CONTEXTUALIZATION

The Territorial and Environmental Management Plan (PGTA) is an instrument of the National Policy for Territorial and Environmental Management of Indigenous Territories (known as PNGATI), of a dynamic nature, designed to express the leadership, autonomy and self-determination of indigenous peoples. The PGTA materializes the planning, agreed by the entire indigenous community of the use of its territory for cultural, environmental and economic purposes.

The Native Amazon Operation (OPAN), the institution responsible for implementing the supported project, was founded in 1969, as the first indigenous organization in Brazil, constituted in the form of a civil association that acts to strengthen the participation of the indigenous population in the policies that influence and impact their territories.

Headquartered in Cuiabá, in the state of Mato Grosso (MT), it has three regional offices: in Brasnorte (MT), São Félix do Araguaia (MT) and in Lábrea, in the state of Amazonas (AM).

THE PROJECT

The project “IREHI¹ – Caring for Territory” aimed to support the completion and implementation of the PGTA for the Marãiwatsédé indigenous land (TI) and the implementation of PGTA for the Manoki, Menkü and Pyrenees de Souza Indigenous Lands, located in the state of Mato Grosso.

It was structured into three components: (i) completion of the PGTA of the Marãiwatsédé TI, supporting its printing and dissemination, within the first months of the project's execution. The other components serve the four TIs benefited by the project and aim to implement their PGTAs.

The component (ii) territorial protection, with the implementation of surveillance and monitoring systems of the indigenous lands benefited by the project, in addition to training the indigenous themselves in the operation of the acquired equipment, arousing the interest of indigenous youth for the management of the territory and component (iii) economic, productive and cultural activities, with income generation and increased food security based on the cultural recovery of traditional practices and techniques.

Cultural activities related to land use have been developed, such as cultural exchange for the exchange of seedlings and seeds, as a way to subsidize the implementation of agroforestry crops and gardens for food generation as well as income, through the commercialization of surplus production.

¹ The I’rehi are the Xavante warriors who carry out surveillance of the territory

INTERVENTION LOGIC

The project is part of the “Sustainable Production” (1) and “Territorial Planning” (3) components of the Amazon Fund Logical Framework.

Its direct effects were defined as follows: 1.1 sustainable forest and biodiversity use activities developed in the supported TIs; and 3.2 territorially protected supported TIs.

Indigenous lands play an important and strategic role in the conservation of the country's biodiversity and natural resources. Considering that their survival depends essentially on the forest, the resistance that its inhabitants put up in defense of the territories they occupy contributes in a relevant way to the maintenance of the Brazilian biomes.

By supporting the implementation of the PGTAs of the four indigenous lands, the project directly contributed to the general objective of the Amazon Fund, namely, “reduction of deforestation with sustainable development in the Legal Amazone”.

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 project was structured along three axes. The first consisted of the conclusion of the PGTA of the Marãiwatsédé IT, which had been initiated by OPAN in previous years, finalizing its formalization and presentation. The second concerned the development of territorial protection activities and monitoring of the territory. Finally, the third concerned economic, productive and cultural rescue activities.

1 – Completion of the PGTA of the Marãiwatsédé TI

Activities were carried out to support the consolidation of the work of preparing the PGTA, with the printing and dissemination of the final document, in addition to a launch event that took place in 2016 at the Museu do Índio in Rio de Janeiro.

2 – Territorial protection of the four indigenous lands involved in the project

The regions where the ITs supported by the project are located reflect the land ownership reality in the Brazilian Amazon; a region with several disputes and a diversity of interests, where we can highlight the pressure to open new areas for planting and cattle rearing and the exploitation of natural resources.

The TIs end up becoming green centers in the midst of exploited areas, with the preservation of the forest and native vegetation. As such, the monitoring and surveillance of these areas is increasingly relevant.

Several meetings were held with the TIs supported by the project for agreement and planning of activities, in addition to training workshops on the use and maintenance of surveillance equipment.

Another relevant aspect concerns the permanence of these activities, which is only possible if there is a continuity within the indigenous community itself. It is extremely important to awaken the interest of indigenous youth in maintaining these activities and the continuity of preservation of their own culture. The PGTAs serve as beacons of the future of the territory and depend on new generations to be implemented.

Ten meetings were held on territorial management, involving the various TIs and young leaders of these, in addition to the production of books and videos on territorial management and cultural expressions.

3 - Economic, productive and cultural activities

This component aimed to strengthen community-based production and marketing networks for agroforestry products. It is important to remember that the productive activities of indigenous peoples are strongly linked to their cultural system, and these manifestations cannot be left aside in the design of the project's activities.

It is not enough to increase the production and availability of food, but also to promote cultural recovery in order to ensure the continuity of knowledge of each ethnicity.

Several meetings were held between the four TIs involved in the project to exchange techniques and rituals, in addition to the implementation of new fields in the four TIs and areas for banana plantation. It is also worth mentioning the realization of seed collection expeditions in the Marãiwatsédé TI.

The project also left a legacy of infrastructure and acquired equipment, such as vehicles (three boats, two trucks and three pickup trucks), equipment (six radios, six antennas, six metal towers and three sets of energy-generating equipment) and civil works (construction of the culture house in the Pyrenees de Souza IT, with an area of 109 m², a support house with 79 m² and two surveillance centers, one with 66 m² and another with 74 m²).

Indicators of efficacy and effectiveness

The project activities contributed to the results related to the “Sustainable Production” (1) and “Territorial Planning” component (3) of the Amazon Fund Logical Framework.

Below are the results of some of the indicators agreed to monitor the expected direct effects.

Direct Effect 1.1: Sustainable use of forest and biodiversity activities developed in the supported TIs

• Measurement of the volume of fresh products generated with the economic activities of sustainable use supported by the project – Banana (effectiveness indicator);
  Target: 47 tons | Result: 68.53 tons (146% of target)

• of artesian wells drilled in the Marãiwatsédé TI (effectiveness indicator);
  Target: 4 wells | Result: 4 wells (100% of target)

The planting and production of food in the TIs have a direct impact on the health and well-being of communities, by reducing the consumption of industrialized products and allowing the commercialization of production surpluses, generating additional income to communities. The performance of rituals related to land use is amplified by increasing its own production, helping to maintain the traditions of each people.

Direct Effect 3.2: Territorially-supported TIs:

• of indigenous people trained for territorial surveillance - Geographic Information System (GIS) and GPS operation, audiovisual registration and maintenance of vehicles and electronic equipment (effectiveness indicator)
  Target: 115 indigenous people | Result: 200 indigenous people (174% of the target)

• Monitoring and surveillance bases equipped in the four ITs (effectiveness indicator)
  Target: 2 | Result: 2 (100% of target)

• Extension of protected areas supported by the project under community protection and surveillance (effectiveness indicator)
  Target: 344,082 hectares |  Result: 412,000 hectares

The total number of indigenous people directly benefited by the actions of the project was 400 individuals, 159 of whom were women.

Institutional and administrative aspects

The Public Call for Projects aimed at Supporting Territorial and Environmental Management Plans in Indigenous Lands supported 9 projects , including in the vicinity of the IREHI project area of operation . This proximity and delimitation of scope led to the identification of some similar activities in more than one project, making clear the need for coordination among the activities to maximize their scope.

On the other hand, this same similarity serves to gain scale in geographically close activities, allowing the support of a network made up of nearby TIs and the entities involved.

Risks and lessons learned

The IREHI project was successful from the point of view of achieving the agreed goals, often exceeding the expected result.

The proper diagnosis assists in the definition of feasible goals and consistent with the reality of the territory and the TIs involved. It is important to note that the relative geographical proximity (even in a region with displacement difficulties) may have contributed to the positive results when they depended on interaction between the four supported TIs. Even so, it was necessary to renegotiate some indicators, impacted by events external to the project.

Sustainability of results

The training of indigenous people, their leaders and their young people, in order to continue the implementation of the PGTAs, contributes to the sustainability of the project's results. The cultural recovery of their ancestral practices and the awakening of the interest of indigenous young people are key to ensuring the continuity of the project's legacy, even after the completion of its activities.

The seminars, exchanges and ritualistic meetings fulfilled the role of bringing together the various TIs, albeit of different ethnicities. The union of these peoples served to exchange experiences on topics addressed by the project, such as the security of their territory and the challenge of producing sustainably to maintain their food sovereignty and commercialize the surplus.

Finally, the strengthening of the surveillance structure and the training of indigenous people in the operation and maintenance of equipment will contribute, even after the completion of the project, to guarantee the safety of the 10 indigenous peoples who inhabit the four TIs benefiting from the actions implemented.