Amazon Region Protected Areas Program

The Amazon Region Protected Areas Program (ARPA; pt, Programa Áreas Protegidas da Amazônia) is a joint initiative sponsored by government and non-government agencies to expand protection of the Amazon rainforest in Brazil.

Foundation

The Amazon Region Protected Areas Program (ARPA) originated in a 1998 promise by the Brazilian government to triple the area of the Amazon that was legally protected.
The program was launched in 2003, supported by government agencies, NGOs and major donors.
The program is based on a major two-year planning exercise with experts from different disciplines, representatives of the indigenous people and others.
This defined a set of priority areas for new parks and reserves throughout the Amazon.

Objectives

Initial objectives were:
* Establish about of new strictly protected conservation units of Brazil
* Upgrade about of neglected existing parks to effective standards of management
* Establish about of sustainable use reserves supported by local communities, and provide effective stewardship
* Establish a US$220 million long-term Protected Areas Trust Fund to ensure perpetual financial viability and integrity of the system
Benefits include protecting habitats, ecosystems and biodiversity, reducing conflicts over land ownership, providing sustainable use options to local communities, creating barriers against deforestation and burning, maintaining forest coverage to lock up carbon and avoid changes to rainfall patterns.

Organization

The program is led by the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA), which coordinates the process of identifying protected areas, creating them by law, preparing management plans and establishing staff and infrastructure.
IBAMA works with local government authorities and community members.
Implementation is overseen by a steering committee that includes representatives from government agencies and civil society.

The Brazilian government covers core staffing costs.
The World Bank