coolsydney.net.au

Source: Conservation International
July 11, 2011

Images: © Cristina Mittermeier/ iLCP

Conservation International looks at the Kayapó fund: the first of its kind to focus on long-term financing for conservation of the Amazon by indigenous people.

The first trust fund exclusively dedicated to the long term support of the Kayapó indigenous peoples in the southeastern Amazon region of Brazil was created with at least US$8 million (R$12.5 million) to provide in grants, Conservation International announced today. Grants will be targeted at terrestrial monitoring and protection of Kayapó land, as well as the development of sustainable economic activities for the Kayapó people. These grants will benefit approximately 7,000 people in five indigenous territories, in an area which constitutes the largest block of tropical forest protected by a single indigenous group and is encircled by increasing deforestation.

The Kayapó Fund will start operations with an initial donation of US$ 8 million, with US$ 4 million donated by Conservation International — including a large contribution through its Global Conservation Fund (GCF) funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation — and another US$4 million donated by Brazil's National Economic and Social Development Bank (BNDES) through the Amazon Fund. This means that the Kayapó Fund will operate with US$ 8 million in its first five years of activity. After that, it should reach US$ 15 million, with the potential to go beyond that amount if new investors join the fund.

The Kayapó Fund will be managed by Fundo Brasileiro para a Biodiversidade (FUNBIO), a non-profit civil association focused on Brazil's biodiversity. Grants will be used to help conserve an area of 10.6 million hectares, (approximately 106,000 sq. km / 41,000 sq. mi.) which is about 3 percent of the Amazon or approximately equal in size to the countries of Guatemala or Iceland, or the U.S. state of Ohio.

"This is a truly amazing accomplishment made possible through a unique combination of partners: a development bank, a conservation organization and an indigenous community. The Kayapó are especially deserving of such a fund, having fought long and hard for their rights and having a level of cohesion, commitment and political savvy that is unmatched," said Russell Mittermeier, Conservation International's President. "Hopefully, this will serve as a model for similar efforts in other parts of the world. We are very proud of our role in this fund and of our partnership with the Kayapó for the last 20 years, including, among many other things, the participation of chief Megaron Txucarramãe on our Board of Directors."