Chestnut trees, rubber tappers, pirarucu handlers, açaí palms, seed collectors, artisanal fishermen, indigenous leaders, as well as supporters and partners will discuss public policies for the protection of extractive territories and the development of economies and products of socio-biodiversity
From August 31st to September 6th, Brasília will host the 2023 Sociobiodiversity Week, one of the most important events in the country focused on the extractive activities of traditional peoples and communities, bringing together collectives of organizations from the rubber, pirarucu and nut production chains. -amazon. The event will take place at the headquarters of the National Confederation of Rural Workers, Farmers and Family Farmers (Contag). The complete schedule is available on the website. www.semanadasociobio.com.br.
More than 230 people, including chestnut trees, rubber tappers and pirarucu handlers, as well as supporters and partners, will gather for a series of debates on socio-environmental public policies, with a focus on guaranteeing the rights and quality of life of forest peoples, and inserting products in markets. There will also be an agenda in the National Congress and dialogue tables with government representatives on the development of socio-biodiversity value chains.
The objective is to come up with solutions that reconcile economic development with biodiversity conservation, recognizing the fundamental importance of knowledge and the way of life of traditional peoples, in addition to the interdependence between ecosystem conservation, social equity and environmental responsibility.
Theme
This year’s Sociobiodiversity Week debates the theme “Strengthening Sustainable Economies, People, Cultures and Generations”, to foster internal technical-political articulation between these chains, in addition to strengthening the understanding of these productions as the fruit of ancestral cultures of sustainable forest management .
The meeting will also serve to unify the political action of these peoples, with the aim of influencing public policies that strengthen the recognition of these chains as environmental services of great importance for maintaining the climate on the planet, as well as the living forest.
The week will bring together extractivist leaders from states such as Acre, Amazonas, Amapá, Mato Grosso, Pará, Rondônia and Roraima, among others.
“For us, this integration between representatives of Amazonian socio-biodiversity is very important, as they are the true protagonists of these economies and will present the demands and challenges of each of the value chains that make up the Amazon”, says Dione Torquato, secretary- of the National Council of Extractive Populations (CNS).
Programming
The Sociobiodiversity Week program will be divided into two moments: from 08/31 to 09/03 there will be the Sectorial Moment, where the collectives will be able to dialogue and build, together, specific actions for the value chains. In the following days, from 04 to 06/09, the event will have a Political Agenda related to socio-biodiversity and to dialogue with the authorities in the National Congress and the Federal Executive.
Activities include round tables, panels, plenary sessions, debates and political meetings between extractivists and organizations. In addition, on September 4th, there will be a formal session in the Chamber of Deputies, in honor of Amazon Day, celebrated annually on 9/5.
“The program was strategically designed to help build a political agenda beneficial to value chains and also to work individually with each of these collectives that work with socio-biodiversity products,” explains Jéssica Souza, socio-environmental analyst at Memorial Chico Mendes (MCM ) and technical assistant at the Association of Rural Producers of Carauari (Asproc).
Sociobiodiversity Fair
The Sociobiodiversity Products Fair will be a special moment in which different products from extractive communities will be sold and appreciated. This initiative aims to highlight the richness and diversity of socio-biodiversity products, fundamental for food security, health, culture and livelihood of traditional communities.
In addition to being a gastronomic and cultural experience, the Sociobio Products fair also aims to raise awareness of the importance of supporting socio-biodiversity economies, valuing products and encouraging conscious and sustainable consumption.
The fair will be a true socio-biodiversity market, where visitors will be able to learn about and purchase a wide variety of fair trade and organic products from the Amazon. Products such as Amazon nuts, essential oils, handicrafts made with raw materials from the forest, sustainable fashion items, organic foods and tastings of pirarucu fish will be offered and sold.
Youth
The Extractivist Youth plays a leading role during the Sociobiodiversity Week. A plenary session will be held with the objective of encouraging the training and awareness of young people in the construction of policies aimed at territories where there are forest economies, especially those of usufruct, housing and management of extractive communities.
The event is organized by the National Council of Extractive Populations (CNS), Chico Mendes Memorial, Chico Mendes Committee, Chestnut Collective, Castanha-da-Amazônia Observatory (OCA), Pirarucu Collective, Taste of the Amazon, Observatory of Sociobiodiversity Economies (ÓSocioBio), International Institute of Education of Brazil (IEB), WWF-Brasil, Native Amazon Operation (OPAN) and Socio-Environmental Institute (ISA). In addition, it has the support and partnership of more than 25 socio-environmental institutions that work in defense of the peoples of the Amazon rainforest.
SERVICE:
WHAT: Sociobiodiversity Week
WHEN: From 08/31 to 09/06
WHAT TIME: From 8:30 am to 6:00 pm
WHERE: CONTAG headquarters (SMPW Q 1 – Núcleo Bandeirantes, Brasília – DF)
