This side event presented first phase achievements and second phase expectations of the Amazon Region Protected Areas (ARPA) Program in Brazil.

Fàbio Araujo, Brazil’s Ministry of Environment, said the Program’s objectives included: identification of areas with significant representation of Amazonian ecosystems; support for the establishment and implementation of PAs; promotion of local involvement in PA management; and development of long-term financial sustainability mechanisms for PAs. He highlighted that ARPA exceeded expectations in its first phase, during which 44 new PAs were established and 18 existent PAs supported within six years, totaling an area of 32 million hectares.

Ros Lemo de Sa, Brazilian Biodiversity Fund (Funbio), explained that Funbio connects the Brazilian government and civil society, which act as joint decision makers for ARPA, with donors. She highlighted an ARPA IT System that allowed locally-based PA managers to request and track procurement and consultancies in a timely and transparent manner.

Noting that 41.6% of ARPA-supported PAs are located in Amazonas State, Domingos Macedo, Amazonas State Government, described the State’s contributions to and benefits from the ARPA program. He said ARPA opened new income-generating opportunities and increased scientific knowledge, including the discovery of six new species to date.

Cláudio Maretti, WWF-Brazil, presented quantitative data from a WWF Rapid Assessment and Prioritization of Protected Areas Management, which demonstrated that as a result of ARPA: existing PAs were better managed; biodiversity was better protected; less deforestation occurred; and less greenhouse gases were emitted.

Araujo then outlined goals for the second phase of ARPA (2010-2013), including the creation of 13.5 million hectares in new PAs. He said the second phase will require approximately $200 million in funding, including for the PA Fund. Peter Hilliges, KfW, applauded ARPA’s success and stressed Germany’s commitment to the first and future phases.

Participants discussed: the strong institutional backbone that has led to ARPA’s success; issues of leakage beyond PAs under ARPA; and how ARPA can be used in other Amazonian countries and other regions.

Domingos Macedo, Amazonas State Government

Cláudio Maretti, WWF-Brazil

Peter Hilliges, KfW

This event presented activities taking place under partnership agreements between the CBD, the UN Forum on Forests (UNFF) and the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO).

Noting that the Forest Instrument highlights the importance of cross-sectoral perspectives, Jan McAlpine, Director, UNFF, observed the importance of establishing partnerships and working across the artificial lines created by conventions when working to preserve forests and their biodiversity. She highlighted collaborative efforts with the ITTO, including a meeting held in Yokohama, Japan, in December 2009 to develop strategies for South-South, North-South and triangular cooperation, as well as capacity-building workshops held in conjunction with the CBD.

On the International Year of Forests 2011, which will be held under the theme “Forests for People, Livelihoods and Poverty Eradication,” McAlpine stressed that the year will highlight that people are central to forests, both for conservation and for livelihoods.

Emmanuel Ze Meka, Executive Director, ITTO, underscored that the ITTO’s activities are predicated on the sustainable conservation of forests, and that they have been at the forefront of conservation efforts for the past 20 years. He said sound implementation of sustainable forest management as well as striving to attain the Four Global Objectives on Forests will address the issues of conserving forests and their biodiversity.

Ze Meka noted a number of collaborative efforts under the ITTO, including: a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the CBD to develop and implement joint activities for the conservation and sustainable use of forest biodiversity; and an agreement with Japan International Cooperation Agency to collaborate, inter alia, on projects at national and regional levels and on information dissemination.

Tim Christopherson, CBD Secretariat, highlighted a capacity-building workshop held in Singapore in September 2009 and hosted with UNFF as a successful example of collaboration, which the CBD Secretariat hoped to build on in the future. He thanked Japan for being a significant donor for the collaborative efforts between the CBD and ITTO, and noted that the Ishikawa Prefecture is hosting an event for the closing of the International Year of Biodiversity and the transition to the International Year of Forests.

Takuo Sato, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan, welcomed the collaboration between UNFF, CBD and ITTO in preparation for the International Year of Forests. He said collaboration between the CBD and ITTO is a new and exciting form of collaboration, and that the projects being implemented will achieve the objectives of both organizations. He said that Japan will officially announce its concrete support at the high-level segment, and hoped that others would do the same.

Participants discussed: using regional mechanisms to implement high-level decisions at the local level; the political sensitivities between departments dealing with forestry and biodiversity; and creating strong linkages between the CBD and ITTO.

The session closed with signing of an MoU between the ITTO and UNFF to enhance cooperation between both organizations.

Emmanuel Ze Meka, Executive Director, ITTO, noted that deforestation, forest degradation and resulting biodiversity loss all contribute to climate change.

Jan McAlpine, Director, UNFF, noted that forests provide healthy environments and secure livelihoods for people.

Tim Christopherson, CBD Secretariat