Cooperation Agreement was presented today to the Interministerial Commission for Sea Resources
Primeiro-Tenente (RM2-T) Luciana Santos de Almeida – Brasília, DF
At the first face-to-face meeting of 2022 of the Interministerial Commission for Marine Resources (CIRM), held today (17) and chaired by the Navy Commander, Admiral Almir Garnier Santos, the President of the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES), Gustavo Montezano, presented a summary of the Cooperation Agreement signed with the Secretariat of the Interministerial Commission for Marine Resources (SECIRM) earlier this year.
The partnership proposes to enable, support, and accompany technical studies for the implementation of the Marine Spatial Planning (PEM) and will start with a pilot project in the southern maritime region of the country.
At the meeting, BNDES also disclosed the work chronogram for the elaboration of the studies that will be the basis for the PEM. Divided into four stages, the PEM intends to create and establish the most rational use of the marine space and the interactions between its uses.
For the Secretary of CIRM, Rear Admiral Marco Antônio Linhares Soares, the celebration represents a milestone for the effective implementation of the EMP in Brazil by the year 2030, a commitment made by the country during the UN Oceans Conference in 2017.
“The EMP will bring relevant results for the Brazilian State at sea. In addition, the PEM is considered a great engine to propel the Blue Economy of a country, as it simultaneously provides the following aspects: legal security for investors in marine enterprises and generation of jobs and foreign exchange for the coastal state, mediating the stimulus of sustainable activities of the sea,” he highlighted.
The President of BNDES said during the meeting that the Bank has in this project a challenge that is less financial and more intellectual and of political articulation. “The Blue Economy is the next wave and it will certainly come with great strength. For us, at the BNDES, it is extremely important to be present from the birth of this agenda so that we can prepare our institution, our products, and our clients so that they can, in a good way, enjoy, monetize, and preserve these blue assets,” he emphasized.
The choice of the Southern maritime region
The EMP foresees four stages: South (which will begin soon), Southeast, Northeast and North. In this interim, the Brazilian Navy, through SECIRM, is seeking to reach the amount of R$ 30 million and carry out the Maritime Spatial Planning of the other regions, concluding the project.
In this partnership, BNDES will provide the financial resources, with an initial amount of R$ 5 million, and will also take care of the repercussions of the studies in the various impacted sectors. In addition to guaranteeing the publicity of the studies carried out so that society in general and academia in particular can benefit, as well as contribute to the formation of a maritime mentality.
The Southern maritime region – comprising the states of Paraná, Santa Catarina, and Rio Grande do Sul – was chosen as the first stage because of the significant availability of data and the concentration of research institutions with tradition in coastal and marine studies in the three states of the region; the representativeness in environmental terms – due to the existence of several habitats and distinct ecosystems -, economic (it has four of the ten largest ports in Brazil and important industrial fishing activities) and spatial terms (13% of the Blue Amazon); and the existence of a maritime border with Uruguay, which will require extensive coordination with the neighboring country.
Agência Marinha de Notícias – Translated by Defconpress