WHAT'S NEW
ASL NEWSLETTER - March 2024
The latest edition of the ASL Newsletter is out. This issue features a spotlight on the International Day of Forests, which focused on 'Forests and Innovation' this year. It's a call to action for collaboration, partnerships, and innovative policies to preserve and sustainably use our forests for present and future generations. The ASL is proud to be a part of these efforts.
An example of the power of collective action to protect Amazon forests is the funding efforts granted to the region’s conservation and sustainable management. In this newsletter we feature our latest publication providing a comprehensive analysis of grant funding from 2013 to 2022. We also highlight details from our annual conference, the latest and upcoming virtual learning events, and key stories from the ASL’s national projects. International Women’s Day was also celebrated this month and several pieces highlight the role of women in providing for a better future in the Amazon.
Read the newsletter in English - Spanish - Portuguese
Learn about the importance of the Amazon at local and global scales, the threats the region faces, and how sustainable development can help save its extraordinary biodiversity and peoples for current and future generations.
This course is the product of a collaboration between the Science Panel for the Amazon (SPA), the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), and the World Bank (WB), with financial support from the Global Environment Facility (GEF). Available in English with transcripts in Spanish and Portuguese.
Start date: March 18, 2024
Enroll now: https://bit.ly/AmazonMOOC
International Funding for Amazon Conservation and Sustainable Management: An analysis of grant funding from 2013 to 2022
This analysis provides important data on funding for conservation and sustainable development in the Amazon, especially given its focus on the period in which the COVID-19 pandemic occurred. This information can be used to inform and promote dialogue leading to enhanced donor coordination efforts. Key recommendations include updating these data regularly, enhancing the analysis with impact evaluations, using the data to establish synergies among donors and recipients, and increasing funding that goes directly to indigenous and local communities. The study makes the updated funding data from 2013-2022 available in an interactive open access data visualization dashboard, which was created by the World Bank during the previous study.
2023 ANNUAL CONFERENCE MEMOIRS - Tarapoto, Peru
Explore the highlights of the Sixth Annual ASL Conference. Held in Tarapoto, Peru from November 13-17, 2023 the conference was a testament to the power of collective action. Explore the exchange of knowledge, capacity building, and regional cooperation that took place during the event.
Read the memoirs in English - Spanish - Portuguese
Feature Story: Regional Collaboration to Address the Impacts of Mercury Pollution in the Amazon
Illegal mining in the Amazon region is causing widespread mercury contamination, with far-reaching consequences for ecosystems, biodiversity, and the health of local communities. This feature story highlights the development of a series of activities to strengthen regional collaboration in the fight against the impacts of gold mining and mercury pollution.
Read the feature story in English, Spanish and Portuguese.
Indigenous Youth on Cultural Identity and a Livable Planet
This year, the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples recognizes the efforts of Indigenous Youth to support sustainable development, along with their pursuit of justice and preservation of their culture and traditions. The World Bank interviewed Indigenous Youth leaders around the world, including Eglenis Valerio of the Ticuna people and Danixa Moreno of the Nonuya people from the Amazon region. They highlighted the importance of strengthening and revitalizing their connection with the environment as key to their identity.
Read the feature story in English and Spanish
PREVIOUS ASL EVENTS
Webinar: Putting geospatial data into action: Indigenous Peoples' community-led rainforest monitoring in the Amazon region | April 2, 2024 | 10:00-11:30 DC
Globally, Indigenous Peoples and local community-managed lands play a pivotal role in mitigating climate change and preserving the planet's ecological balance, accounting for at least 293,061 million metric tons of carbon, equivalent to 17% of the total carbon stored in the world's forestlands, and roughly 16 percent of intact forest landscapes, serving as critical biodiversity havens. The Amazon region alone is home to around 500 different Indigenous groups, whose territories cover almost 29 percent of one of the most biodiverse biomes in the world, hosting more than 10 percent of the planet's biodiversity. Management of these indigenous territories has been shown to result in lower deforestation and degradation rates, conservation of biodiversity, improved livelihoods, food security, and enhancement of their rights across the Amazon.
In this webinar, we will explore how new technologies, including geospatial data, directly used by Indigenous Peoples can support effective management of their territories, providing them with accessible, up to date information to monitor threats and preserve their natural resources. Drawing on examples of participatory monitoring efforts from Brazil, Guyana, and Peru, speakers will show how new technologies, including mobile apps, drones, and satellite imagery, are being used to track areas of deforestation and provide compelling evidence to influence policymakers. Join us as we discuss how community-led initiatives supported by geospatial data can tackle environmental threats and support the protection of these invaluable territories.
More information about the webinar
Recording: English (Spanish and Portuguese available soon) - Presentations
Debt conversion for nature allows borrowing countries to obtain debt relief and/or generate fiscal space in exchange for environmental investments, including for biodiversity conservation. Debt conversion has been used globally in the past few years, with agreements taking place in Peru, Ecuador, Barbados, Belize and the Seychelles. There is increased interest from governments in debt conversion and a need to accelerate these transactions to meet global biodiversity, climate and sustainable development goals.
In this third installment of the ASL and Pew Sustainable Financing for Nature webinar series experts shared practical experience with debt conversions for nature. They described how these agreements work, the potential for future agreements and the key factors and risks that need to be considered. Perspectives from a diversity of sectoral partners allowed participantsto gain a deeper understanding of this innovative tool and how it can be used to finance investments in nature while simultaneously uplifting developing nations, with a particular view to how this instrument could benefit the Amazon biome.
Webinar: Achieving the 30x30 Target in Latin America and the World – Guidance for Implementation
Thursday, November 9, 2023 | 9:00 – 10:30 AM EST
A key target of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) aims to ensure 30 percent of terrestrial, aquatic, and marine areas are effectively conserved (Target 3), reflecting the strategic role conservation areas play in guaranteeing global environmental benefits, and their importance to reach the global vision of a world living in harmony with nature by 2050. To help countries implement activities to achieve this target, a new guide on Target 3: “30x30: A Guide to Inclusive, Equitable and Effective Implementation of Target 3 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework” was developed by WWF, IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) and The Nature Conservancy (TNC), with funding from the Global Environment Facility (GEF). The guide is an introductory “how-to” for implementers tasked with protecting 30 percent of the planet by 2030. It draws on the experience from several countries, including Ecuador and Chile, who will discuss their national approaches. The webinar offers an opportunity for participants to discuss how to fulfill this ambitious target in ways that are inclusive, equitable, and effective; with a focus on the Amazon and Latin America but with relevance for countries worldwide aiming to protect high biodiversity areas.
Webinar: Financing Conservation – the role of bonds
Thursday, October 19, 2023 | 10:00 – 11:30 AM EST
Download the presentations:
- Farah Imrana Hussain - World Bank (English)
- Viviane Silva - Brazilian National Treasury (English / Português)
- Matthew McLuckie - Posaidon Capital (English)
- Elisson Wright - World Bank (English)
Watch the recording: English - Spanish - Portuguese
The escalation of biodiversity loss is projected to have a significant impact on the global economy. The World Bank estimates that the loss of ecosystem services could decrease annual global GDP by up to USD 2.7 trillion by 2030. Addressing the threat to biodiversity requires capital that is currently out of reach. The Global Biodiversity Framework estimates that the finance gap for addressing biodiversity loss is USD 700 billion a year until 2030. New sources of capital must be unlocked.
The second installment of this ASL Sustainable Financing for Nature webinar series explored the use of bonds to catalyze new funding sources for conservation. Bonds present an innovative pathway to leverage funds for biodiversity conservation and ecosystem restoration, financing a wide range of conservation activities, such as protected area management, sustainable livelihoods and forest restoration. The green bond market alone has grown rapidly since the first bond was issued in 2007, reaching a cumulative issuance of USD 1 trillion in 2020. Drawing on practical examples from around the world, experts from the field will explain how different types of bonds are being used to unlock resources for conservation and how similar models might be applied to protect the Amazon Rainforest and enhance livelihoods.
Webinar: Exploring Employment Effects of Restoration Efforts
Tuesday, August 29, 2023
Watch the recording: English - Spanish interpretation - Portuguese interpretation
Download the presentation: Climate Focus
This webinar explored the social and economic benefits arising from restoration activities supported by the Amazon Sustainable Landscapes (ASL) program. In collaboration with Climate Focus, a study highlighting the employment dynamics associated with forest restoration was developed. Together, we will closely examine ASL projects across Colombia, Peru, and Brazil, and break down the direct and potential employment effects of forest restoration activities, using smart analysis and insights from beneficiaries. This webinar uncovered the benefits of investing in restoration, as inputs for private and public financing decisions in the context of the UN Decade for Restoration.
Mesoamerica Critical Forest Biomes: Protecting the irreplaceable
🌱 Side event: “Mesoamerica Critical Forest Biomes: Protecting the irreplaceable”, at the 7th GEF Assembly, in Vancouver, Canada
🗓️ Wednesday 23 August 11 to 12.30h local time
📍Room 208, Vancouver Convention Centre
ASL Webinar: Unlocking Private Finance for Nature
Tuesday, May 23, 2023
Watch the recording: English - Spanish interpretation - Portuguese interpretation
Download the presentations: Fiona Stewart: Lead Financial Sector Specialist, World Bank / Matthew Reddy: Senior Private Sector Specialist, GEF / Ricardo Politi: Chief Innovation Officer, Amazon Investor Coalition
Private finance can and must be harnessed to drive critical protection and management of biodiversity and ecosystem services, which are deteriorating at an unprecedented level. To address this, in December 2022 parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity adopted the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, part of which includes a target to protect at least 30 percent of lands, inland water, and coastal and marine areas globally by 2030 recognizing and respecting the rights of Indigenous peoples and local communities, including over their traditional territories, and mobilizing resources needed to attain this ‘30 by 30’ commitment. It is widely recognized that traditional global and domestic sources of conservation financing will not be sufficient, and there is an urgent need to leverage new financing sources.
Drawing upon the 2020 report by the World Bank, Mobilizing Private Sector Finance for Nature, this webinar explored how the private sector can help unlock the resources needed to address the biodiversity and climate crises.
Report: A Balancing Act for Brazil’s Amazonian States - An Economic Memorandum
Brazil’s Legal Amazon, here called Amazônia, comprises nine states, most of which rank among the poorest in Brazil. Amazônia is one of the world’s last frontier regions. But economic expansion has moved into those ancient forests, destroying them at a rapid rate—especially in Amazônia’s southeast, within what is known as the “Arc of Deforestation”— and threatening the ways of life of many traditional communities. There is an urgent need for an alternative development path for Amazônia that promotes inclusion and sustainable natural-resource use.
This memorandum presents a multipronged approach, a balancing act that seeks to simultaneously provide a pathway to higher incomes for Amazonians while also protecting natural forests and traditional ways of life.
ASL Webinar: Tipping point in the Amazon - Where are we? - December 1st 2022
Watch the recordings:
Original Audio - Spanish interpretation - English Interpretation - Portuguese Interpretation
Download the presentation of Carlos Nobre - SPA and Matt Finer - MAAP
It is increasingly reported that the largest rainforest in the world, the Amazon, is rapidly approaching its tipping point. As highlighted by Carlos Nobre and the late Tom Lovejoy, this tipping point is where parts of the rainforest will convert into drier ecosystems due to disrupted precipitation patterns and more intense dry seasons, both exacerbated by deforestation. The impacts within the Amazon as well as beyond its boundaries can be catastrophic for both people and nature, upsetting a balance that local people have depended on for millennia as they shaped their lives around its climate, the economic foundation that its forests and waters make possible, and the ecosystem services (carbon sink, freshwater, etc.) that it provides to millions across a vast continent.
This webinar, organized by the Amazon Sustainable Landscapes Program (ASL) financed by the GEF and led by the World Bank, together with the Amazon Conservation's Monitoring of the Andean Amazon (MAAP) project Monitoring of the Andean Amazon Program (MAAP) provided a discussion on the tipping point, starting with its meaning and where we may be now (MAAP 164 and MAAP 144), and the value of indigenous territories and protected areas as a major defense against reaching the tipping point (MAAP 141).
ASL Webinar: Sustainable management of fisheries in the Amazon region – Case study Putumayo-Içá - November 29th, 2022, 9 am (Lima, Quito, DC).
Watch the recordings:
Original Audio - Spanish interpretation - English Interpretation - Portuguese Interpretation
Download the presentation of Sebastián Heilpern - Cornell University, Corine Vriesendorp - Field Museum de Chicago, Guillermo Estupiñán - WCS.
The Amazon Basin has the highest diversity of freshwater fish in the world and fishing is the main source of income and food for the riverine communities that inhabit it. Migratory species moving along free flowing rivers and connected ecosystems such as Catfish (Brachyplatystoma rousseauxii), Tambaqui (Colossoma macropomum) or Boquichico (Prochilodus nigricans) are the most commercially important in the Amazon Basin. However, they are seriously threatened by a combination of factors such as overfishing, construction of infrastructure that interrupts their migratory route, destruction of breeding habitats, and contamination. Unsustainable and unregulated fishing, together with population growth in some urban centres, increases demand and results in reduced fish stocks that are unable to reproduce and recover. This problem requires joint actions with the participation of different stakehholders such as local communities, governmental intitutions, academia and civil society to design and implement fishery management plans that consider both the context of the Amazon basin and its sub-basins. In this complex and diverse scenario, several management models have been developed and that have serve as case studies from which successful elements can be identify to improve fisheries management in the region.
The series of talks organised by the Amazon Sustainable Landscapes Programme (ASL) under the leadership of the World Bank, in conjunction with the Field Museum of Chicago, presented different fisheries management experiences in the Amazon, highlighting lessons learned that can be applied in other contexts. This third talk presented the vision about sustainable management of fishery resources at the regional scale of the Amazon basin; and later, representatives of the Field Museum of Chicago and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) presented a more specific vision at the sub-basin level and in particular the Putumayo-Içá river basin.
Download the study - Women's Solutions: Lessons for the conservation and sustainable development of the Amazon region
Download the study Women's Solutions: Lessons for Conservation and Development in the Amazon region, prepared by the Center for International Forestry Research - CIFOR, commissioned by the regional project of the Amazon Sustainable Landscapes program - ASL led by the World Bank. The study highlights success stories in the Amazon regions of Brazil, Colombia, and Peru, where gender gaps have been reduced, and from which lessons and relevant recommendations for other interventions can be drawn. The study was presented during a webinar in October 25.
DOWNLOAD THE FULL REPORT HERE (in Spanish)
DOWNLOAD THE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY HERE (in Spanish)
Watch the recordings of the presentation webinar:
Spanish interpretation - English Interpretation - Portuguese Interpretation
More info about the study here.
Lessons Learned in Effective Donor Collaboration for Amazon Conservation and Sustainable Development
Oct 18, 2022 This study was prepared responding to a request by a group of donors to distill lessons learned on effective donor collaboration in the Amazon through an in-depth analysis of case studies. The six case studies reviewed demonstrate critical factors that can either enable or hinder collaboration, including the need for a champion to lead collaborative efforts. This study aims to provide valuable lessons on what has worked well and what have been the major challenges to donor collaboration in the Amazon in addition to presenting concrete recommendations for donors, recipients, and other stakeholders to engage in effective collaboration efforts across the Amazon region.
Download the report here. (In English)
Amazon Youth Playing a Hands-on Role in Forest Protection
Aug 2022 Francisco Javier Vera Manzanares may be just 13 years old, but his outspoken passion to protect the environment stretches far beyond his years. Francisco, a climate change activist in Colombia and the founder of the Guardians for Life movement in Latin America, believes that nature doesn’t have boundaries and that the positive effects of the Amazon stretch to the Sahara Desert and beyond. A special guest from the Colombian Andean region at an event to talk about youth and the Amazon, Francisco is not alone in playing an active role in conservation through collective efforts.
Cesar Antonio Ascate Acosta loves to play soccer, take photos of birds, and make arts and crafts with recycled materials. Living in the Rio Oro homestead, a buffer zone of the Tingo María National Park in Peru, he also has the opportunity to be involved with initiatives created by the Securing the Future of Peru's National Protected Areas project—one of 12 projects of the World Bank-led Amazon Sustainable Landscapes (ASL) program. Those initiatives include special events supported by park rangers in nine schools in the park’s buffer zone, such as workshops with games, sports championships, and art and handicrafts centered around the importance of conserving and protecting the region.
Francisco, Cesar, and other young representatives who participate in activities organized by ASL projects shared their vision, activities and lessons learned in a conversation hosted by the ASL that also showcased the program’s efforts to involve young people in the conservation and sustainable development of communities in the Amazon region.
View presentations and event recording (in Spanish and Portuguese) - Read the Feature Story.
Honoring women’s contributions to their communities on Indigenous Peoples Day
Aug 2022 The International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples is celebrated on August 9th, marking the date of the inaugural session of the UN Working Group on Indigenous Populations in 1982. This year’s theme is The Role of Indigenous Women in the Preservation and Transmission of Traditional Knowledge, recognizing they are the backbone of indigenous people’s communities and play a crucial role in the preservation and transmission of traditional ancestral knowledge.
Working together with Indigenous Peoples is essential to the Amazon Sustainable Landscapes (ASL) Program’s objectives; one of the many ways indigenous women and men are involved is through formulating life plans, a community-based management and planning tool. ASL Program recognizes their contributions to their communities and the environment on this feature story.
Wildlife Insights – a platform to conserve and monitor wildlife in the tropics
Jul 2022 The Amazon is the largest rainforest in the world and is home to one in ten known species. To help secure biodiversity, reliable and up-to-date information is needed to understand the status and trends of wildlife species and address major threats. This webinar shared information about Wildlife Insights and the analytical tool built for pilot sites in the Amazon to analyze camera trap data and answer key questions on biodiversity and areas’ effective management.
The tool, becoming of great value for communities and conservation area managers, gives an overview of species richness, the list of species, and single species occupancy, and allows users to select and create comparison groups and to explore how wildlife populations may differ under varying management regimes, conservation programs, or other factors. The tool has been developed within Wildlife Insights, a cloud-based platform that uses machine learning to identify animals in camera trap images and provides tools to easily analyze and share important information on wildlife with the goal of recovering global wildlife populations. A customized analytical tool for Amazon sites, subject to scaling up, is a product of the GEF-funded, WB-led Amazon Sustainable Landscapes Program (ASL). Learn more
World Bank approves GEF-funded project to strengthen management of freshwater ecosystems shared by four Amazon countries
Jul 2022 The World Bank's Board of Directors approved a $12.84 million grant to strengthen conditions for Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru to manage the shared freshwater ecosystems of the Putumayo-Içá river basin in the Amazon region.
The project, prepared and supervised by the World Bank, is led by the environment ministries of Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, and the Secretariat of the Environment of the State of Amazonas in Brazil. It is financed by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), with counterpart resources of nearly US$90 million, and will be executed by the Wildlife Conservation Society. Learn more (in Spanish)
ASL Newsletter May 2022
May 2022 In this newsletter we are excited to highlight the Amazon Sustainable Landscapes (ASL) 2021 Progress Report. During 2021, the ASL1 national projects achieved important results, showing strength and resilience in response to the challenges generated by the COVID-19 pandemic and making local and national level contributions to address the impacts of the global climate and biodiversity crises. These accomplishments are a result of the strong collaboration and commitment of the ASL teams, national and subnational governments, executing and implementing agencies, associated partners, the GEF Secretariat, and all the teams and communities in the field. The report has a set of successful stories that we hope can be scaled up. Read the newsletter
Study Tour Strengthens Community-based Sustainable Tourism Initiatives in the Amazon
March 2022 The Amazon Sustainable Landscapes Program supports Community-Based Sustainable Tourism, recently facilitating a knowledge exchange journey, including virtual lessons and a study tour with local entrepreneurs, community leaders, and government officials from Brazil, Colombia, and Peru. The Community Tourism: Amazon Exchange was sponsored by the ASL, with the purpose of improving integrated landscape management and ecosystem conservation in priority areas of the Amazon.
Read the report in Portuguese | Executive Summary and recommendations in Spanish | Read the feature story here | Access all the training materials here in Spanish and in Portuguese
Securing Sustainable Financing for Conservation Areas: A Guide to Project Finance for Permanence
Dec 2021 Project Finance for Permanence (PFP) is an approach designed to secure the policies, conditions, and full funding for the effective and long-lasting protection of our planet’s important natural places. It is being applied in Bhutan, Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, and Peru, and there is increased interest in applying the PFP approach in other countries. To meet that interest with information, the ASL Working Group on Sustainable Finance has led the publication of Securing Sustainable Financing for Conservation Areas; A Guide to Project Finance for Permanence, to capture the experience and lessons learned from PFP practitioners and to serve as a guide for the application of the PFP approach. Download the PFP Guide
Amazon Assessment Report 2021:
The Amazon we want – and key ideas on how to get there
Nov 2021 The Amazon plays a critical role in influencing the global carbon cycle, it is the world’s largest freshwater system, hosting 40% of the world’s remaining rainforest and 10% of the world’s known biodiversity. Protecting the Amazon is a survival issue and a moral imperative that can be accomplished by promoting an integrated conservation and development model that is inclusive and socially, environmentally, and economically sustainable.
Read the blog post on the Amazon Assessment Report 2021 English | Spanish
Exchange of Experiences in Conservation Agreements - Brazil
Sept 2021 The partner countries of the Sustainable Amazon Landscapes Program (ASL), Brazil, Colombia and Peru, have developed different types of Conservation Agreements - defined as voluntary mechanisms of mutual benefit - aimed at strengthening the effective management of Protected Natural Areas (ANP) and associated strategic areas, improving ecosystem connectivity, biodiversity conservation and sustainable livelihood development. In this second session, knowledge, good practices, lessons learned, and challenges related to the management of these agreements in Brazil were shared.
Read more and download the presentations
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