Roads with Araucarias

#SDGAction42667

Description

Intro

Through Payment for Ecosystem Services, the Roads with Araucarias Project encourages the planting of A. angustifolia along roadways and property lines on small-scale family farms. Rural producers plant A. angustifolia trees on their properties and are remunerated by private companies who use the trees as compensation for greenhouse gas emissions and to promote other ecosystem services, such as roadway landscaping, environmental protection, preservation of the A. angustifolia species, environmental education, production of A. angustifolia pine nuts (pinhões), benefits for fauna, and shade for cattle.

Objective of the practice

In view of the potential for economic and environmental use of araucaria, the need to plant it in order to preserve it, and the possibility of contributing to the recovery of areas along the roads, Embrapa Forests idealized the project "Roads with araucaria". The project aims to implement the araucaria plantation in the currencies of rural properties with roads, outside the range of domain of the roads, strictly complying with the norms of DNIT and DERs. 
It is common areas near the roads to present specimens of this species, in plantations made by the owners. Araucaria is the symbol species of many cities, is excellent for cultivation in the form proposed by the project and presents a unique scenic beauty due to its shape and dimensions. The practice is applicable with other forest species, thus, it is a viable model in any region of the Country.

Partners

Beneficiaries: Small-scale family farms. In the state of Paraná, the partners are the State Secretariat for Environment and Water Resources (SEMA), EMATER-PR, the Environmental Institute of Paraná (IAP), the State Secretariat of Agriculture and Supply (SEAB), Universidade do Center-West of Paraná (UNICENTRO) and the Federal University of Paraná (UFPR). In Santa Catarina, it is the State University of Santa Catarina (UDESC)

Implementation of the Project/Activity

The project encourages the planting of Araucaria angustifolia in currencies of family farms with road domain strips.

1. To encourage adherence to the project there is payment for environmental services for family farmers to plant and care for araucarias.

2. Producers plant 200 araucaria seedlings per property and receive R $ 5.00 (US$ 1.33) each, totaling an income of R $ 1,000.00 (approximately US$ 267) per year, ranging from planting until the trees fully complete their development and begin to produce pine nuts (10 to 15 years of annual payments).

3. Together with Embrapa Florestas, the project has the support of SEMA-PR, Emater, IAP; SEAB, UFPR and Unicentro, in the state of Paraná. In Santa Catarina, UDESC. With the involvement of these institutions, strong support from private initiative and with the participation of local communities, the implementation and expansion of the project has been implemented.

4. The implementation and conduction of the Project are based on procedures and measures such as: structure of nurseries and various inputs for production of seedlings; availability of inputs and field teams for the organization of producers; technical guidance and monitoring of plantations; equipment such as GPS. The counterpart with federal, state and municipal institutions involves activities and actions related to staff costs, internships, fuel, seedlings, supplies, training material and dissemination; provision of physical structure for training and support; training of technicians to assist in the planting of the seedlings and maintenance of the trees and vehicle for displacement of field staff and transportation of seedlings.

5. The participation of the rural family farmer, besides transferring the area to the plantation, includes labor tasks for implementation, maintenance and management of the seedlings, and the effective care with each araucária planted in its property.

Results/Outputs/Impacts

The project is implemented in four municipalities: Lapa, PR, Fernandes Pinheiro, PR, Fazenda Rio Grande, PR and Caçador, SC. There are 70 family farms, which planted and cared for about 20,000 araucarias. Several farmers have expanded their plantings beyond the minimum required limit of 200 seedlings per property. All started to have annual income with PSA, and the 2017 installment is the sixth annuity of R $ 1 thousand. The sponsor is the transportation and logistics company OTD Brazil.
The best result of the Project is the dissemination that the technique is having among producers, mainly non-relatives, who voluntarily adopt the practice of planting araucarias in their currencies, for the advantages that these trees offer, such as beautification of properties and production of pinions. Marketing and the many prizes obtained are also considered to be extremely important results. Much of the sponsor's interests are concentrated there, and the project becomes commercially attractive. On the other hand, the prominence in the media has promoted the practice of araucaria planting in rural property currencies. In addition to commercial media, participating institutions have always sought to highlight it through their communication sectors. The strategy is to make "fashion take".

Enabling factors and constraints

The biggest challenge for PSA projects is the difficulty of getting sponsors in the private sector, especially small and medium-sized companies. However, this barrier was overcome by the strong environmental and social appeal of the project, and by meeting the commercial interest of the sponsors in associating their brand with the project.

Sustainability and replicability

The practice is applied in seventy family farms that, in Brazil, exceed four million. It is easily accepted by farmers because it does not affect the production of rural property. By itself, without the PSA, it already brings benefits to property, such as its beautification and pinion production. It is applicable with other forest species, thus, it is a viable model in any region of the Country. The project is sustainable in the long term. Between 10 and 15 years the payment is terminated to the producers, and these will start to have income by the commercialization of pine nuts and planted araucarias.

Conclusions

The planting of trees advocated by this practice, in addition to assisting in the recovery of a threatened ecosystem, brings the direct benefit of capturing carbon from the atmosphere and converting it into forest biomass. There are still many benefits such as improved hydrological cycle, scenic beautification, improved micro-climate and increased biodiversity. One of the most important benefits is the internalization of environmental awareness through environmental education. 
The Project has attracted companies to allocate resources to PSA, making it possible to stimulate activities that bring benefits at different levels: 
At the local level: the payment of the carbon service contributes to a significant increase in the number of araucarias, improving the scenic beauty and bringing environmental and socioeconomic benefits arising 
At the state level: the Project has a strong potential to stimulate the adhesion of other companies, allowing its proliferation in different municipalities, forming green corridors of araucarias. 
At the national level: the Project contributes to the Emission Reduction Targets set out in the National Plan for Climate Change and serves as a model for other States with other species also threatened and of socioeconomic and environmental importance 
At the global level: carbon PSA contributes to offsetting human interference with climate change.

Other sources of information

1. TV: Globo Rural:
http://g1.globo.com/economia/agronegocios/noticia/2015/06/projeto-da-em…. html?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=gru

SDGS & Targets

Goal 15

Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss