{"id":12744,"date":"2015-06-16T17:58:33","date_gmt":"2015-06-16T21:58:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.idesam.org.br\/?p=8404"},"modified":"2015-06-16T17:58:33","modified_gmt":"2015-06-16T21:58:33","slug":"english-amazon-governors-ngos-slam-brazil-feds-and-demand-more-active-participatory-role-in-developing-redd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/idesam.org\/en\/english-amazon-governors-ngos-slam-brazil-feds-and-demand-more-active-participatory-role-in-developing-redd\/","title":{"rendered":"(English) Amazon Governors, NGOs Slam Brazil Feds And Demand More Active, Participatory Role In Developing REDD+"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brazil slashed its greenhouse gas emissions more than any other country by reeling in its once-rampant deforestation. Now that REDD+ is a reality, the governors of those states have renewed their calls for direct subnational payments \u2013 and at least 30 NGOs are on their side. <\/em><\/p>\n

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Author: Steve Zwick, from Ecosystem Marketplace<\/span><\/em>
\n Image: Lucas Ninno \/ GCom<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

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11 June 2015 | BONN | Germany |<\/strong> Even before climate negotiators here signed off on the last stubborn bits of text<\/a> needed to complete the REDD+ package under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), governors of the states comprising Brazil\u2019s portion of the Amazon warned that economic pressures and poor governance were endangering the country\u2019s stunning 70% reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. It\u2019s an argument they’ve made before, but this time they have the backing of more than 30 environmental non-governmental organizations (NGOs).<\/p>\n

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The governors made their case on May 29, on the eve of mid-year climate talks began in Bonn, when the nine-member Forum of Governors of the Legal Amazon (F\u00f3rum dos Governadores dos Estados da Amaz\u00f4nia Legal<\/em>) issued the \u201cCuiab\u00e1 Letter,\u201d which will be delivered to President Dilma Rousseff this month. The letter calls for direct state access to international funds for REDD+, recognition of the stock-flux approach for sharing REDD+ benefits in Brazil, and more state participation in the construction of the National REDD+ Strategy, which has been in limbo since 2010.<\/p>\n

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Then, on June 10, the penultimate day of the Bonn talks, the Brazilian Climate Observatory (Observat\u00f3rio do Clima<\/em><\/a> \/ OC) \u2013 a coalition of 30 NGOs \u2013 threw its support behind the governors and issued a scathing attack on Brazil\u2019s REDD+ strategy. The OC\u2019s statement \u2013 headlined \u201cBrazil, a Role Model for Redd+… Not!\u201d \u2013 was broader in scope than the governors\u2019 letter, but it also warned that the country\u2019s stunning reduction in deforestation was in danger of backsliding if its approach to REDD+ isn\u2019t overhauled.<\/p>\n

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Both documents praise Brazil\u2019s 70% reduction in emissions from deforestation, which the documents attribute in part to participation in and anticipation of early-start, voluntary REDD+ programs funneled through the Amazon Fund.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe Brazilian leadership on REDD+, as well as the fate of its accomplishments in the Amazon, is in jeopardy, for a number of reasons,\u201d said the OC release. \u201cPresident Dilma Rousseff\u2019s administration is doing a poor job on safeguarding forests, on protecting the rights of indigenous peoples and traditional communities, on allowing cash flows to subnational governments and on ensuring transparency and accountability in REDD+ rules.\u201d<\/p>\n

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We\u2019ve Done Our Part, Now Show us the Money!<\/strong><\/p>\n

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The Cuiab\u00e1 Letter is subtitled \u201cPact For The Valuation of the Forest and Reduction of Emissions from Deforestation (REDD+) in the Brazilian Legal Amazon,\u201d and it was signed by representatives from nine states: six governors \u2013 Ti\u00e3o Viana of Acre, Pedro Taques of Mato Grosso, Waldez G\u00f3es of Amap\u00e1, Jos\u00e9 Melo de Oliveira of Amazonas, Marcelo de Carvalho Miranda of Tocantins and Maria Suely Silva Campos of Roraima \u2013 and three deputy governors: Carlos Brand\u00e3o of Maranh\u00e3o, Daniel Pereira of Rond\u00f4nia and Jos\u00e9 da Cruz Marinho of Par\u00e1.<\/p>\n

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It echoes the 2009 Cuiab\u00e1 Declaration, which preceded the Copenhagen climate talks that enshrined REDD+ in the UNFCCC. That Declaration was also signed by all the governors of the Amazon states, and it also called for a more decentralized approach to REDD+ governance. But REDD+ did not yet exist under the UNFCCC at the time.<\/p>\n

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Much of the letter focused on Fundo Amaz\u00f4nia (the Amazon Fund), to which the government of Norway has already committed US$1 billion this year, with additional money coming from the German Government and Petrobras. Of the Norwegian money, US$882 million has already been disbursed to finance emission reductions, using a default value of US$5 per tonne, or roughly 206 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2), which the letter said is the equivalent of just 4.9% of total REDD+ generated in the Amazon.<\/p>\n

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The Missing REDD+ Strategy<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Both the governors and the OC said the federal government was blocking participation in the creation of a national REDD+ Strategy. \u201cIt has been promised three times by the government since 2010, and the last draft of such strategy was leaked to civil society in December 2012,\u201d the OC’s statement said. \u201cSince then it has not seen the light. The government plans to launch it as a Federal Decree without any previous public consultation.<\/p>\n

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Without the national strategy (dubbed \u201cENREDD+\u201d), the summary of information on safeguards becomes little more than a piece of paper, with low technical consistency according to UNFCCC rules, it continued. \u201cWithout ENREDD+, public officers can pick and choose among actions to be evaluated on REDD+ safeguards. Government programs that cause deforestation, such as road and dam building in the Amazon, can be comfortably left outside scrutiny. How\u2019s that for a safeguard?\u201d<\/p>\n

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On to Manaus, By Way of Barcelona<\/strong><\/p>\n

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This was the first time the Forum of Governors has met since 2009, but several of the governors will also be attending a meeting of the Governors\u2019 Climate & Forests (GCF) Task Force in Barcelona next week. The GCF is a global association of states in larger nations that have committed to reducing GHG emissions, largely by saving forests. The governors also agreed to reconvene later this month in Manaus, but a date has not been set.<\/p>\n

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The governors\u2019 meeting was preceded by a morning meeting of the state secretaries of environment. During that meeting, Secretary Ana Luiza \u00c1vila Peterlini set the tone by reiterating both the accomplishments and the cost of these efforts.<\/p>\n

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Mariano Cenamo, director of environmental NGO organization IDESAM (Institute for the Conservation and Sustainable Development of Amazonas\/Instituto de Conserva\u00e7\u00e3o e Desenvolvimento Sustentavel do Amazonas), speaking on behalf of GCF, said REDD+ finance for Brazil could reach R$135 billion.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe country has been a global player in REDD+,\u201d he said. \u201cIt reduced emissions by more than 4.2 billion tons of CO2 in eight years (2006-2013), but these efforts were not rewarded as the Amazon Fund raised only 5% of the potential generated by REDD+ \u2013 somewhere around R$3 billion.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The letter points out that those 4.2 billion tonnes of CO2 are locked in 8.7 million hectares of forest that the states protected from development \u2013 in accordance with a federal decree, and in anticipation of REDD+ funding.<\/p>\n

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Read the entire article on this link<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Brazil slashed its greenhouse gas emissions more than any other country by reeling in its once-rampant deforestation. Now that REDD+ is a reality, the governors of those states have renewed their calls for direct subnational payments \u2013 and at least 30 NGOs are on their side. Author: Steve Zwick, from Ecosystem Marketplace Image: Lucas Ninno […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":8407,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[64,50],"tags":[470,285,327],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/idesam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12744"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/idesam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/idesam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/idesam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/idesam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12744"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/idesam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12744\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/idesam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8407"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/idesam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12744"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/idesam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12744"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/idesam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12744"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}