Experimental Platform for the Management of Rural Territories in Legal Amazonia (PETRA)

The Amazon basin is an area of major ecological importance. After 50 years of a high rate of deforestation, the policies of the Federal Government of Brazil and the governments of the Amazonian states have significantly reduced the deforestation rate in the State of Mato Grosso. 

La Fazenda Sao Nicolau, a site selected in the context of the reforestation and carbon sink project (PCFPO), has set out to define and disseminate good practices for the sustainable development of rural properties. 

La Fazenda is an original basic tool which the Experimental Platform for the Management of Rural Territories in Legal Amazonia (PETRA) project aims to use as a basis: wooded area, basic infrastructure, economic entity 100% dedicated to sustainable production systems, experiments on forestry and agricultural issues, strong local integration in the network of municipal and federal actors. 

 

The program is based on five components: 

• The promotion of economically and ecologically efficient production systems integrated into  high-potential and promising sectors and based on good practices and technical itineraries adapted to the various local socioeconomic actors
• The definition and implementation of research/training programs closely related to the needs of stakeholders – social and economic actors, public authorities –, which will strengthen the dialogue between research and its public and private users
• Contribute to building the capacities of economic actors and public authorities to promote a wide adoption of sustainable production systems and to integrating considerations related to sustainability in public policies and support instruments
• Set up a system for the management of information and the monitoring of sustainable territorial development integrating social, economic and ecological indicators and able to contribute to the evaluation of public policies
• Ensure the financial sustainability of Fazenda Sao Nicolau and the institutional sustainability of the PETRA platform. 

The main expected outcomes of the project are to contribute to a sustainable management of natural resources in the area: 

• Improvement in local production systems;
• Improvement in biodiversity conservation;
• Implementation of research programs and reception facilities at university level;
• Improvement in the socioeconomic conditions of local communities.