This area was acquired by the Grupo Jari in from the former Jari enterprise. The main goals of the initiative are to reduce deforestation and forest degradation in the forest management area. Proponents also plan to promote social co-benefits by providing technical assistance for sustainable production to some of the smallholders living inside and around the intervention area.
In this chapter, we describe the goals and strategies of the initiative, characterize the smallholders in the intervention area, and discuss key challenges and concerns.
The intervention area is a Ninety percent of the initiative area consists of low and medium plateaus. Elevations measured in our five study communities were 75 masl, 69 masl, 25 masl, 22 masl and 12 masl.
Forests in the intervention area are extremely rich in natural resources, including timber and NTFPs such as Brazil nuts Bertholletia excelsa Humb.
Rubber was historically the basis of the regional economy. He established commercial relations with local extractive communities and eventually declared himself the owner of 3 million ha. He organized and controlled the sale of rubber and Brazil nuts to international markets until when he was forced to leave the region by popular uprisings Greissing Subsequent rubber and Brazil nut commerce was controlled by a group of Portuguese traders who then sold the area to an American billionaire named Daniel Ludwig in Greissing To implement this enterprise, Ludwig built roads, an airport and two cities Monte Dourado and Vila Munguba for company employees.
