On June 11th, the project for the development of the Strategy for promoting the main socio-biodiversity clusters in the Legal Amazon of Brazil was launched. The project is being implemented by Sudam with the support of the UNDP.
That day, Sudam and UNDP brought together representatives from the public and private sectors, universities and science, technology, and innovation (STI) centers, financial institutions, civil society, and international organizations to present the initiative. More than 70 representatives from the nine states of the Legal Amazon attended the meeting, including those present at Sudam's headquarters and those who followed the online broadcast.
The official opening was led by Aharon Alcolumbre, Director of Sustainable Development Promotion at Sudam; Edgar Batista de Azevedo Caetano, National Secretary of Regional and Territorial Development Policies at the Ministry of Development and Rural Development (MIDR); and Kassya Fernandes, from the UNDP project office in Pará.
Subsequently, Carlos Tarrasón gave a presentation on the relevance of cluster policies and their trajectory in Brazil, the Amazon, and the world.
Next, a roundtable discussion on successful clusters in the Amazon was held, moderated by Danilo Fernandes of NAEA/UFPA, with the participation of Guilherme Coelho Brito, coordinator of the cacao cluster in the Trans-Amazon region, and Pedro Paulo Furtado, coordinator of the açaí cluster in the Lower Tocantins region.
Following this, Carlos Tarrasón presented the project, its objectives, work plan, and expected results.
Marcelo Andrade presented the project's initial results, which include the identification of the most relevant clusters by state and a description of the main competitive and technological gaps identified for their development.
Finally, a question-and-answer session was held, and Henrique Sauma, general coordinator for the promotion of sustainable development in South America, closed the event.
The project is being carried out by a consortium formed by Cluster Consulting Brasil, which leads the consortium, the Center for Advanced Studies of the Amazon of the Federal University of Pará (NAEA/UFPA) and the Instituto Centro de Vida (ICV).
You can watch the recording of the launch event here.
Report on the TV Cultura news program in Pará.