Project selected in the first Amazon Fund’s direct public call-to-submission of sustainable productive projects

CONTEXTUALIZATION

Protected areas in the Amazon are being constantly threatened due to the unsustainable and disordered exploitation of natural resources, often carried out illegally. To improve the quality of life of the populations living in these areas, without depending on economic activities that cause deforestation and without predatory use of natural resources, sustainable production activities should be promoted and become economically profitable.

This is the context in which is being implemented the Arapaima: Production Networks project, selected within the scope of an Amazon Fund’s public call to support sustainable production projects, launched in 2012. The project brought together, under the coordination of the agglutinating entity Native Amazon Operation (Opan), four agglutinated executing entities¹: two indigenous associations (Council of the Indigenous Peoples of Jutaí – Copiju and Association of the Deni People of the Xeruã River – Aspodex) and two associations of extractive producers (Association of Extractivists of the Cujubim Sustainable Development Reserve – AERDSC and Association of Agroextractive Residents of the Uacari Sustainable Development Reserve – Amaru).

Opan is an indigenist organization founded in 1969 as a civil association, with the aim of strengthening the indigenous participation in the formulation of policies that affect their territories. The organization's work methodology is based on direct participatory action and the experience of and involvement in the daily lives of indigenous villages and communities.

In recent years, Opan has been preparing proposals and monitoring projects related to economic production alternatives, by promoting sustainable management (fishing and nontimber forest products) in the Amazon and Cerrado biomes.

¹ “Agglutinating entity” is the name used for the proposing institution that contracted with BNDES the support of the Amazon Fund for the implementation of the project, in this case Opan, which is the responsible for coordinating an integrating a series of subprojects from other organizations, called “agglutinated entities,” aimed at the development of value chains based on the sustainable use of biodiversity natural resources of the Brazilian Amazon. 

THE PROJECT

The project supported a wide range of actions aimed at (i) the management of fishing and non-timber forest resources in indigenous lands (TI) and protected areas (PA), using participatory work methodologies; and (ii) the strengthening of indigenous and extractive producers associations. In all, the project benefited populations from six TIs, two Sustainable Development Reserves (RDS) and one Extractive Reserve (Resex), located in the middle Juruá and middle Solimões basins, in the state of Amazonas. 

To achieve its goals, the project was structured into the following components:

• promotion and structuring of fishing management, aiming to strengthen community initiatives in the management of pirarucu and the adoption of good practices that guarantee the long-term conservation of species and generate income for indigenous and riverside populations of the region covered by the project;
• promotion and structuring of sustainable management of non-timber forest products, with a focus on strengthening vegetable oils production chains;
• institutional strengthening of indigenous and extractive producers associations, with an emphasis on improving managerial, administrative, programmatic and project execution skills;
• project communication and dissemination of information.

All project actions also aimed to value and adopt the knowledge and practices of indigenous and traditional communities, in order to improve natural resources management in these territories and institutionally strenghtenstrengthen the agglutinated entities.

INTERVENTION LOGIC

The project falls under the components "Sustainable Production" (1) and "Land-use Planning" (3) of the Amazon Fund’s Logical Framework. The outcomes expected by the project's actions were defined as follows: (1.1) “economic activities for the sustainable use of the forest and biodiversity developed in six TIs and three PAs in the southeastern region of the state of Amazonas;” (1.2) “agroforestry and biodiversity production chains with value-added by industrial processing in two PAs in the southwestern region of the state of Amazonas”; (1.3) “expanded managerial and technical capacities for the implementation of good practices in sustainable production chains and the organization and management of associations in TIs and PAs in the southwestern region of the state of Amazonas”; and (3.2) “TI Rio Biá with consolidated management.” 

The promotion of sustainable production activities and land-use planning in the Médio Juruá and the Médio Solimões strengthen the commitment of indigenous peoples and populations living in this region’s surroundings to forest conservation, which directly contributes to the Amazon Fund’s overall objective, namely “reduction of deforestation with sustainable development in the Brazilian Amazon.”

Click on the following image to view its objectives tree, that is, how the project's outputs and linked to the expected outcomes and impact.

ACTIVITIES CONDUCTED  

The promotion and structuring of fishing management involved the production of reports covering this production chain’s various stages in the Médio Juruá, Médio Jutaí and Médio Solimões basins, such as an assessment of the production chain of managed pirarucu in the municipality of Carauari-AM, ethnomaps of fishing resources in the municipality of Jutaí, and the sustainable management and business plan for managed pirarucu in the TI Deni of the Xeruã River. 

These documents’ contents were widely shared among the members of the four agglutinated organizations during training and dissemination activities. Thirteen training workshops were held on pirarucu counting¹ with 430 participants; three workshops were held on techniques for processing, storage, preparation of fishing equipment and fishing legislation, with 159 participants; and three regional seminars were held on public fishing policies, which involved 272 participants. 

The project also supported the implementation of good practices in the extraction, processing and commercialization of non-timber forest products, with a focus on vegetable oils production. As in the case of fishing management activities, assessment reports and ethnomaps were developed for production chains of non-timber forest products, in addition to the preparation of a business plan for the collection and commercialization of andiroba and murumuru in the TI Deni of the Xeruã River. To support the infrastructure of this production chain, 15 seed drying sheds and 90 family drying units were built in Carauari (AM). In the municipality of Jutaí (AM), in turn, the construction of a floating unit was completed to support the production activities of the Katukina people. 

In addition to investments in physical structures, 24 training events in extractive management were held, benefiting 715 people. These workshops addressed topics such as the advantages and challenges of sustainable management, collection of murumuru and andiroba seeds, extraction of copaiba oil, as well as the traditional basketry and handicraft Deni women. 

The project activities aimed at the institutional strengthening of partner organizations comprised, between 2016 and 2018, 15 training events in sustainable production chains in the Rio Biá, Deni, Jutaí and Solimões TIs and in the Cujubim RDS, involving 567 participants. Various topics were addressed, and the major ones were community organization, the importance of ethnomapping and ethno-zoning, surveillance actions and legislation. 

The project also allocated resources for physical investments in the agglutinated entities, supporting the renovation of the Copiju’s production house and the purchase of two boats for the transport of fish and non-timber forest products from Copiju and AERDSC. For the same purpose, four chalana-style canoes were purchased for the TI Deni, in addition to an engine and a cold-storage boat with a capacity of 30 tons for the Amaru agroextractive association. Finally, other equipment and inputs of lesser value were acquired to improve the coordination, mobility and operational capacities of Copiju, AERDSC, Amaru and Aspodex. 

Regarding specific investments in the TI Rio Biá, the project supported the purchase of equipment (canoes, engines, radio kits) and supplies for territorial surveillance actions in this TI. 

Finally, several promotional materials were produced for different audiences, facilitating the exchange of experiences between the peoples and regions supported by the project. In addition to the acquisition of communication equipment and the development of visual identity products, other highlights were the preparation of three bulletins summarizing the main project actions, the video “Arapaima: production networks” and the book Arapaima – Amazonian live.”²

¹ Pirarucu counting is an activity that, besides its own scientific methodology, involves traditional knowledge from local populations. This is possible because this fish species has two types of breathing, an aerial and an aquatic. Thus, when a pirarucu comes to the surface to breathe, experienced fishermen are able to obtain fundamental information for fishing management purposes, such as the quantity and approximate size of individuals existing in a given water body.

² To watch the video, access https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsvDsGLVWlE&t=1433s. The book can be accessed at https://amazonianativa.org.br/arapaima-vidas-amazonicas/.

RESULT AND IMPACT INDICATORS

The project activities contributed to the expected outcomes of the "sustainable production" (1) and “land-use planning" (3) components of the Amazon Fund’s Logical Framework. 

Direct effect 1.1: Economic activities for the sustainable use of the forest and biodiversity developed in six TIs and three PAs in the southeastern region of the state of Amazonas; and outcome 1.2: Agroforestry and biodiversity production chains with value-added by industrial processing in two PAs in the southwestern region of the state of Amazonas. 

Below are the agreed indicators for monitoring these outcomes: 

• Revenue obtained from managed pirarucu fishing supported by the project (outcome indicator)
  Target: R$ 292,000 | Result achieved: R$ 1.56 million 

The result achieved in 2018, in the amount of R$ 1.56 million, exceeded the R$ 292,000 target agreed in terms of an increase over the revenue measured in the base year of 2014. The volume sold, as the following indicator shows, also exceeded the respective goal. 

• Volume of pirarucu sales from managed fishing (outcome indicator)
  Target: 73 tons | Result achieved: 291 tons 

• Revenue from the sale of non-timber, non-processed forest products with the project’s support (outcome indicator)
  Target: not defined | Result achieved: R$ 698,000 

• Revenue from the sale of processed vegetable oil with the project’s support (outcome indicator)
  Target: not defined | Result achieved: R$ 614,000 

Direct effect 1.3: Expanded managerial and technical capacities for the implementation of good practices in sustainable production chains and the organization and management of associations in TIs and PAs in the southwestern region of the state of Amazonas. 

The agreed indicators for monitoring this outcome were: 

• Number of individuals trained in good practices in sustainable production chains effectively using the techniques learned (outcome indicator)
  Target: 573 | Result achieved: 2481 

• Number of workshops on associations, cooperatives, community organization, administration and project management (output indicator)
  Target: 24 | Result achieved: 40 

Regarding Direct effect 3.2 - TI Rio Biá with consolidated management - the following indicators were agreed: 

• Extension of the TI Rio Biá area with the strengthening of territory monitoring (outcome indicator)
  Target: 400 km^2 | Result achieved: 400 km² 

The area of the TI Rio Biá that was monitored before the project implementation was about 250 km². 

• Number of territorial surveillance missions performed (output indicator)
  Target: 100 | Result achieved: 103

As an overall result, the execution of the project benefited 6,188 people, of which 4,626 were members of indigenous communities. 

The table below presents the evolution of deforestation in the last five years in the areas benefited by the project. The table shows the preservation of forest in these territories, a consequence of the ongoing activities of local communities, representative entities and projects aimed at the protection and sustainable use of the forest.

(values in parentheses = % of total area)
 Source: dpi.inpe.br/prodesdigital/prodesuc.php

Institutional and administrative aspects

In addition to involving four agglutinated entities (Copiju, Aspodex, AERDSC and Amaru), the project helped to strengthen three other local organizations that play a key role in the commercialization of sociobiodiversity products: the Association of Community Members Working for the Development of the Municipality of Jutaí (ACJ), the Médio Juruá Agroextractive and Energy Development Cooperative (Codaemj) and the Carauari Rural Producers Association (Asproc).

For the purpose of carrying out activities in the state PAs, partnerships were signed with the Mamirauá Institute, the Amazonas Sustainable Foundation (FAS), managers at the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio) and at the Department of Climate Change and Management of Protected Areas (Demuc), an agency of the Amazonas state government. In turn, all project actions carried out in the TIs were formalized through a Technical Cooperation Agreement signed between Opan and National Indian Foundation (Funai) in 2014. 

The agglutinating function performed by Opan was of great importance for improving its management practices and strengthening its governance, a result of its strategic planning. Throughout the project execution, Opan reviewed its financial execution manual and improved its selection processes and the drafting of the contracts signed with consultants and service providers. Finally, it implemented an annual coordinators' forum, which meets three times a year for the planning, monitoring and evaluation of programs. 

Risks and lessons learned

The project allowed Opan and its partners to acquire new skills and knowledge on sustainable management of fishing and nontimber forest products. The executing entities themselves evaluated that the strategy of combining value chains with territorial management proved to be effective in strengthening collective organization, income generation and environmental protection. 

When Arapaima project’s field activities started in 2015, Opan found a different situation from that initially identified in the municipalities of Jutaí and Carauari when the project was submitted. Changes involving some key actors in partner organizations and the specification of demands of some sociobiodiversity chains required additional time for renegotiating partnerships. 

Sustainability of results

The project was properly executed, having fully implemented all the planned products and services and achieved its expected goals. These results are expected to remain benefiting the communities, as production activities in the sociobiodiversity chain are consolidated as an income option for these populations.

The positive results achieved by this project point to new opportunities along the value chain. An example of these opportunities is the market study on pirarucu leather carried out within the scope of the project, which has already resulted in improving the negotiation process with buyers and thus led to the signing of purchase and sales agreements more advantageous for community producers.

Finally, it is important to underline the exceptionality of the year 2020, which is being severely impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. The long duration of the pandemic presents an additional challenge to the sustainability of the results of this and other projects in the Amazon, which reinforces the need for a closer look and a permanent search for actions to minimize its effects.