Acre’s State System of Incentives for Environmental Services (SISA) is known as the world’s first jurisdictional REDD+ program. It was created through State Law 2.308 (Government of Acre 2010), which was passed in October of 2010. This law was preceded by more than a decade of sustainable forest-based development policies in the state, notably the Ecological–Economic Zoning (ZEE) and the Valuation of Forest and Environmental Assets Policy (Valuation) (EDF n.d.). The ZEE was passed into state law in 2007 and provides the basis for sustainable forest management activities in forested areas, and the regulation of economic, land use and planning activities on already-deforested lands. The Valuation policy, which stems from the ZEE and began in 2008, comprises diverse governmental actions, programs and projects that aim to promote the sustainable use of natural resources and adequate territorial management. The ecosystem services included in SISA are carbon sequestration, maintenance of water and hydrological services, conservation of soils, conservation of biodiversity, and valuation of traditional knowledge, most of which do not yet have specific regulations. The carbon sequestration program, called ISA-Carbono, is the first to be implemented under SISA. Its general objective is to reduce GHG emissions from deforestation and degradation, following the State Plan for Control and Prevention of Deforestation. Through 2014, it has been implemented primarily through the state’s existing policies and programs to reduce deforestation – including the ZEE and the Valuation policy.

2.1 Basic facts: Where, who, why and when

2.1.1 Geography

SISA applies to the entire state of Acre, which is a relatively small and remote state in the western Brazilian Amazon. Acre encompasses an area of approximately 164,221 km2, which comprises 4.7% of the Brazilian Amazon (IBGE 2014b). It consists of two main watersheds that are drained by the Juruá River in the northwest and by the Purus River and Acre River in the southeast (Salisbury and Schmink 2007). The state had over 86% of its original forest vegetation intact as of 2013 (INPE 2014b), and almost half of its territory has been designated as protected areas (ZEE 2010). The state’s principal forest types are tropical dense forests and bamboo forests with high floristic heterogeneity, which are considered to hold great economic value (Government of Acre 2013). Acre is also rich in vertebrate diversity, particularly in terms of birds and mammals. The state holds about 40% of all Brazilian mammal species, representing 4.5% of the world’s mammal species, along with 45.8% of existing bird species in Brazil, or 8.5% of the world’s bird species (ZEE 2010).

The human population of Acre is estimated at 790,101, with most inhabitants concentrated in the southeastern portion of the state (IBGE 2014b). The population density is 4.47 people/km², and the state experienced a population growth rate of 31.6% between 2000 and 2010, which was twice the Brazilian average (IBGE 2014b). The urbanization process in Acre reflects what is happening in Brazil as a whole. Nowadays, 73% of Acre’s total population is found in urban areas, with most living in the capital Rio Branco, which holds 45% of all inhabitants (Government of Acre 2013).

The history of land use and economic activities in Acre is tied to the rubber boom, which began in the late 19th century and was reinvigorated during World War II. Since the 1970s, there has been a transition to land use based on cattle ranching, even among traditional forest extractivists (Gomes 2009). While Acre is still a poor state, contributing only 0.2% of the national GDP, during the last decade, its economic growth exceeded the national growth rate (10.9% in Acre vs. 7.5% in Brazil). The state GDP is comprised of services (33%), the public sector (33%), agriculture, ranching and forestry (19%), and industry (13%) (Government of Acre 2013). Public welfare programs, such as Bolsa Família, are the main income source for 44% of the population (MDS 2014). Agriculture is generally practiced for subsistence, but some crops, such as cassava, rice, bananas and maize, are important cash crops, as well as being essential for local livelihoods. Livestock production primarily focuses on cattle (which increased from 334,336 head in 1985 to 1,784,472 head in 2005), but also includes pigs, sheep, chickens, and more recently, fish farming (Government of Acre 2013). While timber is the primary forest product, representing 43% of Acre’s exports, there are also markets for natural rubber (Hevea brasiliensis), Brazil nuts (Bertholletia excelsa), açai (Euterpe precatoria) and other NTFPs. Industrial activities primarily focus on the production of food, timber, ceramics and furniture (Government of Acre 2013).

The initial idea was that Acre’s government-led REDD+ initiative would be implemented in 7–8 priority areas of high deforestation risk based on information in the state’s Ecological and Environmental Zoning. The priority areas concept was abandoned after an extensive stakeholder consultation process during the development of SISA in 2009 and 2010. When SISA was eventually created, it did not focus on priority areas, but rather on the state of Acre as a whole. This statewide approach is often called ‘jurisdictional-REDD,’ and ISA-Carbono is considered the most advanced of such programs to date worldwide (Alencar et al. 2012).

For CIFOR-GCS, we focused on the priority assistance zone of the BR-364 highway (ZAP BR-364), which was an initial focal area for proponents’ efforts and resources (Figure 2.1). This area corresponds to a 5 km buffer along either side of the BR-364 highway located within the municipalities of Manoel Urbano and Feijó. As of 2010, it was minimally deforested (4%) yet threatened by imminent highway paving, which opened it to year-round access. Acre’s government initiated activities in the ZAP BR-364 in 2008, which were aligned with its low carbon development plan for that region.

2.1.2 Stakeholders and funding

Acre’s environmental enforcement and sustainable production initiatives are managed by multiple governmental agencies that comprise the Climate Change Management Committee. These agencies include SEMA, Acre’s Institute of Environment (IMAC), the State Secretariat of Family Production and Rural Extension (SEAPROF), the State Secretariat of Forest Development, Industry, Commerce and Sustainable Services (SEDENS), and Acre’s Land Institute (ITERACRE). SEMA is responsible for the elaboration of environmental policy and management instruments, while IMAC enforces these policies through command-and-control initiatives. SEAPROF is responsible for rural technical assistance, along with implementation of the Certification of Smallholder Properties Program and initiatives to recuperate degraded lands. SEDENS is responsible for sustainable forest management activities, and ITERACRE is responsible for land tenure regularization. Acre’s government created its own remote sensing institution, called the Central Geoprocessing and Remote Sensing Unit (UCEGEO), to monitor deforestation occurring at a smaller scale than the Brazilian national monitoring institution (INPE) can detect. UCEGEO’s finer monitoring resolution (0.54 ha, as compared with INPE’s 6 ha resolution) is particularly important in Acre, where most deforestation occurs at a small scale.

The SISA law created a number of institutions to administer the system and procure funding for it. Among these are the Institute of Climate Change and Regulation of Environmental Services (IMC), which regulates SISA and registers and monitors private REDD+ projects; the Commission for Validation and Accompaniment (CEVA), which monitors SISA and approves regulations, norms and implementation approaches; and the Company for the Development of Environmental Services (CDSA), which is involved in the implementation of SISA and the procurement and administration of private funding (WWF 2013). CEVA is comprised of four civil society organizations and four governmental organizations. Civil society and stakeholder participation occurs through CEVA, as well as through public consultations. The CDSA is a public–private company charged with assisting with financing, including through the sale of carbon credits, and preparing and implementing subprograms and projects under each of SISA’s ecosystem service programs. The State Attorney General’s office (PGE) is also an important part of SISA, providing legal guidance and participating as a member of CEVA. The SISA ombudsman is based at the PGE.

Funding for SISA and sustainable development initiatives in the study area come from a few sources. WWF, through its Sky Rainforest Rescue project (WWF-Sky), funds sustainable family farming including through the Certification Program, the development and promotion of NTFPs, and environmental educational initiatives, as well as providing some funding for SISA’s institutional development. The World Bank provided support for the State Program of Social Inclusion and Sustainable Economic Development, known as PROACRE. Funding for sustainable development initiatives and SISA also comes from the Amazon Fund. Additionally, Acre signed two payment-for-performance agreements with the German Development Bank (KfW) in 2012 (four-year payment period) and 2013 (single payment) through the bank’s Global REDD Programme for Early Movers. Through these agreements, the government of Acre receives yearly payments for demonstrated emissions reductions, which are measured and accountable at the state level, totaling approximately USD 25 million through 2015. A set percentage of these payments (70% or higher) are required to be distributed to beneficiaries such as the smallholders in our study site; these benefit-sharing guidelines were established for the KfW funding and not for SISA as a whole. Finally, Acre’s agreement with the state of California for potential REDD-based emission offsets through California’s cap-and-trade system could eventually provide an important source of funding for SISA (ROW 2013).

2.1.3 Motivation

Acre’s state government, known from 1999–2010 as the ‘Forest Government,’ is credited with the creation of an innovative, forest-based development model in the state. This model combines market-oriented strategies with local participation and social development (Schmink et al. 2014). It was largely inspired by the success of the rubber tapper social movement, in which Chico Mendes was an important leader. That movement resulted in the creation of Extractive Reserves and recognition of some traditional land rights (Allegretti 1990). As part of this development model, the government undertook ecological–economic zoning; worked to restimulate the rubber economy, which had declined after federal price supports were removed (Hall 1997); created new agencies responsible for timber management and smallholder production systems; experimented with PES (Bartels 2009); and pursued sustainable forest management initiatives at both the industrial and community scales (Kainer et al. 2003). Some communities in Acre have been at the forefront of integrating sustainable timber extraction into their livelihoods (Rockwell et al. 2007) and were some of the first communities in the Brazilian Amazon to attain FSC certification (Humphries and Kainer 2006). SISA can be understood as a culmination of these efforts as Acre continues to pioneer initiatives for sustainable development.

2.1.4 Timeline

SISA was preceded by a series of sustainable forest-based development policies in Acre, many of which are highlighted in the timeline below (Figure 2.2). Although SISA was passed into law in 2010, our study includes interventions in the ZAP BR-364 that predate the law, including the Certification of Smallholder Properties Program, since they are now connected to SISA.

2.2 Strategy for the initiative

SISA, and specifically ISA-Carbono, is a state policy designed to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, while promoting conservation and sustainable forest management. This jurisdictional REDD+ approach is based on three overall strategies: (i) command-and-control – promotion of environmental compliance, including application of CAR required by the Brazilian Forest Code; (ii) monitoring – improved monitoring of small-scale deforestation and forest degradation through technological advancements; and (iii) sustainable production – promotion of sustainable activities in both the agriculture and forestry sectors, including beef and milk production, family agriculture, CFM and reforestation. Through SISA, the government of Acre is working to increase the diversity of sustainable land uses, the productivity of land already cleared in Acre and the financial value of standing forests, through the promotion of sustainable timber and NTFPs.

As mentioned earlier, SISA was expanded from a set of priority areas to apply to the entire state of Acre based on feedback gathered during a stakeholder consultation process. In 2009, the draft law was published and made available through Acre’s website, in addition to being sent to 120 people from more than 72 national and international organizations for evaluation and feedback. The State Secretariat of Environment also held public consultation meetings with more than 170 people to discuss the document and to work toward a fair and efficient structure of benefit sharing. Five meetings were held with technical staff from local NGOs, three workshops brought together potential beneficiaries, and a technical seminar included 10 national and international organizations that represented civil society, as well as representatives of seven State Secretariats. During the stakeholder consultation process, however, it became clear that the concept of priority areas was insufficient and politically untenable, since areas with a low risk of deforestation also needed to be included for two main reasons: (i) people living in these areas should be rewarded for having conserved forests; and (ii) areas with a low deforestation risk could quickly become areas of high risk.

REDD+ financing is considered a way to support the low emissions rural development initiatives being undertaken by Acre’s government. Currently, KfW funding is being distributed among SISA’s organizational components (IMC, CDSA, etc.) and SISA beneficiaries, including traditional forest extractivists, indigenous communities, small colonist farmers and cattle ranchers, primarily through financing of existing programs and projects. SISA works primarily through existing sustainable development initiatives, as well as through direct support to some community associations. Up-front benefits, such as technical assistance for more sustainable land-use practices, are an important part of SISA.

Proposals have been made for linking SISA benefit sharing to national Brazilian climate policies. One proposal is a hybrid between stock-flow accounting and benefit allocation based on program planning (Alencar et al. 2012). In this proposal, stock-flow benefit-sharing estimates in Acre would depend on 50% of revenue allocations to the Brazilian Amazonian states through the National Climate Change Plan (Moutinho et al. 2011), which would then be divided among the four main land tenure categories in Acre (medium and large private properties, land reform settlement areas, conservation units, and indigenous lands) through a programmatic approach. A more recent proposal has suggested an 80% allocation of benefits to the Brazilian Amazon states, with Acre receiving 3.7% of these benefits for internal distribution (GCF 2014). REDD+ benefit distribution from the national level to the state level will be defined through the national REDD+ framework, which is still under development.

SISA is structured to work primarily through land-use programs implemented by existing state organizations. In line with Acre’s ongoing vision and policies for sustainable rural development, one goal of SISA is to secure rural peoples’ legitimate claims on land and natural resources. Cattle ranchers and small colonist farmers are primary targets for reductions in high carbon-emitting activities through promoting more sustainable agriculture and cattle raising, along with recuperation of degraded lands, to discourage new deforestation and burning. For reasons of both effectiveness and equity, SISA tries to improve the livelihoods of smallholders, which is why there are special strategies for forest extractivists (including riverine groups), indigenous people and small colonist farmers. While technical assistance for sustainable production is contemplated for all three groups, there are slight differences in strategies. Community Development Plans will be developed for many small colonist farmers and forest extractivists through local NGO consultation with communities. In addition, small colonist farmers will receive agricultural assistance and inputs, while forest extractivists will receive incentives for sustainable production chains (i.e. multiple-use forestry). The strategy for indigenous people is the Indigenous Land Management Program as well as promotion of community territorial monitoring.

In the ZAP BR-364, these interventions reflect a combination of enabling conditions (i.e. readiness), disincentives and incentives. The primary readiness activity to date has been the georeferencing of small properties by ITERACRE. While ITERACRE was active in the ZAP BR-364 in 2009 and 2010, the organization has not yet granted property titles to families in this area. The main disincentive applied in the ZAP BR-364 was IMAC’s enforcement of a ‘zero burning’ policy from 2010 through 2012 which, according to local community members, led to a reduction in deforestation and use of fire in agriculture. Following a judicial decision in 2013, smallholders were allowed to burn a small area of land for subsistence production with a permit from IMAC. Many incentives for sustainable land-use practices are connected to the Certification of Smallholder Properties Program. When small farmers voluntarily adhere to this program, they receive an initial bonus payment of BRL 250 to stop deforestation and burning, and SEAPROF works with them to create a property management plan. They are then given priority in the government’s provision of technical assistance and inputs, including support in the use of Mucuna spp. (a nitrogen-fixing legume that allows for farming without burning), fish farming, chicken production or enrichment planting with açai seedlings, depending on what is jointly established by the producer and SEAPROF in the property management plan. Up to nine future annual bonus payments of BRL 500–600 are conditional on the continued cessation of deforestation and burning according to the property management plan. Importantly, smallholders who are not part of the Certification Program are also eligible to receive technical assistance and agricultural inputs. Additionally, other incentives have been provided to smallholders in the ZAP BR-364 through PROACRE, including the creation of Community Development Plans and a farm plowing service provided by SEAPROF.

2.3 Smallholders in the initiative

The CIFOR-GCS sample in Acre includes small colonist farmers and forest extractivists residing in the ZAP BR-364 region. From June to July 2010, we interviewed 127 households (~33% of the total number) in the four main communities and also held community-level and women’s survey meetings. In each community, households were randomly selected from a stratified sample of nonparticipating households and households participating in the Certification Program at the time of fieldwork.

Table 2.1 characterizes the study communities. While the four study communities were founded relatively recently, residents include descendants of rubber tappers who migrated to the area during the rubber boom of the late 19th century and again during World War II, along with more recent colonists in search of land. Most individual smallholder properties are distributed along the main highway in rectangular plots, but there are also households distributed throughout the forests in a more irregular, rubber tree-based tenure system. In all four communities, tenure was considered insecure due to a lack of land titles and, in two communities, due to the inability to exclude outsiders from local landholdings (Duchelle et al. 2014). At the time of fieldwork in mid-2010, the BR-364 was unpaved, and the area was inaccessible during eight months of the year due to heavy rainfall. Highway paving was completed in 2011, granting year-round access to the area.

Local institutions are fairly well developed in the ZAP BR-364. Each community is represented by an association with elected representatives and regular, inclusive meetings. In ACRE1, in addition to the community association, there is a school board and a church group. In ACRE2 and ACRE4, some community members are part of the municipal workers’ union. There are no women-specific organizations in these communities and, in all four communities, women expressed a desire for more leadership in decision making. Residents manage their landholdings individually, so local collective rules for forest and land use in these communities are minimal.

Maize was considered the main staple food by residents of most study communities, and had on average the highest production value per household. Rice was considered the main staple in ACRE3, but it was reported that rice production had started to decrease two years prior due to government restrictions on swidden agriculture. In ACRE2, decreases in cassava, maize and rice production were also attributed to government restrictions on swidden agriculture. In ACRE1, community members also reported rice production to be on the decline, but in that community, this was attributed to a disease outbreak that had negatively affected the crop. Cassava had the highest production value per household in ACRE4, even though maize was reported by residents as the primary staple food, possibly because most cassava was used for the production of cassava flour. In this community, an increase was reported in cattle herd size in comparison with two years prior due to natural reproduction, while the production of natural rubber was reported to have decreased due to poor prices. In the other three communities, açai fruit was reported to have had the largest growth due to increased market demand and a higher price for this forest product.

Table 2.2 presents basic socioeconomic characteristics of the households sampled in the four communities. In terms of education, household members (≥ 16 years old) across the four communities had studied on average only 2 to 3.6 years. There was no access to piped water in any of the communities, and a minority had access to their own latrines. At the time of fieldwork in 2010, access to electricity was much more limited than it is now. In ACRE1, no households had electricity, and in the other three communities, the portion of households that accessed electricity did so either through a paid connection to the municipal grid (especially in ACRE4), a community generator or an individual generator. During our fieldwork period, community members held protests requesting access to the government Luz para Todos (Light for All) program, which they were subsequently granted. Phone access was considerably more widespread in ACRE4, and transport asset values were higher, reflecting its closer proximity to town. There was little variation in average household landholding size among the four communities, but ACRE4 showed greater investment in cattle herds.

Figures 2.3 and 2.4 reflect the livelihood portfolios of sampled households. Overall, the greatest share of household income was derived from crops (26%), followed by other sources (20%; largely government aid), forest and non-forest environmental income (19%), wage labor (18%), and livestock (16%). The reliance on agriculture indicates the importance of agricultural assistance and inputs as intervention strategies in the ZAP BR-364 so as to impact land use and improve livelihoods. Crop and livestock income was highest in ACRE4, likely because of the higher reliance on cattle. Off-farm income was highest in ACRE1, at least partly because of jobs in the local school located in that community.

Table 2.3 summarizes information related to forest reliance. Although households are located relatively close to forests, very few identified their primary or secondary occupations as being forest based. Indeed, agriculture was considered the main occupation by the majority of households in all four communities, which is reflected by the higher reliance on crop income shown above. That said, in three of the four communities, more than 50% of households had sold forest products (mostly açai) during the previous year. In ACRE1 and ACRE3, a very high percentage (79% and 59%, respectively) of households reported a change in their sale of forest products in relation to two years prior. Most of this change reflected an increase in sales, with higher demand and higher prices for açai given as the main reason for the increase. Additionally, between 38% and 55% of households in all communities reported a change in consumption of forest products. For those that reported an increase, the main reason given was a greater need to collect food from the forest, often related to an increase in household size. For those households that had decreased their forest product consumption, the main reason was a lack of available wild game due to a population increase in the area. In all four communities, households were highly dependent on the use of fuelwood for cooking. Such information on household consumption and sale of forest products can help inform those SISA strategies that aim to increase the value of standing forests for people’s livelihoods by indicating where more investments and government support might be beneficial.

In all four communities, the majority of households reported clearing at least one parcel of forest for cropping in the previous year, but concurrently reported a decreased opportunity for forest clearing in general (Table 2.3). Indeed, in three of the four communities (ACRE1, ACRE3 and ACRE4), community members reported a decrease in swidden agriculture due to government restrictions on forest clearing and the use of fire. Only in ACRE1 and ACRE3 did respondents report a simultaneous increase in the number of households practicing permanent agriculture, likely due to restrictions on swidden. This information was complemented by observations during the community meetings of ACRE2, ACRE3 and ACRE4, where participants reported an overall increase in forest cover from 2008 to 2010, with the main reason given that enhanced government restrictions made it more difficult to clear forests. Government restrictions on forest clearing continued between 2010 and 2013, particularly with the ‘zero burning’ policy from 2011–2012 mentioned earlier.

2.4 Challenges facing the initiative

As a pioneer initiative globally, Acre’s SISA has faced the formidable challenge of having to innovate at every step of its development. After many years of hard work, SISA is considered to be a global model of jurisdictional REDD+ and low emissions rural development more broadly (Alencar et al. 2012). There are still challenges for moving forward, including: (i) the disconnect between REDD+ advancement at national and subnational levels in Brazil; (ii) financing for SISA; and (iii) providing support for the thousands of rural producers who are expected to change their land-use practices.

While Acre has worked to make SISA flexible and compatible with other REDD+ strategies, stakeholders report that a recent decline in transparency and progress on REDD+ at the federal level has created a difficult degree of uncertainty about funding and other issues at the state level. Some of the most important institutional advances for REDD+ in Brazil have been at the subnational level, which have been in part facilitated through coordination and learning through the Governors’ Climate and Forests Task Force (GCF), an international–subnational collaboration among 22 states and provinces. Brazilian Amazonian states have also acted individually. Eight Amazonian states have initiated plans to control deforestation within the framework of the National Plan for the Prevention and Control of Deforestation in the Amazon (May et al. 2011). The state of Amazonas passed climate change legislation in 2007 with its Climate and Conservation Law (3.135/2007). Following implementation of Acre’s SISA, Mato Grosso passed its 2013 State System of REDD+ (Law 9.878/2013; Government of Mato Grosso 2013). Acre and Amazonas are also pilots for the VCS Jurisdictional and Nested REDD+ framework, and Acre has led the development of social and environmental safeguards at the jurisdictional level in collaboration with the REDD+ Social and Environmental Standards (SES) Initiative.

Future funding for SISA and Acre’s low carbon development strategy is uncertain. While the state has been successful in attracting international donations, the price of carbon in the voluntary market is low, and compliance markets do not accept REDD+ carbon credits. As mentioned earlier, there is hope that the Acre–California agreement will help support SISA. However, California has not yet committed to include REDD+ credits in its cap-and-trade program, and discussions with the Brazilian states of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo about the sale of forest carbon credits remain at a nascent stage. While not unique to Acre, this funding situation leaves the breadth and depth of SISA uncertain. The state and its partners are investigating alternative sources of funding as REDD+ financing continues to be slow to materialize.

Finally, the ultimate success of SISA will depend on the cooperation of thousands of rural producers in adopting land-use practices that do not rely on deforestation. Worldwide, such efforts aimed at changing smallholders’ land-use practices risk dispossessing smallholders and traditional peoples of their land and rights (Sunderlin et al. 2009). Changing land-use practices is a long-term and difficult process that requires consistent, equitable and culturally sensitive engagement with smallholders. This challenge is compounded by poor infrastructure. For instance, the continued isolation of many smallholders in the state makes it difficult for them to sell their agricultural produce and for agricultural extension workers to provide sufficient assistance. In adopting a statewide approach to REDD+, Acre took on a large number of potential beneficiaries – the thousands of rural households that live in the state. This ambitious goal, while beneficial in some ways, risks spreading already scarce resources even more thinly across the state, thereby reducing the agricultural assistance and other benefits that each family receives. The second phase of our CIFOR-GCS research clearly showed current limitations in the government’s ability to provide sufficient technical assistance to farmers in the ZAP BR-364, with certification bonus payments coming late or not at all, and inconsistent technical support for helping farmers transition to agriculture without the use of fire and cultivate açai seedlings. A lack of consistent government support could demotivate farmers who are making big efforts to change their land-use practices, and may result in decreased levels of participation. While Acre has made impressive advances in sustainable development policy, challenges remain for effectively translating that policy into direct support for more sustainable land use on the ground.

2.5 Lessons from the initiative

While SISA is not the first subnational REDD+ initiative in Brazil, it is the first jurisdictional REDD+ program at the state level and is considered to be among the most advanced programs of this kind in the world. SISA creates an institutional framework for REDD+ at the state level, which strives to mitigate problems of leakage, perverse incentives and heavy transaction costs. There are multiple lessons to be learned from this early experience in the implementation of jurisdictional REDD+. These lessons can be harvested from the various elements of SISA’s approach, including Acre’s focus on statewide performance, the benefits of building on an existing foundation of policies and programs for reducing deforestation and degradation, development of a state framework before encouraging forest carbon projects, and cross-sector dialogue between state secretariats (Alencar et al. 2012). The SISA experience also highlights the importance of participation of multiple stakeholders in initiative design and implementation.

Acre has had a strong influence on other Brazilian Amazonian states and REDD+ programs outside of Brazil, in part because of its efforts to create the world’s first jurisdictional REDD+ program. In Brazil, Acre has actively participated in the national REDD+ working group – along with other Amazonian states and the Brazilian Secretariat of Climate Change in the Ministry of Environment – to discuss the national REDD+ strategy. At the international level, the Memorandum of Understanding with California, participation in the GCF Task Force, and pilot roles in the REDD+ SES Initiative and VCS Jurisdictional and Nested REDD+ framework have put Acre on the map as a global leader in bottom-up innovation for low-emissions rural development.

2.6 Acknowledgments

We are grateful to the families of the ZAP BR-364 and surrounding land reform settlement areas for their generous sharing of time and knowledge. Members of Acre’s Climate Change Institute, SEAPROF, ITERACRE and WWF have been key partners since the beginning of our work in Acre. We also thank the members of the 2010 field team for their contribution to collecting the data that is presented in this chapter: Angela Cristina Silva, Bartolomeu Lima da Costa, Ederlan Pereira Bezerra, Fredson Silva de Souza, Genildo da Silva Macedo, Gisele Aparecida Monteiro, Hycaro Mattos Silva, Jamaica Kelle Matias de Souza Araújo, Kaline Rossi do Nascimento, Marcelo Gomes de Almeida and Tiago do Nascimento Barbosa.