The Forest Investment Program (FIP) Sub Committee, held in Washington DC, has approved $16.45 million that will support an initiative for forest and climate information gathering and systematization in Brazil. The project’s objective is to generate and disseminate forest information to support public and private sectors in management initiatives aimed at the conservation and enhancement of carbon stocks and forest resources in the Cerrado area.
The Cerrado Is a large tropical savannah ecoregion in Brazil that accounts for 22 per cent of the of the country’s extension with almost 2 million km2, and which includes vast areas in the states of Goias, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Tocantins, Minas Gerais, Bahia, Maranhao, Piaui, Sao Paulo and Parana.
The Cerrado biome is characterized by high concentrations of carbon and its rich biodiversity. However, the area has been subject to the threat posed by the expansion of extensive agriculture, particularly soy, and charcoal production.
“The generation of standardized and systematic forest information represents a key input for more careful decision making by the public and private sectors, in relation to the sustainable use of forest resources from a climate perspective and as tool to promote avoided deforestation and prevent loss of carbon stocks” said Walter Vergara, Chief of the Climate Change and Sustainability Division of the IDB.
The project will include three main components, including the implementation of the National Forest Inventory (NFI) of the Cerrado biome, the consolidation of the National Forest Information System (NFIS), and activities to monitor the results of the project.
This project is the first that will be implemented as part of the Brazilian Investment Plan prepared by the Government of Brazil in collaboration with the Inter-American Development Bank.