Cuida! Amazon Climate Advocacy
By Tricia Oliveira, WWF-Brazil
Training in political advocacy for climate brings together 38 young people and women from all the Brazilian states of the Legal Amazon for lectures, workshops, exchanges of experiences and dialogues with the legislative and executive branches in Brasilia
Political advocacy is an essential tool in the fight for rights.
In the territories, this is often not exactly how this practice is called, but there has always been an understanding that it is necessary to demand from governments, parliaments and other spaces and authorities, effective public policies that guarantee dignity and better living conditions, especially in the current climate emergency scenario.
“We are experiencing a movement to strengthen our self-esteem in this process of advocacy, especially in the Amazon. Advocacy is done not only within our territories, but especially outside of them to further show our plural identities and who the protagonists are,” says Alícia Miranda, a 25-year-old from Amapá, from the Utopia Negra collective and a member of the Plantaformas Movement collective.
It is in line with Alícia’s train of thought that the Voices for Just Climate Action (VAC) program, in partnership with the Climate Observatory, brought together 38 young people and women from the nine states of the Legal Amazon in Brasilia for the training Cuida! Amazon Climate Advocacy. (Cuida, in some amazonic regions slang translates simultaneously to take care and hurry up!).
“A solução em geral está nas novas gerações. O caminho é colocar na juventude todo esse conhecimento sobre a questão ambiental, sobre a questão climática e sobre os problemas sociais da região amazônica”, ressaltou Sueli Araújo, do Observatório do Clima, que participou como facilitadora do bloco “A incidência como ela é – Executivo, Legislativo e Judiciário“.
In addition to Suely and her numerous political experiences, the program also covered the topics of “Climate Justice and Environmental Racism – The reality of the effects of climate change on the most vulnerable populations and how to influence policy” with Andreia Coutinho (CBJC) and Angela Mendes (Chico Mendes Committee); “Climate Change in the Amazon – The picture of the causes and effects of human action in the Biome and its relationship with Climate in the world” with Ane Alencar (IPAM/OC); “Municipal Elections and Climate”, with Sarah Darcie, from Clima de Eleição; and a round table discussion on international advocacy connected to local territories, with Sineia do Vale Wapichana, president of the Indigenous Committee on Climate Change (CIMC) and co-chair for Latin America and the Caribbean of the Indigenous Caucus, the International Indigenous Peoples’ Climate Change Forum.
“We want to contribute with more knowledge about the climate issue itself to help the movements that are there in the territory to act in a more robust way, to achieve more effective results, to be able to make more elaborate proposals and demands,” says Suely Araújo.
Cuida! in the Executive Branch
The Cuida training process was designed so that, in addition to theory, participants could also be involved in Brasília’s spaces of power in practice.
To this end, it promoted visits to public authorities in the federal capital.
We met with the team from the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change (MMA) to get to know and discuss the Climate Adaptation Plan, the country’s strategy for reducing vulnerabilities to climate change and managing risks. The Cuida delegation was welcomed by Inamara Melo, the MMA’s general coordinator for adaptation to climate change. “All climate models converge to show that climate change is already a reality. These impacts are very real and severe. A moment like this is absolutely necessary and makes us reflect on our actions and our ability to deal with the problems. It’s very important to have spaces to meet with you,” said Inamara.
After the presentation of the Climate Plan and its building process, the participants spoke in plenary and were then divided into three groups with representatives from the National Secretariat for Traditional Peoples and Communities, the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples (MPI) and the Ministry of Cities, bodies that will be responsible for three of the fifteen sectoral plans in the Climate Adaptation Plan.
“We need to strengthen the participation of people who have historically been excluded from decision-making spaces. We have to create opportunities for these people to occupy the spaces that are making the decisions that affect their lives on various issues, but in this context we are talking about climate adaptation, mitigation and climate resilience actions,” says Rogenir Costa, VAC’s focal point in Brazil.
Rener Rabelo, from the Movement for Popular Sovereignty in Mining (MAM), stressed the importance of popular participation in the construction of public policies:
“There’s no point in thinking and making a perfect plan, with all the goals, if in the end the government itself continues to authorize the entry of major projects into the territories.
We know that it’s not natural; it’s anthropogenic, and we know what causes it.
A mining or hydroelectric project is what makes people vulnerable.
The government itself doesn’t listen to the communities and then authorizes the projects.”
Many young people have visited these spaces of power for the first time, as is the case with Alícia.
“Maybe in 10 years’ time we’ll have a slightly better perspective on how people feel in these decision-making spaces. I hope that at some point in the future we’ll be able to feel not only that we belong, but that it’s a space we can occupy too,” concludes Alícia.
Sayonara Adinkra, from the Plantaformas Movement, drew attention to the effectiveness of the participation methods.
“There needs to be a real campaign of communication, dissemination and education about what the Participatory Brazil process and the Climate Plan are all about, which is taking place online to gather proposals from society. You can’t say that this plan is participatory because it’s just a link on the internet open to contributions and proposals from society.”
Chico Mendes’ living legacy
The second day of Cuida began with our delegation coloring the auditorium Freitas Nobre of the Chamber of Deputies, during the “Tribute to Chico Mendes, Living Memory, Present Struggle!” The ceremony began with an opening by Angela Mendes, president of the Chico Mendes Committee, which is part of VCA’S Communicative Youth Network Coalition.
“If we say that Chico is alive, he is also celebrating his birthday, since his ideas and the seeds he sowed are still alive and some of them are here. They are the seeds of the Forest Peoples’ Alliance, in this context renamed the Amazon Alliance, represented here by indigenous, riverine, quilombola and extractivist youth. And as in the letter my father wrote, these young people who are here also represent revolutionary youth. So, through them, we intertwine two of Chico’s legacies, his letter to the youth of the future and the alliance he signed with Ailton Krenak, between extractivists and indigenous peoples,” said Angela.
The tribute was attended by federal deputies Chico Alencar (PT/RJ), Nilton Tatto (PT/SP), Célia Xakriabá (PSOL/MG), Talíria Petrone (PSOL/RJ) and Socorro Neri (PP/AC), as well as the president of IBAMA (Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources , Rodrigo Agostinho. But the highlight was the inspired speeches from young people, such as Samsara Nukini, who is part of the Aliança das Amazônias campaign. “We bring the legacy of these people who have already died or been murdered for our territory, which thanks to these defenders is still standing today. But we are still fighting for land demarcation. We are still threatened and it’s not easy to put yourself on the front line,” she said emotionally.
In addition to Samsara, the civil society panel was also made up of Catia Santos and Marciana Moura, from the Varadouro Collective; Zezé Weis, from the magazine Xapuri Socioambiental; Karla Martins, from Casa Ninja Amazônia; and Ana Luiza de Lima, General Coordinator of the Chico Mendes Committee. All these voices echoed the feelings of love, recognition and responsibility towards the legacy built by the honoree, the national patron of the environment.
The training, which had already started with an online module that discussed “what is advocacy”, will continue until November with another 3 online modules and a face-to-face closing to further qualify the understanding of political advocacy, climate change, environmental racism, climate justice and nature-based solutions. Cuida! is run by VCA Brazil’s Regional Team VCA program in partnership with the Climate Observatory, a network of civil society organizations that is a Brazilian and global reference on the climate agenda. Since 2021, VAC has been working to empower young people and women to take a leading role in the climate agenda and to occupy decision-making spaces. The VCA Brazil Regional Team is made up of WWF-Brazil, Fundación Avina, Hivos, the International Education Institute of Brazil (IEB) and the Fundo Casa Socioambiental. and supports more than 80 organizations working in the Legal Amazon.
Click below to check out the graphic facilitation material produced during the training. Graphic Facilitation – Cuida!
Graphic Facilitation – Cuida!
Graphic Facilitation – Cuida!
