Brazil and  São Tomé e Príncipe – 7^th of September 2015 EXPO Milan

On 7 September 2015, the State Secretary of Environment of Amazonas, Antonio Ademir  Stroški, Ruggero Tozzo, President of the ONG and ONLUS Alisei and member of the Board of Directors of Januaforum (Ligurian Association for International Relations), and member of the International Activities Network of Liguria / RAIL, and Claudio Rissicini, Coordinator of the “Project of Integrated Local Development in the Alto Solimões region – Amazonas – Brazil Proximo”, and founding member of Januaforum, met in Milan at the Brazil EXPO pavilion and later in the São Tomé e Príncipe pavilion with the Director of the EXPO Milan National Commission of São Tomé e Príncipe (CNEM), Walter Hugo Silva.

During the meeting in the Brazil pavilion the possibility of developing the relationships among Italy, in particular Januaforum, and the State Department of Environment of Amazonas in various sectors was examined:

1) Implementation of the Project for the Environmental Safeguard and Sustainable Development of the Alto Solimões region. It involves working in partnership with the State Department of Environment of Amazonas (SEMA) for the implementation of the project, with a special focus on the co-funding seeking, in particular with public and private Italian institutions, and developing awareness activities to foster the consciousness about the necessity of preserving the regional natural heritage, which is very important for the global ecosystem. To this end, the project has to include one or more buildings will need to be constructed in Urumutm (Tabatinga) in order to host the SEMA technicians, for the training of technicians and professionals from the environment sector; with particular focus on environmental protection and to develop necessary skills to harmonize the human activities and the enormous Amazonia natural heritage.

2) At the meeting in the São Tomé e Príncipe pavilion the possibilities of developing a triangular partnership for the promotion of the cooperation among Italy, São Tomé e Príncipe and Brazil was examined; also within the framework of the ongoing actions of the Project of Inclusive Development of Lemba District (DILEMBA) in São Tomé, co-financed by the European Commission, the Lemba District Chamber and Alisei Ong-Onlus, manager of the project. In particular connected with the activities carried out by Alisei and São Tomé e Príncipe, especially the implementation of the “Lemba District Plan of Integrated Sustainable and Inclusive Developing” which aims, among other solutions in almost all the sectors of life and of economic and social development in the Country, to identify the most adequate tool to solve the dichotomy between the need for timber and those of the forest and of the National Park of Obo; quite important for the ecologic, environmental equilibrium and the sustainable tourism development. The Amazonas state developed and implemented a policy of complete alignment of these various requirements, and apparently incompatible, through the tool of “Forestal sustainable Management Plains”, in particular on “small scale” and “communities”. The idea would be using those “plans” as a model for São Tomé e Principe, obviously adapting them to the local situation, but maintaining an approach of rational usage of forestal resources with high environmental sustainability that characterize them. In the mean time, developing a triangular cooperation among the DILEMBA Project (Alisei, District Chamber, UE), the Forestal Board of São Tomé e Príncipe and SEMA Amazonas with the objective of creating technical and regulatory tools that Amazonas might help to realize in São Tomé e Príncipe.

3) Economic development and environment. SEMA is interested in experiences in connection to the themes of the binomial development/environment; in this regard, the Secretary Antonio Stroški has been informed of the elaboration work of the “Sustainable and Integrated Development District Plan of Lemba in São Tomé e Principe”. Obviously differentiating from scale to scale due to the dimension of Manaus and Amazonas, the necessity of harmonizing the industrial development in Amazonas, Manaus and the protected areas and parks localized in the areas close to the State capital; there is, therefore, the necessity of economic and territorial planning, with the purpose that the various usages of the territory do not get in conflict with one another. The Secretary valued this experience as extremely interesting and that might be replied in “Grande Manaus”, with a special attention for the impact caused in the management of the area (or perhaps it is better to say lack of management) by the urban solid waste and industrial waste. Also regarding this activity a triangulation among Italy – Brazil -  São Tomé e Príncipe may be created. These issues extend across the three countries; in the case of São Tomé e Príncipe, the district of Lemba where the capital city of Neves is located is considered the industrial development centre, just like Manaus.

4) Parks and Protected Areas. During the conversation SEMA revealed a strong interest of in knowing the operation of the parks system, and its usage in Italy, since the Amazonas State has many parks and protected areas; one-third of the São Tomé e Príncipe territory is part of the National Park of Obo. Beyond the problem of the “sustainable development”, already mentioned in the previous paragraph, there is also the necessity to address the issue of the usage of this heritage, and the desire that it is fully enjoyed by the population, especially by youth and students; building a generation of young people attentive and aware of the environmental questions. From this point of view, the Italian and European experiences might be useful for the “increasing” of the green tourism, that in addition to promoting, training and intensifying a generalized environmental conscience, could be the agent of the sustainable economic development.

For Januaforum                                                      For the Secretary of Environment of Amazonas

Ruggero Tozzo                                                                                            Antonio Ademir Stroški

 Sergio Schintu

 For the EXPO Milan National Commission of São Tomé e Príncipe

Walter Hugo Silva

SOURCE: www.januaforum.it