Producers in Serra do Salitre embrace resilience to climate change

With the PIPC methodology expanding the Cerrado Cerrado das Águas region, producers and public authorities are promoting resilience to climate change in the Ribeirão Grande basin.

PIPC methodology is expanded to the Ribeirão Grande basin in Serra do Salitre.

In June 2021, the Cerrado das Águas Consortium (CCA), a collaborative platform that brings together efforts from companies, government, and civil society for environmental preservation and conservation to build resilience to climate change, took a major step towards its goal by expanding its methodology to Serra do Salitre.

The platform, which unites various members of the production chain to work together towards this objective in river basins, began applying the methodology in the Rio Grande basin in the aforementioned municipality and celebrates the first months of involvement from rural producers, coffee growers' cooperatives, and the public sector.

For the mayor of Serra do Salitre, Paulo Giovani Silveira de Melo (Joca), the partnership is seen as complementary to the municipal effort in environmental preservation.

“The arrival of the Cerrado das Águas Consortium and the partnership established with the municipality of Serra do Salitre is viewed extremely positively. The agenda for the preservation of water sources and springs, the recovery of Permanent Preservation Areas, and soil management activities are activities present in our Government Plan, and the municipality was seeking alternatives to implement them. This partnership was the key point for the largest number of properties to be included. I am certain that the population of Serra do Salitre will be the greatest beneficiary. The Municipal Administration will spare no effort to ensure that this partnership is successful and lasting,”

States the mayor.

The engagement of the municipal public authorities made it a key partner, a term given by the CCA to those who formally engage with counterpart contributions to leverage the implementation of the PIPC methodology strategies. In a live broadcast launching the methodology, the Municipal Secretary of the Environment, Augusto Peres, also declared the importance of the initiative for Serra do Salitre.

“The issue of preserving springs, watercourses, and protected areas is a focus that the city hall has been trying to work on for a long time. I believe that without the CCA (Conscious Producer Council), we wouldn't be able to achieve such great results. We are planning to monitor more than 150 rural properties. The city hall welcomes the initiative and we understand that, despite the existing legal obligation of producers regarding protected areas, springs, and permanent preservation areas, it is a socio-environmental measure that directly impacts the municipality's population. The Rio Grande basin, which is the city's main water supply source, has great tourism potential; therefore, indirectly, the entire population will benefit,”

Assesses the secretary.

Optimistic and engaged producers

Through the PIPC – Conscious Producer Investment Program, the CCA offers alternatives and strategies for the preservation of natural resources and, consequently, the fight against the effects of climate change. The risk analysis and strategies are described in the PIP – Individual Property Plan, whose method of implementing the proposed strategies jointly within the hydrographic basin is discussed individually with each producer.

The PIPC is a program developed by CCA whose main characteristic is its engagement network, from producers who live and work in the basin, permeating the entire coffee production chain, to coffee buyers anywhere in the world, including local actors such as prosecutors, associations, and public authorities.

After the development of the methodology, which has yielded positive results in the pilot project in the Córrego Feio basin in Patrocínio, producers from Serralitrense have shown optimism and engagement in this collaborative work method. Producer Eduardo Lana approves of the initiative and reveals that he has been waiting for years for something like this to participate and contribute to the common good.

“I have always sought to engage in these environmental issues. I usually say that my second business is agriculture, because the first is planting trees. In the Grande stream basin there is a large number of springs and I have been concerned about them for a long time. We have several problems with river water and fire, and it's difficult to do it alone. I am already helping to publicize the initiative with other producers, we will strive for it. My property will always be open to whatever is needed,”

Emphasizes Lana.

Producer Vera Lúcia Pazoto believes that the initiatives will be beneficial, strengthening producers in actions to preserve and care for the environment.

“I have already received the first visits and I found it interesting, both for the methodology presented and for the environment for discussions of environmental issues, so I believe that any way of encouraging the protection of the soil and natural ecosystems benefits the entire community, especially the maintenance of the water supply from the springs, so, from my point of view, I am very pleased to be part of a team that cares about the environment.”

Vera Lúcia states.

About the Cerrado das Águas Consortium

Created in 2015 in Patrocínio, Minas Gerais, the Cerrado das Águas Consortium aims to raise awareness among producers in the region about the importance of their environmental assets through diagnosis and investment in them, ensuring their long-term preservation.

The initiative has the following companies as associated members: Nescafé, Expocaccer, Nespresso, Lavazza, Cooxupé, CofCo, Volcafé, Stockler, in addition to supporting institutions such as the Cerrado Coffee Growers Federation, CerVivo, Imaflora, and IEB – International Institute of Education of Brazil.

In 2019, the pilot project received US$400,000 from the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) to implement the program that will initially promote investment in and protection of natural ecosystems found on more than 100 properties along the Córrego Feio basin. The amount is the largest grant ever awarded by the CEPF, which has demanding donors such as the French Development Agency (AFD), the European Union, the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the Government of Japan, and the World Bank.

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Image credits: CCA Archive