Public Disclosure Authorized. Public Disclosure Authorized. Public Disclosure Authorized. Public Disclosure Authorized. Report No.

Transcription

1 Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Report No. PID8132 Project Name Brazil-Floodplain (Varzea) Natural (+) Resources Management Project Region Sector Project ID Borrower Implementing Agency Project Cost Latin America and the Caribbean Forestry BRRN6570 Government of Brazil Brazilian Institute for Environment and Renewable Resources - IBAMA US $ 15.5 million Appraisal Date May, 1998 Date PID prepared October, 1996 Date PID revised September, 1998 Background 1. The Brazilian Amazon contains the largest tropical rain forest in the world, acting as a major carbon reservoir. The rain forest and associated aquatic ecosystems contain some of the world's highest biological diversity in terrestrial and aquatic plant and animal life, of which many are known, and presumed, to be useful natural products. The Amazon River contributes some 20% of the global fresh water river discharge into the world's oceans. Conserving the functions of these natural ecosystems is of great importance to local people and to the world at large. 2. This project forms part of the Pilot Program to Conserve the Brazilian Rain Forest financed by the Group of Seven industrialized countries, the Netherlands, and the European Union. Individual projects are financed by the Rain Forest Trust Fund (RFT), established by the Bank's Executive Directors (Resolution 92-2) in March of 1992, and by associated bilateral donors. All funds are grant funds directed toward a set of integrated projects aimed at slowing down the deforestation/conversion of the Amazon rain forest, protecting biodiversity, reducing carbon emissions, and promoting sustainable use and development in the Amazon region. The projects share similar objectives of: (i) strengthening the capacity of public sector institutions responsible for managing and protecting the rain forest, its inhabitants, and natural resources; (ii) improving management of protected areas; (iii) strengthening the information base on Amazonian natural resources; and (iv) promoting sustainable and environmentally friendly technologies and practices for their use and development. 3. Recent demographic and economic changes in the Amazon region, stimulated by the application of environmentally harmful policies and technologies, are leading to rapid changes in land use which involve clearing and burning forests and farming in seasonally inundated flood plains These practices degrade the Amazon forest and aquatic ecosystems and contribute to possible climate change through the release of greenhouse gases. Disregard for the environmental consequences of non-sustainable production systems has contributed to decisions which have accelerated deforestation and threaten the

2 very existence of the many of the complex and interrelated sub-systems and valuable natural resources of the Amazon River basin. 4. One such threatened ecosystem is the seasonally-inundated flood plain (Varzea) of the Amazon River, which contains several fragile habitats, such as flood plain forests and floating meadows, that are vital for the region's fisheries and other resources. There are estimated to be some 400,000 to 500,000 square km of such seasonally flooded forests within the Amazon River system, of which some 300,000 square km form flooded plains bordering the Amazon and its tributaries (Goulding 1996). This makes up an intricate system of oxbow lakes, standing forests, and floating meadows. During the annual rainy season, these forests become the feeding grounds for thousands of species of aquatic life, including highly prized commercially harvested fish species. These fish are the most important food item in the diet of the local riverine human populations and for the inhabitants of the many Amazon towns and cities. Many of the most popular fish species feed, and depend, upon the bounty of the flooded forest (fruits, nuts, detritus and insects) and local fishermen are very aware of the ecological link between the health of the Varzea forests and that of the fish stocks, as well as of their economic importance to rural and urban dwellers alike. 5. While the fish depend upon the forests, people depend upon the adequate availability of fish for their livelihood. If the forests disappear to cattle and buffalo ranching and large scale agriculture, so will many of the commercially significant fish stocks. There is strong evidence to suggest that this is already happening in many parts of the Amazon watershed, as commercial fish catches go progressively down. Along most of the lower Amazon River, millions of hectares of Varzea have already been seriously degraded by removal of the forest and the introduction of inappropriate land use practices, including cattle and buffalo ranching, planting of commercial agricultural crops (rice), even though fish production by weight and monetary value per hectare is several times that of beef or buffalo. The latter feed on, trample, and destroy the floating meadows where fish spawn and hatch and young fish find food and shelter from predators. Meanwhile, government policies are not based upon sound information and knowledge and tend to go counter to the true vocation of the Varzea. Government presence is weak, land tenure and access to resources is anarchic and fraught with conflicts between absentee cattle ranchers and local communities of small farmers, subsistence and commercial fishers and loggers. 6. The proposed project would address the rapid degradation of Varzea habitat, depletion of high value natural resources and potential pauperization of the local populations. It will do so through an integrated three-tiered program confronting: a) the lack of adequate information and knowledge as basis for environmentally sound and sustainable management systems; b) the need to identify and to promote promising and successful management and conservation initiatives (such as communal lake fisheries management and small scale farming and agroforestry systems ); and c) the need for a comprehensive system of monitoring and control to ensure future sound practice and rational use of the Varzea's rich natural resources. Project Objectives 7. The overall objective of the project is to lay the scientific, technical and policy foundations for the conservation and sound management of natural - 2-

3 resources within the varzeas of the central Amazon River basin, with a special emphasis on fish. Project Description 8. The project would have three components: 1) Strategic Studies, to generate the information base required for integrated management of the Varzea ecosystems; 2) Promising Initiatives, in support of existing ideas and programs and processes which are consistent with sustainable use and conservation of the Varzea; 3) Monitoring and Control, establishing a pilot monitoring and control system in certain key areas from which experience can be gained and more generally applied; and 4) Project Coordination, to manage, monitor and evaluate the day-to-day implementation of the project. 9. Strategic Studies: (Estimated cost $2.4million). This component would generate an information base of scientific knowledge of the dynamics of varzea ecosystems (the forest and aquatic regimes, seasonal changes and influences) and their response to human actions and management. Such studies would include biological inventories of significant plant and fish species, seasonal migrations, locations and relative abundance of fish and their relations to the important and strategic habitats (fruiting trees and floating meadows) upon which they depend. Local and international experience in the management of similar flooded forests will be gathered and examined with the aim of adapting these to the Amazon varzeas. Land use map(s) displaying the most important varzeas and their relative degradation and/or health and uses will be produced, and information on land tenure, access to and local control of varzea resources generated as inputs to future management processes. Dual purpose (producing for human and small livestock and fish consumption) agroforestry systems adapted or adaptable to the varzea regime would receive special attention and build on the RF program's recently completed regional agroforestry survey. The relative economic and social values associated with different land and resource uses will be evaluated. Based on these studies, conservation and sustainable use practices will be established. Insofar as the information base can be generated early in the project, it will be able to feed into other components of the project. The studies will draw together scattered and sporadic knowledge from existing Amazon research institutions, some of which (INPA; CPATU; Museu GOELDI) are receiving support under other PPG7 projects (Science Centers and Directed Research). International and national universities, national and international consultants working through local and respected NGOs will be engaged to work with local varzea communities and related enterprises (subsistence and commercial fishermen; ranchers and "caboclos") to carry out the studies in a participatory fashion. IBAMA's Divisao da Pesca Continental - Departamento da Pesca e Aquicultura will coordinate the studies and develop and integrate the information into a coherent management regime for the natural resources of the Amazon Varzeas. 10. Promising Initiatives: (Estimated cost $6.0 million). This component will support the identification, evaluation, improvement, dissemination, duplication, and financial and technical support to promising projects and programs of sustainable use and conservation of the natural resources of the varzea. Good examples of such projects will be promoted as models and best practice in the region and will include projects and enterprises within the private commercial, municipalities/communities NGOs or public sectors. Specifically, such projects will be those which make use of the natural -3 -

4 resources but also aim at conservation of species diversity, habitat protection and rehabilitation, endangered or declining species protection and re-introduction and some captive breeding for commercial and conservation purposes (e.g., turtle farming/management; aquaculture). Attention will be paid to the species and habitats which are most critical from a biological, economic and cultural perspective; selecting activities and management regimes which are of economic importance but low environmental impact. Support will also go toward strengthening the institutions responsible for managing the natural resources of the varzea, assisting them to adapt and adopt new policies and management procedures identified and generated through the project and promoting their integration at the local, municipal and regional level. Attention will be paid to strengthening civil society involvement in the management of the natural resources of the varzea through communications and information systems, environmental education and training, promoting knowledge of the complexity and importance of the varzea forests and the links between them and the aquatic resources upon which local people depend. 11. Criteria for selecting promising initiatives will include, among others, that they: a) are in line with the overall aims of the project; b) are innovative (if possible); c) have a demonstration potential (are replicable); d) make multiple/diversified use of varzea resources; e) are economically viable; f) minimize negative impacts on the local established populations; g) exhibit a management capacity and adequate degree of organizational structure; and h) could absorb and benefit from project support. Some eligible projects will be identified during project preparation, and others will be identified and/or generated during implementation through solicited and unsolicited proposals and referrals. It is anticipated that projects supported through this component will range from strictly economic and productive enterprises (fisheries; small scale fruits and vegetable productions; small scale livestock; aquaculture with fish and/or other species stocks; improved product marketing and handling programs;) to environmental education and promotions and community-based conservation and nature tourism programs. 12. Monitoring and Control: (Estimated cost $.8 million). This component will apply the information and best practice generated in the other components to design and implement an environmental monitoring and control system for selected areas of the varzea. It will provide technical and logistical support to develop local community-based regulatory and monitoring systems, and to upgrade existing (and relevant) environmental management agencies. The system will link community surveillance to a Geographic Information System (GIS) to monitor deforestation and degradation, provide early warning of environmental threats to habitats and species and help to identify emerging land and resource use conflicts. The system will monitor fish catches and markets (fisheries statistics) and introduce and maintain systems of licensing for commercial fishing operations based upon sound knowledge of the relative health and abundance of the harvestable fish stocks. The system will seek to embrace all of the relevant stakeholders in the monitoring and control programs as well as provide for training of volunteer environmental Project Area 13. The area of concentration of project activities will include the varzeas along the main stem of the Amazon River between Manaus and the Amazon estuary (not including the estuary itself) and its major tributaries. Within - 4 -

5 these areas, three or four areas for concentrated action will be selected according to degree of degradation and threat to the resource base, intensity of resource use and opportunities for modeling new and supporting existing "promising initiatives". Project Financing 14. The proposed project is expected to cost around US$ million. The Rain Forest Trust Fund (RTF) would provide some US$ 2 million, with the German Government providing the bulk of the project funds. Contributions will be sought from the government of Brazil and other bilateral donors. Project Implementation 15. The proposed project would be implemented over five years under the administrative coordination of the Technical Secretariat of the PPG7 IBAMA/COGER and managed by a Project Management Unit which will be based in Manaus. The project will be guided by a Project Advisory Commission made up of one representative from IBAMA, SECTAM/PA, IPAAM/AM, GTA/PA, GTA/AM, SCA/MMA, and EMBRAPA. Execution of project activities should be decentralized as much as possible to the municipalities, communities and NGOs in the field, for efficiency and consistent with the current governmental approach toward civil society participation in public administration. All involved actors/stakeholders will be encouraged to identify closely with the aims of the project, in order to foster a sense of ownership among them and to assure the long term sustainability of the programs beyond the initial three-year life of the project. Project Sustainability 16. The project will work through all of its activities to foster a high degree of commitment to the principals of integrated sustainable management of the natural resources of the varzea. It will involve all of the stakeholders, especially those populations whose daily livelihood and survival is most directly tied to the varzea. With comprehensive scientific information available for dissemination to the resource users about the inter-dependence of the natural habitat and the abundance and quality of the fish stocks, it is hoped that improved management systems will be adopted, old and destructive habits eliminated and replaced with new and environmentally sustainable practices. Cooperative interaction between Government and civil society at many levels will, it is hoped, forge a sense of joint venture/partnership, combining local vigilance and on-site monitoring with enforcement of rational management principles. The scientific knowledge gained from the Strategic Studies will be disseminated through a comprehensive environmental education and extension program, capturing the interests and commitment of the upcoming generation of varzea inhabitants. Rationale for RFT Funding 17. The Pilot Program's overall strategy is to demonstrate the feasibility of harmonizing economic and environmental objectives; of balancing/integrating natural resource use and conservation of natural resources. Through the Strategic Studies, the identification and promotion of best practice models, combined with on-going monitoring and control, the project expects to be able to introduce some order into current disorderly and environmentally - 5 -

6 unsustainable practices, in which the ecosystem responsible for producing and providing is itself laid waste in the process of exploitation. This project is unique within the Pilot Program, in that it is aimed at managing the essential and complementary interactions between two ecosystems: the terrestrial forest and the riverine systems. Combined, these systems account for most of the biodiversity in the Amazon region. Loss of the forest, means the loss of both terrestrial and aquatic species. In the Amazon region, fish represent the most important source of protein in the diet of all Amazonians, while fishing provides the primary livelihood for many of the riverine inhabitants. Protecting the habitat for fish protects the environment and guarantees the livelihood of Amazonian people. Project Preparation 18. Project preparation activities have concentrated on: a) identifying scientific information gaps and design of strategic studies to fill the gaps; b) defining promising initiatives, describing their objectives, scope and management context and present financing plans, to be considered for support in the project; c) identifying policy gaps and regulatory shortcomings and preparing action plans to redress these within the project; d) designing a process for monitoring, control, and enforcement to be implemented through the project; and e) providing clear options for a decentralized project management and delivery structure. A team made up of the outstanding experts in aspects of the Amazon varzea ecosystems carried out the preparation work under the overall coordination of IBAMA's Director of Fisheries. The project design process was completed at project appraisal which took place in May of The project negotiations and approval are expected to be achieved before the end of Environmental Aspects 19. Given that the project's explicit orientation to improving the policy, management and regulatory conditions for the Amazon River varzea ecosystems, the project is expected to be environmentally beneficent. However, since some promising initiatives may involve direct use of natural resources, calling for some level of environmental assessment, the project has been classified as "B." The project does not anticipate the need for resettlement of local populations or interference in culturally and environmentally appropriate local practices. Contact Points: Philip Hazelton Task Manager (202) The InfoShop The World Bank 1818 H Street, N.W. Washington D.C Telephone No. (202) Fax No. (202) Note: This is information on an evolving project. Certain activities and/or components may not be included in the final project

7 Processed by the InfoShop week ending September 17,

8 Annex Because this is a category B project it may be required that the borrower prepare a separate EA report. If a separate EA report is required, onece it is prepared and submitted to the Bank, in accordance with OP 4.01, Environmental Assessment, it will be filed as an annex to the Public Information Document. If no separate EA report is required, the PID will not contain an EA annex, the findings and recommendations of the EA will be reflected in the body of the PID