Sustainable Settlements in the Amazon, Brazil

Sustainable Settlements in the Amazon is an initiative led by the Amazon Environmental Research Institute (IPAM), which aims to pilot a model for smallholder production with low carbon emissions. IPAM's stated goal is "to increase the profitability of areas already deforested to reduce the need for farmers to open new forest areas" (IPAM n.d.). In 2009, when the initiative was first designed and proposed to the Amazon Fund, it targeted 350 families who lived along the Transamazon Highway and who had previously participated in a government program called Proambiente. At the end of 2010, the initiative was approved on condition that it be expanded to include a larger number of families. By establishing partnerships with local institutions (including rural labor unions and producer associations) and government agencies such as INCRA, IPAM has expanded the initiative to encompass 300 more families in three land reform settlements. The initiative provides technical assistance to these families to support implementation of sustainable management plans on their farms, helps them with environmental and land tenure regularization, and seeks to address the structural challenges of increasing and legalizing production while reducing deforestation. In addition, the 350 families living in the Transamazon region are receiving direct payments to support their transition to sustainable agriculture. In this chapter, we describe the goals and strategies of the initiative, characterize the smallholders in the Transamazon region originally targeted by the initiative, and discuss key challenges and concerns about the initiative and strategies for addressing them.

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