Serving as a coordinator between the federal and state governments and the city governments of the municipalities that make up the Pratigi Environmental Protection Area (EPA), located in the Bahia Southern Lowlands. This is one of the priorities of the Pratigi EPA Intermunicipal Consortium (CIAPRA), an associated supported by the Odebrecht Foundation that supports actions designed to contribute, together with local administration, toward the development of the cities of Ituberá, Igrapiúna, Nilo Peçanha, Piraí do Norte and Ibirapitanga. Its initiatives are geared toward the implementation and improvement of the services, infrastructure and the social and production actions in their area of operations, strengthening public policies.

The construction of 170 homes in the region through the Brazilian Federal Government’s My House, My Life Program, is one example. CIAPRA supported Igrapiúna, Nilo Peçanha, Piraí do Norte and Ibirapitanga with the elaboration of the Local Plans for Housing of Social Interest, as well as with the dialogue with the Ministry of Cities.

In the environmental areas, the consortium advised the city governments of Ituberá and Piraí do Norte to win the right to grant the environmental permit for completing activities and developments with local impact. This result is the product of the proposal that CIAPRA presented the Bahia Environmental Department for it to join the Shared Environmental Management initiative – a program that fulfills a guideline of the Bahia Government to decentralize public management. “We are improving, in a coordinated and planned fashion, the sustainable development of the region,” said Heráclito Leite, Mayor of Piraí do Norte and President of CIAPRA.

The city governments also received support for CIAPRA for the elaboration, implementation and delivery of the institutional documents necessary for the proposal to amend the popular initiative for approval together with the Brazilian National Congress Mixed Budget Commission. The amendments are designed to democratize the distribution of financial resources from the Federal Government’s General Budget, giving the municipalities the chance to present their needs and include them in the planning.