De Potencial a Ação: Omecs e Conservação Inclusiva no Brasil

The document examines how traditional communities in western Bahia, such as the Fecho de Pasto Clemente and Beira Rio, maintain the Cerrado biome through sustainable practices like extensive cattle grazing. It highlights the severe threats posed by industrial agribusiness, including land grabbing and water depletion, and argues that formal recognition of these territories as Omecs or TICCAs is essential for inclusive conservation and social justice.

• Traditional communities in western Bahia, including those practicing 'fecho de pasto' (pasture closures), are the primary agents for maintaining biodiversity in the region, as their socio-economic activities are compatible with the conservation of the Cerrado and watercourses.
• The Cerrado biome has faced massive vegetation loss, with 40.5 million hectares of native vegetation lost between 1985 and 2024, a 28% decrease, with a high concentration of this loss in the Matopiba region since 2005.
• Industrial agribusiness is the main driver of deforestation and degradation in western Bahia, utilizing irregular land appropriation and excessive water extraction for irrigation, which displaces traditional systems and reduces native fauna.
• The 'fecho de pasto' system is a key socio-ecological model for preserving the Cerrado, characterized by a duality between residential/crop areas and collective grazing areas known as 'soltas' or 'gerais' that undergo minimal ecosystem alteration.
• The Beira Rio community faces specific threats from the Santa Luzia Small Hydroelectric Power Plant (PCH) on the Rio Grande, which risks altering the hydrological regime and flooding community lands to meet the energy demands of industrial agribusiness.
• Despite state legislation (such as Bahia Law 12.910/2013) recognizing traditional communities, there is a contradiction where the state recognizes the communities but denies the existence of their territories, leaving many in a state of land insecurity.
• The document recommends the formal recognition of traditional territories as Other Effective area-based Conservation Measures (Omecs) or Territories and Areas Conserved by Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (TICCAs) to ensure legal land tenure and continued conservation.

APA

Maretti, C. C., Gajardo, O. B., Pacheco, P., & Lobo, R. (2025). De Potencial a Ação: Omecs e Conservação Inclusiva no Brasil. WWF International. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/1812/Brazil_CS_Fechos_de_Pasto_Clemente_e_Vale_do_Rio_Arrojado_e_Ribeirinhos_do_Beira_Rio.pdf

Chicago

Maretti, Cláudio C., Osvaldo Barassi Gajardo, Pablo Pacheco, and Rafaella Lobo. De Potencial a Ação: Omecs e Conservação Inclusiva no Brasil. WWF International, 2025. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/1812/Brazil_CS_Fechos_de_Pasto_Clemente_e_Vale_do_Rio_Arrojado_e_Ribeirinhos_do_Beira_Rio.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Maretti |first1=Cláudio C. |last2=Gajardo |first2=Osvaldo Barassi |last3=Pacheco |first3=Pablo |last4=Lobo |first4=Rafaella |title=De Potencial a Ação: Omecs e Conservação Inclusiva no Brasil |publisher=WWF International |date=December 2025 |url=https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/1812/Brazil_CS_Fechos_de_Pasto_Clemente_e_Vale_do_Rio_Arrojado_e_Ribeirinhos_do_Beira_Rio.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{maretti2025potencial, author = {Maretti, Cláudio C. and Gajardo, Osvaldo Barassi and Pacheco, Pablo and Lobo, Rafaella}, title = {{De Potencial a Ação: Omecs e Conservação Inclusiva no Brasil}}, institution = {WWF International}, year = {2025}, month = dec, url = {https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/1812/Brazil_CS_Fechos_de_Pasto_Clemente_e_Vale_do_Rio_Arrojado_e_Ribeirinhos_do_Beira_Rio.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }