02 Dec Our visit to Acre: getting to know the reality of the communities up close
Concentrating more than half of the remaining tropical forests on the planet, the Amazon is a region known and recognized around the world for its natural wealth and its enormous biodiversity. When we consider the international Amazon, there are about six and a half million square kilometers distributed among 9 countries: Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana. The Legal Amazon comprises only the portion of the area located in Brazil, which involves nine states: Roraima, Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Rondônia, Amazonas, Pará and Acre, representing approximately 26% of the Brazilian territory.
In this context, one of the states that has been standing out in terms of innovation is Acre. The state has been seeking to implement sustainable use models that preserve the forest in the long term and promote social inclusion and income generation for traditional communities (family farmers, riverine producers, extractivists, indigenous people, among others). This initiative has changed the reality of the region, reducing, for example, illegal deforestation and increasing the quality of life and income of the local population.
Canopée, by identifying itself with the purpose of these actions and aiming to contribute even more to this movement, then decided to start operating in Acre land.
After an initial structuring part which involves a detailed study to gather the necessary requirements for the best possible approach in Acre, our team left for the state to get to know the scenario in which the work would be performed and the reality of the place by the perspective of who really lives there.
This November, our CEO, Jean Pierre Cantaux, our Social-Environmental Projects Director, Mirella Vargas and our Forest Operations Director, Gustavo Baêsso, embarked, for the second time, on a trip to the state of Acre to get to know up close the reality of the Traditional Communities that inhabit the place where we will operate, and the Cooperatives and companies that play an important role in the region.
On this occasion, Canopée team was welcomed and accompanied by representatives of some organizations such as the Cooperativa Agroextrativista do Mapiá and Médio Purus (Cooperar), Aterelli Assessoria e Consultoria Ambiental and INE. This meeting was fundamental and of enormous value to the Canopée team, adding knowledge and enabling the understanding of a series of logistical, cultural, social, environmental issues, among others.
In the pictures we have José Antônio da Conceição Camilo: President of Cooperar; Renato Pereira: Forestry Technician at Aterelli; Marilda Moreira: Executive Coordinator at INE/Cooperar; José Geraldo Tranin: Industrial Operations Director at Cooperar
COOPERAR’s institutional expertise is to promote sustainable productive activities, which combine the generation of work and income with forest conservation, having 18 years of socio-productive performance in the Amazon. INE, on the other hand, develops and promotes projects that meet regenerative and syntropic actions, starting with a transformation that begins with the development of the individual and the involvement of human beings with nature.
Our Social- Environmental Projects Director, Mirella Vargas, reported about the visit:
“Hardly anyone could understand the complexity of acting in Acre by not visiting…. The welcome from the Uber to the Hotel was admirable and presented us with the profile of a cheerful, proactive, and attentive people, which remained the general rule. In front of the key leaderships, the sparkle in their eyes, the drive and determination again caught our attention. It is possible to notice technical competence and humility tied together in an incredible way. I don’t remember hearing any complaints, only the desire for change and the hope for what we were proposing. What a responsibility… The Canopée presents itself as a link between development and a voice that is slowly gaining life in the face of an old struggle. The opportunities to help are gigantic, but with proportional challenges.”
Regarding the communities visited, the Canopée team was amazed by the strong connection of the people with the elements of nature and biodiversity. The traditional peoples have the forest as their home, and for this reason they are true guardians of the waters, the soil, the biodiversity and the genetic patrimony, and therefore are important allies and fundamental pieces in the preservation of the Environment.
For us at Canopée, people and planet are the main focus. Therefore, for us to be able to fulfill our challenges and perform our work effectively, it is of utmost importance that we know the history from the perspective of those who live it up close and take into account the culture and way of life of the Forest People.
Canopée: Preparing Brazil for its best