Hearing in the Senate will present proposals on sustainable economy of observatory integrated by ISA and partners. Follow us on our networks
Socio-environmental organizations and social movements in the countryside, forests and water, gathered in the Observatory for the Economics of Sociobiodiversity (ÓSocioBio), in partnership with the Environmentalist Parliamentary Front, present, this Wednesday (22), starting at 9 am, in a hearing of the Senate Environment Commission, a document with recommendations to the next elected government.
The event's objective is to strengthen the socio-biodiversity economy and establish sustainable development as the axis of the Brazilian development model as an alternative to harmful monoculture production modes. The construction of the recommendations was based on guidelines that simultaneously value the conservation of ecosystems, income generation, respect for traditional ways of life, guarantee of territorial rights and food security for populations.
integrated by ISA, ÓSócioBio intends to promote an economy that is based on respect for life and the appreciation of the sustainable use of biodiversity, in particular those practiced by traditional peoples and communities, such as indigenous peoples, quilombolas, riverine extractivists and family farmers.
“Strengthening the sociobiodiversity economy is one of the ways to mitigate the
worsening of the most critical climate change scenarios, such as the loss of
biodiversity, water and food insecurity, the increase in communicable and non-communicable diseases, and social inequalities”, says the document which will be presented to the Senate.
The recommendations address socio-productive organization and enterprise management; strengthening production and processing; marketing and access to markets. ÓSocioBio draws attention to the importance of integrating data from the Rural Environmental Registry (CAR) into the National System (SICAR), which does not currently happen and which threatens traditional territories. The collective also points out the need for technical assistance and rural extension to rural populations, in addition to access to differentiated credit for peoples, traditional communities and family farmers. Tax incentives, training and research in the area of sociobiodiversity economics are demanded.
Insufficient and inappropriate policies
The organizations and social movements that make up the observatory ask for public policies that train local leaders, support communities for competition in public funding, reduce bureaucracy in taxes, guarantee social participation and payment for environmental services.
“What we saw in the recent period was exactly the opposite. Not only did government actions to meet this demand cease, but territorial conflicts became too accentuated. The development of the socio-biodiversity economy crucially depends on guaranteeing the territorial rights of indigenous peoples, traditional peoples and communities and family farmers”, points out the observatory in the text with recommendations to the presidential candidates.
Studies on the economics of sociobiodiversity show that the market for sustainable native products is more profitable than that of commodities. Analyzing only the cultivation of açaí, for example, its profitability is estimated at approximately US$ 1,5 for each hectare managed. By comparison, soy is worth more than seven times less: US$ 200 per hectare. According to the results of the Production of Vegetal Extraction and Forestry (PEVS) released by the IBGE, in 2020 alone, açaí handled R$ 694 million; yerba mate, R$559 million; Brazil nut, R$ 98 million; and the pequi, R$ 45 million.
The economic potential of the conserved environment is nothing new in science. The rational and sustainable use of the Amazon, the Cerrado and other Brazilian biomes is worth, in its entirety, hundreds of billions of dollars. The numbers are still under-quantified, as sociobiodiversity chains are, in most cases, informal and do not enter the official account. Investment in research, in this sense, recommended to presidential candidates by ÓSocioBio, is necessary for the country to have concreteness about the values of its own natural diversity.
Service
ÓSocioBio presents recommendations for the new federal government
Hearing at the Environment Committee of the Federal Senate
June 22, Wednesday, from 9 am.
Streaming: https://twitter.com/socioambiental
About ÓSocioBio
The Observatory of the Economy of Sociobiodiversity (ÓSócioBio) brings together environmental NGOs, rural social movements and indigenous and traditional populations in Brazil, such as ISA, ISPN, WWF-Brasil, Contag, CNS, Memorial Chico Mendes, Articulação Pacari and others (see full list in the creation letter). Launched on June 1st, the initiative is anchored on a tripod that combines Economy, People and Biodiversity. The objective is to influence projects in Congress and in the Executive Branch to ensure sustainability in Brazilian development, with the appreciation of traditional peoples and communities.