Pratigi Environmental Protection Area (EPA) Elected Mayors’ Meeting was held on October 26. Promoted by the Pratigi EPA Inter-Municipal Consortium (CIAPRA), the event took place at the auditorium of the Papuã Center in Ibirapitanga under the theme of Governance and Public Policies in the Pratigi EPA.

The programming included lectures focused on municipal administration, such as the presentation of the Tax Administration and Basic Social Sector Management Modernization Program promoted by Brazil’s National Economic and Social Development Bank (BNDES), focused on modernizing management and improving the quality of public spending. “The mayor and team need tools to develop their work,” said CIAPRA consultant Maria Helena Oliveira. “This ranges from physical infrastructure to professional training,” she said.

Agroecotourism and its introduction at the Pratigi EPA served as the topic of another presentation. The proposal is to encourage the implementation of a model that combines the tourism activity with the valorization of agricultural work and conservation of natural resources. “It is a modern instrument based on the converging of interests between tourists and local residents,” said Joaquim Cardoso, Chairman of the Land Conservation Organization (OCT) Board of Trustees.

There were also lectures about PDCIS and its contributions for the Southern Lowlands, by Mauricio Medeiros, Executive Chairman of the Odebrecht Foundation; the importance of citizenship actions, by Maria Celeste, Executive Director of the Rights and Citizenship Institute; and the contribution of cooperativism for the generation of work and income, by the Leader of the Manioc and Fruit Cultivation Cooperative Alliance Juscelino Macedo. “The proposal is to offer high quality products to our clients and allow the rural workers to receive good pay,” said Macedo. There was also a promotion of discussions focused on the mayor’s role as leader and administrator, basic and professional education, urban solid waste and the restoration of flows of life, such as water, soil, flora and fauna, human beings and their businesses