CONTEXTUALIZATION
The PPCDAm is an instrument of the Federal Government, in cooperation with civil society and academy, it consolidates experiences since 2004 and is a guideline for the Amazon Fund. The report of the 5th phase (2023-2027), published in June/2023, informs that “only 2% of deforestation in the Amazon Region in 2022 happened on Indigenous lands, even though it corresponds to 23% of the total area of the Legal Amazon. This data demonstrates the capacity of Indigenous people to act as effective protectors of the forest. In spite of being relatively small, deforestation on Indigenous Land is a major concern, due to its enormous social impact”.
The Alto Juruá region, in the state of Acre, is a border area with Peru and has been experiencing increasing pressure on its natural resources. The opening of new roads, within the limits of the Indigenous lands involved in the project, facilitates occupation and transportation, increasing incidents of invasion for illegal hunting and fishing, as well as the illegal extraction and disposal of other forest resources, especially wood.
These issues increase the vulnerability of the Indigenous people in the region, due to greater contact with non-Indigenous people, causing a weakening of their culture and traditions, and enhancing social and health problems. Also, with the increase of Indigenous populations in villages, sustainability challenges for food security and the preservation of a dignified way of life are part of the larger picture.
THE PROJECT
In order to contribute and implement an Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Deforestation in the Legal Amazon (PPCDAm) and the National Policy for Territorial and Environmental Management of Indigenous Land (PNGATI), the OPIRJ Territorial Management project will implement previously successful territorial protection strategies in regional scale.
The proposed actions result from the leading role of the Indigenous people of the Alto Juruá region searching for solutions to protect the forest, through the strengthening of the indigenous agenda and integrated territorial protection strategies, acting as a network, in a coordinated manner, in 13 Indigenous Lands in the area. These lands total 640 thousand hectares – an area larger than the Federal District – where more than 11 thousand Indigenous people from 14 tribes live. These people are represented by OPIRJ – the Organisation of Indigenous People of the Juruá River. This is yet another project supported by the Amazon Fund, carried out directly by indigenous entities – a growing demand supported not only by the Constitution, that recognizes the right to autonomy and self-determination of all people, but also by the public strategy for implementing PNGATI.
The project is structured into 4 parts. The first one is institutional strengthening, which will allow the execution of an integrated strategy to tackle pressures in the territory. The project will renovate the OPIRJ headquarter in Cruzeiro do Sul (AC), improve digital connectivity between all 14 tribes involved, and support strategic and governance meetings.
The second component is to implement a set of territorial and environmental management actions to protect and preserve the forest. Some of these actions are the construction of indigenous integrated management centres; multi-use spaces that will serve as support bases to execute the project; actions to defend the territory, such as the construction of surveillance houses, purchase of boats, fuel and equipment for carrying out expeditions; cross-border meetings with Indigenous Peruvians, to coordinate actions; and updating land and environmental management plans.
The third item supports sustainable productive activities, but with a focus on food security and the sustainability of traditional ways of life. This is an important strategy for Indigenous people to remain on their land, occupying and protecting the territory. Actions such as the construction of greenhouses for seedlings, nurseries for small animals, and fish farming will be supported.
Finally, the last component is the appreciation of Indigenous culture and traditions. The construction of halfway houses for cultural exchanges will be supported, as well as audiovisual workshops with video documentary production; the organisation of cultural collections, with training for Indigenous cultural producers; art and craft workshops; and the Annual Forest People Festival. This is a fundamental strategy because, on the one hand, it increases the sense of belonging and social cohesion of Indigenous people and engages youth and women, and on the other hand, it disseminates knowledge and culture to non-Indigenous people, in a process of sensitiveness and awareness-raising that breaks down prejudices and promotes dialogue.
INTERVENTION LOGIC
The project is part of the “Territorial and Land Planning” component (3) of the Amazon Fund’s Logical Framework, contributing to the direct effect “Protected areas with infrastructure, territorial protection and consolidated management” (3.2) as a result of actions such as the review of plans and management instruments; territorial and environmental management of indigenous land; support for planning and governance seminars, workshops and meetings; support for infrastructure and equipment to promote territorial protection and surveillance activities; and training indigenous people in management, territorial protection and sustainable productive activities.
