The project “Porongaço: Paths to Land Regularization in Forest Territories” was launched in Belém (PA) as a strategic initiative to strengthen the guarantee of territorial rights in the Amazon. The action should directly benefit more than 26 families and contribute to the protection of more than 1,6 million hectares of forests and waters in the region. The launch was marked by a seminar, bringing together partners and the team responsible for carrying out the activities.
The project is led and promoted by National Council of Extractive Populations (CNS) and by the Puxirum Fund of Extractivists of the Brazilian Amazon, with financial management by the Institute for Society, Population and Nature (ISPN) and funding from the Tenure Facility. It emerges as a response to one of the main challenges of the region: to promote legal security for territories of collective use, to conserve the environment and to strengthen extractivist populations.
The actions will be carried out in 47 territories in Pará — including 45 Agro-extractive Settlement Projects (PAEs) and 2 Extractive Reserves (Resex) — directly reaching 26.663 families and contributing to the protection of more than 1,6 million hectares of forest and water.
According to Letícia Moraes, vice-president of the CNS, the goal is to enable concrete solutions for land regularization and respond to a historical demand from extractive populations.
“The initiative promotes legal security for families, strengthens biodiversity conservation, contributes to addressing climate change, and expands the conditions for the sustainable use of natural resources. Guaranteeing the legal security of territories is fundamental to protecting the forest, strengthening communities, and creating real conditions for sustainable development in the Amazon,” he comments.
The proposal is structured around three main pillars: advancing land regularization in extractive territories, strengthening the institutional capacity of representative organizations and local community associations. Furthermore, it recognizes that guaranteeing territorial rights depends on the articulation between public policies, social organization, and access to technical and administrative instruments that enable the titling and management of territories.
Across the board, the project also values the leading role of young people and women extractivists, recognizing their role in the sustainability of the territories and in the formation of new leaders. The initiative also promotes collaboration with public institutions and strategic partnerships, with the support of the National Institute for Colonization and Agrarian Reform (INCRA), the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio), the Ministry of the Environment, and the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office, among others.
According to ISPN's executive coordinator, Fábio Vaz, the Porongaço Project reinforces the importance of strengthening traditional territories through the empowerment of the communities themselves.
“We believe that the consolidation of territorial rights depends on strengthening local organizations and valuing the knowledge and political influence capabilities of extractive populations. ISPN's work is precisely aimed at strengthening this arrangement.”