The model of regional Compacts to promote sustainable landscape development has been successfully consolidated in Mato Grosso. The proposal, seen as a regionalization of the State PCI Strategy (Produce, Conserve and Include), supported by IDH, is strengthened by showing the concrete results and, as a result, attracting new partners.
An example that this strategy is being successful was the formal adherence of a new company to the PCI Compact of Sorriso, during a members’ meeting, held on May 20: FS Bio Energia. David Grilo, who represented the company, endorsed the importance of the PCI goals, emphasizing the company’s interest in contributing. “FS Bioenergia is fully committed to collaborating in the best possible way. We consider the partnership signed extremely important, for it will promote the development of the company as well as of the agriculture and of the sustainability in the region”, said Grilo. FS Bio Energia is part of the National Corn Ethanol Union (Unem, the acronym in Portuguese), one of the founding organizations and member of the Council of PCI Institute.
The PCI Regional Compact of Sorriso was created in April 2019, when 25 representatives from the public, private sectors, civil society and farmers signed the Memorandum of Understanding. A year later, in March 2020, the Pact received its first direct investment, through the Cultivando Vida Sustentável Program, a partnership between IDH and Clube Amigos da Terra (CAT), with an estimated investment of EUR 660,000 in resources provided by IDH and EUR 780,00 matched by the private sector (CAT and local producers), for training and investments, until the end of 2021.
Barra do Garças
The members of Barra do Garças PCI Compact also met, on 12 May, to discuss and deliberate on several issues, among which, the structuring of the governance model. Updates were also made on the four projects developed with IDH funds, and managed by TNC, to access resources from the REM-MT Program, through the announcement launched by Funbio.
Regarding the initiative, the coordinator of the Flor de Ibez Institute, Simon Paz, said that without the Compact, the processes would not take place and would be slower. “We can see the positive result in terms of leveraging possibilities that were embryonic or buried by the current difficulties. So, this initiative is very important for it awakes the participants, attracts and motivates them to achieve the goals”. The Institute proposed one of the projects, aimed at indigenous communities.
The PCI Regional Compact of Barra do Garças was created in June 2019, and only six months later, it was published Municipal Law No. 4,156, which formalized the creation of the Program, of the Council and of the PCI Fund, structures that have enabled the receipt and management of investments in a long-term vision model.
Juruena Valley
Also during the month of May, on the 28th, the Juruena Valley Regional Compact meeting took place and, in addition to internal issues, the participants were able to get updated information on the PCI Strategy at a state level, to learn about initiatives being implemented in the region, such as the REM-MT program, in partnership with Empaer, and the Terra a Limpo program, which contribute to the goals of the Regional PCI Compact and establish a direct relationship with the goals of the PCI Strategy at a state level.
The Juruena Valley was the first region to sign a Memorandum of Understanding for putting together IDH’s Regional Compact in Mato Grosso, in May 2018. As a result of the investment, the activities of the Calf Sustainable Production Program, coordinated by IDH, began in the following year, with resources from the Group and from the Carrefour Foundation at the amount of 3.5 million euros by the end of 2021.
“Mato Grosso is an environment that offers countless opportunities for our way of working, which seeks to cause impacts on scale with the involvement of different social players, consumer markets, producers, companies and governments. Seeing these results materialize motivates us even further”, stated IDH Executive Director in Brazil, Daniela Mariuzzo.
All meetings were held online, in compliance with the safety protocols recommended by the World Health Organization, in relation to the Covid-19 pandemic.