Sustainable property management

WWF and Sky are supporting the Acre state government’s 'voluntary land certification scheme' for small-scale farmers. Through the scheme, families receive technical and financial support in exchange for committing not to deforest and to manage their land sustainably.

Why sustainable property management?
Small-scale farming and ranching are the main causes of deforestation in this part of the Amazon. Farmers traditionally use slash-and-burn practices to grow crops and create cattle pasture. So working with them is essential if we want to protect the forest. But this part of Brazil is also very isolated and poor. Most of these people are farming so that they can grow food for their families and earn a living. That means it’s really important that we protect the forest in a way that allows people to continue to provide for their families.

What does the scheme involve?
On signing up to the voluntary land certification scheme, each family starts developing a sustainable management plan for their property, which is carried out with the support of field technicians. They’re also entitled to technical support to help implement the plan and to other benefits that improve their standard of living. These benefits are dependent on families upholding commitments, like not cutting down primary forest or using slash-and-burn practices on their property. The Acre government, with support from WWF, uses high-tech satellite monitoring and visits on the ground to make sure farmers honour their commitments. The support and benefits include:

• Technical assistance to improve soil fertility and advice on making efficient use of land already affected by deforestation.
• Seeds and seedlings to grow fruit trees (like banana and papaya), subsistence crops, valuable timber species and ‘green manure’ plants that enrich the soil as they grow.
• Livestock animals such as chickens and sheep to provide food.
• Transport to help farmers get their goods to market.
• An annual cash reward in recognition of their part in tackling deforestation.

This package of support helps farmers to adopt sustainable alternatives to traditional slash-and-burn agricultural practices. For example, we encourage farmers to plant natural fertilizers like mucuna beans to enrich the soil rather than using fire. Also, the new management plans set out how their use of land can be made more efficient.

Success so far
We’re currently working with around 400 farming families living in the Sky Rainforest Rescue project area. And preliminary satellite evidence shows that all families have so far upheld their commitments not to deforest. The scheme has also been credited with helping reduce forest fires during the 2010 drought, because of a decrease in burning.
By the end of our three year partnership, we hope to double the number of families who are managing their land sustainably. Your support is helping put in place measures that can protect the rainforest for the long-term, and benefiting that people who live there too. Read their stories here too.