With the aim of expanding dialogue and partnerships in the development of actions and agendas focused on the traditional peoples and communities of Maranhão, ISPN and the State Public Prosecutor's Office (MPMA) held a meeting on the 11th of this month in São Luís, Maranhão. Representing the Institute, the meeting was attended by the executive coordinator, Fábio Vaz, the coordinator of the Maranhão Program, Ruthiane Pereira, and the technical advisor for public policies, Vitor Hugo Moraes, as well as the Public Prosecutor and director of the Secretariat for Institutional Affairs (SECINST/MPMA), José Márcio Alves.
The meeting covered two important topics related to ISPN's work in Maranhão. The first was the development of the MPMA's Human Rights Defense Program (PADHUM), specifically the Third Volume, which will include two action plans: the Quilombola plan and the Food Security plan. The program's aim is for the Public Prosecutor's Office to provide tools, models, and objective guidelines to assist the State Prosecutors in defending human rights.
“With mutual interests in protecting fundamental and social rights, defending socio-biodiversity, agroecology, and strengthening communities, ISPN will contribute to the elaboration of the Third Volume of PADHUM to guide the defense of food and nutritional security, and the strengthening of the traditional peoples and communities of Maranhão,” explained Ruthiane Pereira.
The second item on the agenda of the meeting was the Catrapovos Dialogue Table Program in the state. On that occasion, ISPN presented its activities and main projects and, especially, its interest and contribution to the debate it has been having with civil society organizations and the State Government, through the Secretariat of Family Agriculture (SAF), regarding the Catrapovos.
The Catrapovos Permanent Dialogue Table Program is comprised of representatives from public bodies and civil society throughout Brazil, under the coordination of the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office (MPF). It acts as a national forum to discuss actions and measures aimed at enabling the public sector to purchase food produced directly by traditional communities and indigenous peoples for school meals, without sanitary obstacles or bureaucracy. At the state level, the establishment of the Table may be coordinated by the State Public Prosecutor's Office.
According to Fábio Vaz, it was a strategic meeting to bring the Public Prosecutor's Office closer to and listen to them. "The involvement of the Public Prosecutor's Office of Maranhão is important to strengthen the participation of municipal public managers so they can embrace the Catrapovos guidelines and thus enable the purchase of food from the communities for local schools," he emphasized.
“We brought information to the Public Prosecutor's Office regarding school meals for traditional peoples and communities, reinforcing the need to explicitly include the Public Prosecutor's Office's commitment to implementing the Technical Note – which guides Catrapovos, the sale of traditional foods based on self-consumption. Furthermore, the Public Prosecutor's Office will create model petitions and terms of adjustment of conduct to assist prosecutors in monitoring municipalities in the implementation of the Technical Note,” added Vitor Hugo Moraes. For more information and access to the Technical Note, access here!
ISPN also proposed providing support through the “Tamo de Olho” program, offering necessary information on deforestation and affected communities. The idea is for Public Prosecutors to be aware of the main cases and act in a targeted and effective way to protect the environment and traditional communities and peoples, which are directly linked to the agenda of defending human rights.
"We're Watching" Initiative"– Its objective is to identify cases of deforestation occurring in the Matopiba region (Mato Grosso, Tocantins, Piauí, and Bahia), especially those involving the territories of traditional peoples and communities, and Conservation Units. The initiative seeks to advocate with the Public Prosecutor's Office and environmental agencies, focusing on holding those responsible for illegal activities accountable and ensuring recognition and respect for territorial rights. To this end, deforestation alerts will be classified based on criteria that result in a ranking of the most emblematic deforestation cases. ISPN is one of the partners of “Tamo de Olho”, along with WWF-Brazil, Rede Cerrado, Instituto Cerrados, and the Amazon Environmental Research Institute (IPAM)."
Photo: ISPN Archive/Reproduction.