CONTEXTUALIZATION

The municipality of Cotriguaçu was created in 1991. It is located in the northwest of the state of Mato Grosso, in an area bordering the south of the state of Amazonas. It is the area of influence of BR-163 (Cuiabá – Santarém) and the Aripuanã River Basin. It has a territory of 9,124 km² with an estimated population of 20,238 inhabitants by the IBGE in 2020.

Of the total area of the municipality, about 78% is native vegetation, a fact that is mainly due to the existence of the Escondido Indigenous Land (belonging to the Rikbaktsa ethnic group) in its territory and part of the Igarapés do Juruena and Juruena National State Parks, which together occupy 32% of the territory of the municipality.

THE PROJECT

The "New Paths in Cotriguaçu" project was structured on three components. The first aimed to strengthen municipal environmental management through the construction and physical structuring of the headquarters of the Municipal Secretariat of the Environment (SMMA), thereby  enabling its separation from the Municipal Secretariat of Economic Development, Agriculture, Environment and Land Affairs.

The second component aimed at the recovery of degraded permanent preservation areas (PPAs) in private rural properties of up to four fiscal modules and public areas located around water bodies.

In turn, the third component aimed to disseminate, among the rural owners, techniques of restoration and sustainable management of pastures developed by the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa), through the implementation of units demonstrating good agricultural practices.

INTERVENTION LOGIC

The project is part of the “sustainable production” (1)   and “monitoring and control” (2) components of the Logical Framework of the Amazon Fund. The direct effects expected by the project actions were defined as follows: 1.1 "livestock developed in a sustainable way and with expanded productivity in the municipality"; 1.4 "deforested and degraded areas recovered for ecological conservation purposes" and 2.1 "structured and modernized monitoring, control and environmental accountability institutions of the municipality.

By supporting the recovery of native vegetation and the dissemination of sustainable pasture management techniques, the project contributed to the increase of the forest area and the development of sustainable livestock activity in the region.

In turn, the construction of the headquarters of the municipal secretariat for the environment and its operational structuring aimed to provide good working conditions for the environmental management of the municipality, which strengthens environmental governance in Cotriguaçú, an essential factor in the control and prevention of deforestation.

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 building of the new SMMA headquarters, with a built area of 180 m², began operations , and was provided with furniture, air conditioning, telephone exchange and other equipment. The environmental agency was equipped with two desktop computers, two notebooks, printers, a pick-up truck and two motorcycles. As a result, the project strengthened the structure dedicated to environmental issues in the municipality, since before the project the SMMA was a department linked to the Secretariat of Agriculture.

134 hectares of PPAs were recovered in 42 small farms and in six areas of public domain of the municipality. The original forecast of the project was the recovery of 600 hectares, but most of the producers participating in the project requested a reduction in the area to be fenced, due to the reduction in the minimum APP width required by the legislation for water bodies.

However, the value necessary to surround the areas to be recovered remained practically the same, as the fence length changed little, as what was reduced was the distance from the fences to the banks of the rivers. Seedlings for reforestation were provided to small farmers by the municipal nursery.

In the six properties selected as Demonstrative Units of Pasture Management (UD), soil preparation was carried out, with addition of limestone and fertilization. In the four UDs in which the implementation of the complete package of good agricultural practices was completed, producers reached an average occupancy rate of 2.4 animals per hectare (AU/ha), compared to the target of 2.5 AU/ha. The technological package developed by Embrapa proved to be viable and advantageous to the producer.

RESULT AND IMPACT INDICATORS

The project activities contributed to the results related to the “sustainable production” (1) and “monitoring and control” component (1) of the Amazon Fund Logical Framework.

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

Direct effect 1.1 – Livestock developed in a sustainable manner and with increased productivity in the municipality

• Number of demonstrative units for pasture management implemented (output indicator)
  Target: 6 | Result achieved: 6

Despite the partial result in the number of demonstrative units, the efficacy gain observed in the implemented UDs is a positive sign of the importance of this type of action that takes to the territory new models of occupation of the property that favor the densification of production instead of the pattern of opening of new areas.

Direct effect 1.4 – Deforested and degraded areas recovered for ecological conservation purposes

• APP area with regeneration in progress (outcome indicator)
  Target: 600 hectares | Result achieved: 134 hectares

The original expectations that based the preparation of the project were not confirmed, in view of the change in the environmental legislation, which reduced the permanent preservation areas (PPAs) in rural properties. As the activity of PPA recovery is dependent on the adherence of small landowners and the main motivation of these landowners is to comply with environmental legislation, the changes introduced by the new legislation had the impact of reducing the area of forests recovered  by the project.

Direct effect 2.1 - Structured and modernized institutions for monitoring, control, and environmental accountability of the municipality.

• Headquarters of the Municipal Secretariat of the Environment built (output indicator)
  Target: 180 m² of built area | Result achieved: 180 m²

With the support of the project, the building of the headquarters of the Municipal Secretariat of the Environment of Cotriguaçu was built and the furnishings, computer equipment and transport necessary for its full operation were acquired.

• Annual deforestation in the municipality of Cotriguaçú
  Baseline: 46.2 km² (2014)  Index observed: 32.2 km² (2019)

The annual deforestation rate by clearcutting in 2014 (year prior to the beginning of the project's actions) was 46.2 km², while in 2019 this rate was 32.2 km². During this period the average annual deforestation rate was 42.5 km², which corresponds to about 0.4% of the municipality's territory per year.

 Source: Prepared based on information from the PRODES System, from the Inpe

Institutional and administrative aspects

Prior to the project, the Municipal Secretariat of the Environment (SMMA) was a department of the Secretariat of Agriculture of the Municipality of Cotriguaçu. After the approval of the project with the Amazon Fund, it became a secretariat with objectives, functions, physical and personal structure within the City Hall of Cotriguaçu.

From the State Ordinance of  the SEMA/MT No. 554¹ dated August 8, 2016, the municipality of Cotriguaçu, through the SMMA, met the necessary requirements to carry out the actions of licensing, monitoring and environmental inspection of activities and enterprises that cause or may cause environmental impact at the local level. Therefore, with the creation of the SMMA and the support of the Amazon Fund, the conditions were created for the municipality of Cotriguaçu to gain autonomy and advance in the process of decentralization of environmental management in the state of Mato Grosso.

Risks and lessons learned

The SMMA team in Cotriguaçu reported that the management of the project was challenging due to the bureaucratic complexities of the contracting carried out within the scope of the project, resulting in difficulties in meeting deadlines.

Another lesson learned is that transparency and social participation are important factors for the success of the project, as society can accompany and be part of the learning process, in addition to providing the exchange of knowledge between those involved. 

Sustainability of results

The maintenance or increase of environmental actions at the municipal level is dependent on the availability of the municipal budget. The SMMA reported that the budget of the city of Cotriguaçu is strongly demanded by the areas of health, education and road infrastructure, making SMMA initiatives dependent on projects through partnerships such as the one established with the Amazon Fund.

¹https://www.iomat.mt.gov.br/portal/visualizacoes/html/14585/#e:14585/#m:855843