Small Grants Programs Make Significant Progress in Atlantic Forest 

Most recently, Fundação Biodiversitas para Conservação da Diversidade Biológica launched the Program for the Protection of Threatened Species in December 2003, and the announcement of the first call for proposals is expected later this month. Information about the first call for proposals, as well as general information about the program may be found at www.biodiversitas.org.br or www.cepan.org.br.

This program is the only component within the CEPF Atlantic Forest portfolio that focuses outside of the Central and Serra do Mar biodiversity corridors in Brazil, covering the remainder of the Brazilian portion of the hotspot.

The Program to Support the Creation of Private Reserves (RPPNs) has completed its second call for proposals. Eight new projects to support the creation of new RPPNs and 10 projects to expand the implementation of existing RPPNs are being considered. Also planned for the coming year is a training course for the owners of these reserves that will promote sustainable activities for their protected areas.

Detailed information about this program managed by the Alliance for the Conservation of the Atlantic Forest may be found at www.aliancamataatlantica.org.br or view the related story Alliance Approves 19 Small Grants for Private Reserves.  

The third program—Institutional Strengthening Program in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest—was developed to help build the capacity of small institutions working in the field of environment within the two corridors where CEPF focuses its investments. The main objective is to contribute to the growth and focus of these institutions so their actions will contribute even more toward biodiversity conservation and they become stronger members of the region’s conservation community.

The program is coordinated by Associação Mico-Leão Dourado (AMLD) in the Serra do Mar Corridor and Instituto de Estudos Sócioambientais do Sul da Bahia (IESB) in the Central Corridor.

AMLD and IESB began by developing a list of nongovernmental organizations, associations, institutions and other entities of civil society that work directly on environmental issues. The resulting registries include diverse information about each institution, such as the team, infrastructure, areas of work and projects developed.

Upon completing the registration of these institutions, the program launched two requests for proposals, one for each corridor. The plan is to have two requests for proposals in the Central Corridor and three in the Serra do Mar Corridor. In these first requests, the incentives were for proposals for projects dealing principally with concrete local actions for conservation and biodiversity and the implementation of corridors, in addition to one or two components aimed at institutional strengthening.

In total, IESB received 75 proposals and AMLD, 39. Committees made up of groups of experts from the different states and areas of expertise carried out the selection processes, ultimately selecting 17 projects in the Central Corridor and 12 in the Serra do Mar Corridor to receive funding. Below is a list of the institutions and titles of their selected projects:

Central Corridor

1. Amar Caparó: Virtual Sphere Training
2. Associação dos Amigos do rio Piraquê-Açu em Defesa da Natureza e do Meio Ambiente: Development of AMIP
3. Associação Vila-velhense de Proteção Ambiental: Institutional planning for Avidepa (2003/2004)
4. Centro de Desenvolvimento Sustentável Guaçu-Virá: Local sustainable development project for areas of the Forno Grande and Pedra Azul State Parks, Espírito Santo
5. CEPEDES: Training of trainers for Pro-Atlantic Forest
6. Chão Vivo: Organic agriculture as local sustainable development and conservation of the Atlantic Forest in Espírito Santo
7. Flora Brasil: Contribution to the conservation of the central corridor through capacity building of Associação Flora Brasil
8. GERC – Grupo Ecológico Rio das Contas: Forest’s edge
9. Grupo de Agricultura Ecológica Kapi'xawa: Sustainability of family-based agriculture
10. Instituto Ecotuba: Projeto ALMA – Coastal environment of the Atlantic Forest
11. Instituto Tijuípe: Structuring the Instituto Tijuípe for the strengthening of the APA Itacaré-Serra Grande
12. Instituto Uiraçu: Strengthening of the Instituto Uiraçu
13. Preserva: Support for the Association of Private Reserve Owners of Bahia
14. Núcleo de Comunidades Agrícolas e Associação de Moradores do Marimbu, Santo Anônio e Rio Negro: Operational and professional training for the Projeto Onça
15. Sociedade de Amigos do Parque de Itaúnas: Eco-cultural reference center
16. Sociedade Civil dos Bombeiros Voluntários de Santa Teresa: It is tough to prevent forest fires!
17. Terra Viva: Agro-biodiversity in agro-forests – establishing the Central Corridor Support Center in the Extreme South of Bahia

Serra do Mar Corridor

1. Associação de Pescadores e Amigos do Rio Paraíba do Sul: Flora survey in the islands of Paraiba do Sul River
2. Grupo Brasil Verde: Training for environmental education and conservation
3. Instituto Ambiental Litoral Norte: Landscape perception and environmental conservation – new tools for Serra do Mar State Park
4. Instituto Pau Brasil de História Natural: Socio-environmental analysis; subsidies for the formation of the ecological Corridor of Cantareira-Mantiqueira
5. IPEDS - Instituto de Pesquisas e Educação para o Desenvolvimento Sustentável: Know to Preserve
6. Movimento Ambiental Pingo D'Água: Bird survey in Morro do Governo - Iguaba Grande, RJ
7. Organização Bio-Brás: Research, education and environmental protection - Projeto Nascente
8. Projeto Araras: Digital cartography of Araras - Petrópolis, RJ
9. Régua: Teacher and student training in schools of the Rio Guapiaçu headwaters
10. Salve a Serra: Biodiversity Corridors as agro-forest production units
11. Tereviva: Dissemination of the Muriqui Program for the communities around the Serra dos Órgãos National Park
12. Una nas Águas: Projeto Aulas Passeio – Environmental education

Also as part of the Institutional Strengthening Program, technical training courses will be carried out for the participating institutions. AMLD has already carried out two courses on project design with 45 institutions participating.

IESB has structured its training courses in three modules: institutional management, conservation biology, and public policy. The first two courses have been carried out and the third module is scheduled for March. Close to 50 institutions are participating in these courses.

"The Institutional Strengthening Program has had a tremendous impact," says Ivana Lamas of Conservation International-Brazil, which together with SOS Mata Atlântica leads the coordination of CEPF implementation in the Atlantic Forest.