Research 10/16/02

Research for Week of October 16th, 2002: (as of October 16th, 2002)

Houses the Amazon River Basin, the world’s largest amount of freshwater: over 1,000 rivers flowing through the forest covering an area of 8 million sq. km distributed over 9 countries in South America;

Has large stocks of timber, rubber, Brazil nuts, fisheries, minerals, plants from which essences and oils are extracted for medicinal and cosmetic use, as well as for food;

Covers 4.1 million sq. Km or half of Brazil’s territory, an area equal in size to the combined territory of more than 20 European countries;
Contains about 60 percent of the Amazon rainforest

Contains 23 ecoregions with an yet unknown amount of species found nowhere else; an ecoregion is a landscape unit with specific vegetation cover, fauna and soil types.

More than one third of all species that exist on Earth live in the Amazon region.

the Amazon features one of the greatest genetic diversity on the earth, with at least:

350 different mammal species, such as jaguars, sloths, agoutis and numerous primates

Notes on Amazon Region Protected Area Program (ARPA) (as of 09/19/02, courtesy of WWF):

launched by the Brazilian Government during the recent World Summit Conference on Sustainable Development recently held in Johannesburg, South Africa
main partners: WWF-Brazil, the World Bank and GEF (Global Environment Facility)
will protect 12% of the Brazilian Amazon Forest by 2012
estimated cost of the program is US$ 395 million over the next 10 years
creation of a Fiduciary Fund, generating an income to assure the future maintenance and conservation of the protected areas <--
locations defined in a technical study made by Ibama

located between the Purus and Macauã Rivers and crossed over by the Caetê River
total area of 7.5 thousand sq. km
was defined in the land use plan of the state of Acre (Ecologic Economic Zoning) <-- {cooperation with local government}
an area where biodiversity conservation is carried out together with the sustainable use of natural resources (such as rubber tapping and Brazil nut collection)

45 thousand sq. km (or 4.5 million hectares) of strict use protected areas (such as national parks and biological reserves)
15 thousand sq. km (or 1.5 million hectares) of sustainable development protected areas (such as extractive reserves)
the creation of the 38,867 sq km Tumucumaque National Park, the world’s largest tropical forest park
the creation of the Jatuarana National Forest (in the state of Amazonas), with 8.4 thousand sq. km of area to be used for sustainable timber extraction (not part of ARPA)

Protect 500 thousand sq. km (or 50 million hectares) of Amazon rainforest - an area equal in size to Spain, or twice as big as the United Kingdom, or almost twice the size of the State of Texas, in the USA – by creating a mosaic of strict-use protected areas (national parks, biological reserves and the like) and sustainable use protected areas (extrative reserves and sustainable use reserves, where local communities can improve their income by sustainably exploiting natural resources while maintaining their cultural heritage) as follows:
Creation and implementation of 285 thousand sq. km of new strict-use protected areas;
Creation and implementation of 90 thousand sq. km of new sustainable use protected areas;
Implementation of 125 thousand sq. km of already existing strict-use protected areas;
It means to triple the amount of rainforest already protected in the Brazilian Amazon, from 4% to 12%;
And to protect 3.6% of the world´s remaining tropical forests;

Create a Fiduciary Fund to secure the long-term financial viability of the protected areas. Once protected areas are consolidated, they will be elegible to receive the Fund’s profits to cover their maintenance. It is the first time such fund is created in Brazil;
Establish a participatory scheme open to local communities and other stakeholders to be part of the decision-making process regarding the creation and implementation of protected areas;
Establish a biodiversity monitoring and evaluation system at protected area and regional levels;
ARPA is estimated to cost US$ 395 million;
The World Bank and WWF have committed to raise US$70 million each to help meet the long-term target, in addition to funds already allocated to ARPA’s Phase I.

Create 90 thousand sq. km of new strict-use protected areas, a 75% increase over existing areas;
Create 90 thousand sq. km of new sustainable use protected areas, a 250% increase over existing areas;
Implement 70 thousand sq. km of existing protected areas, benefiting 20 parks and reserves;
Increase the forest area under protection from 4% to 8.4%;
Will cost US$ 81.5 million, with funds provided by the Brazilian Government (US$ 18.1 million), GEF (US$ 30 million), WWF (US$ 16.5 million), German bilateral agency KfW (US$ 14.4 million) other donors (US$ 2.5 million).

95% of its total area (153.149,9 km2) is covered by the Amazonian Forest
location: extreme west of the North Region
population: 527,937 inhabitants (259,537 inhabitants in capital)
density of population: 3.45 inhabitants/km2
economy: cattle ranching, agriculture, rubber and Brazil nuts
principal exports: rubber, timber, Brazil nuts
the Federal Government has defined and regulated several areas devoted to rubber tapping
contribution to GDP: 0.15%
last piece of territory to be annexed to Brazil (formely of Bolivia)
has a free trade area in Brasiléia
trying to develop green tourism
state capital: Rio Branco (starting point of green tourism, there is a half natural, half cultivated forest about 35 kilometres from Rio Branco)
towns: 22, such as Plácido de Castro(The town stands on the banks of the Abunã river and has unspoilt river beaches and a 34 hectare ecological park with 113 species of tropical plants), Vale do Juruá (surrounded by backwaters, river beaches of clear, fine sand, and untouched forest)

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