  
The REDD project (Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation) at the Juma Sustainable Development Reserve is designed to stop deforestation and related greenhouse emissions in a high land use pressure area in the Amazonas State.
The hotel chain Marriott International is financing the project implementation with annual contributions of US$ 500 thousand during the first 4 years, combined with revenues provided by hotels´ guests, invited to offset the carbon emissions related to their hosting, at US$ 1 per night.
These resources allow FAS, in coordination with the Amazonas State Government, to implement all necessary measures to control and monitor the deforestation inside the Juma Reserve and surrounding areas, with law enforcement and improvement of life conditions for the local communities.
The project implementation seeks to stop, until 2050, the deforestation of 329.483 hectares of tropical forests, corresponding to the avoided emission of 189.767.027 tons of CO2 to the atmosphere.
On September 30th, 2008, the Juma Reserve RED project was validated under the Climate, Community and Biodiversity Alliance (CCBA) Certification issued by the International Certification Organization TÜV-SÜD, with the award of a Gold Quality Standard, the first in the world in this pattern.
Project Rationale
According to the National Space Agency (INPE, 2008) 17% of the Amazon’s original forest cover has already been destroyed – of which 3.7% only within 2000 and 2007 (150,000 km2). The most advanced models for simulating deforestation indicate that the rate of deforestation in the State of Amazonas will increase rapidly in the coming decades. Many experts consider SOARES-FILHO et al (2006) deforestation simulation model, SimAmazonia I, one of the most refined models for the Amazon region. The SimAmazonia I was designed by the program “Amazon Scenarios”, leaded by the Institute for Environmental Research in the Amazon (IPAM), The Federal University of Minas Gerais and the Woods Hole Research Center (WHRC). This model indicates that there will be a strong deforestation trend in the near future, which could result in a loss of up to 30 percent of Amazonas forest cover by 2050. If concrete measures to prevent deforestation are not undertaken, deforestation in the protected areas of the State of Amazonas could emit close to 3.6 billion tons of CO2 into the atmosphere. The Juma Sustainable Development Reserve Project for Reducing Greenhouse Gases Emissions from Deforestation (“Juma Reserve RED Project”) aims to address deforestation and its resulting emission of greenhouse gases (GHG) in an area of the State of Amazonas that is under great land use pressure. Its implementation is part of a wide strategy planned and initiated in 2003 by the actual Government of the State of Amazonas to halt deforestation and promote sustainable development in Amazonas, based on the valuation of the environmental services provided by its standing forests. (BRAGA & VIANA et al., 2003; AMAZONAS, 2003).
According to the SimAmazonia I model, the Novo Aripuanã municipality region is located in a high risk deforestation area. Under the “business as usual” scenario, the pavement of large highways (BR-319 and AM-174) will result in the loss of large forest areas by 2050. These deforestation forecasts were strongly considered by the Government of Amazonas when it established the Juma Sustainable Development Reserve in 2006. The objectives of creating the reserve were to protect forests with high conservation value. The reserve seeks to protect species in risk of extinction while also preserving the quality of life of the hundreds of families that live in these areas. The Juma Reserve has 589,612 hectares of Amazonian forest located near the BR-319 highway also crossed by the AM-174 highway. Its creation and effective implementation were only possible due to the perspective of the Government of the State of Amazonas’ plan to create an economic mechanism for generating a financial compensation from activities reducing emissions from deforestation (RED). The resources raised from the sale of these credits will permit the State Government to implement all of the measures necessary to control and monitor deforestation within the project site; enforce the Law; and improve the welfare of local communities. The Juma Reserve RED Project will be the first project of its kind to be implemented since the creation and approval of the State Laws for Climate Change (Lei da Política Estadual de Mudanças Climáticas, PEMC-AM) and the State Protected Areas System (Sistema Estadual de Unidades de Conservação, SEUC-AM). This legislation was created to provide the entire legal framework necessary to implement RED projects in Amazonas. The project expects to prevent the deforestation of around 366,151 hectares of tropical forests and 210,885,604 tons of CO2e that would be released under the baseline scenario (SimAmazonia I). The project time life is until 2050, when is expected to generate 189,767,027 tons of CO2e credits (considering only the project crediting area). In addition to the climate change mitigation benefits associated with the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), the project expects to generate a variety of social and environmental benefits in the project area. These benefits will come from the following programs:
1. Strengthening of Environmental Monitoring and Control;
2. Income Generation Through the Promotion of Sustainable Businesses;
3. Community Development, Scientific Research and Education and;
4. Direct Payment for Environmental Services (“Bolsa Floresta” Program).
A share of the Project’s financial resources will be allocated to direct payments for environmental services to traditional communities that lives in the Juma Reserve through the establishment of the “Bolsa Floresta” (Forest Allowance) Program components: i) Bolsa Floresta Family; ii) Bolsa Floresta Social; iii) Bolsa Floresta Association and; iv) Bolsa Floresta Sustainable Income Generation. These programs deliver concrete and direct benefits for populations, which are part of the most marginalized and vulnerable group of local populations as much as dependent on the forest for their survival. The project implementers will provide investors and donors with a guarantee that its execution and completion will be done in compliance with all of the relevant legal, governmental and regulatory structures. The project was designed through a transparent process involving participatory workshops and political consultations in order to guarantee the involvement and commitment of all the local stakeholders.
Contact information
Gabriel Ribenboim
gabriel.ribenboim@fas-amazonas.org
+55 92 3648 4393 www.fas-amazonas.org
Click here to download the Project Design Program in English.
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