access to Amazon Fund resources without legal personality

The possibility of social movements, especially the Landless Rural Workers Movement (MST), having access to resources from the Amazon Fund motivated a reaction from parliamentarians and experts who questioned the application of the guidelines established for this allocation. The questions occurred following the announcement of a public call, initiated by the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES), which foresees the release of R$450 million from the Amazon Fund. The public call “Restaura Amazônia” makes up the initiative named “Arc of Restoration in the Amazon”.

The main concern is due to the movement’s lack of legal personality, which prevents it from receiving public resources, for example. “Without CNPJ, technical archive, constituted board, fiscal council and registration, the MST cannot even smell public money,” said Antônio Pinheiro Pedro, a lawyer specializing in Environmental Law.

“The allocation of resources from the Amazon Fund to the MST and other social movements raises a series of concerns”, said the president of the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry (CPI) of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), senator Plínio Valério (PSDB-AM) .

The MST’s participation, however, was highlighted by the president of BNDES, Aloizio Mercadante, during the launch of the “Amazon Restoration Arc”. “Non-refundable resources for social movements, for the MST, for Contag [Confederação Nacional dos Trabalhadores na Agricultura]settlements, indigenous peoples, quilombolas, riverside communities, for seedling nurseries, for planting, a native and productive part, açaí, cocoa, Brazil nuts, Pará nuts, cupuaçu, are all very relevant possibilities for us to move forward and generate income and employment for the population”, stated Mercadante.

One of the ways to enable the MST’s participation in the distribution of Amazon Fund resources can be through cooperatives linked to the movement. Access for cooperatives to the Fund is provided for in the guidelines and criteria for the application of resources in the Legal Amazon.

The “Amazon Restoration Arc” foresees investments of approximately R$200 billion in the coming decades. The first phase aims to restore 6 million hectares, capturing 1.65 billion tons of carbon by 2030. The second stage, with investments of up to R$153 billion, aims to restore 18 million hectares by 2050, potentially generating up to 10 million jobs in the region.

In addition to the concern with the MST, the failures identified by the CPI of NGOs in the management of the Amazon Fund also raise concerns. “The CPI highlighted the lack of transparency in the large amounts received by these NGOs, revealing a questionable use of resources. The BNDES proposal to release funds from the Fund for these movements raises more doubts”, highlighted Valério.

A People’s Gazette sought information from BNDES about the possibility of MST access to Amazon Fund resources, but did not receive any response by the time this article was written. The space remains open for clarifications.

Proponents and executors of the Amazon Fund must have legal personality

The allocation of resources to movements such as the MST is not foreseen in the document that establishes the guidelines for the application of Amazon Fund resources in the Legal Amazon. “Projects for the Amazon Fund can be presented by various types of entities, whether direct and indirect public administration bodies and entities at the three federal levels; private law foundations (including supporting foundations); civil associations; private companies; cooperatives; and multilateral institutions”, says the document.

Given that the MST does not have legal personality, it is not legally possible, for example, for it to receive public resources. However, the movement points out, in its publications, that it has at least 160 cooperatives linked to it, which can enable access to Amazon Fund resources.

In the specific case of the public call announced to benefit projects in the states of Amazonas, Acre, Rondônia, Mato Grosso, Tocantis, Pará and Maranhão, the published notice highlights the requirements for the so-called “managing and executing partners” of the “Restaura Amazônia” initiative.

The evaluation of candidates will be carried out by a committee made up of representatives from BNDES, the ministries of Environment and Climate Change and Agrarian Development and Family Farming, the states, and civil society members of the Amazon Fund Steering Committee (Cofa).

The “Restaura Amazônia” notice indicates, however, that the three managing partners to be selected must be legally constituted, and may be federal and state public agencies and foundations, or non-profit legal entities. The executing partners, who will be chosen by the managing partners, must be national non-profit private legal entities, headquartered in the country or legal entities governed by internal federal and state public law.

Therefore, the framing of the MST, as a social movement without legal personality, could not be made viable, unless it is linked to a non-profit cooperative or NGO, for example.

In addition to the lack of legal personality, lawyer Georges Humbert, president of the Brazilian Institute of Law and Sustainability (Ibrades), draws attention to the lack of clear parameters established in the notice for the participation of organizations such as the MST. “The notice lacks the objective requirements inherent to this type of legal transaction between public authorities and individuals.”

Humbert cites as an example the need for the notice to present internal organization rules that expressly provide for objectives aimed at promoting activities and purposes of public and social relevance. Furthermore, the specialist considers that it would be necessary to demonstrate previous experience in effectively carrying out the purpose of the partnership or of a similar nature.

For the lawyer, it would also be important for organizations to have facilities, material conditions and demonstrate technical and operational capacity to develop the activities or projects foreseen in the partnership and achieve the established goals.

Failures in the management of the Amazon Fund motivate legislative proposal

The CPI of NGOs, which presented a final report on its activities this Tuesday (5), pointed out, among its results, the need to approve a law for the Amazon Fund, demanding, in particular, more transparency about the destination and use of resources.

The commission reported, for example, that it had identified deficiencies in the details of expenses, proof of activities carried out, recipients of bank transfers and purpose of expenses.

In this context, the president of the CPI expressed his concern about the release of resources for social movements. “The CPI highlighted the lack of transparency in the large amounts received by these NGOs, revealing a questionable use of resources. The BNDES proposal to release funds from the Fund for these movements raises more doubts. Those who are truly in need of opportunities are the indigenous people, caboclos and riverside dwellers, who seem to be excluded from the benefits while clamoring for support”, said the president of the CPI, senator Plínio Valério.

For the senator, the Fund’s emphasis should be exclusively on sustainable development, generating income and opportunities for the people of the Amazon. “This has not been happening. We do not want an emphasis on initiatives that do not directly contribute to these objectives, supporting questionable movements linked to political groups. It’s absurd,” said Valério.

The project presented in the CPI report on NGOs intends to establish general rules for the functioning of the Fund. “[Estamos] defining its legal personality, its objective, types of projects that can be financed, details about the diploma issued to donors, duties of the person responsible for executing the project. Many of the transparency rules incorporated into the project are in line with recommendations from the Federal Court of Auditors to BNDES in the management of Amazon Fund resources”, pointed out the senators.