Socio-productive activities, such as those of the babaçu coconut breakers in Maranhão, are fundamental to combating deforestation. Photo: Raisa Pina/ISPN Archive
The Observatory, which brings together civil society organizations, social movements, enterprises, and community-based cooperatives, emphasized themes related to socio-biodiversity economies and suggested wording in defense of traditional peoples and communities and family farmers.
Created to monitor and support the development of public policies aimed at traditional peoples and communities and family farmers, the Observatory of Socio-biodiversity Economies (ÓSocioBio) was one of the networks that contributed to the preliminary draft of the Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Deforestation in the Legal Amazon (PPCDAm). The Plan was resumed by the Lula government in January, after having been abolished in 2019 by the Bolsonaro government (2019-2022).
The Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MMA) then opened a public consultation to receive suggestions and new drafts for the Plan, for the period 2023 to 2027, across its four component axes: Axis 1 – Sustainable productive activities; Axis 2 – Environmental monitoring and control; Axis 3 – Land and territorial planning; and Axis 4 – Regulatory and economic instruments. ÓSocioBio presented recommendations for axes 1 and 4, indicating needs in each component.
In the first axis, which includes themes considered new to the Plan compared to previous versions, actions in the field of bioeconomy and the development of production chains in the Amazon region, such as cocoa and açaí, stand out. In the expected outcome regarding "Bioeconomy, agroecology and agroecological transition expanded and strengthened in the Amazon," for example, the addition of the word "sociobiodiversity" was suggested to demarcate that this is an activity distinct from the bioeconomy that has been implemented in Brazil, both conceptually and pragmatically.
There is also, within the same framework, a perspective of supporting community-based enterprises for the development of sustainable businesses, with the provision of instruments such as a call for proposals to accelerate social impact businesses. The draft also presents text referring to the strengthening of government procurement policies and programs related to the PAA, PNAE, PGPM, PGPM-Bio* and Family Farming Seal policies – which need to be revised to include mechanisms compatible with socio-biodiversity economies.
“We analyzed that, in this case, it is necessary to revise the methodology for calculating the minimum price for socio-biodiversity products by including other logistical costs such as storage, transportation, energy, and production costs such as the acquisition of equipment, materials, and utensils, in addition to the mere accounting calculation of labor, as has been done,” highlights the executive secretary of ÓSocioBio, Laura Souza.
Laura further emphasizes that the proposals aim to open a dialogue about the socio-productive activities carried out by PCTAFs (Community-Based Farming and Family Farming Producers), thus ensuring that the plan includes mechanisms that consider respect for and protection of lifestyles and cultural practices in the territories. “The preliminary draft foresees the creation of national plans and programs, such as the National Bioeconomy Development Plan, which directly impact the lives of indigenous peoples, quilombola communities, and family farmers. Therefore, we are taking a stand with this concern,” she concludes.
Axis 4
Axis 4 addresses regulatory instruments related to the sociocultural practices of socio-biodiversity economies and territorial protection, such as payment for environmental services (PES). The idea is that the PPCDAm (Action Plan for Prevention and Control of Deficits in the Environment) will strengthen the regulation of PES, as well as other areas such as the carbon market, with participatory governance and management transparency. Furthermore, it aims to activate the creation of tax incentives and credits for products originating from indigenous lands, territories of traditional peoples and communities, and family farming.
In this context, ÓSocioBio analyzes, in the document submitted for public consultation, that it is necessary to “describe and clearly express the services provided by traditional communities in their territories or areas of traditional use, through their ways of life and traditional management practices, in the case of concession contracts for the use of public forests.” Regarding the topic of negotiating the “recognition of preserved biodiversity heritage as a marketable product,” the observatory believes that:
"The biodiversity heritage is a common asset of the Brazilian people, and its conservation is largely due to indigenous peoples and traditional communities. The idea of this heritage being commercialized jeopardizes many rights and should not be carried out in this way," the observatory members stated.
The Ministry of the Environment (MMA) reported that it received 540 contributions to the preliminary version put out for public consultation. The goal is to structure lines of action so that deforestation rates reach zero by 2030. The ministry will decide whether or not to accept the proposals made by various agents working on the subject.
Sociobiodiversity Economies
Socio-biodiversity economies are those practiced by traditional peoples and communities, based on diversity, traditional knowledge and innovation, socio-productive systems, their products and services, connected to their ancestral ways of life, and to the well-being of the communities and their territories.
*PAA – Food Acquisition Program
PNAE – National School Feeding Program
PGPM – Minimum Price Guarantee Policy
PGPM-Bio – Minimum Price Guarantee Policy for Socio-biodiversity Products
PPCDAm – Phase V
Source: Ministry of Environment and Climate Change
Axes
I – Sustainable Productive Activities, which should resume policies for the sustainable exploitation of public forests, incentives for forest restoration, the bioeconomy, low-carbon agriculture, and the establishment of “green” infrastructure;
II – Environmental Monitoring and Control, with the resumption of control over territories occupied by illegal activities, removal of intruders from Conservation Units and Indigenous Lands, implementation of instruments to support inspection and improvement of the traceability of agricultural products;
III – Land and Territorial Planning, including the implementation of the Rural Environmental Registry (CAR), creation of Conservation Units, titling of traditional territories, allocation of public forests, and environmental assessment of projects;
IV – Regulatory and Economic Instruments for implementing actions, such as the Amazon Fund and Bolsa Verde, payment for environmental services and regulation of the carbon market and commodity chains, and regulations to strengthen command and control actions in critical municipalities and in environmental emergencies due to deforestation.
Text: Dominik Giusti/ISPN Communications Office