The Amazonian forest sector and the adoption of sound forest management practices in the

Brazilian Amazon

Marco W. Lentini, M. Sc.Amazon program coordinator

WWF Brazil

Outline

• Forest management and legality in the Brazilian forest sector

• Our practical experience in the application of sound FM practices

• Context analysis: how much Brazil needs the development of a forest sector based upon the management of natural forests?

• Main perspectives and problems for a sustainable forest sector in Brazil

Forest management and legality in the Brazilian forest sector

Amazonian forest sector has a small economic contribution for the Brazilian forest sector, strongly based on plantation forests (< 5% of the value of forestry products exported by Brazil in 2011/12).

In the Amazon, however, the forest sector is important for income and job generation (5% of the rural jobs in the region)

Forest sector in the Amazon is largely illegal. Official control and monitoring systems are heavily susceptible to frauds.

The pace of deforestation is starting to slow down, but the challenge is the implementation of a new forest code.

Forest management and legality in the Brazilian forest sector

Illegal logging tends to grow due to the fragility of control systems and the intense urbanization and consumption of basic goods within the Amazon (80% of the Amazonian population is urban and at least 20% of the timber production is consumed locally). That represents a risk for tax evasion, growth of informal jobs, and increase in local conflicts with rural populations.

Illegal logging impoverishes forests and increase their likelihood to be deforested in a few years.

Likelihood of being arrested by illegal logging is extremely low (< 1% of the cases)

Great opportunities: concessions in public forests and land available for CFM.

FSC

certi

fied

area

(MM

hec

tare

s)A few forestry statistics: FSC Certified area

Year

Communities

Plantations

NTFPs

Timber companies

Source: FSC

Public Forests under concession in the Brazilian Amazon

Source: IMAZON, 2012

A few forestry statistics: Chatham house, 2010

A few forestry statistics: Chatham house, 2010

Are under ilegal logging in the 2 major Amazonian state producers

(k h

ecta

res)

Year

Source: IMAZON, 2012

Label Estimate SourceLogwood production, 2012 ~ 13 MM m3 Imazon, 2012Area estimated by remote sensing as illegally logged (2011)

100 k ha Imazon, 2012

% of timber production generated under illegal logging

15%-85% -

FSC certified (timber) 1.2 MM ha FSC, 2013Concessions 0.8 MM ha SFB, 2013

Necessary area under FM for a sustainable timber sector

21-35 MM ha -

Area available for concessions 21,8 MM ha SFB, 2014Area available for CFM 34 MM ha SFB, 2009

A synthesis: probable illegality in the Amazonian forest secotor

Our practical experience in the application of sound FM practices

• Brazil has the necessary tools and knowledge to do good forest management. Examples:– Management systems: Celos, IFT/Imazon– Some training facilities: IFT, Funtac, among others– Technology: precision management – Modeflora/Embrapa

• Brazil has the necessary extent of public lands to maintain sustainably the forest sector

• However, there is a lack of professionals to implement sound forest management

13

Sour

ce: I

FT

Sour

ce: I

FT

Sour

ce: I

FT

Sour

ce: I

FT

Sour

ce: I

FT

Sour

ce: I

FT

% o

f qua

lity

Low Medium High

Quality of the FMP evaluated in Pará State (08/2007 – 07/2011)

Source: IMAZON, 2012

Source: Lentini et al., 2009

Estimated demand for trained professionals to address Conservation challenges in FM

0 5.000 10.000 15.000 20.000 25.000 30.000

2010 (4 mi l l ion hectares)

short run (13 mi l l ionhectares)

long run (43,8 mi l l ionhectares)

# of trained workers and professionals

workers and technicians government agents

Major points in terms of sound FM application in the field

• Most timber CFM and company-based enterprises, even the legal ones, do not adopt entirely sound practices in the field

• Over time, this problem will compromise forest quality and its capacity in maintaining biodiversity and environmental services

• A sustainable timber sector can only be created from investments in practical training and the creation of specialists in critical areas, such as:– Parataxonomists– Forest technicians– Working safety and ergonomy

Context analysis: how much Brazil needs the development of a forest sector based upon

the management of natural forests?

Public forests in the Amazon

• Control of public lands. At least 75% of the Amazon is public lands. FM is a good strategy in a portion of these lands to conciliate long term sustainability and livelihoods.

• At least 2 MM people live on public forests in the Amazon

Source: SFB, 2014.

19881989

19901991

19921993

19941995

19961997

19981999

20002001

20022003

20042005

20062007

20082009

20102011

20122013

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

35000

21050

2905927772

5891Defo

rest

ation

rate

(km

2/ye

ar)

# of

catt

le in

divi

dual

s

Source: INPE, 2014.

Source: IMAZON, 2012

• Curbing deforestation. Despite all investment from government in controlling and monitoring deforestation, it might increase again. Cattle ranching and large-scale agriculture are the main drivers. Valuing forests continue to be the best alternative against deforestation.

• The Brazilian Forest Code– Enacted in 2012– Weakened conservation criteria– Solving environmental liabilities (land registry) and

restoration of forests– In Brazil, goal of restoring 20 MM ha in 20 years– Opportunity for compensation (concept of smart

compensation in development by WWF Brazil)

• Establishment of a new forestry industry based on planted forests, both for production (pulp, charcoal) as for restoration liabilities.

• Need to implement a new forest industry based on natural forests while planted forests can assume this role in 20 years or more.

Eucalyptus Schizolobium Tectona0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350316

85.465

Are

a of

pla

ted

fore

sts

(k h

ecta

res)

Source: IMAZON, 2012

Other factors

• Growth of Amazonian cities and middle-class population

• Stability of hydrological crisis in southeastern Brazil and productivity of commodities in center-western Brazil

• Long-term scarcity of planted forests for civil construction and energy in southeastern Brazil.

Main perspectives for a sustainable forest sector in Brazil

• Compliance with the Forest Code and recovery of 20 MM hectares of forests in Brazil

• Legality issues: advancing with legal verification and tracking of timber production– WWF/RAA Tropical timber roundtable– New technologies (i.e., isotopes, near-

infrared readers)

• Forest positive agendas in the states• Achieving ZNND (zero-net

deforestation and degradation)

Thank you

WWF.ORG.BRmarcolentini@wwf.org.br