Thuanny Vieira/EII

With the aim of supporting the structuring of the Jurisdictional REDD+ Program in the state of Pará, Earth Innovation Institute (EII) together with Produzindo Certo met with the Pará State Secretariat for the Environment (SEMA), the Federation of Agriculture and Livestock of Pará (FAEPA) and other entities representing the productive sector, between May 26 and 28, in Belém, Pará, to present the project "The Participatory Construction of a State Incentive Program for Forest Carbon in the Livestock Sector of Pará". The project aims to engage the productive sector in building a sub-program of incentives to reconcile increased productivity and production in livestock farming with forest conservation.

In addition to strengthening Jurisdictional REDD+ in Pará, support is also planned for the Native Vegetation Recovery Plan (PRVN-PA) and the Program for Integrity and Development of the State's Cattle Production Chain. In addition, mapping and analysis of the production sector and the engagement of producers in the REDD+ Program to build its sub-programs are also planned for this year.

For EII's executive director, Daniel Nepstad, Pará is at the center of environmental policy attention as it will host the world's largest climate change event, the United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP 30, in 2025, and it is up to the EII to support both the productive sector and the Pará state government in developing its own REDD+ program to encourage the conservation and recovery of forests and cattle ranches. "Our project here in Pará is to support the productive sector, a powerful sector, with more than 26 million head of cattle in the state alone, and in order to succeed in this audacious goal, we need to gain the trust of the productive sector and collaborate with the state to sell carbon credits at state level through the Jurisdictional REDD+ mechanism."

The head of livestock at Produzindo Certo, Carolina Barreto, assessed the meeting and reinforced the objective of the Program: "The meeting was great, with a lot of support from the FAEPA board and some important referrals to access all the rural unions at an event of theirs, which will already be here in Belém next week. We discussed what Produzindo Certo can offer and what the Earth Innovation Institute can offer. I believe that the partnership is valuable and that the moment is positive in Pará, despite all the challenges we are currently facing. Our goal is to help producers increase their production capacity and get more benefits from it, as well as raising the state's production level with sustainable meat in the Amazon, taking advantage of the many initiatives that are already underway and that can be improved."

Zootechnician and FAEPA director Guilherme Minssen, also spokesperson for FAEPA president Carlos Xavier, declared the meeting to be extremely positive. "The meeting was extremely positive, I think the project has everything to add to the agricultural activity here in Pará, President Carlos Xavier even mentioned that the proposals presented surprised him because of the great opportunities, we congratulate the whole team and we make ourselves available to build this program".

In addition to representatives from the government and Faepa, the Pará Breeders' Association (Acripará), the Pará Strong Livestock Association (APPF) and the Pará Rural Livestock Association (ARPP) also took part.

Photos by Lucélia Avi