The Amazon Region Protected Areas Program (ARPA; Portuguese: Programa Áreas Protegidas da Amazônia) is a collaborative program supported by government and non-government groups. Its goal is to increase protection of the Amazon rainforest in Brazil.
Foundation
The Amazon Region Protected Areas Program (ARPA) began with a promise in 1998 by the Brazilian government to increase the protected area three times. The program started in 2003 with help from government groups, NGOs, and major donors. After a two-year planning process involving experts from different fields and representatives of indigenous people, key areas for new parks and reserves were identified throughout the Amazon.
Objectives
Initial goals included:
- Creating approximately 283,000 square kilometers (109,000 sq mi) of new protected areas in Brazil to conserve wildlife and natural resources
- Improving management of about 125,000 square kilometers (48,000 sq mi) of existing parks that had not been properly maintained
- Establishing about 89,000 square kilometers (34,000 sq mi) of reserves where local communities can use natural resources in ways that support both people and nature, while ensuring proper care and management
- Setting up a $220 million fund to provide long-term financial support for protected areas
Benefits include preserving habitats and biodiversity, reducing disputes over land use, offering communities sustainable ways to use natural resources, stopping illegal logging and fires, keeping forests intact to store carbon, and preventing changes to rainfall patterns.
Organization
The program is managed by the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA). IBAMA helps find protected areas, establishes them through laws, makes plans for how to manage them, and hires workers and builds necessary facilities. IBAMA works with local government officials and community members. A group called the steering committee watches over the program's progress. This group includes people from government agencies and community organizations.
The Brazilian government pays for the main staff costs. The World Bank manages extra money, which is handled by the Brazilian Biodiversity Fund (FUNBIO). Money comes from the Global Environment Facility, using the World Bank; Germany's government through KfW; WWF-Brazil, part of the World Wide Fund for Nature; and the Amazon Fund, using the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES). Conservation units can only get money from the fund if they prove they follow strict rules.
Operations
The first phase of the program, costing US$81.50 million, helped create and join 180,000 square kilometers (69,000 square miles) of new protected areas. It also started a fund for future use, created a system to track changes in plant and animal life, and supported coordination among the Ministry of Environment, IBAMA, and the Brazilian Biodiversity Fund. Phase 2 aimed to expand the protected areas by adding about 135,000 square kilometers (52,000 square miles) and ensure the program had strong, long-term funding. This phase was approved by the World Bank on February 23, 2012. Between 2004 and 2012, the program increased the size of protected areas and indigenous territories by 68%.
In February 2016, the federal Ministry of the Environment announced that the Serra dos Reis State Park, Samuel Ecological Station, and Rio Pacaás Novos Extractive Reserve in Rondônia would be added to the ARPA-supported conservation areas. Other areas in Rondônia already covered by ARPA included Corumbiara State Park, Guajará-Mirim State Park, Rio Preto Jacundá Extractive Reserve, Rio Cautário Extractive Reserve, and Serra dos Três Irmãos Ecological Station. The Umirizal Ecological Station was also planned to be created. This expansion increased the total area covered by ARPA in Brazil to 582,960.56 square kilometers (225,082.33 square miles).
Conservation units
As of 2016, the following areas were included in ARPA:
Ecological stations:
State parks:
National parks:
Biological reserves:
Sustainable development reserves:
Extractive reserves: