PROJECT Development Facility

Request for PDF Block B Approval

Financing Plan (US$)
GEF Allocation
Project (estimated) / 20,000.000
Project Co-financing (estimated) / 10,000.000
PDF A* / -
PDF B** (US$ thousands) / 349.0
PDF C / -

Sub-Total GEF PDF

/ 349.0
PDF Co-financing (details provided in Part II, Section E – Budget)
(US$ thousands)
IBRD/IDA/IFC / -
Government Contribution / 174.,5 (BA) and 174,.5 (CE)
Others / -
Sub-Total PDF Co-financing / 349.0
Total PDF Project Financing / 698.0

* Indicate approval date of PDFA:

** If supplemental, indicate amount and date of originally approved PDF

Agency’s Project ID:

GEFSEC Project ID:

Country: Brazil

Project Title: Conservation and Sustainable Management of the Caatinga Biome

GEF Agency: World Bank

OTHER EXECUTING AGENCY(IES):

Bahia: Companhia de Desenvolvimento e Ação Regional – CAR, and Centro de Recursos Ambientais – CRA; and

Ceará: Secretariat of Environment – SOMA

Financing Intermediary: Fundação Luiz Eduardo Magalhães – FLEM

Duration: 5 Years

GEF Focal Area: Multiple Focal Area/OP 12

GEF Operational Program:

OP 01 – Arid and Semi-arid Zones Ecosystems

OP 12 – Integrated Approach to Ecosystem Management

GEF Strategic Priorities:

BD-2, CB-1, CB-2EM-1

Estimated Starting Date: August, 1stSeptember, 2004

Estimated WP Entry Date: May 19, 2005

Pipeline Entry Date: Oct. 1, 2001

Record of endorsement on behalf of the Government:

Carlos Eduardo Lampert Costa, GEF Operational Focal Point, Department of International Affairs (SEAIN), Ministry of Planning and Coordination (MOP) / March 22, 2004
This proposal has been prepared in accordance with GEF policies and procedures and meets the standards of the GEF Project Review Criteria for approval.
Steve Gorman
GEF Executive Coordinator, World Bank / Jocelyne Albert, GEF Regional Coordinator
Project Contact Person
Tel. and email:(202) 473-3458;
Date: August 17, 2004

PART I - Project Concept

A - Summary

1. Project Objective and Description

The objectives of the proposed Project are to:

·  further the conservation and protection of caatinga biodiversity;

·  integrate community based planning and implementation approaches with biome-wide ecosystem management;

·  reduce land degradation and processes leading to desertification;

·  design and test local solutions to ecosystem management and conservation;

·  improve the quality of life of the population living in the caatinga biome of Bahia and Ceará States.

The proposed GEF[1] grant project would act as a catalyst to modify existing behavior and attitudes towards the conservation and sustainable management of this unique biome in Brazil. The Project would build an integrated ecosystem management approach at a subregional level, different from the more sectoral approaches taken to development in the region. The project is unique in that it has a regional focus, integrating and expanding actions by two States that, together cover nearly half the biome. It would also undertake a concerted effort at the State and municipal level to create an enabling environment for conservation and sustainable use of the caatinga biome. The basic strategy would be to help low-income rural producers to increase their income through better management of soils and other natural resources while reducing the pressure on natural vegetation caused by destructive management practices. Although only a fraction of the region is incorporated in conservation units, the project is based on the assumption that more and faster progress can be made towards conserving caatinga ecosystems, their species and functions by improving management practices in caatinga landscapes. This strategy is based on the dearth of areas suitable for creation of conservation units, the lack of funds for that purpose, and also because conservation units are particularly difficult to manage in the region due to the high poverty levels that make it difficult to successfully manage conservation units in this region.

To achieve these objectives, the Project would support activities under three broad categories:

(i)  Statewide approaches to strategy formulation; assessment, and monitoring of caatinga ecosystem status; institutional capacity building for biodiversity conservation; and encouragement of creation of private nature reserves;

(ii)  Targeted interventions in selected pilot demonstration areas that would reduce vulnerability to drought, offer alternatives to slash-and-burn agriculture, integrate cropping and livestock systems in a sustainable fashion, improve soil and watershed management and offer alternative livelihood systems; and

(iii)  Knowledge dissemination and public awareness raising.

The primary lfocus of Project activities and the primary use of funding would be demonstration areas chosen among municipalities with low Human Development Index. The populations of such localities would receive technical support and guidance for the sustainable use of their resources from qualified extension agencies, NGOs, universities and other actors in accordance with their capacity and interests. The project would also mobilize communities to seek assistance from other programs that provide assistance to small rural producers and to guide their efforts, such as the National Family Farm Credit Facility (PRONAF), and various programs aimed at water capture and water storage. If successful, the approach would reduce pressure on natural resources in the project areas providing more stable livelihoods and better living standards for the local population while also yielding important global benefits.

A knowledge-management system would be developed to compile experience and promote dissemination to other areas of the region. Such multiplication and dissemination would take place through exchange of experience with staff of the MMA and the environmental agencies of other States and municipalities, through workshops and seminars presenting successful experiences in the conservation and capacity building activities related to the sustainable use of natural resources in the caatinga biome. This exchange would begin in the project preparation phase and continue into the implementation phase. The MMA project team would be invited to participate in these events to ensure the integration and complementarity of the projects at a national level.

Due to the size of the geographic area occupied by the caatinga biome within the Bahia and Ceará States and of its population, the Project should be viewed in the context of a long-term strategy that (a) integrates the various sectors involved in the use of the resources of the caatinga biome, and provides a comprehensive vision for conservation, while it also (b) carries out activities in the form of strategically selected demonstration pilots. These would provide the foundation for this initiative to be extended to other areas of Bahia and Ceará, and to serve as a reference for other states to the formulation and fine-tuning of environmental protection policies as well as conservation and sustainable use of the caatinga.

While the same components would be developed in Bahia and Ceará during preparation, each State will develop specific activities based on its needs and potential for integration with other programs and projects in order to successfully achieve project objectives. The project will benefit from cross-fertilization from ideas and experiences arising in each context. As currently conceived, the Project would consist of the following 5 components and potential activities (to be revised and developed during project preparation)[2]:

Component 1: Participatory Legal and Policy Framework

Objective: Develop State policy and formulation of strategies for the conservation and sustainable use of the caatinga and its ecosystems.

Potential activities:

·  Promote statewide dialogue with stakeholders to gather their views and needs, and establish partnerships with civil society for the conservation of the caatinga biome;

·  Survey legal provisions and regulations existing in the State, dealing with the sustainable use and conservation of the caatinga’s natural resources;

·  Seek the adoption of state legislation, and, as necessary federal regulations and practice so that the use of the caatinga biome’s natural resources is better regulated and monitorable;

·  Promote measures to legally recognize communally managed territorial units that are more likely to preserve biodiversity;

·  Adopt strategies favoring the promotion of green certification for sustainably produced projects in the Northeast. ;

·  Establish partnerships with financial and development agents in order to make lines of credit available to finance productive and social activities that combine the socioeconomic use of the biome with its conservation and conservation;

·  Analyze the potential for state incentives for reforestation and use of fuel-efficient technologies in selected industries that depend on wood for fuel;

·  Develop a “green seal” of ecological quality for caatinga products obtained by using environmentally sustainable technologies;

·  Facilitate the alignment and mainstreaming of caatinga conservation activities and sustainable management in other policies at State level.

·  Constitute a permanent inter-institutional forum to discuss and suggest updates or new strategic policies for the conservation and conservation of the caatinga.

Component 2: Caatinga Biome-wide Management

Objective: Develop region-wide activities favoring conservation and sustainable use of the caatinga.

Potential activities:

·  Identification and carrying out of necessary studies;

·  Assessment and evaluation of literature, collections and available institutions with regard to the biome (including use of existing PROBIO workshop data);

·  Assessment of existing and developing technologies for the conservation and sustainable use of the biome;

·  Consolidation of existing Protected Areas through work in their buffer zones;

·  Contribution to the creation and protection of biological corridors;

·  Promote the creation of new Private Nature Reserves RPPNs[3];

·  Apply previous research results to deal with the recovery of the caatinga’s natural resources.

To avoid duplication with the regional project coordinated by the MMA, the Bahia/Ceará team has begun consultations with the MMA and has already agreed on an approach to avoid geographical or thematic overlap.

Component 3: Integrated Management Demonstration Subprojects

Objective: Conservation and sustainable use of the caatinga, including the use of alternative agricultural and livestock innovative technologies, improved soil and water management, etc.

Potential activities in each demonstration subproject:

·  Local caatinga conservation and management to be carried out at the landscape scale within an integrated ecosystem approach; this could involve protecting links in an ecological corridor[4] or assistance in the development of zoning plans for APAs;

·  Environmental education for caatinga resource users such as rural producers;

·  Application of alternative production and marketing technologies that ensure the improvement of rural producers’ income and the ecological and economic sustainability of the production systems used.;

·  Support and encourage community organization and the formation of associations and cooperatives;

·  Systematization and dissemination of available research results for the development of techniques for cultivation of plant species, incentives to sustainably harvest or to plant and market medicinal and other useful plants and possibly to raise economically valuable local animal species.

The following typology and sample activities for the demonstration sub-projects would guide the selection of areas and actors to implement subprojects:

Ø  Defined landscape units – rural producers in the caatinga biome living in neighborhoods, villages or communities and relying on a geographically bounded resource base. [5] Activities would consist of introducing sustainable agricultural practices (cropping and grazing) aimed at reversing processes of degradation of the natural caatinga vegetation and soils such as reducing burning as a land-clearing technique, dissemination of fuel-efficient wood and charcoal stoves, incorporation of crop wastes into the soil, etc. This would be achieved through community organization, technical assistance, reforestation of degraded and desertified areas, investments in economically viable production alternatives, environmental education, etc.

Ø  Microcatchments – in initial or moderate stages of degradation with a manageable number of properties or rural producers. Activities would consist of working with rural producers to reduce erosion, optimize soil and water resources, reduce runoff, protect water sources through improved soil management, control of grazing animals and of agrochemicals, environmental education, revegetation of critical riparian areas, construction of underground dams for water retention, etc.[6]

Ø  Agrarian Reform Settlements – located within or close to caatinga areas worthy of conservation, rehabilitation and/or management. Activities would consist of working with rural producers who are willing to experiment new forms of agriculture and small animal livestock such as creation of managed community woodlots, alternative income (e.g. handicraft, commercialization of native medicines) economically viable and environmentally sustainable conservation[7].

Ø  Buffer Zones of Existing Caatinga Conservation Units – communities in areas surrounding conservation units (e.g. parks, ecological stations, or private conservation units). Activities would consist of working with the resident population to create a sustainable buffer zone around it. This would be achieved through technical assistance and investments in alternative production modes, land titling activities, and environmental education.[8]

The demonstration sub-project areas to be chosen would be selected according to the following criteria:

v  Biome Relevance: Located within the representative areas of the caatinga biome of Bahia or Ceará States where significant environmental values judged to be worth conserving are present;

v  Poverty: Located in poor municipalities with low Human Development Index (HDI) ratings;

v  Social Capital: Demonstrated capacity to mobilize and cooperate around community defined goals;

v  Local Control over Resources: Have control (ownership or effective control) over significant areas of caatinga woodland that is suitable for conservation or restoration to a natural or near-natural state;

v  Degradation Risk: Areas at risk of soil degradation due to human activities such as timber extraction, inappropriate soil management or cropping practices;

v  Local Political Viability: Local authorities display interest and commitment;

v  Community Counterpart: Indications of community readiness to invest its own resources (labor, cash contributions, etc.)

Component 4: Institutional Development and Capacity Building

Objective: Build Institutional Capacity through Knowledge Management and targeted Dissemination of Information and training.

Potential Activities:

·  Environmental education, focused on local ecology, aimed at opinion leaders, school students, farmers, entrepreneurs and the community in general, as a means of adding value to the standing native caatinga, dissemination of technologies that minimize land degradation promoting cultural change with regard to aspects of unsustainable exploitation and others;

·  Training and organization of local project beneficiaries so that they can participate in the process build awareness of the risks of degradation and of the potential for sustainable production;