It provides direct financial assistance and indirect support to the residents of sustainable use protected areas of Brazil in exchange for their engaging in conservation measures.
[3] The Bolsa Floresta[a] Program (Programa Bolsa Floresta: PBF) has its origins in the Zona Franca Verde initiatives launched in 2003 by The Amazonas State Secretariat of the Environment and Sustainable Development (SDS) to promote sustainable use of natural resources in order to increase the environmental benefits of the forests.
[5] The Bolsa Floresta program, which is voluntary, involves families living along the rivers within state-run conservation units in Amazonas.
[6] The program provides social benefits and support for community associations in return for participation in workshops on environmental services, commitment not to open new areas of cultivation in the primary forest, and permanent enrolment of children in school.
[11] The social component, coordinated with government institutions, improves education, sanitation, health, communications and transport infrastructure.
[9] Malaria, diarrhea, influenza and helminthiasis (worm infection) together make up about 95% of diseases in Bolsa Floresta conservation units.
The FAS is involved in training health care workers in ways of preventing these diseases, and in developing plans for each conservation unit.
[12] For example, distribution of sachets for purifying water in Rio Gregório Extractive Reserve in 2015 resulted in a drastic drop in cases of diarrhea.