OCTF seminar followed by drinks

In 2009 Sky and WWF began the Sky Rainforest Rescue partnership to help safeguard a billion trees in the state of Acre, Brazil. Acre is often viewed as a leader in jurisdictional REDD+, and the project set out to test approaches on the ground that would inform the state’s System of Incentives for Ecosystem Services (SISA) as well as other REDD+ initiatives, in terms of benefit sharing, incentives for forest conservation and mechanisms for influencing slash and burn practices. The project area, covering 3 million hectares, has no protected status and unclear tenure, and was at risk due to the paving of the BR364 highway. The presentation will explore the strategy that the project set out to deliver, the results achieved so far, and some of the lessons and challenges, including how Brazil’s revised Forest Code is influencing the situation. Topics to be discussed include agroforestry, wild rubber, acai berries, giant arapaima fish, ecosystem services, policy advocacy, regional lesson-sharing, impact monitoring and sustainable finance. The public facing Sky Rainforest Rescue campaign (rainforestrescue.sky.com) here in the UK came to an end in September, and the public outreach work will be outlined.

Sarah Hutchison is a programme manager in the Brazil and Amazon unit at WWF-UK. She oversees the Sky Rainforest Rescue project in Acre, working with the WWF-Brazil Amazon team and Sky’s Bigger Picture team.