How the right to land ownership prevents rainforest deforestationThis project in the Brazilian Amazon saves carbon emissions by avoiding the deforestation of native forest. The project area covers 148,000 hectares in the municipality of Portel in the north of the country. The regional forests are rich in valuable timber species. To prevent illegal logging, the project supports the so-called "Ribeirinhos", who live along the rivers and small streams. They are encouraged to use sustainable agroforestry techniques and receive land use rights for their contribution to nature conservation.
Since 2012, the project has been scaling up its monitoring activities by training local villagers as monitoring staff. The patrol teams approach squatters and invite them to work for the project. They offer alternative sources of income through joining the social project activities or the patrol teams in monitoring the project area.
How does forest protection help fight global warming?Forests are not only among the planet's most important carbon reservoirs. They also are home to an enormous diversity of species and are the livelihood for all people. However, global forest areas have declined sharply in recent decades due to increasing settlement, agricultural use, illegal logging and mining.
Forest protection projects ensure that forests are preserved in the long term and that the protection of forests is given a higher value than their deforestation. Together with the local population, project participants protect the area from negative influences. To allow for this the projects create alternative sources of income and educational opportunities. Depending on the project region, forests store varying amounts of carbon per hectare. Particularly high amounts of carbon are stored in the vegetation and soil of tropical swamp forests, primary rainforests, or mangroves. Forest protection projects in the ClimatePartner portfolio are registered with international standards.
