Activity 4: Testing, Validation and Upscaling of Options (applied research and development)

Testing and validation of identified technology and policy options are the core of the GEF project as the innovative concept of payment for environmental benefits coupled with environmentally safe but not hugely profitable technical interventions will need to be tested for their suitability to “tip the balance” towards adoption of sustainable technologies. The payment scheme will be the subject of detailed scrutiny to help identify procedures with low transaction costs and enhanced prospects for sustainability.

These options will need to be reviewed in the light of on-going negotiations at international level (follow up to the Kyoto protocol and the establishment of carbon markets).

In Brazil , testing and validation of possible options has not yet been planned in detail, but is likely to be conducted at limited geographical scale once the current study is completed (October 2002).

LEAD has made a commitment to conduct the policy research work as part of its contribution to the GEF project. The key LEAD activity in this is the functioning of a sustainable eco-services fund ; another activity will be to identify the type of policy and regulatory framework conducive to sustainable land use changes.

In the case of the Brazilian Amazon, it is envisaged that LEAD will play a catalytic role in upscaling, once the viability of policy and technology options can be assumed.