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Brazil
>> Regional Overview >> Brazil Overview Activity Data Sheet
PROGRAM: BRAZIL
TITLE AND NUMBER: Environmentally and socioeconomically sustainable alternatives for sound land use adopted beyond target areas, 512-001
PLANNED FY 2001 OBLIGATION AND ACCOUNT: $ 5,000,000 (DA)
PROPOSED FY 2002 OBLIGATION AND ACCOUNT: $ 2,380,000 (DA)
STATUS: Continuing
INITIAL OBLIGATION: FY 1998 ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: FY 2003Summary: USAID's environment program impacts two of the Agency's Strategic Objectives: biological diversity conserved and threat of global climate change (GCC) reduced. The program activities serve the dual purposes of conserving biodiversity while reducing forest loss, thereby reducing the threat of climate change. This strategic objective (SO) has a global focus split evenly between biodiversity conservation and climate change. USAID seeks win-win solutions to achieve sustainable management of natural resources and effective conservation in four of Brazil's globally important ecosystems: the Amazon, the Atlantic Coastal forest, the Pantanal wetlands and the Cerrado (savanna). That is, concerns over greenhouse gas emissions aside, it is still crucial to implement actions designed to stem biodiversity loss from forest conversion and burning. The program is increasingly responsive to private sector and local governmental and civil society needs. USAID is taking the lead in informing Brazilian society on reduced-impact forest management, on-farm conservation opportunities and fire mobilization approaches.
The program focuses on: 1) protected area management in two major national parks, one extractive reserve, one national forest, one state-protected area, and the buffer zone surrounding one biological reserve; 2) reduced-impact forest management alternatives in the timber harvesting region in the Eastern Amazon; 3) fire science and management to reduce the effects of uncontrolled burning on local biodiversity and global warming; 4) provision of information and training support for the preparedness and mobilization of rural dwellers to deal effectively with fires; 5) natural resource policy and environmental education with federal, state, and local officials and land managers; 6) capacity building of local organizations and NGOs; and 7) agroforestry alternatives for restoring productivity to degraded, cleared areas, developed through a participatory approach with small landholders. Direct beneficiaries are rural communities, especially poor forest dwellers and recent settlers. USAID-supported actions also benefit Brazilian society at large by assuring that the resource base is maintained for future generations. Benefits will ultimately be felt at the international level from protecting tropical forests and biodiversity, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Key Results: Results continue to be achieved at the SO level in the number of conservation units adopting sustainable management systems. Target policies are meeting planned benchmarks and dissemination efforts continue to reach a much larger audience than anticipated. In addition, the following are some additional key accomplishments resulting from program activities that are not apparent from the performance tables: - Overwhelming public pressure was brought to bear by the quick actions of USAID grantees and resulted in abandonment of attempts to weaken on-farm forest reserve provisions of Brazil's Forest Code. - Wide publicity of USAID-funded studies of possible dire ecological impacts of the "Avança Brasil" Amazon road building plan resulted in a commitment by the Brazilian Government to perform a comprehensive "strategic impact" assessment of the $40 billion infrastructure investment program, rather than previously planned piecemeal impact assessments of individual projects. - A total of 371 managers and practitioners were trained in sustainable forest management techniques in the only training program of its kind in the Brazilian Amazon. - The State of Mato Grosso do Sul established the first-ever state parks in the Pantanal and Cerrado (savanna) after a USAID grantee committed $1 million in matching funds for land acquisition.
Performance and Prospects: A program impact assessment was conducted in late 2000 to provide a review of the effectiveness of programmatic efforts in the environment in meeting USAID Strategic Objectives and the Mission Program Plan, as well as to conduct an analysis of gaps and opportunities for the next strategic planning period. This impact assessment resulted in the draft report, "A framework for discussing the 2004-2008 strategic plan of the USAID environment program." The assessment team documented significant impacts in the areas of technology transfer, organizational development, training and human resources, information, education, communication, advocacy and networking. The report points out that the program consistently has a much greater impact beyond target areas than planned, and highlights USAID's support for training as having had a vast and traceable impact that continues to grow. The assessment report notes USAID's flexibility, creativity, and speed of reaction to mobilize diverse actors to deal with environmental problems and policy opportunities.
A critical project evaluation of activities under the grant to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), USAID's largest grantee, was carried out in September 2000. WWF activities supported by USAID were assessed in eight areas: protected area management, biodiversity policy, forest management, environmental education, radio dissemination of conservation lessons, training for conservation professionals, ecotourism, and organizational development. The greatest strengths were found in the first six areas, with weaknesses found in organizational development and commercial aspects of the extractive reserve activity. Based on these lessons learned USAID will continue support to ensure implementation of activities in the extractive reserve to gain knowledge on replicable models of economically sustainable development. The evaluation also documents WWF public policy impacts well beyond the original design of the project, best exemplified by their success in countering attempts to undermine Brazil's Forest Code.
In FY 2001, USAID's $5,000,000 environment program funds will be distributed as follows: $2,075,000 to support development and improvement of conservation units, private reserve management and sustainable forest management techniques, such as reduced-impact harvesting alternatives and fire management; $2,210,000 to strengthen institutional capacity and provide training on sustainable forest management and fire preparedness; $240,000 to support policy-related activities that promote environmental enforcement and compliance; and $475,000 to support dissemination of successful models for alternatives to deforestation and lessons learned through media, education, policy dialogue and advocacy. In FY 2002, activities will continue with the following modifications: forest management, $1,500,000; institutional capacity building, $217,000; support to policy activities, $205,000; and dissemination, $458,000, for a total of $2,380,000.
Possible Adjustments to Plans: The program impact assessment and framework for discussing the FY 2003-2007 Strategic Plan made it clear that several of the options for expanded impact of the environment program are, in fact, already evolving under the current strategy. For example, USAID has expanded efforts in fire mobilization and detection technology and will continue to explore fire preparedness options beyond our current support for fire mobilization carried out by the Amazon Working Group under the auspices of the PPG-7. USAID will explore opportunities and funding options for an additional Pilot Program contribution by the U.S. Government (USG), should Brazilian environmental agencies join forces with civil society and local governments to develop a comprehensive fire and deforestation prevention project.
During the next 12 months, evaluations are planned for The Nature Conservancy/The Wildlife Research and Environmental Education Society (TNC/SPVS) Guaraqueçaba (Paraná) Atlantic Forest project and the Conservation International/Institute for Socio-environmental Studies of Southern Bahia (CI/IESB) Atlantic Forest project. An exchange of personnel between these two projects will be encouraged so that CI/IESB personnel can learn about forest carbon management while TNC/SPVS personnel can learn about mitigating impacts of road construction in sensitive areas.
Other Donor Programs: The $350 million Pilot Program to Conserve the Brazilian Rain Forest (PPG-7), under a new Government of Brazil (GOB)-World Bank managed partnership instituted in 2000, is funded through contributions from Germany, $150 million; European Union, $79 million; United Kingdom, $28 million; GOB, $51 million; Japan, $7 million; the Netherlands, $10 million; Italy, $4 million; and France, $2 million; as well as the U.S. commitment of $20 million to the multi-year program (1992-2004). USAID represents the USG at regular meetings of the PPG-7 Donor Coordination Committee and the Joint Steering Committee.
USAID consultations with the Dutch Embassy in Brasília resulted in a new Dutch program to train NGO and local government leaders in environmental management at the municipal level. USAID has sponsored discussions with other donors and the GOB for the joint funding of the Permanent Forest Management Training Center, a center for reduced impact harvesting, in the Amazon.
USAID grantees and sub-grantees continue to receive support from a wide range of foundations, grant-making agencies, multilateral donors, and private firms: W. Alton Jones Foundation, Avina Foundation, Ford Foundation, Conservation, Food and Health Foundation, Conservation International's Center for Applied Biodiversity Science, the WWF/US Russell E. Train Education for Nature program, Catholic Committee of France, Brazilian Agricultural Research Enterprise's competitive grants program, Brazilian Ministry of Environment's Conservation and Sustainable Use of Brazilian Biodiversity Project (Probio), Brazilian Fund for Biodiversity, Brazilian Ministry of Science and Technology's National Research Council, the Inter-American Development Bank (Prodetur and Proecotur), PPG-7 demonstration grants project and ecological corridors project, German Government (GTZ and KfW), British DfID, European Community, World Bank Development Research Group, Global Environment Facility mid-size grant program, and M&M Mars company.
Principal Contractors, Grantees, or Agencies: USAID implements its activities through U.S. private voluntary organizations such as WWF, TNC, and CI, and U.S. research and vocational training organizations such as Woods Hole Research Center (WHRC) and the Tropical Forest Foundation (TFF) and its Brazilian affiliate Fundação Floresta Tropical; USG agencies such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service and the Smithsonian Institution; and several U.S. academic institutions (University of Florida and the State University of New York at Albany) in cooperation with local partners.
Brazil 512-001
Performance Measures:
Indicator FY97
(Actual)FY98
(Actual)FY99
(Actual)FY00
(Actual)FY00
(Plan)FY01
(Plan)FY02
(Plan)Indicator 1: Number of families outside target area who have adopted improved sustainable management systems NA 206 524 820 506 656 726 Indicator 2: Number of total persons trained NA 5,582 8,621 11,885 9,153 11,459 13,765 Indicator 3: National and local policies which support biodiversity conservation and natural resources management implemented and/or policy implementation improved NA 9 13 20 18 21 21 Indicator 4: Number of conservation units (CUs) in which government or private owners adopt aspects of sustainable management systems in addition to target areas NA 6 12 15 16 22 27 Indicator Information:
Indicator Level (S)or(IR) Unit of Measure Source Indicator Description Indicator 1: S Number of families (cumulative) USAID partners (UF, WHRC, CI) The focus of this indicator is on the adoption of sustainable management systems in areas bordering USAID-supported target areas. FY 1999 Congressional Presentation showed baselines of FY1996-FY1997 (previous SO1 Strategy) because they refer to on-going activities. Baselines have been changed to reflect correct period of current strategy (FY1998-FY2003).
Actual figures were revised due to tabulation errors that were detected during the recent audit, which resulted in partners' efforts to perform a data quality assessment.
Targets were also revised.
Indicator 2: IR Number of persons trained (cumulative) Partners' reports (CI, UF, WHRC, WWF, TFF, USFS and Smithsonian) This indicator measures how many people have been trained under USAID training initiatives. FY 1999 Congressional Presentation showed baselines of FY1996-FY1997 (previous SO1 Strategy) because they refer to on-going activities. Baselines have been changed to reflect correct period of current strategy (FY1998-FY2003).
Actual figures were revised due to tabulation errors that were detected during the recent audit, which resulted in partners' efforts to perform a data quality assessment.
Targets were also revised
Indicator 3: IR Number of policy-related activities that have met at least 50% of pre-established steps. (cumulative*) USAID partners (CI, FS, UF, WHRC, WWF) This indicator is used to report the progress of selected policy-related initiatives supported by USAID. FY 1999 Congressional Presentation showed baselines of FY1996-FY1997 (previous SO1 Strategy) because they refer to on-going activities. Baselines have been changed to reflect correct period of current strategy (FY1998-FY2003) .
Actual figures were revised due to tabulation errors that were detected during the recent audit, which resulted in partners' efforts to perform a data quality assessment.
Targets were also revised.
Indicator 4: S Number of conservation units (cumulative) USAID partners (CI, FS, TNC, WWF) This indicator is used to report on the adoption of sustainable management practices in those CUs that do not directly benefit from the USAID program (i.e., potential for replication). FY 1999 Congressional Presentation showed baselines of FY1996-FY1997 (previous SO1 Strategy) because they refer to on-going activities. Baselines have been changed to reflect correct period of current strategy (FY1998-FY2003) . ** Actual figures were revised due to tabulation errors that were detected during the recent audit, which resulted in partners' efforts to perform a data quality assessment.
Targets were also revised
U.S. Financing
(In thousands of dollars)
Obligations Expenditures Unliquidated Through September 30, 1999 17,550 DA 11,453 DA 6,097 DA 0 CSD 0 CSD 0 CSD 0 ESF 0 ESF 0 ESF 0 SEED 0 SEED 0 SEED 0 FSA 0 FSA 0 FSA 0 DFA 0 DFA 0 DFA Fiscal Year 2000 7,352 DA 7,820 DA 0 CSD 0 CSD 0 ESF 0 ESF 0 SEED 0 SEED 0 FSA 0 FSA 0 DFA 0 DFA Through September 30, 2000 24,902 DA 19,273 DA 5,629 DA 0 CSD 0 CSD 0 CSD 0 ESF 0 ESF 0 ESF 0 SEED 0 SEED 0 SEED 0 FSA 0 FSA 0 FSA 0 DFA 0 DFA 0 DFA Prior Year Unobligated Funds 0 DA 0 CSD 0 ESF 0 SEED 0 FSA 0 DFA Planned Fiscal Year 2001 NOA 5,000 DA 0 CSD 0 ESF 0 SEED 0 FSA 0 DFA Total Planned Fiscal Year 2001 5,000 DA 0 CSD 0 ESF 0 SEED 0 FSA 0 DFA Future Obligations Est. Total Cost Proposed Fiscal Year 2002 NOA 2,380 DA 0 DA 32,282 DA 0 CSD 0 CSD 0 CSD 0 ESF 0 ESF 0 ESF 0 SEED 0 SEED 0 SEED 0 FSA 0 FSA 0 FSA 0 DFA 0 DFA 0 DFA
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Last Updated on: May 29, 2002 |
