Belém, Aug 8:
The Amazon Summit held in Brazil witnessed a robust commitment to sustainable development with the Belém Declaration, agreed upon between the eight Amazon countries. Beyond the international dimension, the Summit constituted an important opportunity to advance critical work on forest and climate finance amongst governments from the Brazilian Legal Amazon and their partners from civil society and the international community.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in collaboration with the Governors' Climate & Forest Task Force (GCFTF) and the Sustainable Amazon Foundation (FAS),took a prominent role in steering the discussions around accessing international climate finance. In close partnership with the ministries of environment and sustainable development of the nine Amazonian states, UNDP orchestrated a series of technical workshops aimed at fostering a future for healthy forests and communities.
The cornerstone of the collaboration between the nine Brazilian Amazon states and UNDP is constituted by the forest carbon standard ART/TREES (Architecture for REDD+ Transactions/The REDD+ Environmental Excellence Standard) and the way GCFTF has supported states in complying with this standard. Designed for state or country-wide REDD+ programs and through a set of principles and criteria, the standard aims to connect forest countries and states with the voluntary carbon market to increase ambition for for conservation and restoration as well as inclusive development . UNDP's active involvement has enabled state officials from environmental ministries and agencies to gain a comprehensive understanding of this standard, to facilitate access to climate finance and consequently promote the conservation of the Amazon region and improve the quality of life of the local population.
Since 2022, UNDP has worked directly with the nine Brazilian states and CSO partners on the states' compliance with the ART/TREES standard, to access voluntary carbon markets through technical submissions as well as project proposals for funding opportunities. The workshops conducted at the auspices of the Amazon Summit garnered significant attention on the importance to address technical aspects to enhance the environmental and social integrity of certified emission reductions . UNDP's leadership in technical support around forest finance is reflected in steering working groups on safeguards and monitoring, reporting and verification(MRV) systems. Fostering collaboration between governments and civil society towards high-integrity emission reductions from deforestation underscores the organization’s commitments to supporting Brazil in achieving its climate mitigation goals.
Collaboration has been a central theme, with UNDP working with WayCarbon, a distinguished technical consultancy, which has played a pivotal role in driving these initiatives forward by spearheading the development of technical MRV products and conducting targeted capacity-building sessions.
The Amazon Summit and the attention it drew to the region’s sustainable and forest-friendly development served as a dynamic platform for these collaborative efforts, emphasizing the critical role of knowledge exchange and unified action. As challenges persist, the joint commitment of UNDP, its partners, and the proactive states of Tocantins and Pará shines as a promising beacon. The Amazon Summit set a tone of resolve and shared purpose for the collective journey towards a sustainable and prosperous future.
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Funded by the Government of Norway, UNDP has supported the 35 jurisdiction members of the Governors' Climate & Forest Task Force since 2018, including all nine states of the Brazil Legal Amazon region.
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