Amazon Indigenous Lands and Protected Areas: A Major Step towards Ending Deforestation and Combating

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Amazon Indigenous Lands and Protected Areas A
Major Step towards Ending Deforestation and
Combating Climate Change
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Recent Workshop to Consider the REDD Potential of
Indigenous Lands and Protected Areas

• February 11-12, Stanford University
• Over 30 experts on REDD frameworks and Protected
  Areas (PA) and Indigenous Lands (IL) in the
  Amazon Basin
• Addressed how PAs and ILs can be incorporated
  into emerging REDD frameworks and be funded to
  reduce deforestation

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The Workshops Conclusions (I)

• ILs and PAs can reduce deforestation and
  therefore reduce emissions measurably, recordably
  and verifiably, as many current areas clearly
  demonstrate.
• National REDD programs need to equitably divide
  benefits among highly threatened and remote ILs
  and PAs in order to reduce deforestation and
  ensure the sustainability of reductions.

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The Workshops Conclusions (II)

• Location of ILs and PAs determines their
  immediate effectiveness in reducing
  deforestation, and should be taken into
  consideration in planning national REDD programs.
• In project-based REDD ILs and PAs would have to
  prove additionality to receive credit.

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Deforestation trends in the Amazon
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Amazon indigenous lands and the protected areas
network Source Woods Hole Research Center
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Emissions Reduction Potential of PAs and ILs in
Brazilian Amazon
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Total Potential Contribution of PAs and ILs in
the Brazilian Amazon

• Total deforestation avoided in the Brazilian
  Amazon from PAs and ILs by 2050 could be over
  670,000 km².
• That translates to approximately 8 billion tons
  of C emissions avoided.

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Examples of Amazon PAs and ILs Preventing
Deforestation

• Chico Mendes Extractive Reserve (Brazil)
• Noel Kempf National Park (Bolivia)
• Xingu Indigenous Land (Brazil)

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The Chico Mendes Extractive Reserve - Brazil
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2007 - Evidence of External Pressures On Chico
Mendes Extractive Reserve
Chico Mendes Extractive Reserve
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Two Notable Trends

• The Reserve is being cleared somewhat inside,
  largely due to allowable extractive activities.
• But that clearing is substantially less than
  outside, much of which has been clear-cut up to
  the border of the Reserve.
• State of Acre currently developing a state-level
  REDD program.

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Noel Kempf National Park

• Located in Department of Santa Cruz, Bolivia
• Pre-existing Park (1.8 million acres)

• Dual Threat to Border Area
• Deforestation from agricultural expansion
• Degradation from logging concessions

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Noel Kempf Strategy

• Buy out existing 3 legal timber concessions,
  close 1 illegal one.
• Expand the park to more than twice its original
  size (over 3.9 million acres).
• Determine resulting forest area conserved (over
  1.5 million acres).

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Noel Kempff - Summary of Benefits

• Estimated to avoid emissions of over 5.8 million
  tons of CO2 over 30 year lifetime.
• Verified to have avoided over 1 million tones CO2
  between 1997 and 2005.
• Verifier (SGS) applied CDM-equivalent standards.
• Raised 8.25 million in carbon financing.
• Acquisition of land tenure for indigenous border
  communities.
• Alternative, sustainable economic opportunities
  for local communities.
• Preserves biologically diverse forest ecosystem.

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Xingu Protected Area Corridor Over 34.5 million
acres 18 indigenous groups (population approx.
9,000) 15 languages
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Amazon Indigenous lands and parks stop
deforestation
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Amazon Indigenous lands and parks stop
deforestation
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Amazon Indigenous lands and parks stop
deforestation
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Carbon stocks and potential for avoided emissions
until 2050 is large - Over 560 million tons of C
in avoided emissions for the Indigenous Lands of
the Xingu Basin.
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Additional Benefits from REDD Projects in PAs and
ILs

• Biodiversity conservation
• Sustainable development, particularly in
  extractive reserves and ILs
• Indigenous land rights
• Additional ecosystem services (maintenance of
  watersheds, hydrologic cycles)

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The Workshops Conclusions (III)

• REDD finance can provide critical support for PAs
  and ILs.
• PAs and ILs should be strongly encouraged and
  supported in emerging climate change frameworks
  and policies.

• Main message to national governments