion of volunteer actions; d)sharing of experiences, disseminationof results and elaboration of publicpolicies. This project counted on apreparatory assistance (PDF-B, whichwas approved in the end of 2003 bythe Global Environment Facility (GEF).The project was approved by the GEF inMay of 2007 to become part of the workprogram. Endorsement by the council andthe signing of the donation agreementare expected to take place in the firstsemester of 2008.12

Forest Biodiversity(including Mountain Biodiversity)Brazilian forests detain the largestbiological biodiversity in the entireplanet. They take on significant socialenvironmentalimportance and ensure themaintenance of 700 thousand direct jobsand 2 million indirect jobs.Brazil is sub-divided into six biomes, thelargest of which is the Amazon, whosepreserved area totals 85%, followed bythe Pantanal (88%), the Caatinga (62%),the Cerrado (60%) the Pampa (41%) andthe Atlantic Forest (25%) (MMA, 2007).In light of its biomes and their associatedecosystems, Brazil is considered to bethe first country in terms of biodiversityand presents great potential for using thiswealth.The Brazilian Federal Government’schallenge is to conciliate conservationof the rich flora and fauna with theproduction and sustainable use of forestresources. The forestry sector within thefederal public administration is comprisedby four bodies:• The Ministry for the Environment, bymeans for the Department of Forests(Departamento de Florestas – DFLOR)is responsible for proposing policies andnorms and for defining strategies;• The Brazilian Forestry Service, whichis responsible for the management ofpublic forests;• The Brazilian Institute for theEnvironment and Renewable NaturalResources (Instituto Brasileiro do MeioAmbiente e dos Recursos NaturaisRenováveis - IBAMA), which is thefederal agency responsible for executingthe policies. Its Office for the SustainableUse of Biodiversity and Forests isresponsible for coordinating, controlling,supervising, normatizing, monitoring,guiding and assessing the executionof federal measures pertaining to thelicenses and authorizations for access,management, commercialization and useof forest and flora resources;• The Chico Mendes Institute forBiodiversity Conservation (InstitutoChico Mendes de Conservação daBiodiversidade – ICMbio), which isresponsible for monitoring the public15

use and economic exploitation of naturalresources within protected area sites.The Ministry for the Environmentacknowledges the importance of socialparticipation in elaborating the policies ofthe National Forest Program (ProgramaNacional de Florestas – PNF), ensuredby the National Forest Commission(Comissão Nacional de Florestas– CONAFLOR). This commission workswithin the scope of the MMA and itsobjectives are to provide guidelines for theimplementation of PNF measures and toallow for the articulation and participationof several groups interested in thedevelopment of public policies within theBrazilian forestry sector. The CONAFLORis comprised by 39 members who arefairly distributed among government (20members) and the organized civil society,which has 19 representatives.Another space for society’s participationis the National Social-EnvironmentalForum of the Sector for Planted Forests.This forum is of a consultative natureand strives to provide a space fordebates, propositions, assessments anddissemination of information, projectsand actions pertaining to the productive,educational and environmental sectors.It is comprised by teaching, researchand continued education institutions,businesses, civil society organizations andpublic organizations from different statesand that are related to the planted forestssector.Within its attributions, the DFLORdevelops several actions varying from theformulation and regulation of the forestrysector and the development of measuresfor the recovery of degraded areas toreforestation, forest certification and thedevelopment of national plants for thesilviculture of non-forest products.Restoration of Degraded AreasOf a total of 2,494.8 million km 2 ofdeforested areas, approximately 30%is considered to be degraded andpassive of recovery activities. To containthe advancing process, the Braziliangovernment established the protectionof soil use and water resources and theconservation of biological resources asfundamental aspects of technical actionsand policies. Therefore, measures thatfoster reforestation and maintenance ofremaining forests are essential elementsin consolidating these policies. Inexecuting such policies, the following isexpected:• Recovery and protection of permanentpreservation areas that are contiguous tospringwaters, areas that share boundarieswith water bodies and of water sources;• Positive impacts on the quality andquantity of water;• Increase to the process for forest andenvironmental adaptation of rural andurban properties.In fulfilling governmental determinationin which the São Francisco HydrographicBasin is a priority when it comes torevitalization, the DFLOR has beenworking with the perspective ofreverting the degradation of the SãoFrancisco River. For this, it elaboratedand is carrying out an integrated forestdevelopment plan, which calls for themobilization, awareness and participationof local communities, business sectorsand stakeholders.Therefore, a diagnostic was madeof the forestry problems of the SãoFrancisco basin and culminated with thedevelopment of a plan for strategic action.As part of the strategy to implement theplan, capacity building courses on forest16

protection, management and recoverywere given and the Centers for theRecovery of Degraded Areas (Centros deRecuperação de Areas Degradadas) wereinstalled in four locations of the basin,and native species began to be planted.National Plan for Silviculture withNative Species and Agro-ForestrySystems – PENSAF)There are 2,494.8 km 2 of deforestedareas in Brazil. Part of this area showsgreat potential for forest production. Theavailability of areas that are apt for forestproduction with native species allowsfor the generation of social-economicbenefits to small and medium-sizedrural producers of forest and agro-forestplantations.The National Plan for Silviculture withNative Species (PENSAF) strives to createfavourable conditions for the use of nativeforest species and agro-forestry systemfor the purpose of commercial productionthat yields increased availability of itsproducts and results in significant social,economic and environmental benefits.The PENSAF is structured upon eightcomponents, which are divided asfollows: (1) information system; (2)science and technology; (3) availabilityof inputs; (4) production of seeds andseedlings; (5) technical assistance andrural education; (6) credit; market andsales of forest products; (7) legislation;and (8) monitoring and control.Seeds NetworkSince 2001, the MMA has promotedthe structuring of eight networks ofnative Brazilian Forest seeds distributedthroughout the different Brazilian biomes.The seeds networks aim at fosteringthe sales and improving the quality ofseeds and seedlings of native forestspecies. After these local networks wereformed, the Brazilian Network of ForestSeeds (Rede Brasileira de SementesFlorestais – RBSF) was created andincludes the eight regional networks.The PNF structured the RBSF, which inturn elaborated the Strategic Plan forthe Production of Seeds and Seedlings(Plano Estratégico para Produção deSementes e Mudas). This Strategic Planstrives to recover 50 thousand hectares ofdegraded areas a year throughout Brazil.The networks are inter-connected withthe National Plan for Silviculture withNative Species and Agro-Forestry Systemsas they provide information on nativespecies and make genetic-quality seedsand seedlings available.Regulation of the Forestry SectorBrazilian legislation is comprised by a setof norms that date back to the 1930’s,and some that date back to the 19thCentury. The current forestry code datesback to 1965 and since then has undergomodifications as well as the regulation ofvarious of its articles.The main characteristics of the Brazilianforestry code are: the establishmentof permanent preservation areas,which are areas protected by law thatare not necessarily covered by nativevegetation; preservation of waterresources, landscape, geological stability,biodiversity, genetic flow of fauna andflora; protection of the soil; and to ensurethe well-being of human populations.There are also legal reserves, which areareas established by law. These areas areestablished according to the percentagesof rural property areas in which forestsshall be preserved for the purpose ofsustainable forest management. This17

percentage varies between 20% and 80%of the rural properties.Other institutes were slowly created,as for example the forest service areas(áreas de servidão florestal), whichare areas created by land owners on apermanent or temporary basis who areentitled to suppress or exploit the nativevegetation located outside the legalreserve areas or permanent protectionareas, but have the advantage of beingnegotiated through a document of forestreserve quotas.Other instruments are also present inthe legal framework of forests, as forexample the forest development plan,the environmental declaratory act, theplans for controlling and combatingdeforestation and forest fires, forestorigin document, sustainable forestmanagement plans, among others.A description of some of the instrumentsof the Brazilian forestry policies follows.Sustainable Forest ManagementIncentives to practices of sustainableforest management are very importantin light of the awareness that it is onlyby valuing the standing forest that thedeforestation process can be halted.With this, a review of the legal frameworkruling this activity is being promotedso as to make it more competitive asregards the other means of using thesoil. Due to the continental nature of thecountry and the biological diversity ofeach region, legislation for SustainableForest Management shall consider itsapplicability for each Brazilian biome.The Caatinga and Amazon biomeshave been contemplated with thenormatization of technical proceduresfor the elaboration, presentation,execution and technical assessment ofthe Sustainable Forest Management Plan(PMFS), and the rules for the Cerradobiome are being addressed.Other measures supported by theBrazilian government include thediscussion with the society on theparticipatory policies for incentivizingsustainable community forestmanagement and to develop theproduction chains of social-biodiversity.Sustainable Forest Management inthe Caatinga BiomeForest management in the Caatinga isconsidered to be a viable alternative toally the region’s economic developmentwith the guarantee of preserving naturalresources. The Caatinga biome has360,000 Km 2 of remaining forestcoverage, of only 0.26% are under forestmanagement. In order to fulfil the currentenergetic demand, it would be necessaryto place an area of 2.5 million hectares(equivalent to 7% of remaining forestcoverage areas) under management. TheDFLOR supports measures that fosterforest management in the Caatinga forthe following reasons:• Forest management demonstrated thepotential to fulfil the current and futuredemand for forest energy in a sustainablemanner. Wood and vegetable coal supplyone third of the industrial and commercialenergy demands of the country’s northeasternregion;• It is a technical, economic and sociallyviable practice;• Forest management is compatible withother traditional uses of soil, as ranching,apiculture and the obtainment of nonlumberforest products. This allows foranother alterative for the productiveuse of areas with native vegetation and18

thus increases employment and incomeopportunities for the rural population;• Management technology is simple andis easily learned by producers and overthe past 20 years it has been employed,tested and approved;• Biodiversity conservation complementsthe role of protected area sites;• It contributes to reduce the risks ofdesertification and decreases regionalvulnerabilities to climate changes;• It preserves the carbon stocks andproduces renewable energy thus avoidingthe emissions of greenhouse effect gases.Technical Assistance and ForestEducation to Family Producersin the Atlantic Forest, Caatinga,Cerrado and Amazon BiomesFamily agriculture is the mainemployment generator in the rural areasof Brazil. Even though such productionsoccupy only 30% of agricultural facilitiesin the country, they are responsible for76.9% of persons working on the land.Technical assistance is usually renderedto these persons with the objective ofincreasing productive capacity, incomegeneration and income improvement.Since 2004, the MMA has beensupporting measures regarding thecapacity building of family producerswith the purpose of fostering sustainablerural development in the Atlantic Forest,Caatinga, Cerrado and Amazon biomes.The capacity building process involvestraining multiplying agents on appropriatemanagement techniques for eachbiome, as well as on rendering technicalassistance and forest education to familyproducers in elaborating and monitoringsustainable, multiple-use managementprojects, silviculture and agro-forestrysystems.The objective is to capacitateapproximately 15,000 producers forforest practices so as to allow for valueto be attributed to goods coming fromsilviculture, agro-forest or managed forestareas and thus yield direct benefits suchas commercially viable goods, or indirectbenefits such as the environmental rolesplayed by forested areas.Forest CertificationThe Brazilian Program of ForestCertification (Programa Brasileiro deCertificação Florestal – CERFLOR)strives to foster sustainable forestmanagement of forest resources and itsobjectives include providing support tosmall forest producers. The program wasdeveloped through a partnership betweenthe National Institute of Metrology,Standardization and Industrial Quality(Instituto Nacional de Normalizaçãoe Qualidade Industrial - INMETRO),the Ministry for the Environment, theBrazilian Silviculture Society and theBrazilian Technical Standards Association(ABNT).INMETRO is the Brazilian government’sofficial accreditation organization. It isresponsible for accrediting certificationinstitutions in the country and operatesthe CERFLOR. This is a volunteerprogram and is open to the participationof interested parties in all steps fromthe process of establishing standards inthe ABNT to the process of elaboratingcertification requirements, includingthe criteria for accrediting institutionswithin the scope of INMETRO. In Brazil,there are 835,716 hectares of forestsaccredited by the CERFLOR. Of thesehectares, 91.3% have certified theirprinciples, criteria and indicators forforest plantations and 8.7% for forestmanagement (Facts and Numbers,2007).19

Atlantic ForestThe Atlantic Forest is one of the richestbiomes in terms of biodiversity inthe world and also the second mostendangered of destruction. 70% of theBrazilian population, 110 million people,lives in its domain. Hence, to live in theAtlantic Forest is a great privilege, butalso a big responsibility.History, Threats and OutlookThe destruction of the Atlantic Foreststarted in 1500 with the arrival of theEuropeans. All of the main economiccycles since the exploration of thebrazilwood tree, gold and diamondmining, cattle raising, coffee and sugarplantations, industrialization, woodexportation and, more recently, soya andtobacco plantations have dislodged, stepby step, the Atlantic Forest.There are still many factors that impactand contribute to the degradation ofthe Atlantic Forest, like: the growth ofunplanned cities, large scale projects,mining, advancement of agricultural andexotic tree monocultures planted withoutplanning, predatory shrimp farming andanimal trafficking.Considering the critical situation facedby the Atlantic Forest, several lawswere approved to protect, restore andpromote the sustainable use of thebiome. These laws, along with otherinitiatives, contributed to the reductionof deforestation levels by 70% in the lastdecade. Moreover, forest regeneration hasbegun in areas that were previously usedfor agriculture or cattle ranching.Where the Forest is LocatedThe Federal Constitution of Brazilestablished the Atlantic Forest as aNational Heritage. The forest covers,totally or partially, 17 Brazilian states.Originally the Atlantic Forest coveredapproximately 15% of the Brazilianterritory, an area equivalent to 1,300,000Km 2 , almost 4 times the area of Germany.Recent mapping showed the existenceof 27% of native vegetation cover in theAtlantic Forest, in relation to its originalarea, including all of the remainingforest areas and the vegetation of naturalgrasslands, coastal woodlands andmangroves. The well conserved forestremnants total close to 7% of the originalarea of the Atlantic Forest.Currently, more than 110 millionBrazilians are serviced by the watersthat spring from the Atlantic Forestand that form diverse rivers that supplyBrazilian cities and metropolises suchas Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo.The high levels of biological diversityfound in the Atlantic Forest make thisbiome extremely important in terms ofecosystem services. Safeguarding theseservices provides ecosystem sustainabilityand affords quality of life for humanbeings. Ecosystem services are benefitssupplied to people by ecosystems, suchas: water storage, rainfall generation,weather moderation, carbon fixation, soilconservation and the production of food,medicine and genetic resources.The Atlantic Forest also shelters a greatcultural diversity, composed of indigenouspeople, like the Guaranis, and nonindigenoustraditional cultures, likethe caiçara and the caboclo ribeirinho(fishermen communities), quilombolas(runaway slave communities) andtraditional subsistence farmers. Thetraditional communities depend on thenatural resources of the Atlantic Forestand most of them have developedsustainable systems of land-use.20

Biodiversity RecordsThe Atlantic Forest is a “hotspot”: areservoir of high biodiversity, but atthe same time, under serious threat ofdestruction. Many Atlantic Forest speciesare endemic and endangered. Endemicmeans that they cannot be found in anyother place on the planet.The Atlantic Forest still contains morethan 20 thousand plant species, of which8 thousand are endemic. To give you anidea of how incredible these numbersare, just compare them to the estimatesof some continents: 17,000 species inNorth America, 12,500 in Europe. TheAtlantic Forest in the south of Bahiaholds the world record of diversity in treespecies in a single hectare: 454 distinctspecies.The preservation of remaining patches ofAtlantic Forest is essential to safeguardthe fauna. In total, the Atlantic Forestcontains 849 bird species, 370amphibian species, 200 reptiles, 270mammals and close to 350 fish species.What is really impressive is the enormousamount of endemic species: 73 mammalspecies, among them 21 primate species.Atlantic Forest LandscapesThe Atlantic Forest is composed ofvarious different ecosystems, conferring alarge variety of landscapes.• Dense Rain Forest- Stretching fromCeará to Rio Grande do Sul, locatedmainly along the foothills of the Serrado Mar and of the Serra Geral mountainranges and in islands located on the coastbetween the states of Paraná and Rio deJaneiro. It is marked by tall treetops thatform a canopy.• Mixed Rain Forest with Araucariaangustifolia– Known as Araucaria Forest,since the Brazilian Pine (Araucariaangustifolia) constitutes the canopy,with a considerably dense understory.It survives in the plateaus of the statesof Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarinaand Paraná, and can be found innoncontiguous patches in the moreelevated parts of the states of São Paulo,Rio de Janeiro and southern MinasGerais.• Open Rain Forest - The vegetation ismore open, without the presence of aclosed canopy. Located in regions wherethe climate presents a period of two to, atthe most, four dry months, with mediantemperatures between 24º C and 25º C.It is located, for example, in the states ofMinas Gerais, Espírito Santo and Alagoas.•Semi-deciduous Seasonal Forest -Known as Interior Forests, located inthe Brazilian plateau, in the states ofSão Paulo, Paraná, Minas Gerais, MatoGrosso do Sul, Santa Catarina and RioGrande do Sul. Some enclaves occur inthe Northeast, such as in the states ofBahia and Piauí.• Deciduous Seasonal Forest - One ofthe most threatened, with few remainingareas in the states of Bahia, MinasGerais, Espírito Santo, São Paulo andRio de Janeiro. Its vegetation occurs inlocations with two very well demarcatedseasons: a rainy one, followed by a longdry period. More than 50% of the treeslose their leaves during the dry season.Some enclaves occur in the Northeast,such as in the state of Piauí.• Natural Grasslands -Normally occur inelevations and on mountain ridgelinesand peaks, in montane and high montaneenvironments, associated or not to forestfragments. The characteristic vegetationis formed by grassland communities,21

22in certain places, interrupted by smallmoorlands. On the highest altitudes theyare frequently found on the flat tops orrocky peaks of mountains, such as in theItatiaia National Park (located along thestates of Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo andMinas Gerais). In the south they coverareas in the states of Rio Grande do Sul,Santa Catarina and Paraná.• Mangroves – Formation that occursalong estuaries, due to the brackishwater formed when the river waters mixwith the ocean. It is a very characteristicvegetation because it only has seven treespecies, but harbours a diversity of microalgae at least ten times greater.• Coastal Woodlands (restingas) - Occupylarge coastal extensions, on sand dunesand coastal plains. The sandbankvegetation starts close to the beach,as grass and crawling vegetation, andgradually transforms into more varied anddeveloped sandy-soil forest and scrubwhen it advances inland. The restingaforest can appear as enclaves with denseaquatic vegetation. Home to many cactiand orchids.Saving the Atlantic ForestIn the last two decades Brazilian publicauthorities took heed, in a more effectiveand proactive way, of the critical situationfacing the remaining forest formationsand associated ecosystems and all of therich biodiversity of the Atlantic Forest.The approval of Law Nº 11,428 in 2006,known as the Atlantic Forest Law, after14 years of moving through NationalCongress, is a decisive, historic step forthe further advancement of legal, judicialmilestones to promote conservation,protection, regeneration and sustainableutilization of native Atlantic Forestvegetation.It is clear that the survival of the vastdiversity of animal and plant speciesdepends on the conservation of whatis left of the Atlantic Forest and on therestoration of degraded areas. Likewise, itis a worldwide consensus that protectedareas represent the most effective way toconserve biodiversity in the long term.In the case of the Atlantic Forest, onlyabout 2% of its original area is protectedin Strict Nature Reserves/WildernessAreas, the so-called full protectedareas, and another 4% in ManagedResource Protected Areas, known inBrazil as sustainable use protectedareas. Today, one of the major gapsfor the conservation of the biodiversityassociated to the Atlantic Forest, in thelong term, is this low percentage mainlyof full protected areas. To aggravatethe problem, these protected areas arenot uniformly distributed among thediverse forest formations and associatedecosystems.The goal is to fulfil the commitments thatBrazil assumed with the internationalcommunity and also internally, to protectat least 10% of the biome until 2010,attaining the goals established by theConvention on Biological Diversity (CBD)and by the National Commission onBiodiversity (CONABIO). In additionto broadening the system of protectedareas, immediate measures to promotethe restoration of degraded areas arenecessary, principally to interlink thefragments and allow gene flow of faunaand flora.The Atlantic Forest has 879 priorityareas for conservation, sustainable useand benefit sharing of biodiversity, thattotal 428,409 km 2 of the biome. Theseareas will be considered for the meansof creating protected areas, biodiversityresearch and inventory, use, restoration ofdegraded areas and of species exploited

or threatened of extinction and access togenetic resources, associated traditionalknowledge and benefit sharing.The Atlantic Forest boasts great potentialwith respect to biotechnology use andsustainable use of non-timber naturalresources, such as leaves, oils, resins,biomass, fruits, seeds and medicinalplants. Dependent on standing forests,ecotourism and rural ecological tourismare other important opportunities forincome generation in rural areas.Concerning climate change, the necessaryrestoration of the Atlantic Forest cancontribute to the global effort to reducegreenhouse gas emissions which causeglobal warming, by carbon fixation,placing the Atlantic Forest biome as aprime area for project realization underthe carbon reduction market.23

Dry and Sub-humid LandsBiodiversityThe Caatinga BiomeThe Caatinga is an exclusively Brazilianbiome. It covers 844,453 Km² or 11%of Brazil, and is the main biome of thenorth-eastern region. It is located in thesemi-arid area where average annualtemperatures vary between 25ºC and29º C, and extends over eight statesof north-eastern Brazil and part of thenorth of Minas Gerais state, in the southeasternregion. The Caatinga is Brazil’sleast known biome; few surveys havebeen carried out. However the mostrecent data suggest a high degree ofenvironmental and species richness: 932woody plant, 148 mammal and 510 birdspecies, many of which are only found inthe Caatinga.Around 27 million people currently live inthe original Caatinga area. Forty percentof the original ecosystems of the Caatingahas been completely altered, mainly bydeforestation and burnings, in a landsettlement process that began in thecolonial period. The greater part of thepopulation that lives in the Caatinga ispoor and dependent on the biodiversityof the region for its survival. On the otherhand, these same resources, if conservedand used sustainably can be a driver forthe development in the region.Conserving the Caatinga is closelyassociated with combating desertification,a process of environmental degradationoccurring arid, semi-arid and dry semihumidareas. In Brazil, 62% of areassusceptible to desertification are locatedin areas originally covered by Caatinga,many of which have been substantiallyaltered.In the international context, the Caatingais directly related to two of the threemain environmental conventions withinthe scope of the United Nations -- theConvention on Biological Diversityand the Convention to CombatDesertification. This context can assistthe conservation of this biome if thereis a pooling of efforts on the part ofthose responsible for the nationalimplemention of these conventions – theSecretariat for Biodiversity and Forestsand the Secretariat for Extractivism andSustainable Rural Development in theMinistry of the Environment and theirpartners in the governmental and non-25

governmental shperes. The Caatinga isalso indirectly related to the Conventionon Climate Change, since climate changeis increasing the aridity of this region.Protected AreasLess than 4% of the Caatinga is locatedwithin federal protected areas andless than 1% in strict-protection areas(such as Parks, Biological Reservesand Ecological Stations), which imposegreater restrictions on human activities.Even so, these protected areas faceserious problems of implementation.They need to address a series ofproblems to do with the protection oftheir biodiversity, such as hunting, fires,deforestation and wildlife trafficking.In addition it is worth mentioning thatonly half the federal protected areas inthe Caatinga contain only this biomewithin their limits. A large number ofCaatinga protected areas reveal basicproblems, such as a lack of proper landtitles, an absence of management plansand a lack of personnel. It is essentialthat new protected areas are createdin order increase the proportion of thisbiome under protection and to improvethe management of existing areas. TheCaatinga Biome Coordination Unit inclose association with the Departmentof Protected Areas is working towardsthe identification and creation ofnew protected areas by updatingthe assessment of priority areas forconservation in the biome and theprocedures for their creation.Sustainable UseThe Caatinga has great potential for thesustainable use of its biodiversity. In fact,a large part of its resident populationhas long been using the biodiversity ofthe Caatinga for its livelihood. We canhighlight a number of species that have(i) timber potential, such as Mimosacaesalpinifolia; (ii) forage potential,such as Caesalpinia ferrea and Zizyphusjoazeiro; and (iii) medicinal potential,such as Muracroduon urundeuva (anastringent), Annona crassiflora (an antidiarrheal),Croton campestris and Crotonsp. (antipyretics). Most of the exploitationof the Caatinga is extractivist withlittle concern paid to its impacts, thusjeopardising the survival of the speciesexploited. However there are enterprisesand communities that sustainablyharvest products such as caroa fibre(Neoglaziovia variegate) for handicraftsor food items such as juices and candiesfrom countless fruit species such as theumbu (Spondias tuberosa).Part of the mandate of the CaatingaWorking Group established by theMinistry of the Environment andcoordinated by the Caatinga BiomeCoordination Unit, is to monitor theexecution and assess the results ofthe “Demonstration of IntegratedManagement of Ecosystems and RiverBasins in the Caatinga Biome” project.The principal objective of this Ministry ofthe Environment project is to encouragethe sustainable use of timber and nontimberproducts, by supporting a seriesof activities to manage the Caatinga formutiple purposes, including the marketingof the sustainable produce of Caatingacommunities.Caatinga Biome Coordination Unit- Objectives and ActivitiesThe Caatinga Biome Coordination Unitis responsible within the Ministry ofthe Environment for defining policiesand strategies for the conservationof this biome. The Unit’s prioritiesinclude disseminating and promotingthe Caatinga within the country,26

developing the legal framework for itsconservation, increasing the area underprotection within the biome, improvingthe implementation of these areas andmonitoring deforestation within theCaatinga. Its specific objectives include:a) Updating the mapping of survivingareas and monitoring the vegetationcoverage of the biome;b) Monitoring and supporting the workof the National Council for the CaatingaBiosphere Reserve;c) Integrating actions of existing projectsfor the conservation and sustainable useof biodiversity in the Caatinga;d) Monitoring the policies, programmesand projects being carried out by theMinistry of the Environment and othergovernmental activities at the municipal,state and federal levels, in particularthose relating to the Conventions onBiological Diversity, DesertificationCombat and Climate Change, and therebyconstituting a key forum for dialogue withcivil society;e) Effectively establishing the CaatingaWorkin Group.The mandate the Caatinga WorkingGroup is to propose public policies forthe conservation and sustainable useof the Caatinga and programmes tothis end. The working group comprisesmore than fifteen institutions, includingrepresentatives of federal and stategovernments, non-governmentalorganizations and representatives ofthe scientific, agricultural and industrialsectors.The Cerrado BiomeThe Cerrado is the second largestbiome of South America and occupies2,036,448 Km² of land (22% ofthe entire Brazilian territory). Itscontinuous area extends into the statesof Goiás, Tocantins, Mato Grosso, MatoGrosso do Sul, Minas Gerais, Bahia,Maranhão, Piauí, Rondônia, Paraná,São Paulo and the Federal District, inaddition to insertions in the states ofAmapá, Roriama and Amazonas. Theheadsprings of South America’s threelargest hydrographic basins (Amazonas/Tocantins, São Francisco and Plata) arealocated in this territory, and thus yieldselevated water potential and favors itsbiodiversity.The Cerrado is considered to beone of the worldwide hotspots forbiodiversity and presents a significantabundance of endemic species andsuffers exceptional losses of habitat.From the point of view of biologicaldiversity, the Brazilian Cerrado is knownas the world’s richest savannahs. It ishome to over 6,500 species of alreadycataloguedplants, 44% of which are ofendemic flora. There is a wide array ofhabitats, which determine a noteworthyalternance of species among differentphytophysiognomies. Close to 199mammal species are known and therich avifauna includes approximately837 species. The number of fish (1200species), reptiles (180 species) andamphibians (150 species) is quiteelevated. The number of endemic fish isnot known, but the numbers are very highfor amphibians and reptiles – 28% and17%, respectively. According to recentestimates, the Cerrado is refuge to 13%of all of the tropic’s butterflies, to 35% ofall bees, and to 23% of all termites.In addition to the environmental aspects,the Cerrado has great social importance.Many traditional populations live off itsnatural resources, including indigenousethnic groups, quilombas, geraizeiros,27

iver-side populations, babaçueiros,vazanteiros and quilombola communitiesthat together are part of the historic andcultural heritage of Brazil and hold thetraditional knowledge of its biodiversity.Over 220 species have medicinal usesand more than 416 can be used in therecovery of degraded soils, as windbarriers, protection against erosion orto create habitats for many naturalpredators to plagues. Over 10 types ofedible fruits are regularly consumed bythe local population and sold in urbancenters. These fruits include the pequi(Caryocar brasiliense), buriti (Mauritiaflexuosa), mangaba (Hancornia speciosa),cagaita (Eugenia dysenterica), bacupari(Salacia crassifolia), the cerrado cashew(Anacardium humile), araticum (Annonacrassifólia) and the baru seeds (Dipteryxalata).Nonetheless, innumerous plant andanimal species are endangered. It isestimated that 20% of the native andendemic species are no longer presentin the protected areas and that at least137 animal species of the Cerrado arein danger of becoming extinct. Afterthe Atlantic Forest, the Cerrado is theBrazilian biome that most sufferedchanges due to human occupation. Withthe increasing pressure for opening newareas for incrementing beef and grainproduction for exports, and the recentdemand for biofuels, there has been aprogressive depletion of natural resourcesin the region. In the past three decades,the Cerrado has been degraded by theexpansion of the Brazilian agriculturalfrontiers. Furthermore, the Cerrado biomesuffers a highly predatory exploitation ofits lumber for coal production.Vegetation Coverage of the CerradoBiomeStudies have demonstrated that thisbiome is currently facing seriousthreats. In a recent study launchedby the Ministry for the Environmentbased on satellite images of 2002, itwas concluded that 61% of Cerradoareas are still covered by the biome’snatural vegetation, which includes nativepastures. Nonetheless, no assessment ofthe conservation status of these lands hasbeen made. Based on 2002, the resultsfound were as follows:28

A review of the priority areas for theconservation, sustainable use and sharingof benefits of the Brazilian biodiversity ofthe Cerrado and Pantanal (AdministrativeDecree Number 09/2007 of the Ministryfor the Environment), pointed to 431priority areas of Cerrado, 181 of whichare already protected (protected areasites and indigenous lands). For 237areas (489,312 km2), extremely highbiological importance was attributed.The priority actions that were mostfrequently indicated were biologicalinventories. It was mentioned thatdespite an expressive volume of scientificknowledge regarding biodiversity in theCerrado having been produced overthe past years, investments and socialanthropologicstudies are still necessaryfor this area. Also included in actionsthat were most indicated are the recoveryof degraded areas, a response to thereduction of biodiversity in areas wherethere was a significant loss of habitat andenvironmental education.Despite the acknowledgement of itsbiological importance, the Cerrado hasthe smallest percentage of full-protectionareas among all of the world’s hotspots.6.77% of the biome’s territory is legallyprotected by protected area sites. Ofthis total, 2.89% are full protectionsites and 3.88% sustainable use sites.In the Ministry of the Environment,actions for conserving the Cerradobiome are coordinated by theSecretariat for Biodiversity and Forests(SBF/MMA), whose priority mission isto conserve the Cerrado biome withthe objective of halting environmentalimpacts, as well as the disrespectand marginalization of its traditionalpopulations. For this, it has beenworking on the following measures:• Creation of new protected area sitesand implementation of existing ones;• Establishment of a system formonitoring vegetation coverage ofthe Biome, and which is periodicallyupdated;• Implementation of the actionsforeseen in the National Program forthe Conservation and SustainableUse of the Cerrado Biome, whichwas instituted by Presidential Decree5577/2005.Access the “Vegetation Coverage” and “Priority Areas for Conservation and Sustainable Use” maps of theCerrado biome at www.mma.gov.br/portalbio.Access the National Program for the Conservation and Sustainable Use of the Cerrado Biome, at http://www.mma.gov.br/estruturas/sbf/_aquivos/programa_bioma_cerrado.pdfThe Pampa biomeThe Pampa biome is one of the sixcontinental biomes of Brazil, alongwith the Amazon, Cerrado, Caatinga,Atlantic Forest and Pantanal. Grasslandspredominate in the landscape of thePampas, in which there are also isolatedwoodlands, riverine forests, shrubs,wetlands, palm groves, rocks and otherformations.In Brazil, the Pampa is restricted to thestate of Rio Grande do Sul, where itoccupies 176,496 km 2 of land, or theequivalent to 63% of the state’s territoryand 2.07% of Brazilian territory. In SouthAmerica, the Pampas extend through theterritories of Uruguay and Argentina, andoccupy an area of approximately 700thousand km 2 .The Pampa biome is hold to very rich29

iological diversity which has still notbeen fully described by science. Recentestimates point to the existence ofapproximately 3000 species of plantswith a noteworthy diversity of gramineae,which total about 450 species includingthe bahiagrass, broadleaf carpet grass,flechillas, Spanish moss, and carex.Some leguminous plants (150 species)in grassland areas and which include thealoe vera, native peanuts, native cloverand the endemic characteristics of rockyoutcrops.The fauna is quite impressive. There aremore than 400 bird species, includingthe great rhea (Rhea Americana), thetinamid (Rynchotus rufescens), thespotted nothura (Nothura maculosa), thesouthern lapwing (Vanellus chilensis),the correndera pipit (Anthus correndera),the rufus hornero (Furnarius rufus),the Chalk-browed Mockingbird (Mimussaturninus) and the campo flicker(Colaptes campestris). In addition,there are more than 90 species of landmammals, including the pampas deer(Ozotoceros bezoarticus), the pampasfox (Pseudalopex gymnocercus), themolina hog-nosed skunk (Conepatuschinga), the lesser grisson (Galictiscuja), the mulita armadillo (Dasypushybridus), the domestic guinea pig (Caviaaperea) and various species of tuco-tucos(Ctenomys sp).Since the European colonization,extensive ranching over native grasslandshas been the region’s main economicactivity. In addition to yielding satisfactoryeconomic results, it has allowed for theconservation of the native grasslands andinserted development into a unique mixedculture that is of a transitional nature andis represented by the gaucho.The progressive introduction andexpansion of extensive monoculturesand pastures with exotic species hasled to the rapid degradation and decharacterizationof the Pampa’s naturallandscapes. Estimates on the loss ofhabitats state that between 1970 and1996, 25% of the grassland areas wereconverted to other uses.Recent mapping of the Pampa’svegetation coverage, which was fosteredby the Ministry for the Environment andcarried out by the Federal University ofRio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Embrapa– Temperate Climate and Embrapa– Ranching South, detected that thereis still 41.32% of native vegetationremaining. Of this percentage, 23.03%correspond to the grasslands, includingextensive ranching areas, 5.19% toforests and 12.91% to mosaics ofgrasslands, shrubs and forests. Theareas that are not considered as remainsof native vegetation are equivalent to58.68% of the biome. Of this percentage,47.93% are of rural anthropic use,0.77% of urban anthropic use and 9.9%of water bodies (mostly natural waterbodies).The loss of biological diversity hinders thepotential for sustainable development inthe region whether it is due to the lossof soil coverage, food, ornamental, ormedicinal species or the result of risks toenvironmental services as the control ofsoil erosion, the sequestration of carbonthat attenuates the greenhouse effect andis fostered by the vegetation of nativegrasslands.The Priority Areas for the Conservation,Sustainable Use and Sharing of Benefitsof Brazilian Biodiversity, updated by theMinistry for the Environment in 2007,led to the identification of 105 areas ofthe Pampa biome. Of these areas, ,41(a total of 34292 km 2 ) were consideredto be of extremely high biologicalimportance.30

These numbers contrast with the mere0.46% of the biome that is protectedin full-protection sites. There is a greatgap in the representation of the nativevegetation’s main physiognomy andendangered fauna species (Brazilian redbelliedtoad, yellow cardinal, sharp-tailedtyrant, chestnut seed-eater, marsh deer,colocolo pampas cat, and others) andflora species (red petunia, cacti, Brazilianedelweiss, Brazilian needle palm,Tillandsia lorentzii, and others).The creation of protected area sites,the recovery of degraded areas and thecreation of mosaics and environmentalcorridors were identified as the prioritarymeasures for conservation, in conjunctionwith fiscalization and environmentaleducation.Support to sustainable use economicactivities is another essential element toensure conservation of the Pampa biome.The diversification of rural productionand valuing of cattle ranching withextensive native grasslands management,jointly with regional planning andeconomic-ecological zoning and respectto ecosystemic limits comprise thepath to ensure biodiversity preservationand sustainable economic and socialdevelopment.31

Inland Waters BiodiversityThe Pantanal BiomeThe Mato Grosso Pantanal has one of thegreatest flooded areas in the world andis located in the plains area of the AltoRio Paraguai Basin. This biome spansthrough 138,183 Km2 of the Brazilianterritory. 35% of the biome is in the stateof Mato Grosso and 65% in the stateof Mato Grosso do Sul. It is an area ofhighly diversified biology and is thus ofgreat importance for conservation. ThePantanal was declared to be a NationalHeritage by the Federal Constitution of1988, and World Biosphere Reserve andNatural Human Heritage by UNESCO.Some specific areas were declared asRamsar sites in the scope of the RamsarConvention on Wetlands.The Pantanal region is an alluvial plaininfluenced by rivers that drain the highParaguay basin, and where there is anabundance of fauna and flora of rarebeauty. It is especially influenced bythe Cerrado, but also holds elements ofthe Amazon Forest, Chaco and AtlanticForest. This characteristic, in addition tothe different types of soil and inundationregimes, is responsible for the varietyof vegetation formations and for theheterogeneity of the landscape that ishome to rich aquatic and land biota.Six hundred sixty bird species werecatalogued in the Pantanal. It is amandatory stop for migratory birds thatarrive in the region in search for fishwhen water levels begin to decrease. Theregion has over 260 fish species, 177reptile species, 124 mammal speciesand 41 amphibian species. It is idealfor observing the fauna as its vegetationis scattered. In this region, there isa predominance of grassy vegetationand the tall vegetation is concentratedin slightly more elevated relief areasthat make up the so-called “ridges”(cordilheiras), which are protected fromthe constant floods.The Paraguai River and its tributariesrun through the Pantanal and formextensive inundated areas that sheltermany animals and fish, as for examplethe pintado, the gilded catfish, the pacuand others. This area is also home tomammals whose largest populationsare found in the Pantanal, and whichinclude the giant otter, spotted leopards33

and marsh deer. Many species as thecapybara, tuiuiu and alligator, which areendangered in other parts of Brazil, stillhave vigorous populations in the Pantanalregion.The status of vegetation conservation inthe Pantanal is still good, and much ofits area is still intact. Nonetheless, thesituation is being aggravated, especiallyin some critical locations. Increasingdeforestation has resulted from, aboveall, cultivated grazing areas, woodderivedcoal-making and by humansettlements in inappropriate areas, allof which are contributing to the loss ofhabitats. Deforestation yields severeerosive processes that cause deposition ofsediments in land depressions and alterthe water flow patterns and hydrologicalregimes. Furthermore, the reduction offorest areas implies the elimination ofspecies that depend on such forests.Another factor that contributes to itsdevastation is predatory hunting, which isresponsible for the reduction of importantanimal species such as the spottedleopard and the maned wolf.Vegetation Coverage in thePantanal BiomeThe vegetation coverage map of thePantanal was launched by the Ministryof the Environment and used 2002 dataas basis and indicated that the biome isstill very much preserved. The biome has86.77% of native vegetation coverageand 11.54% of anthropic areas. Thereis, however, a strong tendency for theconversion of natural areas into plantedpastures.The savannah (cerrado) is predominantin 52.60% of the biome, followed byfloristic contacts, which occur in 17.60%of the area. In regards to the anthropicarea, it is observed that agriculture isinexpressive in the biome (0.26%) andallows room for extensive cattle ranchingin planted pastures, which is equivalentto 10.92% of the biome’s areas andoccupies 94.68% of anthropic areas.The results observed were:The review of priority areas for theconservation, sustainable use and sharingof benefits for Brazilian biodiversityof the Cerrado and Pantanal (MMADecree 09/2007), pointed to 50 priorityareas in the Pantanal, 5 of which arealready protected (protected area sitesand indigenous lands). For 26 areas34

(43,866 km2), extremely high biologicalimportance was attributed.The priority action that was mostfrequently proposed was biologicalinventories (56% of the areas). Thispoints to the fact that despite expressivevolumes of scientific knowledge havingbeen produced on the biodiversity inthe Pantanal, there is still the need forinvestments to be made to researchon biodiversity, as well as socialanthropologicstudies in the region.There is an urgent need for the numberof protected area sites in the Pantanalto be increased due to the advance ofplanted pastures in the region and thelow number of existing protected areasites. The situation is even more seriousif we take into account the inexistenceof sustainable-use protected areas in thebiome.2.25% of the biome’s territory is legallyprotected by protected area sites, all ofwhich are full-protection sites. Of thistotal, 0.99% is of federal protected areasites and 1.26% are state sites.In the Ministry of the Environment,measures for biodiversity conservationin the Pantanal biome are coordinatedby the Secretariat for Biodiversity andForests (SBF/MMA), which understandsthe conservation of this unique andfragile biome to be a priority. For this,it has been making efforts to createmore protected area sites in additionto implementing a periodically updatedsystem for monitoring Pantanal’svegetation coverage.Access “Vegetation Coverage” and “PriorityAreas for Conservation and Sustainable Use”maps of the Pantanal biome at www.mma.gov.br/portalbio35

Marine and CoastalBiodiversityThe Coastal and Marine zones occupyapproximately three million squarekilometers of ocean that are underBrazilian jurisdiction, or in other words anarea that is equivalent in size to almosthalf of our land. With its over 7,400 kmbetween the mouths of the OiapoqueRiver in Amapá and the Chui River in RioGrande do Sul, Brazil’s coast line is oneof the largest in the world.The coastal environments of Brazil areextraordinarily diversified. In the southernand southeastern regions, the wateris cold, whereas in the northern andnortheastern regions it is quite warm. Thecoast line supports a series of ecosystemsthat include mangroves, coral reefs,dunes, coastal woodlands (restingas),sandy beaches, rocky coasts, lagoons,estuaries and marismas, all of whichare home to a large number of flora andfauna species, many of which live onlyin our waters and some of which areendangered.Two of these ecosystems stand out:the mangroves and the coral reefs. Themangroves are nurseries for variousmarine and fresh-water species and coralreefs are known to be one of the mostdiverse habitats in the world.Among the decisions made during theseventh Conference of the Parties (COP7)of the Convention on Biological Diversity,the work program on protected areaswas approved with the main objective ofestablishing representative and effectivesystems of protected areas. The Braziliangovernment is aware of its responsibilityand decided to elaborate and implementits National Plan for Protected Areas(Plano Nacional de Areas Protegidas– PNAP).It is important to highlight that theNational Plan for Protected Areas(PNAP) incorporated coastal andmarine specificities. For the plan to beelaborated, a workgroup was formedby representatives from the differentgovernmental segments that dealwith coastal and marine zones, NGOsand specialists from different regionsof the country. The group elaboratedthe principles, guidelines, strategiesand specific actions for the coastaland marine zone. Among these is theguideline that states which marine areas37

shall be created and managed with theobjective of biodiversity conservation andthe recovery of fish stocks. Regardingfish stocks, we recently published a setof Brazilian case studies demonstratingthe efficacy of Marine Protected Areas(AMPs) as fishery management tools (thispublication is available in English athttp://www.mma.gov.br/estruturas/sbf/_arquivos/livro_areas_aquat_ing.pdf ).The workgroup gave rise to the principles,guidelines and strategies for coastaland marine protected areas and whichinclude:• Protected coastal and marine areasshall be created and managed not only forthe purpose of biodiversity conservation,but also for the recovery of fish stocks;• The system shall be representative;• The final percentage of each coastaland marine ecosystem to be protectedshall be defined after studies on therepresentativeness are carried out;• The design of networks shall accountfor a gradient of pressures, threats andconflicts in the sense of the ExclusiveEconomic Zone, including a mapping ofpriorities.A Representative System is understood asa network of protected areas according tothe following components:• Primary representative network ofhighly protected areas in which extractiveuse is excluded and other significanthuman pressures are removed orminimized for the maintenance of theirintegrity, structure and functioning ofecosystems to be preserved or recovered(full protection protected area sites orareas where fishing is excluded).• Sustainable use protected areasnetwork that fosters support to theprimary network’s objectives and wherethreats are controlled for the purpose ofprotecting biodiversity and sustainableuse (extractivist activities are permitted);and• A system of sustainable managementpractices in the coastal and marine zoneis integrated with projects for the recoveryof hydrographic basins.The principles and guidelines of theNational Plan for Protected Areas(PNAP) were acknowledged by Decree5758 of April 13, 2006, and aretranslated into the increasing search forallying biodiversity conservation withsocial-economic demands, and thusdemonstrate that for the desired resultsto be attained it is necessary thatconservation mechanisms be established.In addition to the principles forestablishing a representative system, thePNAP also details the strategies withwhich to attain efficacy of the protectedareas system.Nonetheless, as regards numbers, theprotected area sites represent a goodparcel of the national territory in Brazil’scoastal zone. In marine areas and giventhe enormous nature of our Economic-Ecologic Zoning (Zoneamento EconômicoEcológico – ZEE), we have only 0.4-08%of this protected area under some form ofprotected area site, including federal andstate ones.The need for these percentages tobe increased is being recognized asa national priority, and as part of thenational milestones for biodiversity.Resolution 03/2006 of the NationalCommission on Biodiversity (CONABIO)approved the need for this area to beincreased to 10% of protected marineand coastal areas and 10% of full38

protection areas and/or areas wherefishing is excluded.For the creation of new areas, we recentlyconcluded a process to review and refinethe priority areas for the conservation ofBrazilian biodiversity with the objectivesof designing a protected areas system inthe various Brazilian biomes, includingthe coastal and marine zone. Six hundredeight areas in the coastal and marinezone were appointed after having met arepresentative system of protected areas.With the conclusion of these studiesit was possible to calculate therepresentativeness of coastal and marineecosystems that are under protection.As regards the implementation of coastaland marine protected area sites, it isworth highlighting the establishment ofthe Network of Coastal and Marine AreasProgram (Programa de Rede de UnidadesCosteiras e Marinhas – RUMAR). Thisprogram foresees the use of a large sumof resources resulting from environmentalcompensations to be specifically usedfor protected marine areas. The RUMARwas elaborated by the ICMBio Instituteto direct the use of these resources tostrengthen protected area sites and thusfoster greater institutional presence inthe seas and greater interaction of theseareas with the Institute’s specializedcenters and with other governmentalorganizations and research institutions.management in these environments.As regard the coral reefs, the Ministryof the Environment was able to map theshallow Brazilian reefs. This mappingsubsidized the management plans and westarted a monitoring program associatedwith the Global Coral Reef MonitoringNetwork (GCRMN), through which it waspossible to insert the Brazilian data inworld-wide systems. In over 6 years ofthe program, the monitoring inside andoutside protected areas was conductedand through this it is now possible for usto demonstrate the effectiveness of theseareas. Furthermore, capacity building hasbeen developed and awareness-buildingmeasures were implemented through theConscious Conduct in Reef EnvironmentsCampaign (Campanha de CondutaConsciente em Ambientes Recifais).Other advances pertain to theimplementation of specific conservationprograms of the various and productivecoastal and marine ecosystems: themangroves and coral reefs. The GEFMangrove project was approved withthe main objective of strengthening theimplementation and management ofprotected areas in mangroves as wellas incorporating ecosystemic fisheries39

Island BiodiversityA workshop entitled “Brazilian OceanIslands – from Research to Management”was organized by the National Museumof Federal University of Rio de Janeiro,by Ibama, and by the Ministry ofthe Environment from 5 to 7 July2005, with support from the NationalScientific and Technological ResearchCouncil (CNPq) and the Ministry ofthe Environment. The findings werepublished as “Brazilian Oceanic Islands– from Research to Management”. Thebook is a groundbreaking publicationas it consolidates existing knowledgeon the research and management ofBrazilian oceanic islands. It constitutesas a starting point for the study onand management of these importantecosystems. The results of the studiesand projects described in the book’schapters show that scientific knowledgeof our oceanic islands is advancingand that the systematization ofexisting knowledge is fundamental into the identification of new paths forfuture research that will allow for thepreservation of these unique ecosystems.The book has 298 pages and its chaptersaddress the strategic importance ofoceanic islands and our knowledgeof their geology, soils, terrestrial flora,marine flora, sponges, molluscs, octopi,fish and biogeography, as well as anappendix containing summaries of thepresentations. A second volume is readyfor publication in 2008. The book is inPortuguese, with a preface in English.The first volume can be found at www.mma.gov.br/portalbio.40

2010 Biodiversity Target(including Monitoring & Indicators)The National Commission on Biodiversity(CONABIO) held its 20th meeting inthe form of a Seminar for the Definitionof National Biodiversity Targets for2010, on October 24 and 25 of 2006.The CONABIO is a collegiate body of adeliberative and consultative nature andwhich coordinates the implementationof commitments made by the country inthe scope of the Convention on BiologicalDiversity, as well as the principles andguidelines of the National Policy onBiodiversity.To the seminar, specialists were invitedto present the situation of Brazilianbiodiversity, according to the UnitedNation’s Pressure-State-Response modeland by making the best use of studiesand surveys funded by the Probio Projectand other available studies. All Conabiomembers, as well as about 30 speakers,other specialists from academia and civilsociety, and technicians from differentdepartments of the MMA and associatedinstitutions were invited to participate.This Seminar’s main objective wasto subsidize decision-making for thedefinition of national targets for thereduction of rates on biodiversity losses,correlated to the global targets definedin the CBD’s Strategic Plans for 2010(Decisions VI/26, VII/30 and VIII/15).Monitoring, Assessment andIndicatorsVegetation Cover Maps of the BrazilianBiomesThe vegetation is one of the mostimportant biota components, since itsconservation and connectivity statusdefines the existence of habitats forspecies, the maintenance of ecosystemservices, or even the provision of goodsthat are essential for the survival ofhuman communities. Sound knowledgeon the current status of the vegetationcover in Brazil is therefore fundamentalto establish environmental public policiesin the country, such as the identificationof conservation opportunities, thesustainable use of Brazilian biodiversity,and benefit sharing.Due to changes in the occupationpattern of the Brazilian territory, primarilymotivated by the strong inland focusof the last three decades, the existing45

vegetation maps made up between1970 and 1985 by RadamBrasil Projectno longer reflected reality. To fill thisknowledge gap, and to broaden existingknowledge on the Amazon and parts ofthe Atlantic Forest (which are alreadysubject to vegetation monitoring), theMinistry of the Environment (MMA),through the Conservation and SustainableUse of the Brazilian Biological DiversityProject (PROBIO), launched twopublic bids in 2004 for the selectionof subprojects to map the country’svegetation cover according to the biomelimits defined by the Brazilian BiomesMap (IBGE, 2004).The six selected subprojects – one foreach of the Brazilian continental biomes –had the objectives of mapping vegetationcover, diagnosing mapping initiatives, andfilling existing knowledge gaps on thissubject. Vegetation was mapped basedon Landsat images generated primarilyduring 2002, provided to subprojects byMMA. The mapping methodology wasdefined by the executing institutions, andvaried according to the particularities ofeach biome. The technical mapping andlabel standards for all subprojects weredefined with the fundamental technicalsupport provided by the BrazilianInstitute of Geography and Statistics(IBGE). Some of these standards are: 1)minimum mapping unit (UMM) of 40ha,considering a 1:250,000 final scale;2) verifiable digital data compatible,at least, with the 1:100,000 scale;3) classification accuracy (thematicaccuracy) with a minimum threshold of85% correct; 4) output shape-files withtopologic consistency (no overlappingpolygons, no space between polygons, nozero-area polygons, no loops in arches,no polygon without classification, etc.);5) classification of vegetation typesaccording to the IBGE technical manualon vegetation.It is important to note that, accordingto MMA determination, areas withpredominant native vegetation, even ifpresenting a certain degree of humanuse, were accounted for and mapped as anative vegetation type. On the other hand,areas converted to planted pasture, withagricultural crops, reforestations, withmining activities, with urban occupation,and other similar uses in which the nativevegetation is no longer dominant, wereaccounted for and classified as areasunder human influence 9anthropic areas).Another important basic criterion definedby MMA is that secondary vegetationin advanced development stage wasaccounted for and mapped as nativevegetation. The following outputs wereproduced by the mapping subprojects:Final Maps with the cutout and layout ofIBGE 1:250,000 charts of the Brazilianterritory. Format: paper (A0 size);electronic (SHP and PDF files).Database with thematic bases in shapefilescorresponding to the IBGE/DSGcharts at the 1:250,000 scale. Format:electronic (SHP file).Image charts of the chosen biome withthe cutout of IBGE 1:250,000 charts.Format: electronic (GEOTIFF and PDFfiles).Summary (biome mosaic) map. Format:paper (A0 size); electronic (SHP file).Technical Report, according to specificstandard.All of these materials may be consultedand downloaded through the BrazilianBiodiversity Portal – PortalBio/MMA, atthe following address: www.mma.gov.br/portalbio.46

Priority Areas for Conservation,Sustainable Use and Sharingof Benefits from BrazilianBiodiversity: UpdateOne of the greatest challenges faced bystakeholders as regards the conservationof biodiversity is the establishing of local,regional and national policies that areessential for political decisions to betranslated into concrete actions throughthe efficient employment of availablefinancial resources.For this reason, between 1998 and2000, the Ministry of the Environmentcoordinated a project entitled“Assessment and Identification of PriorityAreas for Conservation of BrazilianBiomes”. At the end of the process 900were defined and established by Decree5092 of May 24, 2004 and instituted byMMA Administrative Decree 126 of May27, 2004. The decree states that theseareas shall be periodically reviewed,in periods no longer than 10 years, inlight of the advancing knowledge andenvironmental conditions.The process for updating priority areasuses a methodology that incorporatedthe principles of Systematic Planningfor Conservation and its basic criteria(representativity, persistence andvulnerability) and thus places priority onthe participatory process for negotiatingand reaching consensus. For suchpurpose, a greater number of sectors andgroups related to environmental matterswas involved and made the processeven more legitimate as it considersvarious interests. This methodologywas addressed during the workshopentitled “Priority Areas for Conservation,Sustainable Use and Sharing of Benefitsof Brazilian Biodiversity – Targetsand Instruments”, which was held inNovember of 2005 and later approved byConabio’s Deliberation 39 of December14, 2005. Such methodology used theMap of Brazil’s Biomes (IBGE, 2004)as its base and used an approach thatfosters greater objectivity and efficiency,creates a memory of the priorityidentificationprocess, fosters greaterparticipation, and generates informationthat can allow for informed decisions andcapacity for assessing opportunities.The process for updating prioritybiodiversity areas and actions wassimultaneously carried out in the scope ofall Brazilian biomes and counted on thesupport from various institutions. The firststages of the process were the “TechnicalMeetings per Biome”, which took placebetween May and September of 2006.During these meetings the conservationtargets were defined, as were the goalsand relative importance of each target.During these meetings, a “Map of Areasof Importance for Biodiversity” waselaborated. These products subsidizedthe “Regional Seminars on the Biomes”,which took place between October andDecember of 2006. The results of theRegional Seminars on the Biomes weresummarized in the map through theupdating of priority areas for biodiversity,which was approved by ConabioDeliberation 46 of December 20, 2006.Results produced include a map anda data base with 2684 priority areashaving been indicated and approved bysociety. Of these priority areas, 1123are already protected (as protectedarea sites or as indigenous lands), andanother 1561 are areas that do not havea protection status. The Atlantic Forestand Amazon biomes aggregate 63% of allpriority areas, with 880 and 824 areasrespectively. Included in the updatedmap are the Cerrado’s 431 areas, theCaatinga’s 292, the Pampas 105, theMarine Zone’s 102, and the Pantanal’s50.47

When results of the two processes arecompared, it can be seen that in termsof the number of areas, there was asignificant increase from 900 areas inthe 1998/2000 process to 2684 in the2005/2006 process. It is believed thatthis increase results form the followingfactors: quantitative and qualitativeimprovement of data made available byresearchers, research centers and bypublic institutions during the processfor the definition of priority areas; themethodology used which counted on thedecisive and important participation ofa great number of specialists in definingthe conservation targets and objectivesthrough the use of software used in thedecision-making process and that helpedbuild the scenarios; and the participationof society as it was able to aggregateits empirical knowledge to the scientificknowledge of specialists in building thismanagement instrument.The priority areas were updated andformally acknowledged through MMA’sAdministrative Decree 9 of January 23,2007, for the purpose of: formulating andimplementing public policies, programs,projects and activities geared toward insitu biodiversity conservation; sustainableuse of biodiversity components; sharingof benefits resulting from the accessto genetic resources and associatedtraditional knowledge; research andinventories on biodiversity; recoveryof degraded areas and species thatare over-exploited or endangered and;economically valuing biodiversity.48

Global Strategy forPlant ConservationCentre for the Conservation of theBrazilian FloraThe creation of the Centre for theConservation of Brazilian Flora in thescope of the National BiodiversityMainstreaming and InstitutionalConsolidation Project – PROBIO II willallow the Research Institute of theBotanic Garden of Rio de Janeiro, whichis an associated agency of Ministry ofthe Environment, to work on the prioritytopics that internationally emanatedfrom the CBD - the Global TaxonomyInitiative, the Global Strategy for theConservation of Plants and the Strategyfor Conservation in Botanic Gardens.The main objectives of the Center forthe Conservation of Brazilian Floraare to: a) generate knowledge onthe diversity of Brazilian flora andfacilitate the conservation measures forvegetation; b) bring together an amplevariety of capabilities, specialties andresources so as to provide the basisfor the conservation, management andsustainable use of Brazilian flora; c)enrich botanic collections of the Brazilianflora in the herbarium of the Rio deJaneiro’s Botanic Gardens; d) allowaccess to information on the Brazilianvegetation and on vegetation resources forresearch, management and public use;e) work on priority areas of the Brazilianbiomes to ensure the conservation ofbiodiversity and endangered species.Botanic Gardens NetworkThe Brazilian Network of BotanicalGardens (Rede Brasileira de JardinsBotânicos – RBJB) was founded onJanuary 23, 1991, when representativesfrom eight Brazilian botanic gardenscame together during the 42 nd NationalBotanical Congress in Goias State. Therepresentatives were from the botanicalgardens of Rio de Janeiro, Brasilia, PortoAlegre, São Paulo, Caxias do Sul, StateUniversity of Campinas – Unicamp,Emílio Goeldi Museum of Pará, the HortoBotânico from de Federal University ofRio de Janeiro that met to found a nonprofitcivil society with the objective ofunifying and promoting the interests ofbotanical gardens in Brazil. The resultof this work is reflected in numbers, asat the time the RBJB was created, nomore than three hundred persons worked53

with botanic gardens in Brazil, and nowthere are currently over three thousandprofessionals involved with this activity.The initial group of eight botanicalgardens that joined in 1991 increased to32, some of which came about throughthe stimulus and technical supportprovided by the RBJB. The network isopen to new members and throughoutthe country the members are benefitedby the synergy and constant exchange ofinformation that the Network yields.The Network’s work is directed at theimplementation of the Convention onBiological Diversity, and focus is placedon the Global Strategy for the PlantConservation. In this sense, the followingmeasures are highlighted: a) technicalmeetings aimed at strengthening botanicgardens; b) encourage to technicalscientificpublications; c) disseminateand support the implementation of thePlan of Action of Brazilian BotanicalGardens; d) develop programs for thecapacity building of technicians andmanagers; e) raise government awarenessto the creation, consolidation andmaintenance of botanical gardens; f)support discussions for the improvementof current legislation; g) incentivesfor integrated measures that aim atoptimizing conservation of Brazilianflora; h) stimulate cooperation betweenbotanic gardens, arboretums and relatedinstitutions that maintain scientificcollections of live plants and preservedmaterial, as well as among scientistsand technicians from such institutions;i) encourage taxonomy studies ofplants to the benefit of humanity andenvironmental education not only at alleducational levels, but to the generalpublic as well; j) encourage the study ofcorrect practices with which to introduceplants in the scientific collections ofbotanic gardens and the like; k) fosterexchange of documents, informationand specimen that are of mutual interestamong botanic gardens, arboretums andsimilar institutions; l) foster and supportconservation of rare and/or endangeredspecies; m) increment the role of botanicgardens in the conservation of theBrazilian biological diversity, in closeconnection with other institutions andfostering collaboration between the RBJBand such institutions; n) stimulate thecultivation of plants that have currentor potential economic interest; o)foster the creation of regional thematiccollections in botanic gardens; p) provideconsultancy services and support tothe creation of new botanic gardens; q)stimulate the connection between botanicgardens and universities at the nationaland international scale, especiallywith universities that develop activitiespertaining to plant sciences.54

Access to Genetic Resourcesand Benefit-sharing(including Traditional Knowledge)By enshrining the principle that stateshave the right to exploit their ownresources, acknowledging nationalsovereignty over biodiversity andestablishing as one of its objectives thefair and equal sharing of benefits derivedfrom the use of genetic resources, theCBD establishes the basis for a newinstitutional framework concerning theuse of genetic resources.The Convention recognises that accessto traditional knowledge relevant tothe conservation and sustainable useof biodiversity, as well as access to thegenetic resources of a country must be inaccordance with its national legislation.In Brazil, articles 8j and 15 of the CBDhave been implemented by means ofProvisional Decree 2186-16/2001(MP) and Decrees 3945/2001 and4549/2005.Genetic Heritage ManagementCouncil (CGEN)Provisional Decree 2186/2001established a collegiate body as thenational competent authority for accessto genetic resources and associatedtraditional knowledge and benefit sharing:the Genetic Heritage ManagementCouncil.The Council is both normative anddeliberative and is presided by theMinistry of the Environment. It comprisesnineteen federal bodies and agencies.Representatives of different civil societysectors take part as observers.Genetic Heritage Department(DPG)The Genetic Heritage Department wasestablished by Decree 3945/2001 andis part of the Secretariat for Biodiversityand Forests of the Ministry of theEnvironment. Among its responsibilities isto act as the executive secretariat of theCGEN.The main responsibilities of the DPG areto implement CGEN decisions; processapplications to be submitted to CGENfor its deliberation; issue authorizationsfor access and shipment of samplesof genetic resources in accordancewith CGEN decisions and its invested57

58authority; issue authorizations to accessassociated traditional knowledge; andserve as depository for Contracts for theUse of Genetic Resources and BenefitSharing following approval by the CGEN.In addition to its responsibilitiesdirectly related to its role as the CGENSecretariat, the DPG implements theSystem for Managing Access and BenefitSharing through capacity building andtraining projects; supports monitoringand inspection activities; participatesin the development of related publicpolicies such as those on biotechnology,medicinal and phytotherapeutic plants,and socio-biodiversity production chains.Benefit Sharing, Prior InformedConsent and Mutually AgreedTermsBrazil’s commitments to theimplementation of Articles 15 (Access toGenetic Resources) and 8j (TraditionalKnowledge) are being progressively metby means of the following initiatives: a)implementation of national legislation; b)strengthening of a national authority; andc) capacity building on access and benefitsharing.A) National LegislationProvisional decree 2186-16 of 23 August2001 instituted a national system toregulate access to genetic resourcesand associated traditional knowledge,as well as the sharing of benefitsresulting from their use. The legislationis complemented by Decrees 3945/01,4946/03, 5459/05 and 6159/07, andalso by specific technical guidelines,resolutions and decisions.• Rules of the National System forAccess and Benefit SharingThe system establishes which activitiesaiming at some sort of application orwhich have a commercial potential aredependent upon authorization:Scientific Research• Research using genetic resources andwith economic purpose benefits froma system of facilitated access. In themajority of cases special authorization isgranted to national academic institutions,valid for groups of projects.• Research using associated traditionalknowledge is authorized on a case-bycasebasis, and requirements include theprior informed consent of the traditionalcommunities.Bioprospecting and/or TechnologicalDevelopment• In addition to the prior informedconsent of the providers, a BenefitSharing Contract is also required priorto access being granted. In cases ofbioprospecting, the contract can bewaived or postponed by the competentauthority in the providers so agree.Share Benefits with Whom?Benefits, monetary or not, are directlynegotiated between the institution thatwill undertake the access and the owners(public or private) of areas where thegenetic resources are located and/or withthe communities that hold the associatedtraditional knowledge.ShipmentThe shipment of genetic resources to aforeign country requires authorization.The institution receiving the sample isrequired to first sign a material transferagreement form (MTA).Administrative PenaltiesPenalties exists for cases of non-

compliance ranging from formal warningsto fines that vary according to theseriousness of the illicit act.B) National AuthorityThe CGEN was established in April of2002 and has met 56 times for thepurpose of considering regulations thatcomplement existing legislation andauthorizations for access to and shipmentof genetic resources and associatedtraditional knowledge.Thematic working groups have beenestablished to assist the work of theCouncil. These consider issues thatneed to be regulated and submitdraft resolutions, decisions, technicalguidelines and other instruments thatpromote application of the legislation forconsideration by the CGEN.During its six years of work, the CGENhas approved over 200 decisions, 29resolutions, 5 technical notes and otherguidelines, as well as the submissionof draft legislation to the Office of thePresident for the purpose of improvingexisting legislation.In order to broaden the debate on thesharing of benefits when the associatedtraditional knowledge is held by morethan one local community, in 2006 theCGEN launched a public consultationwhich lasted over a year and involved allsectors of society.• Results AttainedThe current number of authorizationsfor bioprospection and/or technologicaldevelopment that have been granted bythe CGEN has greatly increased. Thisfact demonstrates the increasing levelof legislation implementation. Due to anew norm to facilitate non-profit scientificresearch, CGEN Resolution 21 waspublished in 2006. This resolution takesthis type of research away from the scopeof national legislation, and thus decreasesthe number of authorizations granted forthe purpose of Scientific Research.Bioprospecting and technological DevelopmentScientific ResearchTrustee Institutions – 90 national publicinstitutions that have ex. situ scientificcollections are accredited to receivegenetic resource samples -- a nationallegislation requirement.New National LegislationWith the objective of improving thecurrent system, a new bill of law onAccess and Sharing of Benefits hasalready been elaborated by the FederalGovernment to be sent to the NationalCongress in 2008. In order for all actorsinvolved to participate in the process, thetext is available for public consultationuntil July of 2008.59

C) Capacity Buinding and Sharing ofBenefitsGenetic Heritage Department (DPG)– The DPG is a multi-disciplinary teamcomprised of 23 professionals. It isassociated with the Ministry for theEnvironment, manages the NationalSystem for Access and Sharing of Benefitsand works as the CGEN’s executivesecretariat.Training for Fiscalization Agents – Inthree years, over 120 law enforcementagents from the Ibama, Federal Policeand the Inteligence Agency (ABIN)have received training on the legislationpertaining to access and benefit sharingand to the combat against biopiracy.Activities for the Qualification ofIndigenous and Local Communities –Between 2005 and 2007, 33 workshopson access legislation, prior informedconsent and sharing of benefits wereprovided to 1,300 persons.System Dissemination – Between 2004and 2007, the DPG team participated inover 165 events, including congresses,workshops and courses disseminating theCBD and national legislation on accessand sharing of benefits. In addition,approximately 8 television programsaddressing the issue were made.Illegal Access and BiopiracyThroughout history, the use of geneticresources and associated traditionalknowledge has occurred in undueforms. The countries of origin of suchresources and the indigenous and localcommunities who detain this knowledgewere not even consulted by those whoused such goods to obtain economicprofits, nor did they ever receive any typeof benefit.This undue appropriation which isoften at times aggravated by patents,has long taken place throughoutBrazil’s history. Some examples ofundue appropriation include: use of thecoloring properties of the brazilwood(Caesalpinia echinata) in Europe duringthe 16 th Century; the traffic of rubbertree(Hevea brasiliensis) seedlings toMalaysia, which economically destroyedits extractivism in the north of Brazil; andthe use of pit-viper (Bothrops) venomused in manufacturing the world’s highestselling antihypertensive medication,whose annual earnings are of 500million dollars. In addition, requests forpatents of biodiversity elements thatare traditionally used by indigenous andlocal communities including the curare,ayahuasca, kambô and quinine areobserved.Even though the Convention on BiologicalDiversity was enacted 15 years ago,this situation has not changed. Recentanalyses (2005) on patents granted toproducts or processes based on plantspecies of Brazil reveal the dimension ofthis problem as none of these processesincluded a request to access and usethese genetic materials, as shown at thetable next page.This scenario points to the need for usercountries to also adopt measures toensure that laws governing access andsharing of benefits of countries of originalso be respected.60

Associated Traditional KnowledgeTraditional knowledge associatedto biodiversity elements have beenresearched and used as the fastermeans for attaining results for industryin their developing of commercialproducts. Researches state that the useof traditional knowledge (of indigenousand other communities) increases theefficiency of the process to select andinvestigate plants in search for theirmedicinal properties in 400%. Datareveals that of 119 medications derivedfrom plants, 74% were developedfrom researches with drugs used intraditional medicine. Nonetheless, rarelyare the economic benefits shared withthe communities that provided suchinformation.Furthermore, the rights of communitiesthat detain such knowledge are stillnot acknowledged. These communitiesare little valued and do not receivethe attention that is necessary fortheir preservation. The Conventionon Biological Diversity promoted animprovement to this situation, byacknowledging these communities’relevance to biodiversity conservationand by establishing guidelines for theirmaintenance, valuing and use.reproduction. Registering documentsis not enough. It is necessary thatindigenous and local communities beensured of their access to the land,biodiversity and to conditions in whichthey can maintain their culture.Brazil realizes that associated traditionalknowledge is part of the country’s culturalheritage and establishes the rights ofindigenous and local communities. Suchrights include prohibiting non-authorizedthird parties from: using, disseminatingor exploiting this knowledge; receivingbenefits for its economic exploitation;requiring that indications are made tothe source of access to this traditionalknowledge on all publications, uses,explorations and disclosures. One of thegreatest challenges of today is to ensurethat indigenous and local communitiescan fully take advantage of these rights.The Coastal and Marine zones occupyapproximately three million squarekilometers of ocean that are underBrazilian jurisdiction, or in other words anarea that is equivalent in size to almosthalf of our land. With its over 7,400 kmbetween the mouths of the OiapoqueRiver in Amapá and the Chui River in RioGrande do Sul, Brazil’s coast line is oneof the largest in the world.In order for traditional knowledge to beeffectively preserved, it is necessary thatits natural and cultural environmentsalso be preserved for its production and61

Protected AreasThe recent growth of the nationalsystem of protected areasThe Brazilian System of ProtectedAreas includes areas at both nationaland subnational levels, composed of12 different categories divided into twogroups: the Full Protection group, whosemain purpose is to preserve nature withonly indirect use of its natural resources;and the Sustainable Use group, whoseaims basically is to balance natureconservation with the sustainable use ofnatural resources within its boundaries.According to up-to-date informationfrom the National Database of ProtectedAreas, coordinated by the BrazilianMinistry of the Environment, Brazil hascurrently 600 Federal and State ProtectedAreas officially recognized as part of theNational System, totalizing 99,850,500hectares distributed in all the BrazilianBiomes. When the recognition andrecording of all the State Protected Areasis completed, the National ProtectedAreas System will boost a double ofthe area under State jurisdiction thancurrently recognized – approximately anadditional 30 million hectares. Added tothe 575,000 hectares of current privatereserves, the whole area represents130,425,500 hectares of terrestrial andmarine Protected Areas – an amountsuperior to the sum of the Europeanterritories of France, Germany, Italy andPortugal. Additionally many of the 5,564Brazilian municipalities have establishedtheir own protected areas, which arerecognized as part the National Systemof Protected Areas but are currently notyet registered in the National Database onProtected Areas.New protected areas established atthe 2004-2007 periodBetween 2004 and 2007, a set of54 new federal protected areas wasestablished, and other 9 areas wereexpanded, reaching a total of 19.6million hectares protected in the period.This represents an increase of about 40%to the size of the federal protected areassystem existing in 2003.63

New protected areas at the StatelevelFrom 2000 to 2005 the number of StateProtected Areas increased 28.3%, withan addition of 11.8 million hectares, anincrease in 64.7% in area. It must besaid that this information comes from auniverse of 308 State Protected Areasalready recognized by the NationalSystem of Protected Areas. As additionalexisting State Protected Areas areincluded in the National System and inthe National Database, this amount willincrease. Their inclusion depends onsubmissions from State governments andtheir recognition by the Ministry of theEnvironment.Financial Sustainability ofProtected AreasAs a first initiative to establish a financialsustainability plan to the Brazilianprotected areas, the Ministry of theEnvironment produced a solid study,with the participation of two dozens ofspecialists on financial sustainability,from governmental and non-governmentalorganizations. The process took aroundtwo years of investigation and researchof the present situation of the NationalSystem of Protected Areas and how itcan become more efficient, and mostly,financially sustainable.The group started with a first bigchallenge, which was to understand thereal dimension of the National System,the actual and potential financialresources, and the way it can be bettermanaged to achieve the consolidation,maintenance and expansion of theNational System of Protected Areas, andalso Brazil’s capacity of accomplishingthe national and international targets.The main result of this study was thefirst comprehensive assessment of thefinancial needs for the establishmentand management of the Brazilian Systemof Protected Areas. According to thestudy, the Brazilian system requires newstructural investments in the order ofUS$700 millions, and projected annualexpenses of about US$450 millions,the majority of it (US$313 millions) inpersonnel expenses. The methodologyused also make it possible to projectthe systems cost for the scenario ofreaching the national goals on biodiversityprotection (30% of the Amazon and 10%of each other biome on protected areas).In this scenario, an additional investmentof US$500 million will be necessary,with additional annual expenses aroundUS$150 million.The study also briefly indicates potentialmechanisms under the Brazilian law tohelp financing the system. Among others,the study presented the potential ofenvironmental compensation, ecotourismand related private-public partnershipsand the payment for ecosystem services.Environmental Compensation - Financingthe Protected Areas managementThe size and complexity of the NationalSystem of Protected Areas impose aconstant search for financial tools toguarantee the necessary resources fortheir management, in a way to achievethe protected area goals, especially thebiodiversity conservation. Among thepresent tools, the most promising is theEnvironmental Compensation, whichdeals with financial resources fromenterprises with significant environmentalimpacts.Enterprises with significant environmentalimpacts are those which mustelaborate, at the licensing process, anEnvironmental Impact Assessment (EIA).64

The Environmental Compensation ismandatory for non-mitigating impacts -impacts that cannot be repaired. In thesecases, the entrepreneur is obliged to payat least 0.5% of all the enterprise costto the management of protected areas,especially those of full protection categorywhose buffer zone is directly affected bythe enterprise.The Environmental Compensationresources can also be invested at FullProtection Protected Areas that are notdirectly affected by the enterprise, but inthis case the protected area is preferablyat the same Biome or River Basin of theenterprise.The Environmental CompensationChamberThe Environmental CompensationChamber was created within theChico Mendes Institute for BiodiversityConservation, with the participationof the Brazilian Ministry of theEnvironment, the Brazilian Institute forthe Environment and the RenewableNatural Resources and representatives ofStates and Municipalities, to improve theenvironmental compensation resourcesutilization.From 1998 to 2004, the financialresources utilized from the FederalEnvironmental Compensation Mechanismwas US$ 8.5 million. Since 2004 untilnow, around US$ 22.2 million have beenapplied, 50% in the last two years. In2007, the total accumulated amount ofenvironmental compensation resourcespotentially available was approximately ofUS$ 227 million.Environmental Compensation FundIn 2006, to ensure efficacy tothe application of environmentalcompensation resources, theEnvironmental Compensation Fund – ECFwas created, managed by the NationalSavings Bank (Caixa Econômica Federal).Now an enterprise/entrepreneur has twooptions to transfer the financial resourcesdue to environment compensationobligations: executing it directlyor by depositing at the ECF, whichautomatically designates ICMBio as thefinancial executor. The advantages to theentrepreneurs by joining the ECF is thatthey are not obliged to acquire goodsand hire services and products that arenot directly related to the enterprises’activities, such as management plansand land titling. In parallel, there areadvantages for the government. Besidesthe ECF management, the nationalbanking institution offers services tohelp the financial resources execution,providing ICMBio with more control overthe financial activities, higher capacityat expenditure planning and financialresources execution.ARPA: The Amazon RegionProtected Area ProgramCreated in 2003 by the Braziliangovernment for the protection of asignificant sample of the Amazonianbiodiversity, the Amazon Region ProtectedAreas Program has among its goals thedevelopment of best practices at themanagement of Protected Areas in Brazil.The ARPA Program is coordinated bythe Ministry of the Environment andimplemented by a technical and financialpartnership with Chico Mendes Institutefor Biodiversity Conservation (IBAMA atfirst), state governments, the BrazilianFund for Biodiversity (FUNBIO, inPortuguese) and donor institutions.For the first 4 years, the Program hasbeen provided with US$ 81,5 millionfrom the Global Environmental Facility/World Bank, WWF-Brazil and KfW, along65

with the Brazilian government (Braziliangovernment US$ 18,1 million; GEF: US$30 million; WWF: US$ 16,5 milhões;and KfW: US$ 14,4 million). In 10 years,the estimated investment at the Programis about US$ 395 million.ARPA Results until 2007Creation of Protected AreasThe 2006 target of the program - tosupport the establishment of 18 millionhectares of new protected areas - hasgone beyond the expectations. Since theProgram beginning, there are 41 newprotected areas, totalling 22.5 millionhectares. In 2007, the ARPA Programhas supported studies to establish 10million more hectares of new protectedareas.Protected Areas ImplementationMore than 20 million hectares of newprotected areas are under implementationby the Program - around 13 millionhectares of Full Protection ProtectedAreas (15 sites) and 9 million hectaresof Sustainable Use Protected Areas (27sites), totalling a support to 42 sites.ConsolidationMore than 8 million hectares of FullProtection Protected Areas - 17 sitescreated before March 2000, that alreadyexisted before the beginning of theProgram, are being consolidated.Protected Areas FundCreated in 2006, the Protected AreasFund, until December 2007, had the sumof US$ 17 million, from national andinternational sources.Protected Areas ManagementInnovationsWith the three tools listed below, inaddition to the innovative financial andmanagerial arrangement, the ARPAProgram aims constantly the efficiencyand efficacy at the implementation ofthe National System of Amazon RegionProtected Areas.Evaluation Tool for Protected AreasEffectivenessAlthough there were advances providedby the Tracking Tool - used at the ARPAProgram in 2005 and 2006 - anothertool was developed in 2007 - theEvaluation Tool for Protected AreasEffectiveness. This new tool has beenused by 80 Protected Areas in theProgram, including the participation ofaround 150 Protected Areas managers toparticipate.Integrated System of Coordinationand Management of ARPA Program(SisARPA)This tool for the computerizedmanagement of protected areas systemsallows the communication among theMinistry of the Environment, executiveinstitutions and Program partners. TheSisARPA links information from the ARPAProgram, the National Database onProtected Areas (the Brazilian governmentdatabase) and the Brazilian Fund forBiodiversity Financial System. Initiallydeveloped to guide the ARPA Programand its protected areas management, theSisARPA is now a model to be followedby the National System of ProtectedAreas.This System - based on evaluation,planning and management processes- strengthens initiatives of organized66

information about the protected areasand allows strategic decision-making onprotected areas management.Conservation and Investment StrategyThe investment priorities made onprotected areas were guided by theConservation and Investment Strategy(2006), developed by the ProgramCoordination Unit and supported bythe ARPA Scientific Counselling Panel,consultants, and also the Germantechnical cooperation. This strategy waselaborated on scientific criteria, focusingon biodiversity and its threats and thecontribution each protected area can giveto ARPA Program targets.Second Phase of the ARPAProgramARPA currently encompassesapproximately 30 million hectares ofprotected areas in the Amazon region.Based on the lessons learned, ARPAnegotiations have begun for the program’ssecond phase to be implementedbetween 2009 and 2012.New targets were established and thetotal size of areas to be protected by theprogram has increased from 50 to 60million hectares.Targets for the second phase:- Create 20 million hectares of additionalprotected areas (10 sites of strictprotection and 10 sites of sustainable useareas);- Implement the protected areas thatwere created in the Program’s first phase;- Foster the consolidation of protectedareas that were created in the Program’sfirst phase;¨ Consolidate another 5.5 millionhectares of existing protected areas(created before 2000);¨ Implement complementary financialmechanisms that were identified duringthe Program’s first phase.The Ecological Corridors Project(Projeto Corredores Ecológicos– PCE)Within the context of the projectcoordinated by the Ministry of theEnvironment and executed in partnershipwith the States of Espírito Santo, Bahiaand Amazonas, ecological corridorsare large areas located in the Amazonand Atlantic Forest biomes and includeprotected area sites under different typesof management, as well as indigenouslands, and interstitial areas submitted todifferent forms of land use.Priority was placed on two corridors asthe Project’s pilot so as to test differentmethodologies for implementingecological corridors -- the AtlanticForest’s Central Corridor (CorredorCentral da Mata Atlântica – CCMA) withits approximate 12.5 million hectares(almost the size of England), and theAmazon’s Central Corridor (CorredorCentral da Amazônia – CCA) and itsnearly 52 million hectares (equivalent toone and a half the size of Germany). Theprogram is part of the Pilot Project for theProtection of Tropical Forests in Brazil andcounts on resources from donations ofthe KfW Entwicklungsbank (The GermanDevelopment Bank), the Rain Forest TrustFund through the World Bank, from theEuropean Commission and from nationaland state counterparts.For the Amazon’s Central Corridor, the67

strategy is to maintain a forest continuumby means of fiscalization measures,consolidation of existing protected areasites and through the implementationof procedures for the sustainable use ofnatural resources in interstitial areas.For the Atlantic Forest’s Central Corridor,the priority is to ensure protection tothe significant forest remains and togradually increase the connection amongprotected area sites, indigenous landsand landscape fragments by controlling,protecting and recovering forest coveragein connection with work geared towardsustainable development in priority areas,95% of which are located in privateproperties.In the Project’s structure, the corridorsare organized into four sub-componentsor lines of action: (i) fiscalization,surveillance and monitoring; (ii) planningand management of conservation areas;(iii) interstitial areas; and in the specificcase of the Amazon (iv) protection ofbiological diversity in indigenous lands.In this sense, the Project directly supportsthe commitments made by Brazil asregards implementing the nationalbiodiversity milestones for 2010.Law Enforcement, Surveillance andMonitoringThis sub-component focuses onthe development of the corridor’smanagement plan, the development andbeginning of the surveillance strategyand enforcement of legislation, thedevelopment of the monitoring strategy,environmental information system andleading local capacity building towardparticipatory management. Furthermore,this sub-component provides supportto the administrative structure soas to facilitate and coordinate theimplementation of corridors.In the Amazon’s Central Corridor tofoster sustainable use and consumption(Objective 2 of the CBD) an 85%decrease of non-authorized fishingboats was detected in the Unini River.This decrease resulted from the lawenforcement infrastructure work as forexample the Flutuantes. In addition,three fishing agreements were signed 1and contribute to the recovery of the mainfishery stocks.In the lower Rio Negro region, lawenforcement measures carried out bythe Ibama 2 within the PCE’s Action andSurveillance, increase the apprehensionof lumbered wood, turtles, fish fingerlingsin areas surrounding the protected areasites. These missions were supportedby Volunteer Environmental Agents whoreceived training in courses offered by thePCE and who reside in the communitiesand are accredited by the Ibama tocarry out fiscalization work on a solelyvolunteer basis. These persons workwith the community as environmentaleducators and are not authorized to issuefines. They are, however, authorized toconfiscate products and equipment frominvaders and/or persons infringing the lawwithin the reserve and its surroundingarea and to register such facts withIbama.Within the Central Atlantic ForestCorridor, effort is made to reduce1According to Normative Instruction 29/03 of Ibama, a Fishing Agreement is understood as “a set of specific measuresresulting from consensual treaties among different users and the body responsible for managing fishery resources in agiven area that is geographically defined.”2The Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources is a federal organization that isresponsible for executing national environmental guidelines.68

pressures that lead to the loss of habitatsand change in the use and degradationof land and non-sustainable use ofwater (Objective 2 of the CBD). Thisoccurs by means of implementing of the“Corridor’s Surveillance and MonitoringSystem” through the best practices andexperiences of governmental and nongovernmentalorganizations. In thissense, we can highlight the IntegratedFiscalization Plan of the State of EspíritoSanto, which through the signing of aFederative Pact has provided the statewith a fiscalization and monitoring systemthat is integrated with environmentalorganizations. By removing theconnection between fiscalization anddenouncements made by the population,the system has optimized fiscalizationof focal points and has allowed fordenouncements to be verified so thatpertinent attitudes can be taken (fines,embargos, interdictions, etc.)Thus in 2005 bi-monthly over-flightstotaling approximately 45 hours weremade in the region. During these overflightsseven types of aggressions wereobserved, of which 60% correspondto deforestation (114 focal points)and burnings (92 focal points). Inapproximately 80 hours of over-flightsmade in 2006, 30% of the pointsidentified corresponded to deforestationand burnings. With these results, it ispossible to estimate that there was areduction of these damages during thetwo years.The measures taken were also successfulin the State of Bahia. In addition,the partnership established with theEnvironmental Resources Center (Centrode Recursos Ambientais – CRA) and theAtlantic Forest Nucleus of the State’sPublic Ministry (Núcleo Mata Atlânticado Ministério Público Estadual), withPCE support, resulted in the creationof the GEOBAHIA, a large bank ofgeoreferenced data whose objective is tosystematize and integrate environmentaland social-economic information onBahia’s territory. This system will containthe main data on mapping and on PCEimplementation and will be integratedwith georeferenced information fromstate and federal institutions that carryout environmental work. It will allow foranalyses that will ground environmentalmanagement and the public power’sdecision-making process.With the objective of fostering theefficiency and efficacy of the lawenforcement and monitoring actions andin the scope of the CCMA, the PublicProsecutors’ Office of Bahia is workingon structuring and operationalizing the“Environmental Basis”. This basis is partof the System for the Legal Protection ofthe Atlantic Forest (Sistema de ProteçãoLegal da Mata Atlântica – SISPROT)– Mata Atlântica 2020 Project, whichaims at combating environmental lawinfringements. The main objectivesare: diagnose illegal occupation ofenvironmentally relevant areas; ensureimplementation of the legal reserveand; combat the illegal commerce ofwildlife. In addition, the following can bedhighlight: the creation of regional State’sPublic Prosecutors’ offices exclusivelyfor environmental matters; publicationssuch as the Penal Environmental Manual(Manual Ambiental Penal) and twovolumes of the Environmental Notes(Cadernos Ambientais) series and;creation of the NUMA page within thePublic Prosecutors Office’s website andwhich contributes through the continuousdissemination of better environmentalpractices in the scope of Bahia’s PublicProsecutors Office (Ministério Público daBahia).69

Planning and Management ofProtected Area SitesAmazon’s Central Corridor hasapproximately 52 million hectares, ofwhich 14 million are under differentmodalities of legal protection. Thiscorresponds to about 3.5% of theAmazon biome is effectively conservedby Protected Area Sites of the NationalProtected Area Sites System (Unidadesde Conservação do Sistema Nacional deUnidades de Conservação). The corridorcontains a great variety of habitats andconnections among protected areas,including ample spaces of almostprimitiveforests. The foremost objectiveof this corridor is to maintain ecologicalintegrity while preserving connectivityamong the areas without hindering localpopulations. This sub-component aimsat strengthening and implementingprotected area sites by placing priority onintegrating society in process. It also aimsat developing community participation soconservation objectives can be attainedand thus foster long-term viability ofspecies.Unlike with the Amazon’s CentralCorridor, the protected area sites of theAtlantic Forest consist of small fragmentsdispersed throughout areas of highenvironmental degradation, with largeurban centers located in their bufferzones and considerable economic andextractivist pressures. Nonetheless, theseareas constitute areas of biological wealththat are especially concentrated in theprotected area sites, in which there is agreat concentration of endangered andendemic species. Many protected areasites are not large enough to hold itsbiological characteristics. Of the CCMA’s12.5 million hectares, 8.5 million are ofland and of these hectares, only 2% isunder some sort of legal protection.With the objective of helping consolidateBrazil’s national protected areassystem, the Project has invested inthe elaboration and implementation ofmanagement plans for the protectedarea sites located in the two corridors.In the Amazon, the Project has allowedfor the implementation of three sitesand a review of the managementplan – in addition, nine new sites arebeing elaborated. In the CCMA, fourprotected area sites are elaborating theirmanagement plans with Project support,and zoning is being reviewed for twoother sites.In addition, resources were invested inthe capacity building of site managersof both corridors. This capacity-buildingaddressed relevant themes with theobjective of improving managementwithin the protected area sites. In theCCA, of the nine councils that wereinstituted, three are in activity. In theCCMA three management councils wereinstalled. Still in this corridor, a ProtectedArea Site Managers Network was formedand this innovative experience has beenyielding practical results. In its six yearsof existence, the network has allowedfor exchange of information among itsmembers and due to the successfulexperiences of other sites, this exchangehas been of great help in the decisionmaking processes. The Network holdsannual in-person meetings with all of itsmembers and virtual meetings throughan e-mail address list where othermatters that are relevant for protectedarea sites are discussed. Themes suchas environmental compensation, lawenforcement, conflict resolution andresults-oriented management have beendiscussed during meetings. During theannual meetings, capacity-buildingcourses are offered to managers.70

Sources: Ecological Corridors Project /MMA; Amazônia Brasileira 2007 - ISA e Arpa/MMA; IDAF-ES;Semarh-BA; IBAMA; IEMA.Interstitial AreasThis sub-component aims atstrengthening biodiversity conservation ininterstitial areas of the corridor (outsideprotected area sites and indigenouslands) and at fostering conservation andsustainable development of land use. It isespecially geared toward non-profit nongovernmentalinstitutions, communitygroups and local government.Interstitial areas are of special importanceas they occupy most parts of thecorridors. In the specific case of theCCMA, they correspond to 95% of theterritory and contain important remainsof natural ecosystems. As a result, theirconservation, enlargement and restorationwill greatly contribute to the CCMA’sconnectivity. Considering that a largepart of this corridor’s remains is locatedin private properties, the participation ofthese lands’ owners in in situ biodiversityconservation is very important, as itwill help fulfill the milestones of theConvention on Biological Diversity.In the case of the CCA, the interstitialarea corresponds to 54% of the corridorand measures for the conservation andpreservation of natural resources formaintaining connectivity are foreseen.Thus, calls for proposals for subprojectsin both corridors were launched. Thisstrategy will allow for an increase to thescale of measures to be carried out andwill thus be a response to the society thateffectively participated in planning for thecorridors.The sub-projects supported by thePCE will be able to provide support tosustainable management, includingthe recovery of degraded ecosystems,extractivist and agro-forestry production,sales of products obtained through thesustainable management of natural72

esources, environmental tourism,alternatives for fire control anddeforestation, environmental education,promotion of conservation – especiallyin private reserves, legal reservesand permanent preservation areas,management of natural resources andincome-generating incentives.Another way of contributing to theconnection of nucleus areas and to theformation of ecological corridors is bystimulating awareness of the PrivateNatural Heritage Reserves (ReservasParticulares do Patrimônio Natural– RPPN). The RPPN is an importanttool to complement the efforts of thepublic power toward the conservation ofnative ecosystems and natural resources.In the scope of the National ProtectedArea System, the RPPN presents highlypositive numbers in the cost-benefit rationboth as regards the economic resourcesthat are necessary for the creation andmanagement of a protected area site, aswell as the demand for technicians andacceleration of the process, due to itseasy regulations. The system allows forthe maintenance of connectivity amongfragments, as well as the increasedrepresentation of priority conservationareas in regions that are not sufficientlyprotectedby the network of publicprotected area sites.Protection of Biological Diversityon Indigenous LandsThere are 65 indigenous lands in theCCA, of which 37 are demarcated and28 are legally established. These landstotal more than 11,000,000 hectares(21.15% of the CCA) and are mainlydistributed in greater numbers alongthe Amazonas River. The greatestcoverage area, however, is in the regionof the Negro and Uatumã Rivers. Inthe scope of this sub-component, theDemonstrative Program for IndigenousPeoples (Programa Demonstrativo dosPovos Indígenas – PDPI) 3 it is responsiblefor the measures taken. The projects thatare supported contribute to the effort toconnect CCA areas by fostering protectionto indigenous lands, valuation of cultureand sustainable economic activities andthus ensure non-predatory exploitation ofresources.The challenge is to not only fosterenvironmental management onindigenous lands so as to improve thequality of life of the populations that liveon them, but instead to do this in anway that is integrated with the conceptof ecological corridors and to valuing thecultures within.3Also part of the Pilot Program for the Protection of Brazil’s Tropical Forests73

Incentive Measures andEcosystem ApproachIncentive MeasuresNational Biodiversity Mainstreamingand Institutional Consolidation Project– PROBIO IIThe Biodiversity Mainstreaming andInstitutional Consolidation Project– PROBIO II will promote incentivemeasures by implementing thecomponent 1 (Mainstreaming Biodiversityinto Select Public Sectors). Thiscomponent of PROBIO II amounts US$33.4 million, of which US$ 8.4 millioncorresponds to a donation by the GlobalEnvironment Facility (GEF) and theremaining US$ 25.0 million to resourcesprovided by the Brazilian Government.Under this component, the project willsupport preparation of sectoral plans thatincorporate biodiversity managementpractices. It will seek strategies forincorporating the objective of biodiversityconservation and sustainable useinto policies, programs, projects, anddevelopment plans throughout differentlevels of government activity. Thiscomponent involves cooperation with anumber of government agencies whosesectors have a significant impact on, anduse of, biodiversity, including agriculture,fisheries, forestry, water resources,health, and technology.This component will be implementedthrough two subcomponents: (1.1)planning and refinement of publicsectoral policies and policy instruments,and (1.2) sectoral activities incorporatingbiodiversity mainstreaming applied at anational level.Activities financed under subcomponent1.1 will include an assessment ofbottlenecks and alternative solutionsfor biodiversity mainstreaming in thepublic sector; studies for biodiversityvaluation; studies to develop andevaluate incentive measures for theadoption of biodiversity conservation andsustainable use as fundamental issuesacross the public sector, including, forexample, carbon values; consensusbuilding with stakeholders; and,development of sector plans with policyrecommendations. These sector planswill outline the recommended portfolioof activities, instruments, and policies tobe implemented by the project and other75

initiatives, along with details pertaining tothe expected costs, responsibilities, andtimeline of each activity.Activities financed under subcomponent1.2 will be on-the-ground applicationsof recommendations adopted duringthe sector workshops detailed undersubcomponent 1.1. Others are initiativesidentified by the government as keyto testing the practical application ofbiodiversity policy guidelines in specificsectors. Examples include incorporationof biodiversity-friendly techniquesinto livestock management practices,sustainable use of native species,sustainable agro-forestry development,and models to manage health risks fornative wildlife. The expected result ofthis work will be a series of lessonslearned from the practical application ofa portfolio of mainstreaming tools thatcan then inform the future discussion ofbiodiversity mainstreaming in Brazil andelsewhere.Ecosystem ApproachWithin its principles and guidelinesregarding the specific objectives ofmanaging ecosystems, the NationalPolicy for Biodiversity indicated theuse of an ecosystem approach. Thisapproach will also be used in the GEF’s“Conservation and Management ofPollinators for Sustainable Agriculturethrough an Ecosystem Approach” project,which is nationally coordinated by theMinistry of the Environment and by FAOin international context.76

Invasive Alien Species andBiosafety of GMOsAlien Invasive SpeciesBrazil is known as one of the countrieswith the greatest biodiversity in the world.It is placed first on the list of megadiversecountries. Between 15 and 20% of allspecies are contained within Brazilianterritory, in the continental platform, inthe territorial oceans, and in the exclusiveeconomic zone. All of this biodiversityis related to the great geographic andclimate diversity, the size of the territoryand the presence of the largest tropicalforest coverage in the world.There is, however, a series of factors thatthreaten the integrity and equilibrium ofthe several ecosystems in the Brazilianterritory. Among these we highlight thebiological invasions caused by invasiveexotic species which are currentlyconsidered the seconds biggest causefor biodiversity loss, only losing to thedestruction of habitats resulting fromthe direct conversion of land to humanuse and which involves deforestationand change to land use. Invasiveexotic species have a high potential fordispersion, colonization and dominanceover the invaded environments. As aresult, they generate much pressure onnative species and sometimes lead totheir extinction.Increasing globalization, enlargementof roads and highways, increasedinternational commerce and tourism, inaddition to the climate changes resultingfrom the greenhouse effect, tend tosignificantly boost the opportunities forthe introduction and expansion of invasiveexotic species into various ecosystems ofthe Earth.Given Brazil’s continental dimension,which includes land frontiers with 10countries, a coastal frontier with anextension of over 7000km and the riversthat enter the country, the entrance ofexotic species that can become invasiveis very easy. This ease of entrance directlyimpacts in the conservation of nativeand agricultural biodiversity, as well ason the economic and social impactsresulting from problems created for theagricultural, silvicultural and livestockproduction systems. The cost for thecountry reaches tens of billions of USdollars.79

The MMA acknowledges the problemspertaining to biological invasions and is inclose articulation with different segmentsof society. With this, it has beendeveloping a series of measures focusedon: (i) prevention of introduction; (ii) earlydetection; (iii) monitoring; (iv) control/ management and; (v) eradication.These measures basically regard the:creation of norms, as for example theConama (National Environmental Council)Resolutions; incentives to the creationof discussion forums in the scope offederal units; surveying registries of exoticspecies and biological invasion in thevarious ecosystems; facilitating researchcredit; supporting the elaboration andpublication of official lists of nationaland state exotic invasive species and;supporting the adoption of measures forthe eradication of exotic invasive speciesin protected area sites.As regards the marine environment,Brazilian measures in this area beganin 2000 with the Global BallastWater Management Programme. ThisProgramme involves various countries(Brazil, China, India, Iran, South Africaand Ukraine) and its focal point in Brazilwas the Ministry of the Environment,which counted on support from theProgram for the Integrated Managementof the Coastal and Marine Environments(Gercom).As regards land environments andcontinental waters, the Brazilianmeasures began in 2001 on the occasionof the Work Meeting on Invasive ExoticSpecies, held jointly by the BrazilianMinistry of the Environment andthe Brazilian Agricultural ResearchCorporation. This meeting counted onthe participation of representativesfrom Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile,Colombia, Ecuador, French Guyana,Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay andVenezuela.As a result of the meeting, the MMAthrough the Project on the Conservationand Sustainable Use of the BrazilianBiological Diversity (Projeto deConservação e Utilização Sustentávelda Diversidade Biológica Brasileira- Probio) and the National Fund for theEnvironment (Fundo Nacional do MeioAmbiente – FNMA), calls for proposalswere launched and sub-projects forthe management of plant and animalspecies considered to be invasive in thenational territory were selected. ThroughAdministrative Decree 494 of August2003, the Minister for the Environmentcreated the National Task Force for theControl of the Limnoperna fortunei (afreshwater mussel).Still in 2003, in light of the precariousbibliographical references and research inBrazil pertaining to the matter, the MMAlaunched a public consultation for thefirst National Inform on Invasive ExoticSpecies. There were two diagnostics– one about current and potential invasiveexotic species and another about thecountry’s installed capacity to addressthe matter. The surveys address thespecies that affect land environmentsand continental waters and the coastalzone, as well as those that affectproduction systems and human health.This initiative was finalized in 2005 onthe occasion of the meeting on whichresults and assessments of final reportswere presented. Five hundred forty threespecies considered to be invasive exoticto the different Brazilian ecosystems wereregistered.By means of the Brazilian Marine’sDirectory of Ports and CoastsAdministrative Decree 52, of June2005, the Maritime Authority’s Normfor the Management of Ships BallastWaters was issued. Ship ballast watersare one of the greatest vectors for the80

dissemination of exotic organisms.This Normative (Norma 20) aims atinternalizing the guidelines that aredetailed in the International Conventionfor the Control and Management of ShipsBallast Waters and Sediments, whichwas approved in February of 2004 andis currently being ratified by the BrazilianCongress. In October of 2005, the MMAcoordinated in Brasilia the First BrazilianSymposium on Invasive Exotic Species.The symposium counted with over 400participants from seven countries. InMay of 2006, during a commemorativesolemnity for the International Day forBiological Diversity, the Memorandumof Agreement with the Global InvasiveSpecies Programme (GISP) was signedby the Minister of the Environment, withthe objective of fostering a more effectiveprocess in the country for monitoringand controlling invasive exotic species.In the scope of the National Commissionon Biodiversity (CONABIO), in August of2006 the Permanent Technical Chamberon Invasive Exotic Species was created.In 2007, the MMA started the measuresto elaborate the National Strategy onInvasive Exotic Species and signed a Termof Cooperation between the Secretariatfor Water Resources and the Secretariatfor Biodiversity and Forests for surveyingthe invasive exotic species in the SãoFrancisco River basin.Finally, it is important to mention thatout of the concern for protecting theaquatic fauna a review of Ibama Decree145/98 was started in the scope of theNational Council for the Environment.This decree deals with the introduction,re-introduction and translocation of liveorganisms into aquatic environments.BiosafetyThe biosafety of genetically modifiedorganisms (GMO) includes variousactivities, as for example the participationof MMA representatives in the NationalTechnical Commission on Biosafety(Comissão Técnica Nacional deBiosegurança – CTNBio), the organizationof courses, participation in theelaboration of regulations, participationin international negotiations of themesincluded in the Cartagena Protocol onBiosafety, and others.By means of monthly CTNBio meetings,MMA representatives analyze anddiscuss processes pertaining to theconcession of Certificates of Quality inBiosafety (Certificados de Qualidadeem Biosegurança – CQBs), liberationof contained GMO for research(laboratories, bioterium, and vegetationhouses); planned release of GMO intothe environment for the purpose ofexperimentation and commerce, amongothers.The MMA organized and carried outfive capacity building courses on thebiosafety of GMO and their byproducts.The first three courses were carried outin 2004, in the states of Santa Catarina,Paraná and Mato Grosso do Sul andcounted on the participation of overthree hundred professionals, includingtechnicians, analysts and officersfrom the state and federal registry andlaw enforcement agencies, universityprofessors and technicians from otherinstitutions interested in the matter, aswell as farmers, and rural techniciansand leaderships. Each course wasone-week long and addressed topicspertaining to obtaining GMO, methodsfor identification, risk assessment,trackability and legislation, among others.The MMA also structured an internalCommission for the Biosafety ofGenetically Modified Organisms andbyproducts and their impact on the81

environment. This commission hasmany obligations, but its foremosttask is to provide technical advisory toMMA directors in their decision-makingprocesses.Furthermore, the MMA created abiosafety page on which importantscientific articles on potential risks ofGMS and on legal norms on the matterare made available. This page canbe accessed at www.mma.gov.br/biosseguranca .82

Global Taxonomy Initiativeand Scientific CooperationGlobal Taxonomy Initiative (GTI)In 2005, the Brazilian governmentindicated the General Coordination ofBiodiversity Policies and Programs ofthe Ministry of Science and Technologyas the national focal point for GTI, andmade it responsible for coordinating andimplementing the GTI Workgroup in thecountry. This Coordination was institutedby Decree 4724 of June 10, 2003and is responsible for: coordinating theBiodiversity Research Program (Programade Pesquisa em Biodiversidade – PPBio);to promote the increase of the country’staxonomic capacity; other researchmanagement and development activitiesthat contribute to the implementation ofthe National Policy on Biodiversity and ofthe Convention on Biological Diversity.As the GTI’s national focal point, theGeneral Coordination of BiodiversityPolicies established the followingguidelines and strategies of action: a)dissemination of information on thecountry’s installed taxonomy capacity;b) dissemination of capacity buildingopportunities in Brazil and abroad;c) dissemination of national andinternational financing opportunitiesfor taxonomy studies; d) increasedpossibilities for national and internationalcooperation and; e) dissemination oftaxonomy demands resulting from theConvention on Biological Diversity.Scientific and TechnicalCooperation and the Clearing-House MechanismCommunication problems between thescientific community and policymakersare frequently related to threefundamental differences in the natureof work of scientists and policymakers.These fundamental differences are: (i)their priorities; (ii) the fact that theiractions operate on different time framesand; (iii) their languages.Problems as these also occur at theConsultation Process on global level. Forthis reason the International Mechanismof Scientific Expertise on Biodiversity(IMoSEB) was created through aninitiative of the French government.Given the example of the IMoSEB, the85

86Brazilian Ministry of the Environmentand the Brazilian Ministry for Scienceand Technology took the initiative ofgathering representatives from theBrazilian academia to foster a discussionat the national level with the objectiveof increasing the relations betweenpolicymakers and the scientific sector, allof whom are responsible for producinginformation. This meeting aimed toidentify mechanisms through whichadvice from the research segment couldbe better to political decision makingrelative to biological diversity and alsoto better foster scientific advisory to theConvention on Biological Diversity. Theguidelines established by this Conventionand the decisions resulting from eachof the Conference for the Parties havebecome invaluable instruments for theBrazilian government to elaborate publicpolicies.

CollaboratorsAdriana Panhol Bayma, Armin Deitenbach, Ana Paula Prates, Carla Michely YamagutiLemos, Daniela de Oliveira e Silva, Danielle Blanc, Eduardo Boucinha de Oliveira,Erico Grassi Cademartori, Felipe Martins Cordeiro de Mello, Iona’i Ossami de Moura,Jader Alves de Oliveira, Joao Arthur Soccal Seyffarth, Julio Roma, Katia GeorgiaCosta Goncalves, Maria Carolina Hazin, Marina Landeiro, Militão de Morais Ricardo,Paula Moraes Pereira, Renata Pires Nogueira Lima, Roberto Xavier de Lima, RonaldoWeigand Jr., Thayssa Izetti Luna, Victor Paulo de Oliveira, Wigold Bertoldo Schaffer.PhotosArticulação Pacari de Plantas Medicinais e L.C. Marigo/Provárzea/Ibama, André Stella,Adriano Gambarini, Blandina Vianna, Carlos Secchin,Felfili, Frederico G. Lemos,George Shepherd, João Carlos Costa Oliveira, Márcia Rodrigues, Marcello Lourenço,Maria Carolina Hazin, Marina Landeiro, Miguel von Bher, Paulo Oliveira, RobertoXavier, Rogério de Paula Cunha and Wigold B. Schaffer.EditingAnthony Gross and Bráulio de Souza Ferreira DiasGraphic DesignAna Flora Caminha and Ângela Ester Magalhães DuarteFor additional information:Secretaria de Biodiversidade e FlorestasMinistério do Meio AmbienteSEPN 505 Bloco B Ed. Marie Prendi CruzCEP: 70.730-542http://www.mma.gov.br88