President of Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação para a Biodiversidade/ ICMBio
“Arpa is essential for the PAs management”
What does Arpa contribute to the Amazon Forest preservation?
Arpa – the largest biodiversity conservation program in the world – represents an important financial support for the protected areas (PAs) management in the Amazon Region, both federal and state protected areas included. It is crucial for the management of PAs. The Program funds are used in the implementation of consolidation of the areas. Just to have an idea, during the 1st Phase, Arpa supported the consolidation of 43 PAs, out of which 24 areas are for sustainable use and 19 areas are for strict protection. This represents 42% of total protected areas in the Brazilian Amazon. Presently, in the 2nd Phase, support will be given to 13 other federal PAs, totaling 56 areas, representing 62,936,677.76 hectares of the Brazilian Amazon territory. This has direct impact in the protection of the forest and other natural resources in the Amazon.
What is Arpa’s relevance for the management of the protected areas under ICMBio administration?
ICMBio yearly applies assessment tools to evaluate the management effectiveness of federal protected areas. Such assessments prove that there is progress and significant improvement in the management process and in the results achieved in the PAs with Arpa support. The Program has consolidation targets designed during the annual planning of activities and the managers seek to achieve those targets. This is a decisive contribution to improve the quality of management.
How do the protected areas use Arpa support to generate income for local communities?
Arpa supports some income generation projects in the sustainable use areas. For instance, the set up of facilities for Brazil nut processing in the Unini River Extractive Reserve (Resex) in the state of Amazonas; and the building of a Rural Family House in the Mapuá Extractive Reserve, in the Marajó island, in the state of Pará, where there is capacity building in sustainable management and extraction activity, community meetings and other activities. In the community dwelling in the settlement located in the surroundings of the Jaru Biological Reserve (Rebio) in the state of Rondônia, the Program supports an arboretum of seedlings from various species, among other projects.
How does ICMBio work with environmental education and community engagement in the management of PAs in the Amazon Region?
Our PAs have the effective participation of communities through the representation of management councils/boards – the Deliberative Council in the case of the extractive reserves (Resex) and sustainable development reserves (RDs), and the Advisory Board in the case of the other categories of PAs. The involvement is welcoming and allows the exchange of knowledge, the cooperation and the engagement of the parts, for the constant improvement of management. Environmental education has been increasingly used to qualify the participation of communities and build a message about the value and the role of protected areas in natural resources conservation and the improvement of the quality of living for the people. Our managers and partners are locally building opportunities and solutions for the implementation of this important ICMBio role.