Keeling Curve

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Project Summary / Description:

In operation since November 2019, CONSERV is an innovative mechanism to protect native vegetation beyond the area already shielded by the Brazilian Forest Code. CONSERV‚ incentives turn conservation into a source of material benefit to farmers, while enhancinging the long-term climatic sustainability of agricultural production throughout its operating region. CONSERV is a voluntary, private program to pay or otherwise compensate landowners in the Brazilian Legal Amazon to keep forests standing‚Äîthat is, to forego their right to lawfully deforest parts of their farms. By enrolling farmers to preserve these ‚ forest assets‚ at a larger scale, CONSERV could prevent up to 13.68 million ha of legal deforestation in Brazil ‚ with benefits to climate, local farmers, agricultural sustainability, biodiversity, and more. IPAM (Instituto de Pesquisa Ambiental da Amaz√¥nia) is responsible for the overall supervision of the project and has EDF (Environmental Defense Fund) and the Woodwell Climate Research Center as implementing partners.

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How Project Affects Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions:

Replaces/avoids GHGs (e.g., projects that replace sources of GHGs, such as the burning of fossil fuels for electricity, heat, transport, or other energy uses)

Best Estimate of GHG Avoidance/Reduction of This Project (Tonnes CO2 Equivalent/Year):

Impact on Underrepresented Groups:

CONSERV prioritizes traditional and smallholders land rights, and incentivizes land regularization through due diligence requirements for participating farmers. Land rights and their enforcement have a strong impact on deforestation outcomes in Brazil. CONSERV currently enrolls only private rural properties, with focus on medium and large farms. But before any contract is established, each farm and its owners pass through a due diligence process to ensure that no farm is in conflict with the land tenure rights of traditional communities (indigenous or otherwise) or other smallholders. 
CONSERV is also working to develop a program branch specifically aimed at reaching vulnerable family farmers - so called CONSERV Smallholders. This mechanism will target both the avoidance of carbon emissions and carbon removal. Operational models are being explored with partners in light of lessons learned from the current pilot. 
Most critically, the impacts of CONSERV at scale will protect farmers and vulnerable rural communities throughout the operating region by enhancing agricultural resilience to climate change. CONSERV‚ protection of native vegetation helps avoid worsening extremes of temperature and drought, which are likely under models of current deforestation rates in the Legal Amazon. Business-as-usual rates of legal deforestation are likely to contribute to projected ecological and climatic tipping points across the Amazon region. These potential tipping points are a problem that directly affect the most vulnerable peoples and local communities in the Amazon, for whom there is no simple escape from the impacts of such changes on lives and livelihoods.

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Mission Statement:

IPAM is a non-profit organization that has been working for the sustainable development of tropical regions since 1995 by promoting science, education, and innovation. IPAM‚ purpose is to solidify the Amazonian tropical development model by 2035, by producing knowledge, implementing local initiatives and directing public policies, in a way that influences economic development, social equality, and environmental preservation. Actions to avoid and mitigate deforestation and climate change are at the core of IPAM‚ activity and are linked with the three main axes pursued by the organization: conservation and governance in protected areas and indigenous lands, increasing production with zero deforestation, and sustainable family production. IPAM‚ history includes many successful actions that align with this vision, such as CONSERV. The Amazon has been the focal operation region for IPAM and, more recently, the Cerrado Biome has also integrated its operation.

Link: Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/IPAMAmazonia (no project specific page)

Link: Twitter:

@IPAM_Amazonia (no project specific page)

Link: Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/ipam_amazonia (no project specific page)