The world’s largest tropical rainforest conservation scheme is the Amazon Regional Protected Areas Programme also known ARPA. The scheme was launched by the Brazilian government back in 2002 in partnership with WFF and other conservation agencies. The goal was to take 60 million hectares of the rainforest in Brazil and turn it into a combination of strictly protected area and sustainable use.
The scheme is well funded
The scheme received some positive news recently when the government of Germany made the commitment to spend approximately US$ 33 million to finance the programme. A new presidential decree for ARPA also came into effect which brings the original 2002 decree up to date and formalises the scheme’s new goal of achieving complete financial sustainability for all the protected areas covered by ARPA in the next 25 years.
An innovative approach to conservation finance
The innovate approach to financing the conservation process was envisioned by WWF and its partner organisations just few years ago. The method involves a “transition fund” from which money will be given to Brazil over a period of time. The amount of financing the government will receive should be enough to cover the total amount it would cost to maintain the ARPA sites.
Many organisations helped
This has made possible because contributions are coming not just from WWF and Germany but a whole range of organisations. This includes the World Bank, The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Brazilian Biodiversity Fund, and the Linden Trust For Conservation. Without all these agencies coming together, the programme would never have gotten off the ground, and there is room for hope that one of the earth’s greatest natural resources, the Amazon rainforest will be kept safe for decades to come.
