case studies undp: couro vegetal da amazonia, brazil

7/27/2019 Case Studies UNDP: COURO VEGETAL DA AMAZONIA, Brazil

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Equator Initiative Case StudiesLocal sustainable development solutions for people, nature, and resilient communities

Brazil

COURO VEGETAL DAAMAZNIA

Empowered live

Resilient nation


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UNDP EQUATOR INITIATIVE CASE STUDY SERIES

Local and indigenous communities across the world are advancing innovative sustainable development solutions that wo

or people and or nature. Few publications or case studies tell the ull story o how such initiatives evolve, the breadth

their impacts, or how they change over time. Fewer still have undertaken to tell these stories with community practition

themselves guiding the narrative.

To mark its 10-year anniversary, the Equator Initiative aims to ll this gap. The ollowing case study is one in a growing ser

that details the work o Equator Prize winners vetted and peer-reviewed best practices in community-based environmenconservation and sustainable livelihoods. These cases are intended to inspire the policy dialogue needed to take local succ

to scale, to improve the global knowledge base on local environment and development solutions, and to serve as models

replication. Case studies are best viewed and understood with reerence to The Power of Local Action: Lessons from 10 Years

the Equator Prize, a compendium o lessons learned and policy guidance that draws rom the case material.

Click on the map to visit the Equator Initiatives searchable case study database.

EditorsEditor-in-Chief: Joseph Corcoran

Managing Editor: Oliver HughesContributing Editors: Dearbhla Keegan, Matthew Konsa, Erin Lewis, Whitney Wilding

Contributing WritersEdayatu Abieodun Lamptey, Erin Atwell, Toni Blackman, Jonathan Clay, Joseph Corcoran, Larissa Currado, Sarah Gordon, Oliver Hughe

Wen-Juan Jiang, Sonal Kanabar, Dearbhla Keegan, Matthew Konsa, Rachael Lader, Patrick Lee, Erin Lewis, Jona Liebl, Mengning Ma,

Mary McGraw, Gabriele Orlandi, Brandon Payne, Juliana Quaresma, Peter Schecter, Martin Sommerschuh, Whitney Wilding, Luna Wu

DesignOliver Hughes, Dearbhla Keegan, Matthew Konsa, Amy Korngiebel, Kimberly Koserowski, Erin Lewis, John Mulqueen, Lorena de la Pa

Brandon Payne, Mariajos Satizbal G.

AcknowledgementsThe Equator Initiative acknowledges with gratitude Couro Vegetal da Amaznia, and in particular the guidance and inputs o Bia Saldan

All photo credits courtesy o Couro Vegetal da Amaznia. Maps courtesy o CIA World Factbook and Wikipedia.

Suggested CitationUnited Nations Development Programme. 2012. Couro Vegetal da Amaznia, Brazil. Equator Initiative Case Study Series. New York, NY.
http://equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/events/2012events/Book_Launch/power%2520of%2520local%2520action%2520final%25202013%25208mb.pdfhttp://equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/events/2012events/Book_Launch/power%2520of%2520local%2520action%2520final%25202013%25208mb.pdfhttp://equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/events/2012events/Book_Launch/power%2520of%2520local%2520action%2520final%25202013%25208mb.pdfhttp://equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/events/2012events/Book_Launch/power%2520of%2520local%2520action%2520final%25202013%25208mb.pdfhttp://equatorinitiative.org/index.php?option=com_winners&view=casestudysearch&Itemid=858


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PROJECT SUMMARYCouro Vegetal da Amaznia began operating in the Brazilianstate o Acre in 1996, in an attempt to improve the livelihoodopportunities and wellbeing o Amazonian rubber-tappingcommunities. This project brought together more than 200local and indigenous amilies in three orest communities,providing training in an innovative processing method toproduce sheets o vulcanized rubber. This material, made ocotton abric drenched in natural latex extracted rom wildrubber trees (Hevea brasiliensis), was sold in abric sheetsto textile corporations and marketed as an alternative to

leather.The enterprise overcame the challenge o alling pricesor natural rubber and took advantage o growing marketdemand or ecologically sound and sustainably producedashion items. By adding value to the raw latex theyharvested, participating communities beneted romhigher prices or their rubber, contributing to povertyreduction and community empowerment.

KEY FACTS

EQUATOR PRIZE WINNER: 2002

FOUNDED: 1996

LOCATION: Acre, Brazil

BENEFICIARIES: Over 200 rubber tapping families

BIODIVERSITY: Incentive to protect forest ecosystems

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Background and Context 4

Key Activities and Innovations 5

Biodiversity Impacts 6

Socioeconomic Impacts 6

Partners 7

COURO VEGETAL DA AMAZNIABrazil


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During the 1990s, the Amazon Rainorest was decimated by

eorestation driven by a number o processes including orest

learance or agriculture and cattle-ranching, and the construction

large highways, such as the Belm-Braslia and Trans-Amazonian.

his process destroyed habitats and endangered the integrity

the Amazonian ecosystem. Despite Brazils advanced orest

rotection laws, poor enorcement hampered their eectiveness,

nd in practice, indigenous and orest-dwelling communities were

ten the only line o deence to protect the orest on which their

velihoods depended. Communities o rubber tappers, in particular,

ecame de facto protectors o the Amazons remaining orest cover,

ten coming into confict with loggers.

n the Brazilian Amazon, as many as 63,000 amilies depend on

ubber tapping or their living, producing vegetal latex - a natural

esource that has been managed sustainably by indigenous peoples

nd rubber tappers in the Amazon or centuries. Today, the activitys conducted mainly in extractive reserves: protected areas o orest

stablished by the Brazilian government that cover approximately

ne per cent o the Brazilian Amazon.

n the states o Acre and Amazonas, however, traditional and artisanal

mall-scale rubber production was harmed during the 1990s when

ubber treatment plants and urban merchants ceased purchasing

ubber rom indigenous communities. As a result, these rubber

appers were orced to sell their product to regates (traveling

merchants) who paid low prices or raw rubber. This market shit

ecreased the viability o rubber tapping as an economic activity or

orest-dwelling communities.

Supporting indigenous livelihoods

Couro Vegetal da Amaznia began operating in Acre in 1996, in an

ttempt to improve the situation o rubber tapping communities.

his partnership project brought together over 200 rubber tapping

amilies in the Brazilian Amazon and trained them in an innovative

rocessing method to produce sheets o vulcanized rubber. This

material, made o cotton abric drenched in natural latex extracted

rom wild rubber trees (Hevea brasiliensis), was marketed as an

lternative to leather under the name Treetap.

he material was sold in abric sheets to textile corporations, and

sed to manuacture a range o products including bags, backpacks,riecases, garments and ootwear, which were sold to Brazilian

etail outlets. By adding value to the raw latex they harvested,

articipating communities beneted rom higher prices or their

ubber. The enterprise not only overcame the challenge o alling

rices or natural rubber, but also took advantage o a growing

market demand or ecologically sound and sustainably produced

ashion items.

The Treetap product

The Treetap product was derived rom a traditional handicrat pro

called saco encauchado - bags made o abric rendered waterp

by rubberizing - which were traditionally used by rubber tap

or carrying latex and personal belongings. In 1992, EcoMerc

a business specializing in ecological products rom the Ama

purchased 1,500 sheets o this rubberized abric rom Amazo

rubber tappers and used them to make nags and briecases w

were showcased and sold to an enthusiastic reception at the Un

Nations Conerence on Environment and Development held in B

in June 1992. Following two years o research and developmen

Couro Vegetal, the rubberizing process was perected in 1994, g

rise to the production o Treetap and its use in the manuactu

variety o artisanal handicrats.

This process is an example o successul combination o scieexpertise and traditional knowledge, and it helped to re

customary method o rubber processing while adding valu

the end product. For example, early rubberized products w

become sticky with oxidation. With a USD 1,000,000 loan rom

Brazilian Development Bank (Banco Nacional de Desenvolvim

Econmico e Social BNDES) in 1994, Couro Vegetal da Amaz

was able to invest in production technology and inrastructure

helped to overcome this deect, creating a rubberized abric

met quality standards or international consumer markets.

Ater signing cooperative agreements with its three prod

associations (Associao de Produtores de Artesanato e Ser

Associao dos Seringueiros Kaxinaw do Rio Jordo, and Associdos Seringueiros e Agricultores da Reserva Extrativista do Alto Ju

Couro Vegetal da Amaznia merged with Amazon Lie, a Braz

eco-riendly ashion brand, in 1998. This merger resulted in Tre

products being marketed through a store in Rio de Janeiro, and

successul creation o the internationally recognized Treetap br

Ultimately, the success o Couro Vegetal da Amaznia was s

lived. In 2008, the company was orced to close when it o

itsel unable to repay its BNDES loan. In 2004, the bank began

process o executing the USD 1,000,000 debt, and although

company ound some international support, it was unable to

the necessary nance. This outcome refects the challenges

by small rubber tapping communities in attempting to comwith industrial rubber producers on price, while bearing the

costs o transporting goods rom rural Amazonia to urban mar

High costs, along with the sometimes variable quality o the g

produced, ultimately made the business nancially unsustain

Nevertheless, through its lasting eects on public policy and

dierence it made in the lives o the communities it served

enterprise can be considered an important chapter in the sto

rubber tapping in Brazil.

Background and Context


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Key Activities and Innovationshe chie activity o Couro Vegetal da Amaznia was its production

o Treetap, encompassing the sustainable harvesting o latex rom

ative rubber trees by rubber tappers through its processing into

ubberized abric and its transport to market. This method is still

mployed by Associao de Produtores de Artesanato e Seringa,

who produce rubber under the trademark Seringueiro or sale in

ocal and regional markets.

o produce the Treetap product, raw latex, nicknamed leite (milk) by

ubber tappers, is extracted rom the trunks o the Hevea brasiliensis

ree using two tap cuts. To allow trees to recover and ensure that

xtraction remains sustainable, a minimum o two years is let

beore another tap cut may be made on the same tree. This raw latex

s ltered and seasoned with a chemical composition to promote

ulcanization (harden. This mixture is then strained beore being

painted on to both sides o a sheet o cotton canvas stretched over

rame. The canvas is then smoke-cured using a traditional method.his process o painting and smoking is repeated six times. The

moked laminate is then vulcanized inside a simple brick kiln, where

t is cooked or two days at 60-80C. Ater two days, the latex mixture

on the canvas turns a deep brown colour, giving it the appearance

o leather. When completely dry, the laminates are cut, each rame

producing two sheets measuring approximately 80 cm by 60 cm.

During Couro Vegetal da Amaznias years o operation, these sheets

were stacked and stored, to be collected three or our times a year

nd carried by boat to Boca do Acre, and rom there on to Rio de

aneiro. Some laminates were also kept in Boca do Acre, where a

mall actory produced bags or the local tourist market.


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6

ImpactsBIODIVERSITY IMPACTS

Because rubber tapping does not require that rubber trees be

ut down in order or the latex to be extracted, traditional and

ndigenous communities can maintain the well-being o the orest

ecosystem while generating a sustainable income. Taking advantage

o this innovative vulcanization method enabled rubber tappers in

Acre to continue to pursue their traditional livelihood activity, and

provided continued incentive or the conservation o the orest that

upports the rubber trees.

n areas o rainorest inhabited and directly used by the participants

o this initiative, 55,800 hectares o land were directly protected by

trengthening the economic incentive or the protection o rubber

rees and their surrounding ecosystems. I indirect use and protection

re considered or the our larger areas in which these producer

ssociations live the Mapi Inauini National Forest (311,000 ha),Kaxinaw Indigenous Lands o Rio Jordo and o Independncia

Wild Rubber Tree Forest (a combined total o 102,043 ha) and Alto

uru Extractivist Reserve (506,186 ha) the project contributed to

he conservation o 1,178,229 ha o rainorest.

The project successully demonstrated the integration o biodiversity

onservation into productive landscapes, and that the use o orest

ecosystems by indigenous communities in protected areas can

ontribute to their sustainable management. Since the closure o

he company in 2008, however, the Alto Juru Extractivist Reserve

has come under increased pressure rom a cattle-ranching project.

Rubber tapping is nonetheless still carried out by both Associao de

Produtores de Artesanato e Seringa and Associao dos Seringueirose Agricultores da Reserva Extrativista do Alto Juru, although the

atter employs a slightly dierent method or curing rubber, known

s FDL (Folha Desumada Liquida Liquid Smoked Sheet).

SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACTS

By adding value to create handicrats that could compet

international markets, thereby improving the economic viabil

traditional rubber tapping, Couro Vegetal da Amaznia impr

the economic situations o more than 200 amilies. The developm

production and commercialization o Treetap vegetal lea

generated work and income or more than 1,000 people during

lietime o the project.

The new vulcanized rubber product secured higher price

producers. In 2002, rubber tappers were receiving BRL 8.00

3.08) or a kilogram o Treetap vegetal leather, compared to betw

BRL 0.80 (USD 0.31) and BRL 1.10 (USD 0.42) per kilogram o

natural rubber. This had the potential to dramatically imp

incomes, with a tenold increase in revenue per kilogram, the

directly contributing to poverty reduction and greater commwellbeing. Many producers used their increased earnings to m

improvements to their dwellings and to purchase durable g

essential or jungle lie, such as engines, boats, power saws, and

or hunting.

Furthermore, the initiative is an excellent example o the succe

combination o traditional and indigenous knowledge

modern, technological innovation. Local livelihoods were impr

without compromising traditional livelihoods or altering custo

techniques o orest management. On the contrary, the ru

tappers traditional skills and knowledge ormed the basis o

Couro Vegetal project, thereby instilling a strong sense o

ownership and involvement in the project.


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Sustainability and ReplicationCouro Vegetal da Amaznia was a pioneer in the development o

artnerships between Amazon communities, the private sector,

NGOs and state and ederal government. In particular, strong

nstitutional links were established with the Acre state government

nd with ederal agencies. These partnerships benetted the project

y providing continued nancial and institutional support and

apacity building or producers and their associations, and ensuring

mproved working conditions in production areas. Examples o this

ollaboration include work agreements jointly established with

he ederal Ministry o the Environment and with the Secretary or

Amazon Coordination.

y the time it concluded in 2008, the policy landscape regarding

he Brazilian Amazon had changed a great deal, and Couro Vegetal

a Amaznia along, with similar projects, no doubt contributed in

ome ways to these developments. Relations between small-scale

raditional and indigenous producers and government entitiesmproved drastically between 1992 and 2008, and nancial

ncentives or producing locally-harvested and sustainable rubber

rew. The activity has now been accepted as a viable option or the

ong-term sustainable development o the Amazon region.

n partnership with the state government o Acre, the Couro Vegetal

a Amaznia project was replicated in two urther locations, with

he aim o transerring acquired experiences and technologies to

ther producer associations. Ultimately, however, the Couro Vegetal

a Amaznia initiative came to an end in 2008. Despite receiving

ome international support rom NGOs such as Environmental

Deense Fund, Greenpeace and Friends o the Earth who promoted

he Treetap product, the company ound itsel unable to makeepayments on its USD 1,000,000 loan rom BNDES. When the bank

egan proceedings to execute the loan in 2004, Couro Vegetal da

Amaznia was unable to make the necessary repayments.

n the end, attempting to compete with industrial rubber producers

n price proved to be an unsustainable endeavour given the high

osts involved in transporting the end product rom isolated, rural

Amazonian communities to the urban markets where it was to

e sold. This actor was compounded by issues o inconsistency

n the quality o the goods produced. The story o Couro Vegetal

a Amaznia oers an insight into the range o challenges acing

ubber tapping communities in attempting to develop sustainable

nd meaningul livelihoods in their remote communities.

PARTNERS

Couro Vegetal da Amaznia worked cooperatively with a r

o partners. NGOs including the Environmental Deense F

Greenpeace and Friends o the Earth promoted Treetap product

championed the projects work in sustainable orest managem

while the World Wildlie Fund (WWF) assisted in identiying

markets and product certication, with unding rom the

Foundation.

The Brazilian Ministry o the Environment assisted in helping

project to diversiy and promote its products. The initiative

worked with the indigenous peoples organizations ComissaoIndo do Acre and Nucleo de Cultura Indigena. Finally, the Braz

Biodiversity Fund (Fundo Brasileiro para Biodiversidade Fun

provided nancing or the identication o new markets or Tre

products.


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Equator Initiative

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Tel: +1 646 781-4023

www.equatorinitiative.org

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the UNs global development network, advocating or change

onnecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better lie.

The Equator Initiative brings together the United Nations, governments, civil society, businesses and grassroots organizati

o recognize and advance local sustainable development solutions or people, nature and resilient communities.

2012 by Equator Initiative

All rights reserved

FURTHER REFERENCE

GEF Small Grants Programme, Equator Initiative. 2006. Community Action to Conserve Biodiversity: Linking Biodiversity Conservation

Poverty Reduction. United Nations Development Programme.

Couro Vegetal da Amaznia video (Vimeo) vimeo.com/27248409
http://vimeo.com/27019256http://vimeo.com/27019256http://www.equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/com_winners/casestudy/case_1348165961.pdfhttp://www.equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/com_winners/casestudy/case_1348163891.pdfhttp://www.equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/com_winners/casestudy/case_1348161335.pdf

case studies undp: couro vegetal da amazonia, brazil

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