Project selected within the scope of the Amazon Fund’s Public Call "Restoring Amazonia"

CONTEXTUALIZATION

The Amazon is critical for providing ecosystem services to the national territory and the planet. Restoring priority areas within the biome is urgent and can generate positive impacts on biodiversity, local populations, climate change mitigation, natural regeneration, and environmental regularization. Ecological restoration is part of Nature-Based Solutions and represents a highly scalable and cost-competitive carbon capture technology.

As a carbon capture technology, ecological restoration positively impacts Brazil’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), reducing net greenhouse gas emissions and contributing to the country’s goals for emissions reduction and its commitment to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. In addition to the NDC, the recently revised PLANAVEG (National Plan for Native Vegetation Recovery) maintained its goal of recovering 12 million hectares of native vegetation.

The goal of Restaura Amazônia is to transform the landscape by supporting dozens of restoration projects not only from an environmental perspective (biodiversity, microclimate, ecosystem services, water, etc.) but also from social and territorial perspectives, generating income, jobs, and professional training in green jobs related to forest restoration, strengthening its value chain and promoting sustainable agricultural production (SAF).

Proposals should consider the socioeconomic and cultural context of the region, balancing ecological benefits and ecosystem service maintenance with job creation, income, water, and food security. Additionally, proposals should align with public policies and instruments related to native vegetation recovery in the region.

THE PROJECT

Launched by BNDES in December 2023, the Restaura Amazônia Initiative aims to support ecological restoration projects selected through public calls conducted by Management Partners chosen via public calls, with proposals submitted by March 2024. The selection process identified CI Brasil as the highest-scoring institution among applicants for macro-region 3, corresponding to the states of Pará and Maranhão.

The selection of restoration projects will be carried out through Public Calls conducted by CI Brasil, in collaboration with BNDES, donors, and relevant public agencies. The criteria to be included in the calls include: (i) technical and organizational capacity of the proponent and partners; (ii) technical activities for ecological restoration; (iii) costs; (iv) ecological importance of restoration in the region; (v) value chains, income generation, and stakeholder mobilization; and (vi) synergy with other activities related to native vegetation recovery.

Proposals must fall into one or more of the following land categories: (i) Conservation Units (UCs); (ii) Private Natural Heritage Reserves (RPPN); (iii) Permanent Preservation Areas (APP) and Legal Reserves (RL) in agrarian reform settlements and private properties of up to four fiscal modules, duly registered in the Rural Environmental Registry (CAR); (iv) Indigenous Lands, Quilombola Territories, and other traditional communities; and (v) unallocated public lands.

CI Brasil is responsible for working with BNDES throughout the process of drafting and launching calls for proposals to select restoration projects in specific territorial areas within the macro-regions, contracting the selected ecological restoration projects, and monitoring the physical and financial progress of the projects.

CI Brasil has technical expertise, institutional relationships, and experience developing programs and projects in ecological restoration and environmental funds. The organization works with strategic partners, such as Fundação SOS Mata Atlântica, the Pact for Atlantic Forest Restoration, the Alliance for Restoration in the Amazon, the Cerrado Restoration Articulation, Rock in Rio, The Nature Conservancy (TNC), Mastercard, Agropalma, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Global Environment Facility (GEF), Global Climate Fund (GCF), BNDES, World Bank, Sitawi, Brazilian Fund for Biodiversity (Funbio), federal government institutions (Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio), Brazilian Forest Service (SFB), subnational governments in Acre, Amazonas, Bahia, Pará, and Rondônia, local organizations and collectives, universities, and the private sector.

INTERVENTION LOGIC

The project is part of the Sustainable Production component of the Amazon Fund’s Logical Framework, contributing to direct effect 1.4 – Recovered and restored deforested and degraded areas used for economic and ecological conservation purposes.