Brazil: “Groundbreaking” Produce, Conserve, Include compact to restore up to 182,000 ha of degraded pastureland and protect 970,000 ha of Amazon Rainforest

News article - 29 May 2018
 
The municipalities of Juruena and Cotriguaçu in the Juruena River Valley of Mato Grosso state, Brazil, have signed an agreement with key stakeholders to promote sustainable production, forest conservation and social inclusion. The Compact, designed by IDH in partnership with Natcap, falls under Mato Grosso state’s Produce, Conserve, Include (PCI) strategy.

The Compact aims to restore up to 182,904 hectares (ha) of degraded pastureland for sustainable production across both municipalities by 2023, primarily through intensified cattle farming.

It also commits to preserving 970,000 ha of the Amazon Rainforest.

The Brazilian arm of the French multinational retailer Carrefour has pledged to invest EUR 1.3 million in the Compact and to source sustainable beef from the area.

Daan Wensing, Head of Landscapes Program at IDH, said:

“The Compact signed by the Juruena and Cotriguaçu municipalities, and key stakeholders such as rural settlements and IDH, is a groundbreaking step for sustainable development – not only in the Juruena Valley, but globally. This signing marks the beginning of a new era of sustainability: connecting national and international markets to sustainably managed production areas. This is a new sustainable market mechanism that rewards regions that address environmental, social and economic sustainability in one approach.”

The restoration of degraded pastures will free up land for increasing the production of milk, beef and other commodities (such as coffee, cocoa and Brazil nuts) sustainably, therefore accelerating economic development in the area without increasing the need for converting forests into arable land.

fazenda-sao-marcelo-3.jpg

On the conservation side, the Compact aims to protect and restore forest conservation areas. And on the inclusion side, it aims to regulate the land rights of local communities and producers, and boost livelihood opportunities through increased production.

To make the Compact a success, the municipalities will collaborate on finding public and private partners for greater institutional support. For its part, IDH is supporting the building of financial structures for production chains and of a solid pipeline of opportunities for investments and new trade relations with Brazilian and European markets.

The Juruena Valley region plays an important role in the production of milk and beef in Brazil, accounting for about 35% of the calves in Mato Grosso state. It also has a very important environmental conservation component due to its extensive forest area, of which 85% is conserved.

The Compact is therefore a crucial step in helping the region meet its economic, conservation and social goals.

The initiative will also contribute to Brazil’s national goals, declared by the UN under the Paris Agreement, which stress restoring degraded pastureland, reducing deforestation and encouraging low-carbon agriculture. In addition, it will support the Brazilian Forest Code, the country’s set of legal requirements for landowners on forest conservation on their private properties.

The Compact was signed at the Town Hall of Cotriguaçu on 10 May 2018 by the mayors of Juruena and Cotriguaçu cities, along with other government officials, representatives of the private sector and rural settlements.

A closer look at the Compact goals

Juruena goals

Produce

  • Recuperate 61,296 ha of low-productivity pastureland by 2023
  • Increase livestock production by 20% by 2023
  • Increase the planting of grain in degraded pastureland for 3,000 hectares by 2023
  • Increase grain production (soybean/rice/corn) by 100% by 2023
  • Increase areas under forestry management by 10% by 2023

Conserve

  • Maintain 60% of forest vegetation in accordance with the rights and duties of the Forest Code
  • Eliminate illegal deforestation by 2020
  • Register 100% of rural properties with the SIMCAR (Rural Environmental Register System) by 2019
  • Validate 80% of the CAR by 2020

Include

  • Increase milk production by 50% by 2023
  • Increase coffee production by 500% by 2023
  • Increase cocoa production by 1000% by 2023
  • Increase urucum production by 1000% by 2023
  • Increase pupunha (palm heart) production by 100% by 2023
  • Increase brazil nut production by 10% by 2023

Cotriguaçu goals

Produce

  • Recuperate 121,608 ha of low-productivity pastureland by 2023
  • Increase livestock production by 20% by 2023
  • Increase the planting of grain in degraded pastureland for 2,000 hectares by 2023
  • Increase grain production (soybean/rice/corn) by 150% by 2020
  • Increase areas under forestry management by 10% by 2023

Conserve/Protect

  • Maintain 78% of forest vegetation in accordance with the rights and duties of the Forest Code
  • Eliminate illegal deforestation by 2023
  • Register 100% of rural properties with the SIMCAR (Rural Environmental Register System) by 2019
  • Validate 100% of the CAR by 2020

Include

  • Increase ATER (technical assistance and rural extension) in family farming to 3,000 families by 2023
  • Regularize 100% of family farming plots of land by 2023
  • Increase milk production by 10% by 2023
  • Increase coffee production by 300% by 2023
  • Increase cocoa production by 1000% by 2023
  • Increase urucum production by 300% by 2023
  • Increase brazil nut production by 300% by 2023

Find out more about IDH’s work in the Mato Grosso landscape.

Image credit: São Marcelo Farms