Financing Conservation in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest

Abstract

The Atlantic Forest is one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots, due to a long term process of deforestation that must be reversed. Financial resources are necessary to foster the protection of remaining forests and restore the native habitats. This paper presents some alternatives to finance the conservation of the Atlantic Forest in Brazil and some economic instruments to enhance sustainable development activities in the biome, combining public and private sector efforts. The mechanisms discussed in the paper are sustainable public procurement, fiscal incentives, concessions for forestry and public use in protected areas, payments for environmental services, funds to boost avoided deforestation projects that reduce carbon emissions, and tradable environmental reserve quotas (CRA). We conclude that the involvement of the private sector is crucial for financing conservation projects in the Atlantic Forest, but it is also imperative to strengthen the public sector capacity to enforce the environmental legislation and to coordinate the actions of the many stakeholders in order to fulfill the objectives of the biodiversity conservation policy.