PLANAFLORO (Rondonia Natural Resources Management Project )
Case Study C0101
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| Date | 1998 |
| Agency | Rondonia Government |
| Donor/support agency | World Bank UNDP |
| Project type | Implemented by agency |
| Context(s) | Productive landscape Protected area |
| Geographic coverage | Brazil |
| Locality | State of Rondonia (south-western Amazonia) |
| Biodiversity focus | Ecosystem/landscape |
| Development focus | Local communities |
| Conservation goals | Support biodiversity conservation in the state of Rondonia while creating a sustainable basis for the mangement of natural resources |
| Poverty reduction goals | Generate economic benefits for local people through the promotion of a sustainable management of natural resources |
Summary
The state of Rondônia, located in the Western Amazon, has been traditionally characterized by large areas of unotuched rainforest and a strongly rooted traditional population composed of Amerindians, rubber tapers and river dwellers. In the last decades, Rondônia’s population has grown tenfold and the state has lost over 25% of its native forest cover. The state today is characterized by a concentrated and confused land ownership situation which has fueled land conflicts and predatory economic activity such as illegal logging, mining, and drug smuggling. In an effort to confront some of these problems, the World Bank implemented the Northwest Integrated Development Program (POLONOROESTE) during the 1980s. This project, while it comprised a series of complementary activities, ranging from infrastructure development and agricultural extension to health care, was best known for paving a highway. Despite the fact that Bank funding was employed to pave a road already carved out of the rainforest and designed with social mitigation mechanisms, POLONOROESTE is today strongly associated with the rapid deforestation and social conflict which ensued in the state.
'Rondônia Natural Resources Management Project' or PLANAFLORO is a project designed by the State Government of Rondônia in part to offset some of the social development problems not addressed by POLONOROESTE. PLANAFLORO’s focus extended beyond traditional integrated rural development to incorporate elements of natural resource management and environmental conservation, including such varied activities as road pavement, agricultural extension, indigenous land demarcation, rural credit, education, creation of environmental parks, and institution building. One of the principal features of the project was land-use zoning, which divides the state into different macro-zones according to their suitability for agriculture, forestry, extractivism or environmental conservation. The project was intended to benefit some 60,000 small-scale farmers, traditional populations, and residents of small interior towns.
The complexity and richness of the organisations involved in PLANAFLORO is perhaps the most unique feature of the project experience. PLANAFLORO was executed with financial support from the World Bank and with technical support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). A wide range of environmental and other NGOs have been involved in the establishment and implementation of extractive reserves in Rondônia: Rondônia Organisation of Rubber Tappers (OSR), WWF, OXFAM, Rainforest Action Network, ECOSCAMBIO, etc. The government agencies legally responsible for establishing, developing and managing extractive reserves are the State Agency for Environmental Development (SEDAM), and the Rondônia Institute of Land Colonisation (ITERON).
During the Fund’s first year of operation in 1997, a total of 146 projects were funded benefiting an estimated 18,800 families. While the Fund was clearly designed with an environmental focus, most of the projects in this phase were in the area of income generation activities (43.8%), followed by health and education activities (35.9%), and infrastructure projects (8.7%). Despite its auspicious beginnings PLANAFLORO soon faced difficulties meeting its ambitious goals. However, after a mid-term review and project restructuring, PLANAFLORO’s performance has improved. In fact, thanks primarily to PLANAFLORO, nearly 30% of Rondônia’s territory, or approximately 66,000 square kilometers, is today demarcated as conservation units or indigenous reserves. Furthermore, the nearly completed 'second approximation' of the agro-ecological zoning will provide a useful and current map of the land-use patterns of the state.
Despite being an often confrontational process, the PLANAFLORO experience demonstrated that effective participatory approaches can be successful in improving project implementation.
Conservation impact
Thanks primarily to PLANAFLORO, nearly 30% of Rondônia’s territory, or approximately 66,000 square kilometers, is now demarcated as conservation units or indigenous reserves.
Poverty reduction impact
During the Fund’s first year of operation in 1997, a total of 146 projects were funded benefiting an estimated 18,800 families. The projects were mainly in the area of income generation activities (43.8%), followed by health and education activities (35.9%), and infrastructure projects (8.7%).
Strategy for Conservation/Poverty Linkages
Sustainable Use
Provision of alternative livelihoods
Reference 1
Brown, K. and Rosendo, S., 2000, 'The Institutional Architecture of Extractive Reserves in Rondonia, Brazil', Geographical Journal 166: 35-48
Related records above this one:
- World Bank (Organisation O0145)
- United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) (Organisation O0146)