1. Introduction
There is growing evidence that it could take three to five decades to bend the global warming curve.[1] Therefore, it is an ethical imperative to mobilise the scientific and practical knowledge to develop resilience pathways for humanity.[2] Special attention must be given to the most vulnerable peoples so as to reduce climate injustice.[3]
Nature-based climate solutions applicable to oceans, native terrestrial ecosystems and anthropogenic land-use systems can play an important role as they can be economically efficient.[4] In addition, nature-based solutions can deliver social equity benefits. The challenge is how to enhance social benefits of nature-based solutions, given high and increasing rates of inequalities worldwide.[5] This is a theme that requires new advances for both science and practice.
People-based solutions to climate change offer a promising approach to link social inclusion goals to nature restoration and protection goals.[6] People-based solutions can be defined as practical approaches to tackle climate change adaptation and mitigation agendas through labour-intensive and culturally appropriate activities. Job creation for less-educated workers can reduce inequalities, while culturally appropriate activities can improve livelihoods and mobilise ethnoecological knowledge of local communities and specially of indigenous peoples. These solutions have the potential of being more cost-efficient in delivering climate resilience goals together with multiple sustainable development goals than other approaches. This paper will bring evidence from science and practice to back this approach with a perspective from the Amazon.
The Amazon is one of the most important biomes on earth in delivering ecosystem services that are essential to increase resilience of global systems to climate change. The Amazon stores 176 billion tons/CO2 (25% of global storage in terrestrial ecosystems),[7] 16% of global surface freshwater, 10% of plants, and over 2,300 species of fish, more than can be found in the entire Atlantic Ocean.[8] There is evidence that deforestation in the Amazon can have regional impacts in rainfall regimes for South America,[9] with major impacts for food production systems, hydroelectricity power generation, and urban water supply.[10] There is also evidence that deforestation in the Amazon can affect extreme drought events and forest fire frequency in distant areas such as California.[11] The Amazon is also home to over 300 indigenous peoples that have played a key role in forest protection, but are highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. These peoples represent a clear case of climate injustice.
This paper will analyse how people-based solutions can be applied to the challenge of building resilience to climate change, with a perspective from the Amazon. The paper will provide evidence from a case study, drawing practical solutions and making recommendations based on concrete actions.
2. Case study
This paper will summarise indicators of community-based sustainable development programs carried out by Foundation for Amazon Sustainability (FAS) in 583 communities of traditional and indigenous peoples that live in a network of 16 protected areas of Amazonas state in Brazil. Amazonas is Brazil’s largest state, with 1.5 million square kilometres, 97% remaining forest cover and with more tropical rainforests than other tropical country, including Congo, Indonesia and Colombia. The economy of these communities is based on fisheries, agriculture, forest extraction and community-based tourism.
Figure 1. Map of state-protected areas of Amazonas State that have received investments made by Foundation for Amazon Sustainability (FAS) through people-based solutions for climate change and sustainable development and those that have not received these investments. Source: Foundation For Amazon Sustainability. Accessed in June, 2022.
Since 2008 these protected areas have received investments by Foundation for Amazon Sustainability (FAS) based on the concept of people-based solutions for climate change and sustainable development. These investments were prioritised on the basis of a participatory planning methodology developed by FAS and used in over one thousand workshops carried out throughout the Amazon. Investment management and evaluation also used FAS’ social technology.[12] Investments were based on a systemic approach that included all 17 Sustainable Development Goals, which were grouped into 8 workstreams and 2 priority thematic focal areas (Figure 2).
Figure 2. Conceptual framework of the systemic approach developed by FAS, including the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (outer circle), 8 priority workstreams (inner circle – education, health, income, empowerment, infrastructure, nature conservation, technological innovation, management and transparency) and 2 focal areas (education for sustainability and Amazon bioeconomy).
Source: Foundation For Amazon Sustainability’s Activity Report 2021.
On the basis of this systemic approach, a total investment of 62,913,072.9545 USD was made in the 2008-2021 period (and 53,721,311.66 USD from 2008 to 2019). These investments were made on the basis of participatory decision making at the community level.
Figure 3. Investments made in 582 Amazon communities from 2008 to 2022 divided in to different priorities identified through over one thousand participatory planning workshops.
In addition to the investments described in Figure 3, FAS has also been responsible for co-implementation of the Bolsa Floresta Program, which is the largest program for payment for environmental services in tropical rainforest areas. The program has benefited 582 communities, in an area of 11 million hectares with benefits for about 40 thousand people. The program has paid cash benefits to mostly (86%) women, totalling 61 million Reais in historic values.
Results of the investments made include an increase in average income of over 200%[13] from 2009 through 2019. This was a result of investments in income generation based on sustainable use of forests and fisheries as well as small-scale agriculture and community-based tourism. These investments were co-designed with local communities so as to reflect their priorities and mobilise local resources as co-funding (not accounted for in Figure 3).
The people-based approach for participatory decision making has been a key ingredient for success. People were usually engaged and highly motivated as these were “their” projects, and not “someone else’s” projects. This subtle difference represents one of the key explanations for the successes documented here. This people-based approach also explains the reasons for a high proportion of failures of governmental investments in the Amazon that tend to be top down and not bottom up.[14]
Figure 4. Investment priorities identified for income generation in 41 communities for three protected areas (Rio Negro Sustainable Development Reserve, Puranga Conquista Sustainable Development Reserve and Rio Negro Environmental Protected Area). This survey was used to back the participatory decision-making process at the community level, based on 970 respondents, with 5% error. Numbers are averages for three surveys (2011, 2015 and 2019).
People-based investments made on community infrastructure identified 11 categories of priorities. Similarly to income generation, investments on community infrastructure were co-designed with local communities so as to reflect their priorities and mobilise local resources as co-funding (not accounted for here).
Figure 5. Priorities identified for investments in social infrastructure by 41 communities for three protected areas (Rio Negro Sustainable Development Reserve, Puranga Conquista Sustainable Development Reserve and Rio Negro Environmental Protected Area). This survey was used to back the participatory decision-making process at the community level, based on 970 respondents, with 5% error. Numbers are averages for three surveys (2011, 2015 and 2019).
A major reduction of deforestation rates was observed in the areas that received the benefits of the investments aimed at promoting sustainable development. Overall, there was a 43% reduction in deforestation rates in the 2008-2020 period when compared to the five-year baseline (2003-2007).
Figure 6. Deforestation reduction in 16 protected areas that benefited from investments aimed at promoting sustainable development. Data based on public access satellite data from INPE. Source: Foundation For Amazon Sustainability’s Activity Report 2021.
An analysis comparing areas that benefited from investments aimed at promoting sustainable development with areas that have not received such benefits shows a major difference in deforestation patterns. While there was a reduction of 55% in 2021 compared to 2020 in areas with people-based investment, there was an increase of 28% in deforestation rate in areas that did not receive these investments. Similarly to the results observed in income generation, people-based approaches also explain the reasons for success in reducing deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions. This shows a major contrast to areas that received only conventional top-down activities of the state government.
Figure 7. Comparative deforestation between protected areas that benefited from people-based investments for sustainable development and climate change with areas that did not receive such investments by FAS.
Source: Foundation For Amazon Sustainability’s Activity Report 2021.
The people-based approach for participatory decision making resulted in improving livelihoods. While 54% said that their livelihoods had improved by 2011, 78% and 81% considered that there were positive changes in 2015 and 2019, respectively. Similarly to income generation activities, people were highly engaged and motivated as investments were made on their priorities. This is one of the key explanations for the successes documented here.
Figure 8. This survey was used to back the participatory decision-making process at the community level, based on 970 respondents, with 5% error in 153 communities for three protected areas (Rio Negro Sustainable Development Reserve, Puranga Conquista Sustainable Development Reserve and Rio Negro Environmental Protected Area).
3. Lessons learned
The results from investments guided by people-based approaches using participatory social technology developed by FAS resulted in a number of positive outcomes, including other outcomes not reported here due limitations of space. These results yield lessons learned that can be summarised below.
- People-based approaches for participatory decision making is a key ingredient for success for reaching climate change and Sustainable Development Goals in the Amazon and other tropical rainforest areas.
- People-based approaches with participatory management practices result in engagement and motivation of local communities so that they see actions as coming from “their” projects and not from “someone else’s” projects. This subtle difference is key for success as a result of engagement of local communities.
- Engagement of local communities in action towards their own priorities mobilises local resources (mostly labour) and rich ethnoecological knowledge that can be blended with conventional science and technology. This is particularly important to develop nature-based solutions as ethnoecological knowledge can complement and fill gaps in scientific knowledge.
- The lack of people-based approaches helps explain the reasons for a high proportion of failures of governmental investments in the Amazon that tend to be top down and not bottom up.
4. Conclusions
Considering that some impacts of climate change are inevitable and are already affecting human societies, there is an urgent need to speed up action towards resilience building. This urgent call for action should be based on science and lessons learned from practice.
There is mounting scientific evidence that nature-based solutions can be more efficient than conventional technological solutions.[15] Lessons learned from practical action reported here point to the potential of people-based solutions in increasing the efficiency and efficacy of nature-based solutions. People-based solutions incorporate local knowledge and resources and this plays an important role in building long-term resilience.
People-based solutions can play an important role in resilience building not only in the Amazon. Other tropical rainforest landscapes can equally benefit from people-based approaches. Nature-based climate solutions can be delivered more efficiently through people-based solutions for resilience building. People-based solutions for resilience building can also offer a promising approach to mitigate climate injustice in the Amazon.
There is a need to mobilise resources to invest in resilience building in the Amazon as there is a clear case of climate injustice. Indigenous peoples that have done the least to contribute to global climate change are now suffering the impacts in their livelihoods.
People-based approaches have been found to be successful to deliver Sustainable Development Goals and can be used to deliver resilience-building goals. Therefore, people-based solutions should be developed and improved through science and innovation to increase efficiency and efficacy of practical action.
People-based solutions provide a promising approach for a two-way coupling between natural systems and social systems as they can deliver both nature and social benefits. People-based solutions should use a systemic approach and include goals to improve public health; food and nutrition security; water and energy security, among others. Education and sustainable management of natural ecosystems can play a central role.
People-based solutions can reduce migration to urban areas which are overcrowded throughout the developing world, with high levels of extreme poverty and violence. Investment in rural resilience can have indirect effects for urban resilience.
People-based solutions can also reduce deforestation and therefore greenhouse gas emissions. This can protect critical public assets and ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration and storage, protection of water cycles, biodiversity conservation and other co-benefits.
There is a need of bridging the gap between science and practice in order to speed up action towards resilience. There is also a need of valuing and incorporating ethnoecological knowledge of local communities and specially of indigenous peoples.
[1] IPCC 2021, Special Report: Global Warming of 1.5ºC.
[2] Laudato Si’. Pope Francis, June 18, 2015.
[3] Climate Justice. United Nations, May 31, 2019. https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2019/05/climate-justice/
[4] Biodiversity and Nature-based Solutions. United Nations. https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/climate-solutions/biodiversity-and-nature-based-solutions
[5] Nature-based solutions and their socio-economic benefits for Europe’s recovery. Institute for European Environmental Policy, February 24, 2021. https://ieep.eu/publications/nature-based-solutions-and-their-socio-economic-benefits-for-europe-s-recovery
[6] Viana, V.M. People-based solutions as a strategy to deliver nature-based solution to biodiversity and climate emergencies. In: Nature-Based Solutions Workshop: Measuring Impact on a Triple Bottom Line and Scaling it Through Public Policy. PreCOP25, October,8, 2019, San José, Costa Rica.
[7] The State of Forests in the Amazon Basin, Congo Basin and Southeast Asia. A report prepared for the Summit of the Three Rainforest Basins Brazzaville, Republic of Congo. May 31-3 June, 2011. www.fao.org/3/i2247e/i2247e00.pdf
[8] Science Panel For The Amazon. Amazon Assessment Report 2021. https://www.theamazonwewant.org/
[9] Amazon Tipping Point. Science Advances. February 21, 2018. https://www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/sciadv.aat2340
[10] The Amazon and the national interest. Journal Política Externa, v. 19, n. 1, jan. 2011.
[11] How the Amazon’s fires, deforestation affect the U.S. Midwest. NBC News. August 23, 2019. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/how-amazon-s-fires-deforestation-affect-u-s-midwest-n1045886
[12] Bolsa Floresta (Allowance for Forest Conservation) Guide. Foundation For Amazon Sustainability (FAS). February 03, 2022. https://fas-amazonia.org/publicacao/programa-bolsa-floresta/
[13] Viana, V.M. Systems approach to sustainable development in Amazonia. Tempo do Mundo Journal 2022
[14] Sustainable Development In Practice: Lessons Learned From Amazonas. Virgilio Viana, June 2010. https://pubs.iied.org/17508iied
[15] Seddon, Nathalie. Global recognition of the importance of nature-based solutions to the impacts of climate change. Cambridge University Press.