Amazonia Verde project evaluation

Amazonia Verde includes six activities: FOREST, Pro-Bosques, PREVENT, Amazon Business Alliance, Forst Alliance and Sustainable Management of Forest Concessions. The evaluation used a mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative and qualitative data from primary (40 in-depth interviews) and secondary sources. Findings show that Project activities have contributed to strengthening the management capacities of public institutions and of local forest-related groups, such as Indigenous communities. Key achievements include legal changes to prosecute environmental crimes, data tools for decision making, capacity building for public servers, new market mechanisms for timber products and increased budgets for regional forestry authorities. Amazonia Verde activities responded to the urgent needs of Indigenous communities by making environmental crimes visible and supporting the creation of specialized units; and of the private sector by providing training, technology support, technical assistance, and market access to help them scale up and ensure sustainability. The evaluation recommends further strengthening forest governance, which is still weak at the subnational level, and improving coordination between national, regional, and local actors including Indigenous communities. A specific recommendation relates to the revision of the timber-base forestry model due to limitations in sustainability and profitability.