Avoided Deforestation (REDD) and Indigenous ... - Amazon Fund

Introduction
Concern with negative effects of climate change on the world’s economy and society is
nothing new, although it has grown considerably in past years. The United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), signed in 19921 by 165 countries, including Brazil,
made clear the need to progressively reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, a responsibility
shared by all countries. Since then, the international community has sought ways to fulfill this
obligation, and the Kyoto Protocol (1997) 2 defined a framework of targets for reduced greenhouse
gas emissions to be met by 2012 by industrialized countries, in addition to creating market
mechanisms to facilitate this process.
In 2009, Brazil, along with more than 70 other countries, acknowledged the need to
make profound cuts in greenhouse gas emissions. The commitment was made to limit emissions
by 2020 in order to contribute in a measurable manner to keep global warming under 2oC. Just
before the Conference of the Parties in Denmark (COP 15), the Brazilian government announced
the additional voluntary target of reducing between 36.1% and 38.9% of projected emissions
by 2020 based on 2005 emissions and passed Law 12,187/2009, which establishes the National
Climate Change Policy (Política Nacional sobre Mudança do Clima – PNMC).
Both at the national and international levels, new measures for control and reduction of
emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) have emerged, since deforestation
is responsible for between 15 and 20% of global emissions and over 70% of Brazil’s emissions.
Even without reaching a global agreement, the Copenhagen Conference made progress toward
defining how an international REDD system could work, and it is likely that any multilateral
agreement – or even bilateral agreements among the main polluting countries – will include
measures of this type, since they are a relatively inexpensive and beneficial way of reducing
emissions.
The Amazon stands out in this context as the largest tropical rainforest on the planet
and as well as the area most threatened by deforestation. In Brazil, 20% of the Amazon has been
cleared, and nearly half of its forest (approximately 350,000 km2 ) was torn down in the past 20
years. 3 In other Amazon countries, pressure is not as intense, although it is growing, since the
1 By March 8, 2010, 194 countries had signed the UNFCC. http://unfccc.int/kyoto_protocol/items/2830.php.
2 The Kyoto Protocol was ratified by Brazil on August 23, 2002, and became effective on February 16, 2005. 188
countries which signed the Climate Convention have ratified the Protocol so far.
3 Apud IBGE. Indicadores de Desenvolvimento Sustentável: Brasil 2010. Rio de Janeiro, IBGE, 2010.
Av o i d e d d e f o re s t A t i o n (redd) A n d i n d i g e n o u s p e o p l e s: experiences, chAllenges A n d o p p o r t u n i t i e s in t h e A m A zo n c o n t e x t 5