case studies undp: bolsa amazonia, brazil

7/27/2019 Case Studies UNDP: BOLSA AMAZONIA, Brazil

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Equator Initiative Case StudiesLocal sustainable development solutions for people, nature, and resilient communities

BrazilBOLSA AMAZNIA

Empowered live

Resilient nation


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UNDP EQUATOR INITIATIVE CASE STUDY SERIES

Local and indigenous communities across the world are advancing innovative sustainable development solutions that wo

or people and or nature. Few publications or case studies tell the ull story o how such initiatives evolve, the breadth

their impacts, or how they change over time. Fewer still have undertaken to tell these stories with community practition

themselves guiding the narrative.

To mark its 10-year anniversary, the Equator Initiative aims to ll this gap. The ollowing case study is one in a growing ser

that details the work o Equator Prize winners vetted and peer-reviewed best practices in community-based environmenconservation and sustainable livelihoods. These cases are intended to inspire the policy dialogue needed to take local succ

to scale, to improve the global knowledge base on local environment and development solutions, and to serve as models

replication. Case studies are best viewed and understood with reerence to The Power of Local Action: Lessons from 10 Years

the Equator Prize, a compendium o lessons learned and policy guidance that draws rom the case material.

Click on the map to visit the Equator Initiatives searchable case study database.

EditorsEditor-in-Chief: Joseph Corcoran

Managing Editor: Oliver HughesContributing Editors: Dearbhla Keegan, Matthew Konsa, Erin Lewis, Whitney Wilding

Contributing WritersEdayatu Abieodun Lamptey, Erin Atwell, Toni Blackman, Jonathan Clay, Joseph Corcoran, Larissa Currado, Sarah Gordon, Oliver Hughe

Wen-Juan Jiang, Sonal Kanabar, Dearbhla Keegan, Matthew Konsa, Rachael Lader, Patrick Lee, Erin Lewis, Jona Liebl, Mengning Ma,

Mary McGraw, Gabriele Orlandi, Brandon Payne, Juliana Quaresma, Peter Schecter, Martin Sommerschuh, Whitney Wilding, Luna Wu

DesignOliver Hughes, Dearbhla Keegan, Matthew Konsa, Amy Korngiebel, Kimberly Koserowski, Erin Lewis, John Mulqueen, Lorena de la Pa

Brandon Payne, Mariajos Satizbal G.

AcknowledgementsThe Equator Initiative acknowledges with gratitude the guidance and inputs o Bolsa Amaznia. Cover photo courtesy oNeil Palm

CIAT via ickr. All other photos courtesy o Bolsa Amaznia (http://www.bolsaAmaznia.com.br/brasil/.) Maps courtesy o CIA Wo

Factbook and Wikipedia.

Suggested CitationUnited Nations Development Programme. 2012. Bolsa Amaznia, Brazil. Equator Initiative Case Study Series. New York, NY.
http://equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/events/2012events/Book_Launch/power%2520of%2520local%2520action%2520final%25202013%25208mb.pdfhttp://equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/events/2012events/Book_Launch/power%2520of%2520local%2520action%2520final%25202013%25208mb.pdfhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/cifor/6285070575/in/photostream/http://www.flickr.com/photos/cifor/6285070575/in/photostream/http://www.bolsaamazonia.com.br/brasil/http://www.bolsaamazonia.com.br/brasil/http://www.flickr.com/photos/cifor/6285070575/in/photostream/http://www.flickr.com/photos/cifor/6285070575/in/photostream/http://equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/events/2012events/Book_Launch/power%2520of%2520local%2520action%2520final%25202013%25208mb.pdfhttp://equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/events/2012events/Book_Launch/power%2520of%2520local%2520action%2520final%25202013%25208mb.pdfhttp://equatorinitiative.org/index.php?option=com_winners&view=casestudysearch&Itemid=858


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PROJECT SUMMARYFounded in 1998 by Brazilian NGOs, the Federal Universityo Par, and international donors, and in partnership withprivate sector companies, Bolsa Amaznia is a regionalinitiative dedicated to developing sustainable enterprisesin rural orest communities o Amazonia. With a ocus onsustainable agriculture and agro-industrialization, BolsaAmaznia assesses market demand or locally-producedgoods such as banana our, rozen ruit pulp, honey,oils, and hand-made paper and handicrats. By linkingproducers and buyers directly through an online marketing

system, the initiative guarantees a airer price or orest-based communities and empowers local actors to buildsustainable enterprises.

Building rom its successes in Par, Bolsa Amazonia now hasrepresentative oces in Ecuador, Colombia, Bolivia, andVenezuela, as well as in our Brazilian States (Par, Amap,Rondnia and Acre).

KEY FACTSEQUATOR PRIZE WINNER: 2002

FOUNDED: 1998

LOCATION: Amazonian region of South America

BENEFICIARIES: Forest-dependent communities

BIODIVERSITY: The Amazon rainforest

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BOLSA AMAZNIABrazil

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Background and Context 4

Key Activities and Innovations 5

Biodiversity Impacts 6

Socioeconomic Impacts 7

Partners 8


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olsa Amaznia is a regional program or the Amazon Basin

ountries o Brazil, Ecuador, Colombia, Bolivia, and Venezuela, that

s dedicated to the sustainable development o the regions orest-

welling communities and the conservation o its abundance o

atural resources. The project was begun in 1998 in partnership with

ioTrade, an initiative o the United Nations Conerence or Trade

nd Development (UNCTAD) and the Brazilian program on poverty

nd environment in the Amazon Basin (Programa Pobreza e Meio

mbiente na Amaznia POEMA).

The diversity of life within the Amazon

he Amazon River Basin occupies the entire central and eastern area

South America, lying to the east o the Andes mountain range

nd extending rom the Guyana Plateau in the North to the Brazilian

lateau in the South. The basin covers more than 6,100,000 km2, or

4% o the land area o the South American continent, extending

nto Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and

Venezuela. Elevations range rom sea level at the rivers mouth, to

n altitude o 6,500 m in the Andes. Most o the basin is covered

y tropical rainorest, accounting or more than 56% o all broadlea

orests in the world. Its ecosystems are characterized by great

iodiversity, with more than 30,000 plant species, nearly 2,000 sh

pecies, 60 reptile species, 35 mammal amilies, and approximately

,800 bird species.

he population o the Amazon River Basin is estimated at

pproximately 10 million (2005), mostly concentrated in urban areas

long the river and its main tributaries. A high percentage o the

otal population consists o indigenous communities settled mainly

long the banks o the river and belonging to a variety o ethno

nguistic groups. These communities rely on the orest or their

velihoods. Non-timber orest products such as nuts, ruits, oils and

esins provide income but have traditionally been harvested using

unsustainable methods. The ability to market these Amazo

products successully, taking into account consumer preere

or sustainable production, can make a signicant diferenc

improving the wellbeing o these communities.

Connecting rural producers and urban consumers

The objective o the Bolsa Amaznia program is to promote

sustainable use o Amazonian natural resources while redu

poverty among indigenous people. Products are promoted

bring producers and processors improved incomes, and pro

environmentally sustainable products or urban consumThe initiative has established close links with communities

private sector and governments through partnerships that o

community development and ecological conservation in the re

Bolsa Amaznia has oces in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador,

Venezuela, as well as in our Brazilian States (Par, Amap, Rond

and Acre), and several overseas to promote its products.

Background and Context


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Key Activities and Innovationshe initiative works with orest communities at every stage o

he production process. This includes providing skills training in

mproved methods o cultivation, small-scale processing, packaging

nd marketing, and the identication o suitable markets. Specically,

apacity building is provided in:

Marketing, including business planning, costing, packaging and

orecasting;

Processing o sh, banana and dairy products, including hygiene

and saety;

Organization and management o co-operatives, including

administration and accounting; and

Sustainable resource use, including sustainable agriculture,

subsistence cropping, seed production, and cultivation and

collection o orest products.

An online marketing system

he Bolsa Amaznia program builds linkages between small-

cale producers and buyers o Amazonian products. Products are

processed and marketed in accordance with air trade and organic

ertication schemes, taking advantage o consumer demand or

nvironmentally and socially sustainable products. These goods are

hen marketed to an international audience on a wide scale. Bolsa

Amaznia coordinates an online marketing inormation system

alled Sistema de Informao Mercadologica da Bolsa Amaznia

SIMBA). Operating as a large marketplace o producers and

buyers, SIMBA unctions as an exhaustive database o products and

ompanies. This uses technology to build an inormation bridge

between the producers and buyers o sustainable Amazonianproducts, acilitating an ecient two-way ow o market-related

normation. Approximately 350 products, 100 buyers, and 100

producers are registered on the SIMBA database. Products registered

on the database are divided into categories such as raw materials,

including ruits and seeds; handicrats; paper; cosmetics; oils; na

medicines; coconut ber products; and processed oods, inclu

ruit pulps, ruit juice, our and honey.

The organization also promotes a number o star products that

specic ecological and developmental needs, and are produce

high standards o hygiene required by the market. These prodare promoted at national and international airs, with all prots

sales returning to rural producers associations. These products

prioritized the aa palm, green bananas, coconut bers, latex

hand-made paper produced rom the curau plant.


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ImpactsBIODIVERSITY IMPACTS

Bolsa Amaznia has had signicant biodiversity impacts through

ombating processes o deorestation and unsustainable harvesting

o resources by demonstrating the economic potential o various

key species.

Aa Poema da Amaznia

The aa palm (euterpe oleracea), or instance, is ound throughout

he Amazon region, growing naturally in vrzeas and igaps

ooded areas o orest), or in higher terrain when cultivated.

Within Brazil, major production takes place in the state o Par,

where concentrations o the species are greatest. This resource

was under threat due to the extent o palm-heart consumption,

which involves cutting whole tree specimens to extract the heart.

The aa ecosystem can instead be managed in a sustainable wayby harvesting the aa ruit. Traditionally this was collected and sold

n its natural state in local markets, but low economic returns made

his an unprotable activity. Processing aa berries into ruit pulp

or use in a naturally nutritious drink has made this a more protable

enterprise. 17 Brazilian communities, each numbering approximately

0 to 40 amilies, ormed a producers association and became the

oint owners o a modern processing plant where the Aa Poema

da Amaznia beverage is produced. Aa provides a high amount o

energy around 182.4 cal/100g and also has high levels o calcium

nd phosphorus, making the beverage extremely nutritious.

Amazon Paper project

A second example o the successul conservation o natural resources

s that o the Amazon Paper project. The consumption o paper is one

o the leading causes o global deorestation. This project i llustrates

he possibility o nding non-wood alternatives and promoting uses

o non-timber orest products such as bers, particularly as a m

o substituting synthetic products. Amazon Paper brings toge

Japanese ancestral art and traditional Amazonian knowl

to produce hand-made paper that is entirely made rom na

resources: bers, dyes, ragrances, leaves and owers. The

ber rom which the pulp is extracted is curau. It is mixed

other materials to obtain a wide array o papers in a range o co

textures, and thicknesses.

The cultivation o the curau plant (ananas erectifolius), and

extraction and paper-making processes involve many commun

as common production units. Paper production, rom cultivatio

the nal product, is perormed in a sustainable manner, and inc

generated rom the sale o the ber benets local amilies thro

improved incomes and wellbeing.

Integrating conservation and development

Bolsa Amaznia is ounded on understanding the links betw

biodiversity conservation and poverty reduction. Conservatiotropical orest is encouraged through a combination o agroor

systems, natural resource management, and the developme

sustainable production chains. Forest peoples livelihoods

improved through the development o economic activities

generate income by adding value to products. Local employm

has increased, producers are being integrated into larger produ

chains and trade is being conducted on an equitable basis. By un

local knowledge o the orest, simple management techniques

appropriate technologies to regenerate degraded areas, u

destruction o orest has successully been avoided.


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SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACTS

As well as the sustainable production o aa pulp and paper, various

other resources have been identied as suitable or establishing

mall- and medium-sized enterprises.

Farinha de Banana Verde

n one o the poorest and most degraded areas o the state o Par,6 rural communities are involved in the cultivation and processing

o tropical ruits using sustainable agricultural methods such as

agroorestry to produce banana our. Farinha de Banana Verde is

banana our made rom dehydrated green bananas. This is ground

or preparing porridge, milkshakes, cakes, pancakes, and cookies or

unches in schools, hospitals, restaurants or snack bars. Banana trees

are grown sustainably using agroorestry systems that combine

crops in the same areas, enabling the recovery o degraded land

hrough reorestation and soil protection. The dehydration process

used to make banana our involves washing the ruit, immersing

t in a heated tank, removing its skin, slicing the bananas, drying

hem on trays, grinding the ruit into powder, and weighing and

packaging. The commercialization o this process has contributed tohe improvement o the livelihoods o these rural communities. The

production o banana our reduces post-harvesting losses o resh

bananas and creates a value-added product with higher returns or

producers.

Processing coconut and latex

A coconut-ber and latex production chain, located in theunique ecosystem o the Island o Marajo in north-eastern Par,

employs more than 5,000 amilies in the various steps o managed

ruit collection, ber extraction, transormation, and industrial

production, providing rened products or a number o industries.

Organized within producer associations and seven agro-industries,

hey sell the products directly to POEMATEC Industry, a partnership

between POEMA and the motor company, DaimlerChrysler. The

product is used in the manuacture o car seats and other technical

pieces as well as gardening, agriculture, construction, and decoration

products or other markets.

Traditionally, coconut husks were burned or discarded by

producers. Their re-use has demonstrated the diverse potent

using orest resources while providing numerous sources o inc

The use o coconut bers also contributes to the preservatio

the giant samambaia, an endangered plant species. Coconut

and latex (produced rom rubber trees) products are biodegrad

and can be recycled. In Brazil, rubber tappers have been w

recognized or their struggle to preserve the Amazon by ensuthat rubber extraction is a sustainable activity. The demand or

as a raw material or various industrial applications has given a

impetus to the production o latex in a sustainable ashion by m

indigenous communities.

Empowering marginalized communities

Beyond increasing household incomes, the ormation o prod

associations has brought additional benets or many prod

communities. In the case o the Aa Poema da Amaznia ruit

association, the 17 communities have ormed a cooperative ow

entirely by the communities. Through the ormation o coopera

and other legally-recognized small companies, communpreviously marginalized rom access to credit can receive credit

banks, based on the success o their enterprises.

The rural communities that are the beneciaries o the B

Amaznia initiative include traditional orest dwellers, subsist

armers, and riberinhos people living along riverbanks. T

communities are typically extremely socially marginalized, o

lacking basic services such as healthcare, potable water sou

sanitation and education. These communities tend to consi

isolated amily units in remote locations, relying on agro-extra

and shing or survival. Projects supported by Bolsa Amaz

contribute to improved ood security as agroorestry encour

crop diversication. Some crops are used or home consump

while others are processed and sold. Income generated thro

these means has been re-invested in local housing, elect

appliances and other amenities, leading to improved wellbeing

quality o lie.

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Partners

he creation o close working partnerships among public institutions,

on-governmental organizations and private enterprises has been

undamental to the success o the Bolsa Amaznia project. It has also

been efective in inuencing public policies, presenting new models

or credit and investment programs and providing opportunities or

oreign direct investment in sustainable development initiatives.

ome o the partners o this initiative since 1992 include:

Regional and national partners

eraca Ingredients - ounded in 1956, with headquarters in Sao

aulo and branches in six Brazilian states, this private company

operates in three divisions producing sanitizers, raw materials or theood and drug industry, and cosmetics. The company has partnered

with indigenous and riparian communities in Par in extracting,

processing and rening non-timber orest species and developing

gricultural activities.

COART-Amazon: specializes in research and innovation in design

nd development o high quality Amazonian products developed

by communities registered with SEBRAE-Par (Support Service or

mall and Medium Enterprises in Para).

CAMTA: the Cooperativa Agrcola Mista de Tom-Au, is a tropical

ruits pulp producer that produces and sells agricultural products

rom the producers o the community o Tom-Au in Par.

COOPFRUT: brings together small armers in an agricultural

ooperative that produces ruit pulp in Igarap-Miri.

Coped: a producers cooperative in Moju, working primarily in the

processing o coconut ber or POEMATEC.

OEMATEC: a partnership between POEMA and DaimlerChrysler;

manages a actory that produces artisanal products rom coconut

bers and latex.

International partners

Netherlands Organization or International Assistance (NOVIB),

o the Oxam International Conederation.

United Nations Conerence on Trade and Development (UNCT

Biotrade Initiative - since 1998, this initiative has ocused on tra

and activities to acilitate trade in local Amazonian products.

The European Commission, Division o Environmental

Sustainable Development: has consolidated the productio

sustainable supply chains in Brazil and Ecuador through traactivities, technical assistance and business promotion.

United Nations Foundation: a partner o UNCTADs Biotrade Initi

or regional development programs in the Andean and Am

region.

DaimlerChrysler: a partner o POEMA since 1992; has worke

promote sustainable development through the use o natural

or application in industry.

International Finance Corporation (IFC): training activ

and business promotion, including a pilot project or ca

sequestration, have been supported by the Department o Mand Small Enterprises. The newly created Grassroots Bus

Organization is also working to open markets or Amazo

products.

Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA): provided tech

assistance or the development o the Amazon Paper Pro

based on the technical production o handmade Japanese p

Cooperation has also included the establishment o sustain

productive chains in Tom-Au.


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Click the thumbnails below to read more case studies like this:

URTHER REFERENCE

Bolsa Amaznia websitehttp://www.bolsaamazonia.com.br/brasil/

POEMA websitehttp://www.poema.org.br/index.asp

Video on Bolsa Amaznia, 2002 (Vimeo)http://vimeo.com/27244570

Equator Initiative

Environment and Energy GroupUnited Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

304 East 45th Street, 6th Floor

New York, NY 10017

Tel: +1 646 781 4023

www.equatorinitiative.org

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the UNs global development network, advocating or change

onnecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better lie.

The Equator Initiative brings together the United Nations, governments, civil society, businesses and grassroots organizati

o recognize and advance local sustainable development solutions or people, nature and resilient communities.

2012 by Equator Initiative

All rights reserved
http://www.bolsaamazonia.com.br/brasil/http://www.bolsaamazonia.com.br/brasil/http://www.poema.org.br/index.asphttp://www.poema.org.br/index.asphttp://vimeo.com/27244570http://vimeo.com/27244570http://equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/winners/43/casestudy/case_1381950140.pdfhttp://www.equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/com_winners/casestudy/case_1348261764.pdfhttp://www.equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/com_winners/casestudy/case_1348068795.pdfhttp://vimeo.com/27244570http://vimeo.com/27244570http://www.poema.org.br/index.asphttp://www.poema.org.br/index.asphttp://www.bolsaamazonia.com.br/brasil/http://www.bolsaamazonia.com.br/brasil/

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