WWF INVOLVENENT IN BRAZIL



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WF has been working since 1991 to establish an independent, national WWF Organization in Brazil. The representative office established in 1990 now includes a multi­disciplinary team who actively support the projects and provides an information service for Brazilian audiences.


The Brazil programme has recently shifted from a regional approach, to a thematic approach, structured around WWF's global strategic priorities.


Establishment and management of protected areas holds priority. In addition to direct support for individual protected areas, WWF aims to improve Brazil's national network of protected areas. Measures include training park staff, encouraging the involvement of local communities and advocacy work aimed at improving legislation.


Sustainable development is another cornerstone of the Brazil programme. Rural poverty in Brazil has long been recognized as one of the root causes of overexploitation of natural resources and encroachment on protected areas. In response, WWF's integrated conservation and development projects (ICDPs) are designed to ensure that conservation of natural resources does not take place at the expense of local communities and that these communities are closely involved in sustainable resource management projects.


These projects are focused on the country's extractive as well as indigenous reserves. In two extractive reserves (Amapá and Rondônia) WWF works as an operational partner for bilateral aid agencies. There are also projects with four of the country's indigenous peoples (Xavante, Kaxinawá, Tikuna, and Nambiquara). WWF support in extractive and indigenous reserves includes basic community organization and help in diversifying production and improving the marketing of a variety of products ranging from rubber to palm heart and Brazil nuts.


In a country as diverse as Brazil conservation of endangered species - another of WWF's global strategic priorities - is often the "raison d'être" for a project but never the sole focus. It is one aspect of WWF's integrated approach to conservation crystallized in the ICDP concept. A sea turtle protection scheme along Brazil's 7,400 km coastline is a good example of this. Up until a decade ago, the five species of sea turtles which nest along the sandy Brazilian beaches were killed for their meat, eggs, and shells. Then in 1980 a marine conservation programme - Project Tamar - was launched to protect the turtles and their nesting sites. Today the poachers have turned gamekeepers - paid to patrol beaches, checking on nests and gathering some of the eggs to be reburied and hatched in open­air hatcheries. Last season a record 265,000 baby turtles were released into the sea.


The WWF­supported project includes an environmental education programme and has also spawned a cottage handicraft industry based on - but not using - the sea turtles. Local villagers now sell papier­mâché and carved wooden turtles, turtle­motif jewellery and T­shirts, giving them an economic incentive to protect the sea turtles.


A less tangible - though equally important - area of work for WWF in Brazil involves supporting existing treaties such as Ramsar (The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, especially as Waterfowl Habitat), and CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna), as well as the implementation of new treaties such as those on Climate Change and Biodiversity negotiated at the Earth Summit (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. Other important policy work includes monitoring the environmental impact of government agricultural and forestry policies and large­scale infrastructure development projects such as the World Bank regional development projects in Rondônia and Mato Grosso and the Paraguay­Paraná waterway project.


Environmental education is used as a key conservation tool in Brazil. Within ICDP it is introduced informally to enable local communities to decide on natural resource­use. Elsewhere environmental education is being developed as part of the school curriculum. Other activities include funding a newsletter for environmental education teachers, small grants to encourage the development of in­service education programmes for teachers, and a weekly radio programme for Amazonia on conservation and sustainable development. The radio programme, "Natureza Viva", is a joint venture between Radiobrás, the national radio network, Amazonian NGOs, and the UN Fund for Women (UNIFEM). Radio is an ideal medium in this area where illiteracy and the lack of electricity limit the practical use of TV and the print media. Many indigenous and environmental groups regularly tune into this popular weekly programme.


In order to increase its effectiveness in Brazil, WWF works in partnership with other conservation and development NGOs and government agencies. Over the past decade the number of NGOs has mushroomed and both state and federal environmental agencies have also experienced rapid growth. There are now some 2,000 NGOs active in conservation work. WWF provides financial support, technical assistance and training to help improve the operational capacity of its main NGO partners. Workshops have been held on a variety of topics ranging from dispute resolution procedures to preparing project proposals and fundraising.




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Copyright 1996, The World Wide Fund For Nature