Developments in the Amazonian rain forest have been of international concern for more than a decade. In 1990 the G-7 countries proposed a major new initiative to address environmental concerns in Brazil, the Pilot Programme to Conserve the Brazilian Rain Forest (PPG-7). The aim of the Programme is to reduce the rate of deforestation of Brazil's rain forests in a manner consistent with the area's natural and human resources. $250 million has been pledged to support this process. The Programme is co-ordinated by the World Bank and since 1990 a portfolio of (twelve) projects has been developed with three main strands: to help strengthen the capacity of the public sector to set and enforce sound environmental policy; to improve the management of certain areas of the Amazon (parks, reserves, national forests, indigenous lands); and to increase the knowledge base for conservation and sustainable utilisation of the resource base.

The Forest Resource Management Project (FRMP) is one of the twelve PPG-7 projects. It aims to support "the development and adoption of sustainable forest management (SFM) systems in the Amazon through strategic actions and pilot experiments in priority areas". Total project costs are $20 million to be funded by KfW ($12.5 million), RTF ($2.0 million), GoB ($1.3 million) GTZ ($2.2 million) and DFID ($2.0 million). The project has four components. The first will undertake policy research: this is the component to be funded by DFID. The second will test out (some twenty) promising initiatives in forest management and timber extraction by non-governmental agents under different ecosystems and land tenure conditions throughout the Amazon. The third will establish a monitoring and control system for logging activities in two pilot areas of the Amazon; one in upland/terra firma forest and the other in mixed upland and flooded/varzea forest). The fourth will develop and implement a participatory management and conservation plan for the Tapajos National Forest Reserve.

Improved forest (and other sector) policies relating to sustainable forest management in the Legal Amazon.

• Strategy produced with an overview of SFM problems and policies; and presenting a prioritised programme of studies (following consultation and political endorsement).
• Studies completed on forestry policy and legislation (forest management,, plans, zoning, tax and fiscal incentives); and on non-forestry policy and legislation (land tenure, agriculture) as they affect SFM.
• Consensus developed on required policy changes.
• Policy guidelines and changes recommended.
• Capabilities developed to commission, undertake and review policy research (within MMA and research community): and improved links between researchers and stakeholders.