Sustainable Development in Brazil.\
An Innovative Partnership for Eco-Development.

Environmental conservation organizations and

promoters of socio-economic programs often have

conflicting priorities in the sustainable development arena. The
Fundação O Boticário de Proteção à Natureza (FBPN) and the
Inter-American Foundation (IAF) are bridging that gap and proving that
if all parties are dedicated to finding creative solutions, the benefits
from a partnership can be enormous. The Eco-Development Fund, the main
fruit of the FBPN - IAF partnership, provides a forum for sharing best
practices and an opportunity for both organizations to support community
development projects that generate income and promote conservation of
the environment.

# **Fundação O Boticário de Proteção à Natureza.**

O Boticário began in 1977 as a small cosmetics pharmacy in the
progressive Brazilian town of Curitiba. Today the company has more than
2,500 retail stores in six countries and remains dedicated to its
original values of mutual respect, transparency, and commitment to the
environment. O Boticário favors the use of natural ingredients in its
perfumes, lotions and cosmetics, bolstering the company's image as an
environmentally responsible corporation. FBPN, a non-profit institution,
was created in 1990 to support nature conservation activities in Brazil.
Although O Boticário maintains the Foundation financially by donating
10% of the corporation's pre-tax profits, FBPN operates independently,
with complete technical responsibility for its own projects.

FBPN focuses on three programs: protection of natural areas; promotion
of education & mobilization for nature conservation; and financial
support of conservation related projects developed by other
organizations. As a basis for all of its programs, the Foundation has a
bio-diversity, conservation, training-center at the Salto Morato Natural
Reserve. The center prepares 240 people each year for careers in park
management, conservation, and ecotourism. The reserve itself, a private
property owned and maintained by FBPN, won UNESCO recognition in 1999 as
a World Heritage Site.

## Vila Morato: A Partnership Emerges.

While FBPN's main focus at the Salto Morato Natural Reserve was
preserving the environment, the Foundation's technicians soon realized
that without the awareness and cooperation of the surrounding neighbors
in Vila Morato, the task would be impossible. Many of the inhabitants of
the area lived in extreme poverty and made their meager livelihood from
illegally harvesting palm hearts from the nature reserve at night. The
black market in palm existed due to unscrupulous businessmen in the palm
industry who supplemented legal palm quotas with clandestine product
purchased from people such as the inhabitants of Vila Morato. Concerned
with balancing the economic needs of the community and the dwindling
palm reserves, FBPN contracted a natural fibers instructor to research
alternate income generating opportunities near the reserve. Surveying
the area, the expert quickly discovered an exotic pestilent weed that is
easily made into rope and can then be woven into baskets. FBPN presented
the idea to the community which began producing good quality baskets,
and eventually formed an artisan's cooperative to standardize quality
and facilitate timely fulfillment of higher volume sales.\
\
O Boticário was then in the process of making its stores more
customer-friendly and had decided, coincidentally, to purchase natural
fiber baskets that shoppers could use to hold their purchases before
checking out. The baskets would allow the customers hands-on access to
products, making the shopping experience more interactive. The natural
fiber constitution would, of course, accentuate the company's ecological
image. The purchasing department was on the verge of awarding the
contract to a producer in Thailand when the board of directors learned
of the operation at Vila Morato. Although the unit price for baskets
from Vila Morato was higher (US\$6 versus US\$2 for the Thai baskets),
the board decided that this was an excellent opportunity to exercise
corporate social responsibility while reinforcing the company's
strategic objective of selling natural and sustainable products. They
placed an order for approximately ten baskets per store, giving the
artisans at Vila Morato a first taste of the challenges of fulfilling
relatively large sales.

The IAF, interested in the endeavor's potential for improving living
conditions in Vila Morato, co-funded the artisan project. The
encouraging results of this project in terms of community development
and environmental conservation inspired the two foundations to further
explore possibilities for joint-action, and from these discussions
emerged the Eco-development Fund.

## Eco-development Fund.

The Eco-development Fund, created in 1998, is a US\$1,000,000 fund
financed equally by FBPN and IAF. FBPN manages the fund and selects
projects in consultation with IAF. The fund provides small grants for
projects that advance socioeconomic community development while
preserving the environment and promoting reduced pressure on natural
resources. By combining resources of FBPN and IAF, both organizations
hope to minimize program costs and maximize results.

On an institutional level, the partnership takes advantage of the
strengths and resources of the two foundations. FBPN, the preeminent
conservation group in Brazil, has important technical expertise and
access to a vast network of grassroots level contacts. IAF brings to the
partnership extensive experience in project evaluation and selection,
and a proven quantitative method for measuring project results. Miguel
Milano, Technical Director of FBPN, explains how his foundation has
adopted some of IAF's techniques. "We had always judged proposals as-is,
and either accepted or rejected them as a whole. Now we receive
proposals, analyze them, discuss them, meet with project coordinators
and analyze potential partners. This was an IAF methodology which we
have incorporated into our process."

Judy Morrison, IAF Foundation Representative for Brazil, considers the
partnership innovative in several respects. While IAF does take into
consideration environmental impact when selecting projects to fund, the
more rigorous ecological requirements of the Eco-development Fund are
new to the IAF. Judy anticipates several of these indicators becoming a
permanent part of the IAF's system of project evaluation, called the
Grassroots Development Framework which will augment environmental
awareness in the evaluation of sustainable development projects.

Both foundations have thus far found the cooperative process very
satisfying. A strong dedication to creative problem solving and a
willingness to adapt has facilitated the successful meshing of two sets
of development goals. As Milano aptly noted, a successful partnership
requires mutual respect and confidence, conditions that truly prevail in
the FBPN-IAF relationship. Future plans include a benchmarking book
featuring case studies of the Eco-development Fund projects. After the
fund's current five-year life expires, the FBPN will roll the project
into the Foundation's permanent program portfolio.

## Eco-development Fund Projects.

FBPN recently selected the fund's first two projects: Café com Floresta
and Esse Mar é Meu. Under the Café com Floresta project, IPE, a
Brazilian nonprofit, will create corridors of organic, shade-grown
coffee in the Pontal do Paranapanema area of the Atlantic forest. Most
of the inhabitants of the area are subsistence farmers, resettled on the
land as part of an agrarian reform, but lacking the appropriate inputs
for successful farming in the region. IPE and the local farmers will
work together to develop at least 80 organic coffee corridors, creating
an income generating alternative to the less productive and more
environmentally damaging subsistence farming. These corridors, in
addition to providing economic livelihood, serve a vital ecological
purpose. They will connect the remaining isolated fragments of the
ecosystem. Only 1.85% of the original Atlantic Forest cover still
exists, and the survival of the flora and fauna in these small pockets
depends on the ability of birds and other animals to travel freely
between the preserved sections of forest. The Café com Floresta project
will position the coffee corridors as stepping stones, reuniting
isolated patches of forest and facilitating propagation of potentially
endangered species.

The Esse Mar é Meu project, an initiative in the Northeast State of
Ceará, will develop income-generating alternatives to lobster fishing.
Ten years ago, the region enjoyed an abundant supply of lobster, but
over-fishing and destruction of the habitat have devastated the stock.
Today only 2% of the original fishing capacity remains, translating to
massive unemployment in the community. The project will help the
inhabitants of the area to develop alternative methods of income
generation using abundant local supplies of coconut and cashew. Project
objectives also include promotion of ecotourism and protection of the
endangered manatee. By creating for itself alternatives to fishing, the
community of Icapuí will begin to reclaim a quality of life that has
slipped away over the past decade. The comprehensive objectives and high
profile of the project have attracted additional financial resources,
trainers and technical assistance from five local organizations, further
increasing the likelihood of long-term sustainability.

### 

### Lessons Learned:

-   Environmental conservation and socioeconomic development can be
    compatible goals leading to a real and sustainable increase in
    quality of life;

-   Entities created by business to pursue socially responsible work
    (i.e. foundations) can maintain programmatic independence while
    still furthering a company's strategic objectives, not only in
    corporate image, but also in business operations;

-   A common objective and demonstrated institutional capabilities are
    important in a partnership, but mutual respect and good will ensure
    the success of the relationship;

-   Collaboration and sharing of techniques can engender positive
    changes beyond the intended scope of a partnership. FBPN's adoption
    of IAF's proposal evaluation method is enriching the FBPN project
    selection process beyond the Eco-development Fund.

***Megan Savage** is an Inter-American Foundation intern and a graduate
student in Georgetown University's MBA-Public Policy program.*