Payment/Rewards for Environmental Services and

Poor Rural Communities

Herman RosaDirector

PRISMA (El Salvador)

Workshop on Payment Schemes for Environmental ServicesBeijing, 23 April, 2002

ACRE, BRAZIL: ACRE, BRAZIL: Paying Rubbertappers for their Role as Forest StewardsPaying Rubbertappers for their Role as Forest Stewards

1 million ha Chico Mendes Reserve in Acre: Largest extractive reserve in Brazil

EXTRACTIVE RESERVE:

Protected areas where extractive communities have formally recognized usufruct rights

Example: Right right to exploit rubber stands in a way that keeps almost intact the structure of the forest.

4 largest extractive reserves in Brazil remain intact after a decade

ACRE, BRAZIL: ACRE, BRAZIL: Paying Rubbertappers for their Role as Forest StewardsPaying Rubbertappers for their Role as Forest Stewards

Extractive reserves in Brazil began officially in the nineties

But rubber-tappers had long resisted pressure on the forests from cattle ranchers and loggers, because they threatened their livelihoods

Thus, rubber-tappers act as forest stewards to guarantee the provision of environmental services from the forest.

On average a rubber-tapper family uses and protects 300Ha

The amount of rubber collected is directly proportional to the area protected from external threats

In ACRE Rubber-tappers receive a subsidy of 0.40 Reais (approx. US$0.20) per Kg of rubber (Chico Mendes Law of 1998).

ACRE, BRAZIL: ACRE, BRAZIL: Paying Rubbertappers for their Role as Forest StewardsPaying Rubbertappers for their Role as Forest Stewards

RESULTS

70% of subsidy returns to the state through taxes

Rubber production:2,100 Tonnes in 19993,000 Tonnes in 2001

Beneficiaries: 2,100 families in 1999 4,000 families in 2001

Payments: US$153,000 in 1999, $600,000 in 2001.

Reduced rural-migration: 1,000 families living in miserable conditions in the cities returned to the forest

Strengthened social organization since beneficiaries have to belong to associations

Lessons from ACRE, Brazil Lessons from ACRE, Brazil

Tangible benefits for the communities in the forest is a primary goal, but the scheme is also effective in protecting the forest.

Rather than restrict access and usufruct rigths for the communities , the scheme expands them and guarantees them by law.

Monitoring and Rewards are based on a simple indicator: the amount of rubber collected.

The scheme strengthens social organizations and collective action that can be used to pursue other activities that benefit the community.