Financing forest and climate protection in the Amazon region

Context

The Amazon Fund is the world's largest financing mechanism for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+). The fund was created to curb deforestation, develop the Amazon in a climate-friendly way and protect the livelihoods of indigenous peoples.

Norway and Germany provide the largest part of the fund’s capital. The Brazilian development bank (Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social, BNDES) manages the fund. Funding is based on how successfully Brazil has reduced deforestation in previous years.

Switzerland and the USA have also expressed their interest in participating financially in the fund. These developments underline how important the Amazon Fund is for climate protection and international development cooperation.

Objective

Brazil is meeting national and international commitments, developing in a more environmentally friendly manner and combating deforestation.

Approach

The Amazon Fund works in the following areas to support the Brazilian Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Deforestation in the Legal Amazon (Plano de Prevenção e Controle do Desmatamento da Amazônia Legal, PPCDAm):

• It promotes sustainable cultivation practices and value chains of non-wood forest products.
• It controls deforestation, for example, through projects with satellites of the Brazilian national institute for space research.
• It organises and plans land use with authorities.
• It promotes science and innovation, for example with university projects and start-ups.

The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH’s project advises the BNDES team in implementing the Amazon Fund. This includes advising potential applicants, capacity building measures for the projects and the evaluation of completed projects. The project also supports knowledge management, communication and fundraising.

Last update: September 2023