The world's local bank
Working together to inspire action on climate change.
Countering climate impacts in Brazil
WWF's focus on this project will be adaptation and mitigation surrounding the possible impacts of climate change on the people and environment of the region, specifically on the following rivers – Amazon, Paraguay, Tocantins, Paran and São Francisco. Main benefits will include:
- Improved protection of 14% of the world's freshwater and water security, benefiting 80 million Brazilians;
- Reduced risks of climate change impacts on the economy and food security;
- Economically-viable, sustainable use of the Amazon rainforest;
- Stimulate new sustainable business opportunities, markets and jobs;
- Mobilise up to 11 million Brazilians to take action to change their personal consumption habits.
Water
One of the main concerns surrounding climate change is the need for water and the impact that the lack thereof can have. The Brazil project aims to:
- Reduce vulnerability to extreme events such as floods and droughts;
- Protect water supplies in major cities such as São Paulo, Curitiba and Brasilia;
- Increase access to clean water and sanitation for Brazil's urban poor.
This will be accomplished in part by the following long-term goals:
- River basin vulnerability assessment: researching, by 2009, water availability under climate change scenarios and generating management instruments and resilience resources;
- River basin governance, planning and policy: ensure that public policies incorporate river basin climate change resilience measurements, and conservation and water management structures, by 2012;
- Sustainable river flows: providing information to influence the design of efficient public policies for managing water resources by 2010;
- Sanitation management: by 2011, sanitation companies to take action to protect river catchments, promote water access and inform the population about climate and water issues, and contribute to achieving the UN Millennium Development Goals.
Amazon and deforestation
Brazil is the fourth largest global producer of CO2 emissions, 62% of this being caused by deforestation and 22% by agriculture. WWF will address this issue by:
- Supporting sustainable and economically-viable use of the forest;
- Combating illegal deforestation in the Amazon;
- Promoting an environmental tax deduction;
- Facilitating an international payment for maintaining the forest under Kyoto 2;
- Encouraging sustainable forestry and agriculture management.
Sustainability
In order to make reducing emissions economically feasible, environmentally-friendly alternatives must be promoted:
- Sustainable agriculture: implement mechanisms to reduce the negative environmental impacts of the expansion of sugar cane and soy and encourage the government to strengthen measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by developing sustainable biofuels;
- Sustainable energy: influence the National Energy Plan to stimulate renewable energy options and increase the financial resources available for developing and delivering these options. This will reduce dependence on hydropower and also help to reduce the risk of energy blackouts.
Taking Action
Informing and mobilising the public to commit to changing their behaviour in favour of environmentally-friendly actions:
- Ecological Footprint Campaign: the Earth contains a finite amount of resources which can be used by its inhabitants. As illustrated in the graph, in 1986, the global population's consumption outgrew the rate at which the Earth can sustain the population. The campaign will inform and mobilise 11 million people throughout Brazil, including direct campaigns with public and private sector institutions, encouraging them to act on this issue.
Latin America Projects
Countering climate impacts in Brazil
WWF's focus on this project will be adaptation and mitigation surrounding the possible impacts of climate change on the people and environment of the region.
Carbon Budget
In the past 40 years, human activities have caused a 15% increase in the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere.
Panama Canal Watershed
The Panama Canal is the most important commercial waterway in the world.
