PAITER SURUÍ FUND

Ecam was a partner in the implementation of the Suruí Carbon Project, created in 2007 by the Metareilá Association, with the support of environmental and indigenous organizations. The initiative arose from a demand from the Paiter Surui People for the creation of a financial mechanism for the management of the resources allocated and the implementation of the Ethno-Environmental Management Plan for the Sete de Setembro Indigenous Land (RO).

The project was created with the objective of financing protection, inspection activities, promoting the improvement of local capacity, supporting the commercialization of non-wood forest products, among others. With robust innovations and focused on strengthening indigenous autonomy, the Fund was structured to meet the determination to generate collective benefits, planning, organizing and making the capture, management and use of resources transparent, ensuring Paiter Surui governance in all stages and respecting traditional decision-making processes.

It also reveals itself as an adequate model to guide actions in the scope of the implementation of the National Policy for Territorial and Environmental Management of Indigenous Lands (PNGATI), as it presents strategies for financing local development initiatives in the short, medium and long term, as well as for the qualification and empowerment of indigenous managers and their leaders.

Another innovation of the Paiter Surui Fund was its performance as a financial mechanism for projects to Reduce Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+). In addition to conserving carbon stocks and sustainable forest management, the project adds additional benefits such as biodiversity conservation; improvement in the quality of communities’ life; maintenance of river basins; recovery of degraded areas and reforestation; and strengthening indigenous culture.

The Surui Paiter Fund was the first indigenous fund created in this category and currently serves as an inspiration for the design of financial mechanisms for the management of common resources and benefit sharing, which can be used by different indigenous peoples, by local non-indigenous communities and other interested stakeholders.