Protection of indigenous people now top priority of Amazon Fund
The Amazon Fund Guidance Committee was reinstalled at the Rio de Janeiro headquarters of Brazil’s development bank BNDES, which controls the resources, on Wednesday (Feb. 15). The ceremony was attended by a number of cabinet ministers. Inactive since 2018, the committee is formed by representatives from the federal and state governments as well as society.
BNDES head Aloizio Mercadante said that following this comeback the fund should finance projects to protect indigenous people, control deforestation, combat illegal mining, and improve land management in the Amazon region.
The fund, he went on to say, has thus far received BRL 3.3 billion in donations—of which BRL 1 billion from Norway, the largest single donor, and BRL 200 million from Germany. Altogether, donations add up to BRL 5.4 billion, with BRL 1.8 billion already committed.
“The great challenge is to leave the predatory model and move toward a sustainable development model in the Amazon. For this, we need frameworks propelling a new dynamic, a new industry, low-carbon agriculture, and the recovery of degraded pastures. This is the great goal of the government and of the fund. Twenty-eight million people need an alternative way of life,” he declared.
New donors
Brazil’s Environment Minister Marina Silva said the government has received signs that France, Spain, and the European Union are willing to donate resources to the Amazon Fund. Last week, the US also expressed interest in participating. She believes the interest of major donors comes as a result of the return of Brazil’s environmental policy.
Fourteen projects from 2018—ranging from BRL 480 million to BRL 600 million—have been reviewed and are ready for approval by the fund. These initiatives may be put in motion if proponents so desire, Minister Silva pointed out.
She also announced that Plan for the Prevention and Control of Deforestation in the Amazon should be revised and updated by April, with new priorities and new a resource allocation scheme.
“We have unanimously decided to prioritize projects aimed at tackling the emergency situation facing traditional communities,” the minister declared, citing the Yanomami, the Kayapó, and the Munduruku.
Historic day
Minister of Indigenous Peoples Sônia Guajajara said today was a “historic day.” “It is important and necessary to bring the Amazon Fund back so we can assist the indigenous peoples and get them out of this emergency in which we find ourselves today after four years of abandonment by the federal government,” she said, adding that indigenous peoples are responsible for protecting 82 percent of the world’s biodiversity.
Minister of Agrarian Development and Family Agriculture Paulo Teixeira stated that the fund will support the reforestation of settlements in the Amazon, as well as areas illegally deforested in the last four years.
