Introduction

Ranked as one of the world 25 biodiversity “hotspots”, the Atlantic Rainforest with some 1.6 million species is proportionally more biodiverse than even the Amazon, while also being home to two thirds of the Brazilian population. Although seriously threatened, with nearly 93% of its original area leveled, efforts to save what is left are still sadly lacking and its destruction continues.

Two types of conservation actions are urgently needed:

1. Park Consolidation. Brazilian authorities have created a number of parks and other officially protected areas, but unfortunately most of these have not yet been fully implemented and remain “paper parks”. Projects to consolidate them by hiring park rangers, building visitor centers, and developing park management plans are needed. In this way, “paper parks” (existing on maps only) can be transformed into “live parks” that are protected for future generations to enjoy.

2. Corridor-building. Due to urban and agricultural development, almost 93% of the Atlantic Rainforest has been cut down, leaving fragments that need to be pieced together through reforested “corridors” to establish the critical masses of habitat necessary to maintain the genetic diversity of key species of flora and fauna.

As is the trend worldwide, nonprofit groups are beginning to play a significant role in addressing these challenges, in collaboration with government authorities. To do so, however, training of NGO conservation professionals is require to impart needed skills to design, fund, and implement management plans for Brazil’s most important parks and nature reserves. Recognizing that fact, Natural Partners with IPÊ has put together a two-part program offering courses and one-on-one mentoring for park consolidation and corridor-building projects.

Program Outline

I. Purpose: To launch a comprehensive and focused program of capacity building for Brazilian environmental NGOs to help them work with government authorities and local stakeholders to (A) transform “paper parks” into “live parks” with trained park rangers, a management plan, a visitors center and educational programs for the public; and (B) build “ecological corridors” between major remnants of the Atlantic Rainforest.

The objective of these actions is (i) to protect the most threatened species of the Atlantic Rainforest; (ii) to safeguard the sources of water vital to two thirds of the Brazilian population; (iii) to reduce deforestation, the leading cause of greenhouse gas emissions in Brazil; and (iv) to provide new educational and recreational opportunities with nature.

II. Program Structure:

The program will begin with courses tailored for environmental NGOs leaders (Part A of the Program) to provide a common conceptual framework and tools to do hands-on project work (Part B of the Program). During Part B, NGO leaders will be mentored in the design, financing and implementation of park consolidation and corridor-building projects. These two parts of the Program will be closely integrated. To help optimize integration and continuity, key course instructors (of Part A) will be invited to serve as members of a Technical Advisory Council to help during Part B with the design of each project’s component activities and related funding strategies.

COURSEWORK (Classroom instruction) – (During initial 4 to 6 months)

– To establish a common conceptual foundation for the participating NGOs:

The leaders of environmental NGOs in Brazil have solid backgrounds in biology or other scientific fields but often lack business and project management skills. Short courses (up to 1 week) will be offered to complement their past formal training in areas that will permit them to develop and manage park implementation and corridor-building projects:

B. PROJECT WORK – Mentoring & technical assistance during 18 months

-- To applying the concepts learned in ‘A’ above.

This mentoring / technical assistance component of the Mini-SEBRAE Program is designed not only to help participants apply concepts learned from their course-work but also produce some quantifiable outcomes (see Section IV below).

During this second part, participating NGO leaders will “learn by doing” as they are mentored to design, fundraise for and implement community-based projects to implement parks and build ecological corridors and promote sustainable uses of local resources. Mentoring and technical assistance will be provided to participants in the first four of the 7 project phases, which typically make up a project’s life cycle:

• Strategic Planning **
• Project concept paper **
• Detailed project proposal**
• Project finance / fundraising **
• Project Implementation
• Project monitoring & evaluation
• Project maintenance & sustainability

III. Participants / Beneficiaries:

The initial Program pilot (24 months) for which funding is sought will allow 16 environmental NGO leaders and 24 NGO technical staff to participate in the courses (Part A) and subsequent project work (Part B). Assistance in the selection process will be provided by leaders of Brazil’s Rede de ONGs da Mata Atlântica (Atlantic Rainforest Network of NGOs).

IV. Program Outcomes:

Each participating NGO will commit to initiating or expanding a corridor-building project and helping implement a park. The expected outcomes of the pilot phase of the Program (depending in part on the level of program funding) include the following:

• 40 NGO professionals (from 8 leading Brazilian environmental NGOs) trained in the essentials of project design, financing and implementation
• 8 project proposals produced by these NGO leaders under the guidance of Program mentors and technical advisors, which provide …
• Plans to protect / manage 40,000 hectares (90,000 acres) of priority habitat; and
• 8 fundraising campaigns initiated with technical support provided by the Program.

V. AREAS OF PROGRAM RESONSIBILITY:

1. Courses development and execution: IPÊ and Natural Partners;
2. Mentoring: Natural Partners, IPÊ, and Program’s Technical Advisory Council;
3. Program administration: Natural Partners with the support of IPÊ in Brazil;
4. Financial oversight / accountability: Natural Partners with the support of IPÊ in Brazil;
5. Participant selection: Natural Partners with the assistance of IPÊ and members of the Rede de ONGs da Mata Atlântica (Atlantic Rainforest NGO Network)

VI. Justification of the Program

The proposed program is critical to save the biodiversity and intrinsic beauty of the remaining indigenous Atlantic forest and the implementation of proposed program must begin before it is too late:

1. Time is running out for key areas of the Atlantic Rainforest.

• The biome is an environmental “Hot Spot”. Only 7% of the original biome remains standing with major deforestation and degradation continuing;
• The biome has some 1.6 million species – making it “proportionally more biodiverse than the Amazon” but most are not effectively protected; and

2. Local environmental NGOs lack the project management and business skills needed to design and raise funds for projects on the scale that is now required. A number of NGOs, including members of the Rede de ONGs da Mata.Atlânta, have expressed a strong interest in participating in a training / project development program like the one proposed, which is focused on saving essential habitat through corridor-building or park implementation.


3. One-off courses, seminar, workshops and conference alone are insufficient for developing the skills required to design, fund and implement corridor-building projects successfully or transform a paper park into a true functioning one. A comprehensive and collaborative initiative is required.


4. The program represents the “front-end” investment needed to do the job for preserving the biodiversity of the Atlantic Rainforest. What is needed, in fairly short order is a capability to manage, in a sustain manner, the natural resources on which some 120 million Brazilians rely for their water, recreation and inspiration.


5. A failure to manage these vital natural assets will jeopardize the quality of life of future generations to come, including the water supply of two thirds of Brazil’s people.