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Em dezembro de 2018, a empresa de mobilidade urbana 99, em parceria com a ZCO2, neutralizou as emissões de carbono provenientes de corridas realizadas pelo aplicativo. A região escolhida para o piloto dessa iniciativa foi a capital amazonense, Manaus. A partir dos dados levantados, a 99 compensou 100% das viagens registradas na cidade durante um mês.

A estratégia escolhida para colaborar com a conservação do meio ambiente foi o REDD+, mecanismo de valoração de áreas conservadas em florestas tropicais operado pela Biofílica. O lastro da neutralização veio de créditos de carbono da Fazenda Manoa, uma área de 74 mil hectares de vegetação nativa no município de Cujubim, em Rondônia.

As mudanças no uso da terra e a queima de combustíveis fósseis respondem, hoje, pela maior parte das emissões de gases do efeito estufa no Brasil – o que torna essas atividades as principais responsáveis pelo impacto do país para as mudanças climáticas globais. Isso evidencia, portanto, que os esforços de redução de desmatamento e os efeitos do transporte de passageiros para o meio ambiente podem se correlacionar de maneira positiva. É a aposta da 99, que além de incentivar a retirada de automóveis das ruas, promovendo a troca do carro próprio pelo serviço por aplicativo, ainda busca transformar as cidades em ambientes mais sustentáveis para todos.

Year 2019 has brought new perspectives for rural estate environmental regularization. A number of measures were announced in late 2018 by the States and the Union ensuring a more promising years for the owner wishing to regularize their estate with higher legal safety.

The main novelty was the regulation of the Environmental Reserve Quotas – CRA by Decree no. 9.640/2018, consisting of registered securities to the areas with existing native vegetation or in process of recovery exceeding the legal reserve of such property.

Biofílica has actively followed up the draft reparation and traded Environmental Reserve Quotas, and it counts on support from the specialized technical and legal staff for assistance to physical persons or legal entities in the acquisition process of the rights to use the CRA, or the rural estate owner who will offer their native vegetation area.

O ano de 2019 trouxe novas perspectivas para a regularização ambiental dos imóveis rurais. Uma série de medidas foram anunciadas no final de 2018 pelos estados e união que garantem um ano mais promissor para o proprietário que deseja regularizar seu imóvel com maior segurança jurídica.

A principal novidade foi a regulamentação das Cotas de Reserva Ambiental – CRA pelo Decreto nº 9.640/2018, que são títulos nominativos representativos de áreas com vegetação nativa existente ou em processo de recuperação excedentes à reserva legal daquela propriedade.

A Biofílica, que acompanhou ativamente a elaboração da minuta e comercializa Cotas de Reserva Ambiental, possui apoio do corpo técnico e jurídico especializado para auxiliar a pessoa física ou jurídica no processo de aquisição dos direitos de utilização da CRA ou o proprietário do imóvel rural que irá ofertar sua área de vegetação nativa.

Ipiranga offsets its direct and indirect emissions of greenhouse gases (GEE) generated by its operations¹. The company’s journey to combat global warming began in 2007 when they considered the emissions of its clients in this account, creating the Ipiranga’s Carbon Zero Program. The company started to offer, among its products and services, offsetting options also for gases from the burning fuel sold at its gas stations, and for that, Ipiranga has acquired more than 350,000 tons of CO2 equivalent so far.

The calculation is based on the following correlation: one tonne of CO2 thrown into the atmosphere is equivalent to one carbon credit which is obtained from some carbon-fixing mechanism on the planet. It is the purchase of verified carbon credits that guarantees to Ipiranga and its clients participating on Carbon Zero Program the zero balance of their emissions. Since 2016, the company’s strategy has been based on the incentive of REDD+², a mechanism that attributes price to conservation of forests that suffer of deforestation pressure. Through Biofílica’s projects, the deforestation avoided on native areas of the Amazon Rainforest is today the source of the offsets made available by Ipiranga to its clients.

The offsetting options are diverse and client’s engagement is ever-increasing. It is possible to offset the emissions of the vehicles themselves from purchases at Ipiranga’s gas stations with the Ipiranga’s Carbon Zero Credit Card; through the “Kilometers of Benefits” program; and also, for purchases of fuel already offset through the “Gas Station on the Web” – digital store to buy fuel on Ipiranga’s website. Only in 2017 were more than 50,000 clients engaged, demonstrating that the sum of small interventions is a powerful strategy on the combat against climate change.

Check this video out: Ipiranga’s Expedition on the Amazon Rainforest

The Rio Preto Jacundá Extractive Reserve, located northeast of the state of Rondônia, is home to 130 traditional residents, whose livelihood is based on extractive activities and small-scale agriculture. Despite all the natural wealth in the forest, community members live below the poverty line, dependent on government aid programs and under threat of security in their territory.

The REDD + Jacundá project is a collective construction of the Association of Residents of the Reserve, the NGO Rioterra, Secretariat of Environmental Development (SEDAM) of Rondônia and Biofílica, so that the community members seek greater management and economic autonomy of the Reserve. In order for them to become protagonists of the decision-making process and to contribute directly to the conservation of the Reserve biodiversity, several workshops have been carried out in a long-term and cyclical process of diagnosis, training, awareness raising, collective planning and, which begins now, execution of the activities.

To reach this moment, two important workshops were held to define the community’s “Life Plan” and the “Mechanism of Benefit Sharing and Conflict Resolution” of the REDD + Project.

The Life Plan of the residents of the Reserve, based on an analysis of the local reality and the definition of beliefs, values and principles, aims to guide the elaboration of a Work Plan that responds to the needs and yearnings of the community. The residents were motivated to speak and reflect on the local reality in relation to socio-environmental, cultural, political and economic issues, resulting in the construction of an Action Plan that reflects the community’s many wishes such as the rescue of popular medicine and preventive health, income, investments in education and technical training, housing improvements, inclusion of young people, greater participation of women, environmental conservation, among others.

The workshop for collective construction of the benefit sharing mechanism sought to form the basis to be aligned with the community’s aspirations and be conducted in a transparent and participatory manner. The main pillars defined by the community for the creation of the Benefit Sharing Mechanism were: Alignment with the demands of the Reserve, ensuring social, ecological, cultural and economic viability of the extractive way of life; Encouragement of gender empowerment and cultural empowerment; Promotion of investments in infrastructure, communication, education, and income generation; and, collegial management and committed to community aspirations. In addition, it was defined that governance will be strengthened by the experience of the partneing institutions – Asmorex, Biofílica, CES Rioterra, SEDAM and UNIR – via a Management Council that will meet periodically and guide the activities of the Project.

These workshops were decisive for the project structuring process, as well as being a sample of how project management will be conducted in the coming years: encouraging social empowerment to provide a significant improvement in community life quality and reconciling socioeconomic development with Environmental conservation.

A Biofílica, em parceria com o Grupo Jari, desenvolve dois projetos de carbono florestais nas áreas do grupo localizadas nos municípios de Laranjal do Jari, Vitória do Jari e Almerim, na divisa do estado do Pará com o Amapá. Enquanto o Projeto REDD+ Jari Pará, com área de 916 mil hectares, encontra-se na fase inicial de desenvolvimento, o Projeto REDD+ Jari Amapá, com área de 220 mil hectares, já verificou três safras (2011, 2012 e 2013) de créditos certificados pelo Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) e validados pelo Climate, Community and Biodiversity Standard (CCBS). O Projeto REDD+ Jari Amapá evita o desmatamento de mais de 11 mil hectares de floresta que seriam convertidos ao longo de 30 anos, e assim evita emissões na grandeza de 3,45 milhões tCO2e a atmosfera.

As vendas dos créditos de carbono florestais do Projeto REDD+ Jari Amapá tem sua remuneração revertida na promoção de agricultura familiar sustentável para 50 famílias de 8 comunidades da região do projeto. Desde o início do projeto áreas de pastagem e culturas agrícolas improdutivas deram lugar a Sistemas Agroflorestais mais eficientes e áreas de regeneração florestal, a partir do fornecimento de suporte técnico, elaboração de Planos de Uso das áreas, e acesso a insumos e equipamentos aos agricultores da região. Além disso, parte da receita dos créditos de carbono é investida em pesquisas científicas em biodiversidade: a área abriga pelo menos 2.800 espécies de flora e aproximadamente 2.000 espécies de fauna, sendo 150 destas ameaçadas de extinção. Este fato confere o nível ouro em biodiversidade do Climate, Community and Biodiversity Standard (CCBS) ao projeto.

Neste contexto, o dois Projetos REDD+ Jari fazem sobreposição com a Reserva Nacional do Cobre e seus Associados (RENCA). Esta área, com cerca de 4,6 milhões de hectares, teve recente notoriedade internacional devido ao temporário decreto emitido pelo presidente da república determinando a extinção da reserva mineral estatal com o objetivo de regularizar a exploração mineral na área por empresas do setor privado. Após discussões entre diferentes agentes da sociedade, o governo brasileiro decidiu revogar o decreto de extinção da RENCA.  Este acontecimento expos a notável riqueza de recursos naturais da área e fez surgir discussões sobre a sua exploração e seus prováveis impactos irreversíveis à biodiversidade local.

As iniciativas de REDD+ nesta região fazem contraponto a atividades de grande impacto ambiental, como a mineração, a partir da promoção da conservação florestal, reduzindo as emissões de gases de efeito estufa (GEE) e promovendo o desenvolvimento socioeconômico local sustentável, os quais valorizam a “floresta em pé” por meio do pagamento por serviços ambientais gerados pela redução do desmatamento e a degradação florestal.

Biofílica, in partnership with the Jari Group, develops two forest carbon projects in the areas of the group located in the cities of Laranjal do Jari, Vitória do Jari and Almerim, on the border of the state of Pará with Amapá. While the Jari Pará REDD+ Project, with an area of 916,000 hectares, is in the initial phase of development, the Jari Amapá REDD+ Project, with an area of 220,000 hectares, has already verified three vintages (2011, 2012 and 2013) of certified credits by the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) and validated by the Climate, Community and Biodiversity Standard (CCBS). The Jari Amapá REDD+ Project avoids the deforestation of more than 11,000 hectares of forest that would be converted over 30 years, thus it avoids emissions in the greatness of 3.45 million tCO2e to the atmosphere.

The sales of the forest carbon credits from Jari Amapá REDD+ Project have their remuneration reverted in promoting sustainable family agriculture to 50 families in 8 communities in the project region. Since the beginning of the project, pasture and unproductive crops areas were replaced to more efficient agroforestry systems and to forest regeneration, through the provision of technical support, elaboration of Land Use Plans and giving access to inputs and equipment to farmers. Furthermore, part of the carbon credits revenue is invested in scientific research in biodiversity: the area shelters at least 2,800 species of flora and approximately 2,000 fauna species which 150 of these are endangered of extinction. This fact confers the gold label on Biodiversity of the Climate, Community and Biodiversity Standard (CCBS) to the project.

In this context, both Jari REDD+ Projects overlap with the National Reserve of Copper and its Associates (RENCA). This area, with around 4.6 million hectares, had recent international notoriety due to the temporary decree issued by the Brazilian president determining the extinction of the state mineral reserve to regularize the mineral exploration of the area by private sector companies. After discussions between different agents of society, the Brazilian president decided to repeal the decree of extinction of RENCA. This event exposed the remarkable wealth of natural resources in the area and led to discussions about their exploration and its probable irreversible impacts on local biodiversity.

REDD+ initiatives in this region make a counterpoint to large environmental impact activities, such as mining, through the forest conservation which reduces emissions of greenhouse gases and promotes sustainable socio-economic local development which valorize the “standing forest” by payment for environmental services generated by the reduction of deforestation and forest degradation.

As Reservas Extrativistas surgiram como solução para vários problemas ambientais. Suas origens estão nas comunidades de seringueiros que assumiram, no ambiente amazônico, durante as décadas de 70 e 80, o papel de soldados da floresta. Entendemos que o objetivo da criação das Reservas Extrativistas era de garantir a manutenção da população tradicional no seu modo de vida baseado no extrativismo dos recursos naturais, além de aproveitar a ocupação dessas áreas para garantir a proteção da biodiversidade principalmente da Floresta Amazônica.

A Reserva Estadual Extrativista Rio Preto Jacundá foi criada pelo Decreto Estadual nº 7.336, de 17 de janeiro de 1996, sendo declarada de interesse ecológico e social, em benefício e uso de sua população autóctone, isto é, os povos da floresta, que estão representados na Resex por famílias de extrativistas, como espaço territorial destinado à exploração autossustentável e conservação dos recursos naturais renováveis. Hoje, após algumas modificações de ordem legal, possui área demarcada de 95.300 hectares, estando localizada no município de Machadinho D’Oeste, próxima à fronteira interestadual de Rondônia com o Amazonas.

No ano de 2001, foi fundada a Associação dos moradores da Resex Rio Preto Jacundá (Asmorex), com o objetivo de proporcionar representatividade jurídica à população extrativista da Resex, além de viabilizar o acesso as políticas públicas e projetos que pudessem beneficiar os moradores locais. Mesmo diante de tais possibilidades, enfrentamos muitas dificuldades para desenvolver nossas atividades, em função da ausência de conhecimento e capacitação de nosso povo na condução da associação.

Em setembro de 2011, participando de um seminário na cidade de Porto Velho, realizado pelo CES Rioterra, vislumbramos a oportunidade de implantar o projeto REDD+ na Resex, através da Biofílica, o que hoje é uma realidade. Foram mais de cinco anos de uma batalha conjunta entre Asmorex, Comunidades da Resex, Biofílica e CES Rioterra na elaboração minuciosa de um projeto promissor, que visualizamos atualmente com um olhar otimista, por meio dos seus resultados positivos.

A realidade atual da Resex, apesar de um horizonte de possibilidades através do projeto REDD+, é também desafiadora, uma vez que estamos diante de uma forte pressão por parte de invasores que tentam a qualquer custo se apossarem da área, causando temor aos habitantes de origem da Resex. De qualquer forma, apesar das autoridades de fiscalização do Estado estarem cumprindo o seu papel, este trabalho têm sido insuficiente nos últimos anos, refletindo em um aumento considerável no desmatamento recente.

Outro desafio é o resgate e manutenção da identidade cultural do nosso povo, devido ao contexto atual inovador, as relações interpessoais com populações migratórias do entorno, e até mesmo dos centros urbanos acessíveis, que tem causado forte influência nos costumes e tradições das nossas comunidades extrativistas.

Vejo o projeto de REDD+ da Resex Rio Preto Jacundá como uma oportunidade para fomentar a Resex em sua amplitude social, cultural, ecológica e econômica, além de desenvolver uma estratégia de proteção do território em parceria com o Estado de Rondônia. Acredito muito em Deus e no projeto de REDD+ Resex Rio Preto Jacundá, que nossos objetivos serão alcançados e ao mesmo tempo seremos gratos e orgulhosos do nosso trabalho e dos parceiros, que depositaram em nós sua confiança na construção de uma árdua, mas louvável estratégia de bem comum, a conciliação Homem e Natureza.

José Pinheiro Borges

Comunitário extrativista residente na RESEX Rio Preto Jacundá

Protected areas have emerged as a solution to several environmental problems. Its origins are in the communities of rubber tappers who, during the 70s and 80s, assumed the role of forest guardians in the Amazon. We believe that the objective of the creation of a Protected Area was to guarantee the survival of traditional populations in their way of life based on collecting natural resources, besides occupying these areas to guarantee the protection of the Amazon Forest biodiversity.

The Rio Preto Jacundá Protected Area was created by the State Decree  7,336, dated January 17^th, 1996, and declared the region as of ecological and social interest for the benefit and use of its native population, that is, the forest peoples, in the case, rubber tappers. It is a territorial space destined to self-sustaining exploitation and conservation of renewable natural resources. Today, after some legal modifications, it has a determined an area of 95,300 hectares, being located in the municipality of Machadinho D’Oeste, near the interstate border of Rondônia and Amazonas.

In 2001, the Resex Rio Preto Jacundá Residents’ Association (Asmorex) was founded, with the objective of providing legal representation to the Protected Area’s extractive population, in addition to enable engagement with public policies and projects that could benefit local residents. Even in the face of such possibilities, we face many difficulties in developing our activities, due to the lack of knowledge and qualification of our people in conducting the Association.

In September 2011, participating in a seminar in the city of Porto Velho, held by CES Rioterra, we envisioned the opportunity to implement the REDD+ project  with Biofílica, which is now a reality. It was more than five years of a joint battle between Asmorex, communities, Biofílica and CES Rioterra in the elaboration of a promising project, which we are currently looking at with optimism, through its positive results.

The current reality, despite a horizon of possibilities through the REDD+ Project, is also challenging, since we are facing strong pressure from invaders who try at any cost to get hold of the area, causing fear to the inhabitants of origin of the Area. In any case, although State enforcement authorities are fulfilling their role, this work has been insufficient in recent years, reflecting a considerable increase in recent deforestation.

Another challenge is to rescue and maintain the cultural identity of our people, due to the current innovative context, interpersonal relationships with surrounding migrant populations, and even accessible urban centers, which has strongly influenced the customs and traditions of our extractive communities.

I see the REDD+ project of Resex Rio Preto Jacundá as an opportunity to foster the Area in its social, cultural, ecological and economic scope, in addition to being a territorial protection strategy in partnership with the State of Rondônia. I believe in God and in the REDD+ project of Rio Preto Jacundá, that our goals will be achieved and at the same time we will be grateful and proud of our work and our partners, who have placed in us their confidence in the construction of an arduous but praiseworthy common good strategy, the reconciliation of Man and Nature.

José Pinheiro Borges

Community extractive resident at Resex Rio Preto Jacundá

Located in the municipality of Cujubim in Rondônia, the Manoa REDD+ Project has an area of approximately 74,000 hectares of native forest, creating an important forest mosaic next to Protected Areas. The corridor includes the Resex Rio Preto Jacundá, where Biofílica also develops a REDD+ Project.

Biodiversity conservation is of special relevance to the region, since the state of Rondônia has already had its area deforested by more than 50%¹. In addition to being highly deforested, it is continuously shows a trend of deforestation, standing out as the most deforested state in 2016 in absolute terms².

The disordered deforestation of the last decades has a strong relationship with invasions of protected areas and private areas, resulting mainly from land ownership fragility and low efficiency of inspections by the state. Due to the process of forest fragmentation, which has been increasing year by year, large forest remnants, as the Manoa project area, became increasingly essential for the maintenance of biodiversity in the region.

Studies already carried out in the area with Biofílica financing have identified a great wealth of fauna, including species at high risk of extinction. Some species registered in the area were highlighted due to endemic characteristics and restricted distribution, which reinforce the importance of the conservation of this ecosystem. Among the main species recorded are: Hypocnemis ochrogyna (cantador-ocráceo), Amazilia rondoniae (beija-flor-de-cabeça-azul), Ateles chamek (macaco-aranha-de-cara-preta), Mico rondoni (sagui-de-rondônia) e Panthera onca (onça-pintada).

In addition to the registration of vulnerable and even rare species (sagui-de-Rondônia), a site with special aspects was identified in the project area, called “salt licks or clay pits”. The salt licks are areas with less vegetation and exposed soil containing large amounts of nutrients. They are attractive for the fauna, because the animals practice the geophagia (ingestion of soil), that contributes in the complementation of the feeding. These areas are considered environments of extreme importance for biodiversity, in addition to indicating a high level of conservation on the site.

In this scenario, Biofílica understands that the Sustainable Forest Management, with low-impact and certified by FSC, coupled with the potential for carbon credits generated by the REDD+ project, are essential for the conservation of local biodiversity and the generation of scientific knowledge, whose benefits go a long way beyond the borders of the forest.