Dec 12, 2013

• Resources will benefit indigenous communities and extraction activities in the state

The state of Amazonas will receive R$ 14.9 million from the Amazon Fund to stimulate sustainable production activities being carried out by traditional communities and indigenous people. The contract was signed on December 12 by the Managing Director of the Environment Division of The Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES), Guilherme Lacerda, and the State Rural Production Secretariat of Amazonas (Sepror), Eron Bezerra.

With such a vast territorial scope (the area covers 1,165,259 km2 or 75% of the state), the operation, using non-reimbursable resources, aims to provide support to initiatives for the conservation and sustainable use of forest assets in the Amazonas state.
This will be made possible by encouraging a return to exploration of native rubber plantations and adding value to the Brazil nut sector together with those involved in traditional extraction. The project also aims at promoting production activities in indigenous communities, in addition to studies, training and rural technical assistance.

Another important merit of the project is the promotion of sustainable production activities as an alternative to keep the "forest standing", to the benefit of the Amazon Fund’s priority target communities, namely, indigenous people and those involved in extraction. Such an initiative is in keeping with national guidelines of the National Policy for Sustainable Development of People and Traditional Communities (PNPCT).

In addition, two municipalities included in the project (Boca do Acre and Lábrea) are on the Ministry of the Environment’s list of priority municipalities, requiring efforts against deforestation.

Background – The Amazon Fund is an initiative of the Brazilian government, coordinated by the Ministry of the Environment and managed by the BNDES. Its goal is to receive donations for non-refundable investments aimed at preventing, monitoring and combating deforestation, as well as activities to foster the conservation and sustainable use of forests in the Amazonian biome. Since its creation in August 2008, the Amazon Fund has already approved 48 projects, totaling disbursements of R$ 763 million.