Forest Carbon Incentives

PROJECTSRound 3

Jul 24

Written By Earth Innovation Institute (EII) • Produzindo Certo

Forest Carbon Incentive Systems for Soy Farmers in the Brazilian Amazon and Cerrado

Under the coordination of the Earth Innovation Institute, in partnership with Produzindo Certo and supported by the Land Innovation Fund, the project will address a major gap in REDD+ programs in Tocantins and all Brazilian states striving to sell verified carbon credits: the engagement of the agricultural sector, the main source of carbon emissions. The EII proposal is to develop a multi-stakeholder initiative to engage Tocantins soy farmers in the state's jurisdictional REDD+ program, with participation of the agricultural sector, especially soy and beef producers who need to maintain or expand access to international markets requiring zero conversion and low-carbon agriculture commodities.

The initiative also aims to attract leaders and institutions from federal and state governments, farmers' organizations, research and academic institutions, financial institutions, and rural extension agencies to join the REDD+ jurisdictional program. Teams from Produzindo Certo will be responsible for the direct engagement of farmers in the Forest Carbon Incentive program to design the pilot project, and to produce technical-teaching material and hold explanatory and capacity-building workshops. Produzindo Certo will engage up to 20 agricultural sector leaders and up to 60 local farmers in order to increase this region’s volume of soy produced sustainably in compliance with the Forest Code.

Based on cross-analyses of Rural Environmental Registry (CAR) and secondary forest maps available on MapBiomas, EII estimates that it is possible to recover up to 120,000 hectares of land through natural regeneration of secondary forest cover alone, in areas adjacent to soy plantations in the region. With support from the Land Innovation Fund, the Institute seeks to enable the measurement of forest carbon credits and encourage payment to farmers for environmental services. The proposal is to develop a forest carbon calculation application for farmers to assess and understand their options for participation in financial incentive systems.

EII will develop the application with inputs from Produzindo Certo. The tool will be incorporated into Produzindo Certo's digital platform – another project supported by the Land Innovation Fund – and will interface with each farm's CAR map, indicating areas with surplus native vegetation, permanent protection areas, and areas designated for forest restoration or regeneration (PRAs). The application will allow a farmer to estimate changes in forest carbon stock and to seek financial compensation through the Forest Carbon Incentive under the state's J-REDD+ program.