2023-05-17 16:00:00
More than 300 leaders of indigenous peoples, extractivist populations and quilombolas from nine states in the Amazon participated in the II Encontro Energias e Comunidades, which took place in Belém, Pará, from May 9th to 11th. At the end of the meeting, a carta with claims of the peoples of the Amazon was published.
Divided into three parts to address the specificities of indigenous peoples, quilombolas and extractivists, the document lists challenges, needs and requirements. Quilombolas, for example, mention that energy would improve access to education, security and food sovereignty.
“Communities in the Quilombola Territories see energy passing through their territories, but they don’t receive it in their homes. We are the owners of water, rivers and territories. Therefore, accessing energy is our right”, point out the quilombolas.
For indigenous peoples and extractivists, one of the main points of discussion is how energy should arrive. The document reinforces the need for consultation on the territories and dispenses with works that arrive without dialogue, guidance and compensation.
“It makes us indignant that energy is available for invaders of our territories and not for us who protect it”, says an excerpt from the document about indigenous peoples.
During the II Energy and Communities Meeting, the leaders of the Amazon were able to dialogue with representatives of the federal government from the ministries of Mines and Energy, Environment, Development and Social Assistance, Family and Fight against Hunger and Agrarian Development and Family Agriculture, in addition to the Agência National Electricity Regulatory Agency (Aneel) and general secretariat of the presidency.
“Leaders were able to present their demands and hear from government representatives how the implementation of public policies related to energy, production, communication, health and several other policies that depend on electricity is going,” pointed out the natural resources analyst at the Instituto Socioambiental (ISA), Ciro Campos.
A study by the Institute of Energy and the Environment (Iema) estimates that almost one million people in the Amazon still live without energy. The federal government has until 2030 to resolve this situation through the “More Light for the Amazon” program.
However, the leaders took advantage of the meeting to ask for speed. The meeting was organized by Rede Energia e Comunidades, formed by several non-governmental organizations.
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