CONTEXTUALIZATION 

The state of Mato Grosso covers an area of 903,357 km². It has 141 municipalities, of which some 86 are part of the Amazon Biome, corresponding to an area of 480,215 km² (54%). The Cerrado biome (Hinterland) covers the central portion of the state, with 354,823 km² (39%), while the smaller area is part of the Pantanal biome (Marshland), in the south of the state, with 60,885 km² (7%).in the scope of the Amazon Fund, and its objectives were to foster the environmental recovery of 1,200 hectares of degraded areas and to revitalize family farming in six municipalities in the Portal of the Amazon region.

The occupation and economic growth of the state was based on the agricultural sector, with incentives to replace the forest with a variety of crops and cattle, which caused extreme damage as a result of high deforestation rates. Despite the substantial decline in deforestation over the last few years, the state of Mato Grosso has the largest accumulated deforested area in the Legal Amazon, with a proportion of approximately 34% of the total deforested are.

THE PROJECT

The project is structured into three sections. The first is to provide support to consolidate the system of protected areas, aimed at consolidating nine (9) state-run Conservation Units (CUs) through geo-referencing, demarcation and signage of the boundaries, besides fostering management of the CUs, through training, as well as physical and operational structuring.

The second focus involves strengthening inspection and state environmental licensing. Within this context, efforts will be made to foster modernized management of state forest resources by implementing a digital environmental licensing system, as well as expanding and intensifying inspection.

The last aim focuses on further decentralization of environmental management, while seeking to structure SEMA’s regional agencies to improve regional environmental licensing and inspection. In addition, it seeks to decentralize state environmental management by institutionally strengthening 40 municipal environmental secretariats located in the Amazon Biome.

INTERVENTION LOGIC

The project is part of the Monitoring and Control (2) and Territorial Planning (3) components of the Amazon Fund’s Logical Framework. 

Click on the following image to view its objectives tree, that is, how the project's outputs and linked to the expected outcomes and impact.

ACTIVITIES CONDUCTED

Georeferencing, demarcation, and signage activities were carried out in 11 state Conservation Units (CUs), which had already been formally established and are in the Legal Amazon:

• Rio Ronuro Ecological Station, Nova Ubiratã;
• Mãe Bonifácia City Park;
• "Zé Bolo Flô" State Park;
• Encontro das Águas State Park;
• Massairo Okamura State Park;
• Rio Madeirinha Ecological Station;
• Rio Roosevelt Ecological Station;
• Tucumã State Park;
• Igarapés do Juruena State Park;
• Cristalino I State Park;
• Flor do Prado Park.

To consolidate the state's protected areas through the adoption of agricultural practices without the use of fire, small farmers, agrarian reform settlers, and members of traditional communities around five CUs (Serra de Ricardo Franco and Serra de Santa Bárbara State Parks, Guariba Roosevelt Extractive Reserve, Rio Roosevelt Ecological Station, and Igarapés do Juruena State Park) were trained. Educational and preventive campaigns on fire usage were conducted, mobilizing 10,825 people through lectures, seminars, and educational campaigns on fires and illegal deforestation.

Personal protective equipment and tools for combating forest fires were purchased, along with information technology (IT) equipment and vehicles to equip two advanced fire-fighting units, based in the northwest of the state (in the municipalities of Colniza and Nova Ubiratã) for immediate response to the CUs. Additionally, 357 volunteer firefighters were trained in municipalities surrounding seven CUs.

The IT infrastructure for environmental licensing was expanded (high-performance computers for large volumes of data and geoprocessing images and new software to ensure the stability of databases) to support the increased demand required by the Integrated Environmental Management System (SIGA), which was implemented to digitize 100% of state environmental licensing processes. The architecture, as well as some modules of SIGA, such as the Water Resources Module, are already in use. The Industry and Services Licensing Module (SUIMIS) and Forest Licensing Module (SUGEF) will be delivered soon.

IT equipment, digital cameras, mobile phones, vehicles, motorcycles, boats, and various other support equipment were also purchased to intensify monitoring and environmental enforcement activities and to decentralize and strengthen environmental management in the nine regional units of Sema (directorates), which are carried out by their technicians. Additionally, Sema’s enforcement team is being trained through various courses.

As part of the decentralization of environmental management, which includes activities to strengthen state environmental management through the decentralization of SEMA's activities, 40 municipalities benefiting from the project were qualified to carry out environmental licensing through the publication of ordinances and the execution of the Technical Cooperation Agreement, which makes them responsible for local environmental management. Equipment and vehicles were also purchased to strengthen the activities carried out by the municipal environmental departments. Nearly all the new municipal environmental departments' headquarters, as planned in the project, have begun construction.

A mobilization and awareness event entitled "Exchange of Experiences between Municipal Managers" was held, along with eight multiplier courses under the State Environmental Education Program, with a total of 366 graduates, including students, teachers, cooperative and union representatives, extension technicians, community agents, civil servants, and rural producers.

The GPWeb project management system was implemented, with continuous training provided for servers in the use of the system for the execution, monitoring, and supervision of the project’s subcomponents.

SEMA built a dedicated channel on its official website to promote and sell products from the sociobiodiversity produced by traditional communities and family farmers in Mato Grosso.