Environmental funds to support protected areas: lessons from brazilian experiences

Abstract

Despite the recent initiatives to create private environmental funds to support finance for the Brazilian Protected Areas System, this subject is still poorly studied. This article aims to systematically analyse key aspects of the establishment and operation of nine private funds for protected areas in Brazil: their financing priorities; legal, financial and governance structures; and accountability procedures. The analysis was based on data collected from academic articles, documents, annual reports and structured email questionnaires with representatives of protected area funds. In addition, we assess the level of compliance with environmental funds practice standards regarding asset management, governance structure and accountability procedures. Altogether, the funds mobilised R$583 million (Brazilian currency) or US$138.8 million in the 2003–2015 period to support 197 PAs in the Amazon and the Atlantic Forest, over an area of 807,000 km². There is a diversity of institutional structures and innovative arrangements to raise funds from the national business sector, international donors, and to increase public investments in protected areas. The governance structure and accountability processes were found to be major deficiencies in the environmental funds’ operations. From the systematic analysis of Brazilian protected area funds, the article presents some refinement of environmental funds’ best practice guidelines.