Community-Based Sustainable Forestry - Caatinga

Overview

Location: Crato, Ceará, Brazil

Description: This project implements sustainable forestry practices in the Caatinga dry forest, with a strong emphasis on community involvement and benefit-sharing. The project aims to improve forest health, enhance biodiversity, provide sustainable livelihoods for local communities, and contribute to climate change mitigation.

Project Landscape

Key Features and Benefits

Environmental

• Improved Soil Health and Water Management: Sustainable forestry practices improve soil health, water infiltration, and water retention in the Caatinga dry forest.
• Enhanced Carbon Sequestration: The project enhances carbon sequestration in both trees and soil, contributing to climate change mitigation.
• Reduced Deforestation and Habitat Loss: Sustainable forestry practices help reduce deforestation and protect crucial habitats in the Caatinga.
• Sustainable Product Provision: The project provides sustainable timber and non-timber forest products (NTFPs), supporting local livelihoods and reducing pressure on natural resources.
• Biodiversity Conservation: Sustainable forestry practices contribute to the conservation of biodiversity in the Caatinga dry forest.

Biodiversity

• Endangered Species Protection: The project helps protect endangered Caatinga species by preserving and restoring their habitats.
• Enhanced Habitat Connectivity: Sustainable forestry practices can enhance habitat connectivity, allowing for greater species movement and gene flow.
• Forest Regeneration: The project promotes forest regeneration, increasing the area of healthy Caatinga forest.
• Support for Plant Diversity: Sustainable forestry practices support the diversity of plant species in the Caatinga.
• Improved Ecosystem Resilience: The project improves the resilience of the Caatinga ecosystem to drought, desertification, and other environmental stresses.

Social

• Job Creation in Forestry: The project creates jobs in sustainable forestry and related activities, providing employment opportunities for local communities.
• Community Income Generation: Sustainable forestry provides income for local communities through the sale of timber and NTFPs.
• Stakeholder Empowerment: The project empowers local stakeholders by involving them in forest management decisions and benefit-sharing mechanisms.
• Sustainable Livelihood Promotion: The project promotes sustainable livelihoods for local communities, reducing their dependence on unsustainable practices.
• Community Development Support: By providing income and resources, the project supports community development in the Caatinga region.

Potential Impacts

Environmental

• Careful Planning and Management: Sustainable forestry requires careful planning and management to avoid overharvesting and ensure long-term forest health.
• Overharvesting Risk: Sustainable harvesting practices and monitoring are essential to prevent overharvesting of forest resources.
• Forest Fire Risk: The project needs to address the risk of forest fires, which can have devastating impacts on the Caatinga ecosystem.
• Forest Health and Biodiversity Monitoring: Ongoing monitoring of forest health and biodiversity is crucial to assess the project's effectiveness.
• Community Participation in Management: Active community participation in forest management is essential for long-term sustainability.

Biodiversity

• Impacts on Wildlife: Changes in forest structure and composition can impact local wildlife populations, requiring careful monitoring and mitigation.
• Species Selection: Carefully selecting species for planting and harvesting is crucial for maintaining biodiversity.
• Food Web Dynamics: Changes in forest resources can affect local food webs, requiring careful consideration.
• Biodiversity Monitoring: Ongoing biodiversity monitoring is essential to assess the long-term impacts of sustainable forestry practices.
• Mitigation Measures: Implementing appropriate mitigation measures is important to minimize negative impacts on biodiversity.

Social

• Community Consultation and Engagement: Meaningful community consultation and engagement are essential throughout the project lifecycle.
• Resource Conflict Potential: The project needs to address potential conflicts over forest resources among different stakeholders.
• Equitable Benefit Sharing: Ensuring equitable benefit sharing among community members is crucial for social equity and project success.
• Transparency and Accountability: Transparency and accountability in forest management and benefit sharing are essential for building trust and ensuring fairness.
• Social Inequality Risk: Careful management is needed to prevent the project from exacerbating existing social inequalities.

Project Metrics and Links

Metric	Description	Unit	Value
Project Start	Project initiation year	Year	2023
Area	Total project area	Hectares	9,000
Estimated CO2 Removal (10 years)	Carbon sequestration potential over 10 years	tCO2e	90,000
Estimated CO2 Removal (20 years)	Carbon sequestration potential over 20 years	tCO2e	216,000
Estimated CO2 Removal (30 years)	Carbon sequestration potential over 30 years	tCO2e	324,000
Total Estimated CO2 Removal	Total carbon sequestration potential over 30 years	tCO2e	630,000

Links:

• Digital Due Diligence:
  Link to Due Diligence Document/Platform

• B3 Green Bonds Information:
  Link to Green Bond Information

• Verra Carbon Credit Registry:
  Link to Carbon Credit Registry

Changelog

• 2023-11-21: Initial project documentation created.

Contributors

• Manuela Souza (LinkedIn Profile)