Meio Ambiente

The Brazilian minister of the Environment, Carlos Minc, announced last Friday (7), in Rio de Janeiro, during an Amazon Fund Guidance Committee (Cofa) meeting, that 67 sustainable development projects have already applied for financial support from Brazil's Development Bank (Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social/BNDES), in charge of Amazon Fund management. Most of the projects applying for support are from the state of Pará, followed closely by others from the state of Amazonas. Three have already been accepted, and another six await approval.

The minister said that it is extremely important to approve "good projects" which may attract new donations to the Fund. Up to now, the one-year-old Amazon Fund has already received R$ 200 million.

Minc praised Brazilian federal government's efforts to combat deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest, and said that around 90% of them involve repressing environmental crimes - such as prohibiting "pirate cattle" ranching in illegally deforested land, credit cancellation for those who deforest and a threefold increase in supervision.

The minister also mentioned Brazil's Green Arc Operation, which offers sustainable development alternatives to regions most affected by deforestation in the Amazon.

According to Minc, around 10% of actions taken against deforestation involve implementing sustainable development. He said he had "great hopes" that this number may rise to 40% next year.

"The war against deforestation will be lost if we cannot create a different basis for economy in the Amazon, within a model of sustainable development", said the minister.

Amazon Fund - The purpose of the Amazon Fund is to provide an incentive for Brazil and other developing countries with tropical forests to continue to increase voluntary reductions of the greenhouse gas emissions which result from forest deforestation and degradation, as proposed by the Brazilian delegation to the 12th Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Nairobi, Kenya, 2006. It was created by Brazil's Decree Nº 6.527 on August 1st, 2008.

The Fund is managed by the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES), which is also in charge of fundraising, project selection and contracting, as well as project monitoring and evaluation.

As well as its Guidance Committee, responsible for setting the guidelines and following up on achievements, the Amazon Fund holds a Technical Committee (CTFA), for attesting the quantity of greenhouse gas emission reductions from deforestation and forest degradation.

The capital of the Amazon Fund is made up of donations and the liquid income from overnight investment of its cash balances. The only securities where the fund's resources can be invested are treasury bonds.