Business + Conservation in Brazil

Conservation International-Brazil works with the private sector in key industries to help ensure that natural capital is incorporated into business operations and supply chains, and to properly value ecosystem services such as food, water, soil and pollination.

CIs philosophy on corporate engagement

Conservation International (CI) has actively engaged with corporations for more than 20 years to reduce environmental impacts and to harness private sector ingenuity on behalf of healthy ecosystems and human well-being. CI has always believed that corporate support linked to strong commitments on environmental best practices is a vital component of efforts to mobilize essential resources for nature conservation. In 1988, CI began its first projects in Brazil, home to the Amazonia wildernessthe largest tropical forest in the worldand the Abrolhos Region, the richest South Atlantic marine realm. CI-Brazil, which was established in 1990, is currently undertaking the TEEB for Business Brazil (The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity Project) , an assessment of the risks and costs of biodiversity loss and ecosystems degradation on business and the opportunities linked to conservation and sustainable use. This study is supported by the United Nations Environment Programme, the World Conservation Monitoring Centre and the Brazilian National Industry Confederation, and is sponsored by some of Brazils major companies, including Vale, Natura, Monsanto and Santander.

These examples give an overview of the many ways that CIBrazil works with corporations.
Sustainable Sourcing
CI-Brazil has undertaken efforts with leaders in the food, fiber and consumer products industries to harness innovation in commodity supply chains to promote landscapelevel conservation in Brazil. CI, Kimberly-Clark, Instituto BioAtlntica and three Brazilian pulp and paper companiesFibria, Vercael and Suzanojoined together in 2007 to create mosaic landscapes in Brazils Central Atlantic Forest Biodiversity Corridor. Mosaic landscapes integrate many different types of land into an interconnected, sustainable system to determine which areas are most suitable for productive activities like forestry or agriculture and which places are the most crucial to protect in order to conserve water, store carbon and provide other

ecosystem benefits. The model has proven so successful that it is now being replicated with additional companies and NGOs throughout the Atlantic Forest region. CI is working with Monsanto to develop new models for agriculture on a large scale in two priority regions in Brazil to: influence the implementation of best practices along Monsantos supply chain; implement concrete conservation actions in two biodiversity corridors in the Cerrado and Atlantic Forest biomes; and develop a corporate sustainability policy to incorporate sustainability criteria into its Brazilian business. CI works with Monsanto at multiple levels: partnering with Monsanto Brazil to integrate sustainability into its corporate policies and programs; incorporating environmental and social performance criteria into its supply and production chain; and working with Monsanto staff at the field level and with producers to directly implement better practices in the Atlantic Forest and the Cerrado. To date, CI and Monsanto have helped to train more than 900 conservation managers, developed conservation action plans for endangered species

Herpetology students (those studying amphibians and reptiles) take tree measurements to determine the health of the ecosystem in the Jari Ecological Station of the Amazon Forest.

endangered species within the corridor and established a nursery program that has trained local community members and contributed to the restoration of 20 hectares in Serra do Urugu. In Brazils Atlantic Forest state of Minas Gerais, CI is actively engaged with coffee producers to restore riparian habitats, protect steep slopes and identify areas that could be set aside for conservation. In partnership with Starbucks Coffee Company, CI-Brazil will expand this work within the corridor to help coffee communities identify areas with the greatest potential for reforestation to support biodiversity conservation, increase watershed protection and provide opportunities for additional farm revenue through ecosystem markets. Increasing the resilience of coffee communities to climate changewhile also identifying opportunities to link coffee farmers to payment for ecosystem service programs and voluntary carbon marketswill help secure a long-term, high-quality supply of Arabica coffee from this region.

Sustainable Production
CI-Brazil works with extractive industriessuch as the mining, oil, gas, coal and agricultural sectors on responsible development of the countrys natural resources, as well as to make better decisions for protecting and restoring healthy ecosystems where they operate. CI-Brazil is working with Vale on the management plan of 17 Private Reserves (RPPNs) in the Quadriltero Ferrfero area and a biodiversity inventory in the Araguaia river basin. The RPPNs project is developing an integrated

management plan for reserves in the Minas Gerais state that are of strategic value as they preserve a unique vegetation type called cangas, one of the most threatened Brazilian ecosystems. The inventory project will map the human-generated impacts along the Araguaia corridor and classify the species found (flora, birds, reptiles and mammals) according their conservation status. CI and Alcoa began working together in 2007 to explore new ways of integrating biodiversity conservation with Alcoas environmental policies and management systems, as well as sharing biodiversity information and scientific expertise to assess biodiversity resources. The partnership worked to identify opportunities to make strategic investments in regional efforts that achieve conservation outcomes, and looked for opportunities to promote biodiversity conservation within the mining sector at the international and national scales. The Alcoa Foundation also supported the launch of CI-Brazil's Center for Biodiversity Conservation to bring together science, partnerships and human well-being to scale up conservation outcomes. In 2007, CI-Brazil also established a partnership with Agropalma, the largest producer of palm oil in Brazil. The company owns and operates over 100,000 hectares of protected forests in the Belem Center of Endemism, the most deforested area in the Amazon. Through this partnership, inventories of fauna and flora were performed in the forested areas and CI is developing monitoring protocols in order to assess the impact of palm oil plantations on native wildlifelike jaguars (Pathera onca), the giant armadillo (Priodontes maximus) and the golden parakeet (Guaruba guarouba)as well as the positive impact that the forests can have on the plantations.

OUR VISION We imagine a healthy, prosperous world in which societies are forever committed to caring for and valuing nature, our global biodiversity, for the long-term benefit of people and all life on Earth.

OUR MISSION Building upon a strong foundation of science, partnership and field demonstration, CI empowers societies to responsibly and sustainably care for nature, our global biodiversity, for the well-being of humanity.

Sustainable Consumption
CI-Brazil uses innovative communications campaigns to raise public awareness about environmental solutions and empower people to make responsible purchasing decisions. In 2011, CI began working with The Coca-Cola Company to provide strategic advice on sustainable agriculture, freshwater impacts and the companys corporate sustainability efforts more broadly. CI-Brazil has also been working with Coca-Cola Brazil to help the company build its strategy for water resources protection in Brazil. CI-Brazil conducted a diagnostic review of water resources in the countrys biomes in order to analyze the main impacts to water resources, and to identify projects that will contribute to water protection, conservation and access to clean water and sanitation for communities. CIBrazil is also collaborating with other NGOs and Coca-Cola Brazil on a communications campaign about its plant-based plastic bottle. The campaignincluding advertisements and billboardsspotlights the Eco Crystal Water bottle, which uses 20% less plastic than the average beverage bottle and requires less energy to produce. conservation.org.br Rua Buenos Aires, 68, 26 andar - Centro 20070-022 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Brasil

Contact: Helena Pavese Corporate Relations Director +1 703-341-6027 hpavese@conservation.org

PHOTO CREDITS, FRONT TO BACK: OLIVIER LANGRAND CI/ PHOTO BY ENRICO BERNARD ROBIN MOORE

06/12