Avoiding Deforestation: Does and Don‘ts for MDBs David Kaimowitz Ford Foundation, Mexico

Do: Monitor deforestation Annually, at the municipal level. Annually, at the municipal level. Permits priority setting, impact assessment & verification. Permits priority setting, impact assessment & verification. Only Brazil does this. Only Brazil does this.

Do: Create indigenous territories & community forests As effective as protected areas. As effective as protected areas. Has social benefits. Has social benefits. No information on leakage. No information on leakage.

Do: Support environmental service payments Accept that this is a long-term transfer. Accept that this is a long-term transfer. Build awareness and social capital. Build awareness and social capital. Combine with poverty reduction goals. Combine with poverty reduction goals.

Do: Act against large-scale appropriation of public lands Change laws, register public lands, & remove illegal claimants. Change laws, register public lands, & remove illegal claimants. Difficult due to legal challenges & lack of political will. Difficult due to legal challenges & lack of political will. Brazil’s new forest concession law is a positive step. Brazil’s new forest concession law is a positive step.

Do: Track policy impacts & market trends Changes in agricultural, forestry, transportation, and labor prices greatly affect deforestation. Changes in agricultural, forestry, transportation, and labor prices greatly affect deforestation. Analyze these links and consider them in policy discussions. Analyze these links and consider them in policy discussions.

Don’t: Understimate how hard it is to mitigate the impact of roads Transportation costs greatly influence land use patterns. Transportation costs greatly influence land use patterns. Meer talk of roads unleashes speculation. Meer talk of roads unleashes speculation. Few governments can effectively control these processes. Few governments can effectively control these processes.

Don’t: Assume higher agricultural yields imply less deforestation This varies greatly depending on a number of factors. This varies greatly depending on a number of factors. In many cases improving agricultural technology increases deforestation. In many cases improving agricultural technology increases deforestation.