Between February 7 and 9, Fiotec professionals attended the 2nd Meeting of Partners of the Project for the Protection of Indigenous and Traditional Peoples of Brazil, in Rio Branco (AC). Together, Fiotec and Fiocruz make up the consortium led by WWF Brasil. The initiative sees the need to ensure the physical protection of these groups against illegal invasions, to make sure they can carry out their important functions of guaranteeing the subsistence of their own populations.
In addition to the state of Acre, the consortium also works in two other regions, in Rondônia and in the Tapajós area. Overall, these are 32 protected areas, home to almost 50,000 people. The project works on four fronts: territory monitoring and protection; management of local sustainable chains of value; mitigation of mercury contamination due to illegal gold mining; and strengthening of public and political participation. “Fiotec works specifically in the axis of health and illegal gold mining, with the goal of evaluating mercury contamination and its effects on health. This front plans mercury control measures and works to achieve transparency of the legal procedures related to illegal mining”, explained Aline Rafaela, the analyst responsible for the project at Fiotec, and who also attended the Meeting. In addition to Rafaela, the institution was also represented by Lidiane Lima and Sara Junker.
Rafaela said that aligning the planning and execution of activities involving eight different institutions has been challenging. “Each of them is responsible for specific actions within the consortium, and they are not always interconnected, but they must always proceed in sync. In addition to Fiotec, Fiocruz and WWF Brasil itself, the consortium also consists of the Kanindé Ethno-environmental Defense Association, the Pro-Indigenous Commission of Acre (CPI-Acre), the Chico Mendes Committee, the Waters Pact, the Health and Joy Project, the Institute for Forest Handling and Certification (Imaflora), and tens of other partner associations.
The Sergio Arouca National School of Public Health (Ensp/Fiocruz) was also represented in the meeting early that month. Within the context of the consortium, researcher Paulo Basta coordinates the Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Pregnant Women and Newborns Exposed to Mercury in the Amazon, which follows women of these communities during their pregnancies and up until their children are two years old. The goal is to closely evaluate the effects of pre-natal exposure to mercury on infant neurodevelopment.
According to Rafaela, a new visit to the Munduruku indigenous lands, in the medium Tapajós, is scheduled for March, so that the teams involved in the consortium can get to know the reality faced by the peoples benefited by the initiative.
With information from the Ensp/Fiocruz portal.
