Tropical deforestation accounts for almost one-fifth of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. Because of its substantial deforestation, Indonesia is thought to be the world's third-largest producer of greenhouse gases, after the United States and China.

The Amazon rainforest has been described as the "lungs of our planet" because it provides the global environment with the essential service of continuously recycling carbon dioxide into oxygen. More than 20 percent of the world's oxygen is produced in the Amazon rainforest. In 2001, the Amazon covered approximately 5.4 million square kilometers, which is only 87 percent of its original size.^[1] Rainforests have decreased in size primarily due to deforestation. Despite reductions in the rate of deforestation in the last 10 years, the Amazon rainforest will diminish by 40 percent by 2030 at the current rate.^[2] According to WWF Brazil, deforestation and forest fires are responsible for 75 percent of Brazilian greenhouse gas emissions. 

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While in Suruacá in July I met with most of the cCLEAR participants. This is the first time I’ve been back here since launching cCLEAR two years ago. I noticed a lot of changes.
About 10 new families have moved here, bringing the total to about 115. To move to the community, either the husband or wife must have family here. Because Suruacá has more infrastructure and opportunities than most communities, many newly married families have selected to move here. As opportunities in Suruacá improve, a few families have even moved back from the cities of Santarem or Manaus – reverse migration from what’s happening in much of the region.

Another change I noticed was how many more people had cellphones and TVs, especially considering there isn’t regular electricity in the community. A few years ago, only a few people had phones, now many of the youth, in particular, carry them around and use them mostly as a personal music player. Plus, they double as a flashlight in the dark. One of the cellphone carriers, Vivo, is even considering building a cell tower in the community, which will also serve passing boats.

Speaking of boats, the community is now served by three boats, compared to just two on my last visit. Two of the boats are considerably bigger. Two are community owned and one is private. One of the community boats is used primarily as a backup and to travel to other communities. The two larger boats primarily travel twice a week between Suruacá and the City of Santarem, about 6 hours away. They are the only means of transportation in and out of the community.

We were treated last weekend to a big soccer invitational, with many teams from the region, followed by a huge party. Four bands came in from Santarem to play and music raged on until dawn. The cost of putting this on must have been staggering for such a poor community. But they manage to hold a soccer invitational a couple of times a year, as well as several other large festivals. They are financed in large part by patronization from companies, government agencies and politicians in the region. Sometimes it’s a little hard for us from the US to understand how much the culture of doing “favors” is still really active in the region. This culture reinforces the cycle of dependency, which is very hard to break.

There’s no question there’s been a lot of progress in the communities over the last couple of years. In my next blog, I’ll tell more about how the participants in our program have fared since the pilot ended.

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While in Suruacá in July I met with most of the cCLEAR participants. This is the first time I’ve been back here since launching cCLEAR two years ago. I noticed a lot of changes.
About 10 new families have moved here, bringing the total to about 115. To move to the community, either the husband or wife must have family here. Because Suruacá has more infrastructure and opportunities than most communities, many newly married families have selected to move here. As opportunities in Suruacá improve, a few families have even moved back from the cities of Santarem or Manaus – reverse migration from what’s happening in much of the region.

Another change I noticed was how many more people had cellphones and TVs, especially considering there isn’t regular electricity in the community. A few years ago, only a few people had phones, now many of the youth, in particular, carry them around and use them mostly as a personal music player. Plus, they double as a flashlight in the dark. One of the cellphone carriers, Vivo, is even considering building a cell tower in the community, which will also serve passing boats.

Speaking of boats, the community is now served by three boats, compared to just two on my last visit. Two of the boats are considerably bigger. Two are community owned and one is private. One of the community boats is used primarily as a backup and to travel to other communities. The two larger boats primarily travel twice a week between Suruacá and the City of Santarem, about 6 hours away. They are the only means of transportation in and out of the community.

We were treated last weekend to a big soccer invitational, with many teams from the region, followed by a huge party. Four bands came in from Santarem to play and music raged on until dawn. The cost of putting this on must have been staggering for such a poor community. But they manage to hold a soccer invitational a couple of times a year, as well as several other large festivals. They are financed in large part by patronization from companies, government agencies and politicians in the region. Sometimes it’s a little hard for us from the US to understand how much the culture of doing “favors” is still really active in the region. This culture reinforces the cycle of dependency, which is very hard to break.

There’s no question there’s been a lot of progress in the communities over the last couple of years. In my next blog, I’ll tell more about how the participants in our program have fared since the pilot ended.

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On December 11, 2009, CEN partner organization Amazon Association was named Environmentalist of the Year 2009.at the Copenhagen Conference as result of it's role in preventing deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon, particularly surrounding the community of Xixuau.  The Association played a key role in this year's establishment of the Extractive Reserve Baixo Rio Branco-Rio Jauaperi, which protects thousands of hectors from mining and havesting of trees.

The work of the Amazon Association and the people of the Xixuau prove that a standing forest can worth more than a dead one and that development does not necessarily have to mean the senseless use of natural resources. The model has been created and now we need to expand and replicate it.

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On December 11, 2009, CEN partner organization Amazon Association was named Environmentalist of the Year 2009.at the Copenhagen Conference as result of it's role in preventing deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon, particularly surrounding the community of Xixuau.  The Association played a key role in this year's establishment of the Extractive Reserve Baixo Rio Branco-Rio Jauaperi, which protects thousands of hectors from mining and havesting of trees.

The work of the Amazon Association and the people of the Xixuau prove that a standing forest can worth more than a dead one and that development does not necessarily have to mean the senseless use of natural resources. The model has been created and now we need to expand and replicate it.

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