Authors: Luis Felipe Cesar, Matheus Ambrósio
Institution: Crescente Fértil - Projetos Ambientais, Culturais e de
Comunicação, Brazil
Presenter: Luis Felipe Cesar, Matheus Ambrósio
Introduction:
The Sesmaria River Project – Hydric PES (Payment for
Environmental Services) started in 2015, it aims the restoration of 20 hectares of forest and the conservation of 40 hectares of
remnants of the Atlantic Forest, being an unfolding of the
“Environmental Diagnosis of the Sesmaria River Basin Project” (2012-2015). The objective of the first stage was to establish guidelines and priority actions for the recovery and environmental adequacy of the sub-basin of the Sesmaria River in the
municipalities of Resende and São José do Barreiro, located in the states of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. From June 2018, the
project is being replicated in the Sacra Família river basin, in the municipalities of Paulo de Frontin, Mendes and Vassouras, state of Rio de Janeiro.
Experience description:
The Project” began in July 2015 with the signing of a contract between Crescente Fértil, Agevap and the Municipality of Resende. The main goals are constituted by the restoration of 20 hectares of forest and the conservation of 40 hectares of remnants of Atlantic Forest. The areas worked were chosen from a public selection process of the interested rural owners of properties, who receive a financial incentive for the provision of the environmental services during the two years of the project. In addition to planting and forest conservation activities, soil conservation actions were implemented
with the construction of four mudlines associated with forest
restoration areas and four catchment area on the access road. The Sesmaria River Project- Hydric PES is carried out by Crescente Fértil, in partnership with the Municipality of Resende, with water collection resources from the Paraíba do Sul river basin operated by Ceivap, Agevap and CBH - Middle Paraíba do Sul. The initiative also has the partnership of IEAR / Federal University Fluminense (UFF), Rural Union of Resende, Inea-State Institute of Environment, Cedae and TNC - The Nature Conservancy.
Results:
41.39 hectares of forests fenced for conservation; 24.43 hectares of fenced areas for forest restoration; Approximately 32,000
seedlings planted; Payment of R$ 11.277,60 to 5 beneficiary rural owners of properties; Creation of municipal law in Resende
establishing municipal policy of payment for environmental services; Technical support to the Municipality of Resende for the preparation of the project approved under the Water Producer Program of the National Water Agency; Approval and initiation of the Water and Forest Producers Project - Sacra Família river sub-basin, in the municipalities of Paulo de Frontin, Mendes and Vassouras, in the state of Rio de Janeiro, with the objective of implanting
1.000 hectares of forest conservation and 50 hectares of forest restoration, including payment for services to selected rural owners of properties. (July 2018 to June 2021).
Conclusion:
Forest protection and recovery projects that include payment for environmental services still have a high cost per hectare planted, and it is necessary to develop methodologies to increase the cost / benefit ratio. The usual practice of involving Municipalities as
obligatory intermediaries of the PSA’s (ESP’s) financial transfer to the participating owners of properties needs to be re-evaluated, since problems of a bureaucratic or political nature may jeopardize the good progress of the projects or even render them
impracticable. Mountainous or areas with contrasting relief should be considered as priorities for forest recovery and conservation.
Experience report 18
Institution: Company of technical assistance and rural extension of
the state of Rio de Janeiro (Emater-Rio), Brazil
Presenter: Gustavo Pereira Polido
Experience description:
Varre-Sai, in Rio de Janeiro, is a municipality focused on agribusiness that has coffee growing as the largest income
generator, possessing, approximately five thousand hectares and located in steep hill slopes, typical of mountain regions of coffee. In these areas, the soil must be very well managed to avoid erosion processes. The Emater-Rio of Varre-Sai - RJ, has been
encouraging conservation practices in soil, as main examples: 1) micro terraces (MT): built between the lines of coffee planting; 2) rainwater catchment boxes (CB): built on the banks of coffee- growing roads. The construction of (MT) is a new practice,
therefore, the adoption by the coffee growers is small, but has been increasing. In Varre-Sai we have experience with two ways of
building (MT): 1) narrow base, 20 a 50 cm wide made with hand tools and / or animal traction, it’s serves to improve the passage of the worker within the crop; 2) long base, de 1,3 a 1,5 m, made with motorized traction (micro trailer, small excavator, 4x4 narrow gauge tractor). The (MT), made with motorized traction is more effective, because it forms paths, where small tractors, tricycles, micro
tractors and equipment can be transported, able to: pulverize, fertilizer, transport, besides allowing the worker to perform the harvest and other cultural practices with more convenience.
Mechanization in mountain coffee growing is essential to reduce the cost of production. In addition of this benefits (MT), both narrow base or long base, show another important characteristic, which is to prevent erosion, avoiding the superficial runoff of the water and increases the accumulation of water in the soil. The (CB) is a
practice stimulated by the Rio Rural Program and stands out for the widespread adoption of coffee growers. When the farmer shows interest in adopting this practice, the technician makes a technical on-site visit to evaluate and size the project. After the
implementation of the (CB) it was remarkable the improvement of the soil of the plantations, where the erosion process was already beginning. Besides the benefits caused in the agricultural sector, it was possible to note the improvement of the roads, because the rainwater that flowed from crops to roads, now run less causing less damage. The practices (MT) and (CB) has been were efficient in Varre-Sai - RJ, but deserves better publicity for the target audience. It would be interesting to adopt the (CB) by the municipal
government, in the vicinal roads that would greatly reduce the maintenance of the roads. The practice of (MT) lacks technical support at the time of construction. The (CB) must always first pass a technical evaluation so that the ideal (CB) number for a particular construction area.