The Federal Public Ministry (MPF) mediated an unprecedented agreement signed by the Guarani Jaraguá indigenous community and the government of São Paulo that recognizes the shared management of overlapping areas between the Jaraguá State Park and the Jaraguá Indigenous Land, says Agência Brasil.
The agreement was signed on may 8th in a ceremony in Aldeia Tekoa Pyau and representatives of the Secretariat of Environment, Infrastructure and Logistics of the State of São Paulo (Semil) were at the indigenous community.
The agreement includes mutual commitments to guarantee environmental preservation of the area. The joint territorial management plan provides for the right to free movement of indigenous people in the area, the sustainable management of natural resources such as bamboo, bark and seeds, the prohibition of hunting and the efforts of the indigenous community to recover springs.
“The importance of demarcating land is to guarantee fauna and flora, because trees do not only filter the lungs of the Guarani people — they guarantee air for all citizens. We must all be guardians of nature, we must all be guardians of the territories where life, fauna and flora still exist. So that is the importance of demarcation,” added indigenous leader Thiago Djekupe.
The Payment for Environmental Services Program (PSA) Guardians of the Forest will be maintainedand will include training of indigenous people as monitors and environmental brigade members. The agreement determines that any expansion of the villages will be previously discussed in the joint management plan in respect of the ecological balance of the conservation unit.
“We have been working to value territories, recognize the fundamental role of indigenous people in environmental preservation and advance policies such as payment for environmental services,” stated the Secretary of Environment, Infrastructure and Logistics of the State of São Paulo (Semil), Natália Resende.
The agreement is the first of its kind in a state conservation unit – a model previously restricted to federal parks, since indigenous demarcations are the responsibility of the Union. The document is a reference for future shared management processes, and the São Paulo government isexpected to repeat the formula in other areas with similar situations.
