UF Center for Latin American Studies
June 26, 2017
Between July 27 and 28, 2017, Brazilian managers, researchers and technicians from different government institutions and civil society will gather to discuss the benefits, challenges, and lessons learned from community-based timber management projects in protected areas of the Amazon. The meeting also aims to seek strategies to improve the management of these initiatives and will be held at Embrapa (Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation) Acre Training Center.
The exchange of experiences and reflections on the theme will be based on reports from community leaders of the extractive reserves Chico Mendes (AC), Verde Para Sempre (PA), Mapuá (PA), Ituxi (AM), Grupo de Trabalho do Manejo Florestal Comunitário do Marajó (PA) and the Chico Mendes and Ecuador Agroextractive Settlement Projects. The interaction between different actors seeks to improve the understanding of the different approaches to community management and to strengthen the communication networks among all involved in the activity throughout the Amazon region.
According to Embrapa Acre’s Director Eufran Amaral, community forest management has advanced a lot in recent years, but managers still face governance issues and technology gaps that need to be discussed and improved. "We will only be able to keep the Amazon forest standing by its valorization and the improvement of people’s life quality. Together, we can find ways to organize the production chain, in a way that brings greater benefits to the communities involved with the activity" he says.
The event is organized by the Tropical Conservation and Development Program located in the Center for Latin American Studies at the University of Florida and the Embrapa units of Acre and Rondônia and counts with the support from the State Government of Acre, World Wildlife Fund Acre, Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation, Brazilian Office of the Public Prosecutor and National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq).
