Forest Protection- Manoa, Brazil
Manoa REDD+ Project is a partnership between Biofílica and Grupo Triângulo, located at Manoa Farm, city of Cujubim, state of Rondônia, in an area of 74.038,7 hectares. Throughout its almost 30 years of history, Manoa has improved its management techniques, becoming a model of worldwide reference of forest exploration allied with the conservation of nature.
Intervention
Forest protection
Location
Brazil
Developer
Biofílica Investimentos Ambientais
Standards
VCS, CCB
Methodology
VM0015
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Project information
Manoa Farm
Manoa REDD+ Project is located at Manoa Farm, which covers an area of 74,038,7 hectares. The project area lies in the cities of Cujubim, Itapoã do Oeste, and Porto Velho, state of Rondônia state, Northern Brazil. Manoa Farm has been sustainably managed since 1999, according to the Sustainable Forest Management Plan of the company. The management aims at timber production combined to the conservation of natural resources; therefore, it adopts low-impact harvesting techniques and meets all current legislation and forest certification principles. The farm's 73,000 hectares of forest demonstrates the pioneering in sustainable forest management and are one of the few forest areas remaining in the private area in the region, constantly threatened by invasions and timber theft.
In the years prior to the project, strong deforestation pressure, fragility in property security, and risk of invasion were identified, which has been increasing yearly. Regarding the sanitation of the residences, Cujubim does not have a sewage treatment network, and in the rural area, the use of rudimentary cesspits prevailed, and in the urban area, the use of septic tanks. Regarding access to health services, part of this is due to the existence of only one UBS (Basic Health Unit), which is insufficient to meet the entire resident population in the rural and urban areas of the municipality. Based on the evaluation carried out, it was possible to verify that there are three basic concepts widely discussed that permeate the context of land use in the region: a) the decline of timber extraction, b) the conversion of forests into pastures, c) the increase of agricultural mechanization.
Sustainable Goals
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Project Area: Through Time
The image illustrates the extent of deforestation/ forest loss in and near the designated project zone since 2001. The project zone is marked with a white outline, and its implementation began in 2011. Deforestation happens before and after the project start date, yet it is mostly happening outside the project area boundary, which may indicate that the project is actually saving the forest from potential deforestation.
Project Benefits
Why this project?
The project offers multiple benefits, including facilitating scientific research on identified and endemic species through partnerships with educational institutions, contributing to a deeper understanding of the ecosystem and biodiversity. It also promotes local socioeconomic development through its sustainable development training center, empowering the community with essential skills. The project supports local producers’ associations and conducts environmental education interventions, improving the quality of life for the local community. Additionally, it has a significant environmental impact, avoiding 279,290 tons of CO2 emissions annually and preventing deforestation across, thereby preserving vital ecosystems and mitigating climate change.
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Good for Earth
The main objective of this project is to maintain the forest cover while ensuring economic sustainability. In order to alleviate the pressures on the forest, strategies were adopted, such as: the exploitation of forest management in the north of the farm and in other areas of greater risk, block access roads in remote areas, and permanent watch in areas where greater fragility was identified.
Conservation of 177 flora species and more than 360 fauna identified species. Out of these species, 12 are mammals and 9 are birds in some type of threat, according to IUCN. Maintenance of "ecological corridors" with Conservation Units of the state of Rondônia, reducing negative impacts of the region degradation.
The Project is keen on wider scientific collaboration and actively seeks agreements with local educational and research institutions to provide the incentive to research and disseminate scientific and environmental knowledge to local society.
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Positive for People
Activities and programs are being drafted as a continuous process of training local actors in forest management techniques, agroforestry systems, waste management, low carbon agriculture, among other initiatives. In parallel to the strategies to prevent invasions with deforestation and forest degradation, the project is working directly with social actors in the region, through the construction of a training center inside the property, CEFLOM, whose main objective would be to train local agents in forest management techniques and to work on environmental education concepts with schools in the region.
Sustainable Training: providing training, workshops, courses and lectures focused on the responsible management of environmental resources. The planning includes quarterly activities (four times a year) involving a maximum of 30 people (when carried out at CEFLOM), such activities should be focused on topics related to sustainable socioeconomic development, such as: Interventions with schools in the region to hold lectures/seminars and workshops on environmental education; Support in the training of skilled labor to operate in the certified timber and non-timber forest management chain; Lectures/seminars and mini-courses directed to the implementation of agroforestry systems (SAFs), Techniques for Low Carbon Agriculture (ABC) and recovery of degraded areas; Training in management, leadership and public policies directed to local associations; among others.
Wider Community Awareness: Besides protecting the project area, the Project also seeks to encourage the change of the conventional agricultural production system, promoting the recovery of degraded areas through the diversification of the productive system and stimulating the implementation of Agroforestry Systems combined with Low Carbon Agriculture that is intended to benefit the wider municipality of Cujubim.
Education: [extracted from Monitoring Reports]: Training in low-impact management techniques involved an average of 30 workers a year, and about 24 college students. In addition, the project carries out activities related to environmental education, which involved in the recent 4 years of the monitoring period around 155 young students. The project also supports and collaborates with the scientific/educational environment in that, during the monitored period, an important partnership was established with the Fundação Universidade Federal de Rondônia [Federal University of Rondônia Foundation] (UNIR) to monitor biodiversity through a postgraduate research project, master level.
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Developer Information
Biofílica Investimentos Ambientais is a Brazilian company that promotes the management of forest areas in the Amazon biome. The company was founded in 2008, striving to create pioneering alternatives and turn environmental conservation into an economically interesting activity for forest owners, communities, and investors. Biofílica's mission is to reduce deforestation and carbon emissions into the atmosphere, conserve biodiversity and water resources, and promote social inclusion and the development of communities that live in the Amazon biome. The ownership of the farm belongs to Manoa Sustentável, Exploração e Serviços Florestais LTDA. Together with Biofilica, they ensure the smooth execution of project activities and management.