Renova Foundation has been working on the construction of compensation solutions to compensate those affected by the Fundão dam collapse, in Mariana (MG state).
Currently, financial compensation for those who had proven damages and who meet the eligibility criteria of the Mediated Indemnity Program (PIM) and Emergency Financial Aid (AFE), according to the Transaction and Conduct Adjustment Term (TTAC), occurs through of the PIM/AFE System. It is a digital platform to which, through a lawyer or public defender, the necessary documents are sent to prove the damage and the Term of Acceptance is signed in case of eligibility.
Renova Foundation works to complete the indemnification process, providing, for example, agreements for different categories.
Payments to those affected by the proven damage of their economic activities and by the lack of drinking water supply after the dam collapse are carried out through the Foundation’s Mediated Indemnity Program (PIM), a free voluntary membership program.
Water Damage: paid to people who were left without supply and without water distribution for more than 24 hours after the dam collapse.
General Damage: for the reimbursement of victims who suffered moral and material damages, including lost profits from their economic activities.
PIM/AFE System
Requests for financial compensation meeting the PIM and AFE eligibility criteria,
according to the TTAC, are processed through the online platform PIM/AFE System since January 10th, 2022. Only people with the registration completed by Renova Foundation. In the PIM/AFE System, it is necessary to submit evidence material through formal documents which attest to the official letter and evidence the damage suffered as a result of the dam collapse.
The documents must be sent through the platform, where the Term of Acceptance is also signed in case of eligibility. Access can only be made by public defenders or lawyers appointed by the applicants. In the case of lawyers, the fee costs are covered by Renova Foundation, limited to 5% of the net amount received at the end of the process (sum of the PIM and AFE amounts) if there is proof of the claimed damages and an indemnity agreement conclusion. Click here.
Simplified Indemnity System: Implemented by the Renova Foundation, in August 2020, following a decision by the 12th Federal Court of Justice. This flow allows compensation for categories that are often informal, such as handcrafters, carters, washerwomen, subsistence and informal fishermen, sand trappers and others. The system also compensates formal categories such as professional fishermen, boat owners and companies such as hotels, inns and restaurants.
Renova Foundation pays a monthly financial aid to people who have suffered a direct impact on their economic or productive activity.
Lost profits correspond to the income from the productive activity the affected person stopped earning as a direct consequence of the Fundão (MG state) dam collapse.
THE SERVICE PROCESS FOR THE FINANCIAL REPAIR OCCURS REMOTELY, A MODEL WHICH RENOVA FOUNDATION HAS ALREADY BEEN ADOPTED SINCE MARCH 2020.
The Survey and Registration of Impacted Program is aimed at identifying the people, families, properties, and companies (only micro and small) affected by the Fundão dam collapse, in Mariana (MG state), and the survey of their socioeconomic characteristics, as well as of the impacts suffered.
The registration request was definitively closed on December 31st, 2021, according to a decision of October 30th, 2021, of the 12th Federal Court of Justice. The manifestations will be answered in order of registration until December 2023.
Renova Foundation informs the registration requests along with the Renova Foundation after April 30th, 2020, are exclusively aimed for the Mediated Indemnity Program (PIM) and other socioeconomic programs provided for in the TTAC. Entry into the Simplified Indemnity System is only possible for those who requested or registered until April 30th, 2020, according to the time frame defined by the court.
The registration requests do not imply recognition of the right to compensation, it is up to the affected person to submit the documents proving the alleged damages.
The Doce River Basin repair goes through the restoration, strengthening and expansion of productive chains and links to the local economy which were impacted by the Fundão dam collapse. Renova Foundation has worked on several fronts in this area, such as credit lines for micro and small companies and local labor, assistance for rural producers to resume to productive capacity and professional qualification courses.
THE RECOLOCA RIO DOCE PLATFORM IS A CHANNEL MADE AVAILABLE TO AFFECTED PEOPLE WHO WANT TO BE INSERTED IN THE LABOR MARKET. THE PURPOSE IS TO CREATE A QUALIFIED CURRICULUM BANK IN WHICH THE COMPANIES WILL FIND PROFESSIONALS ACCORDING TO THEIR DEMANDS. REGISTERED PEOPLE, IN TURN, WILL HAVE ACCESS TO DIFFERENT ORIENTATIONS, SUCH AS CURRICULUM PRODUCTION, PARTICIPATION IN SELECTION PROCESSES AND DEVELOPMENT OF SKILLS – ALL OF THESE ARE BASED ON DEMANDS PREVIOUSLY MAPPED ALONG WITH THE COMPANIES. IN APRIL 2021, A PARTNERSHIP WAS SIGNED WITH MARIANA’S NATIONAL EMPLOYMENT SYSTEM (SINE), SO RECOLOCA RIO DOCE PLATFORM CAN BE ONE OF THE TOOLS TO SUPPORT IN THE VACANCIES’ FULFILLMENT IN THE MUNICIPALITY.
In December 2021, three face-to-face training classes were resumed in Linhares (ES state), in the districts of Povoação and Regência. In February 2022, a new class started a face-to-face course in Degredo, also in Linhares.
The initiative was created by the Renova Foundation to make it easier for small entrepreneurs along the Doce River to have access to supporting resources and working capital for their businesses in a less bureaucratic way and with lower interest rate. The fund is managed by the Development Bank of Minas Gerais State (BDMG) and of the Espírito Santo State (Bandes).
DUE TO THE ECONOMIC CRISIS WHICH HAS REACHED THE COUNTRY BECAUSE OF THE COVID-19, THE WORKING CAPITAL FUND ‘DESENVOLVE RIO DOCE’ HAS REDUCED THE INTEREST RATE FROM 0.45% MONTHLY. THE CREDIT ANALYSIS AND OPENING RATES (TAAC) ARE ALSO INCLUDED IN THE FINANCING. FOR EXISTING CONTRACTS, ACTIONS AND SPECIFIC SOLUTIONS WILL BE ADOPTED TO SUPPORT OVERCOMING THIS PHASE.
It aims to attract companies from the most diverse segments to Mariana (MG State) and reduce its dependence on mining activity. The subsidy model adopted pays part of the interest rates charged on credit operations.
The economic resumption in the Doce River basin involves restoring, strengthening and expanding production chains and links of the local economy, in addition to supporting entrepreneurship and adding value to the region’s products. One of the main fronts of these initiatives was the partnership between the Renova Foundation and BrazilFoundation, an entity which mobilizes resources for entrepreneurial actions across the country. Started in 2018, the partnership was completed in December 2020 and enabled 100% of the supported projects to implement improvements in its infrastructure and record positive results on several fronts.
Impulso Rio Doce Project approved 1,285 entrepreneurship initiatives to receive consultancy, mentoring and training actions in 40 affected locations in the Doce River basin. The action, created to promote local economic development and strengthen micro and small businesses, is carried out in partnership with the IEBT – Innovation and Digital Transformation. Of the selected projects, 75% correspond to existing businesses and 25% are under feasibility analysis, in diversified sectors, such as beauty salons, restaurants and stills. Learn more.
Renova Foundation works for the resumption of production on rural properties, with technical assistance and technology transfer to increase productivity and income. An example is the project developed with producers in the communities of Rochedo, Córrego Preto and Leonel, in the rural area of Rio Casca, in Minas Gerais, which doubled the production of beans and increased the income of 32 families. In total, the harvests of 2020 and 2021 totaled 686 bags of 60kg (more than 41 tons) of carioca beans, of the marhe variety. Total revenue reached R$ 174 thousand. Another result was the opening of the market provided by the initiative: the crops were fully acquired for a greater value than the average sale of previous years. Learn more.
Through the Doce Public Notice, Renova Foundation promotes and supports projects in the culture, tourism, sports and leisure areas for the regions affected by the Fundão dam collapse, in Espírito Santo and Minas Gerais states. The first edition of the Doce Public Notice was launched in 2019, in Minas Gerais, and in 2020, in Espírito Santo. Check out the video.
In March 2022, Renova Foundation launched the second edition of the Doce Public Notice. Individuals, micro-entrepreneurs, collectives and informal groups, non-profit organizations and companies operating in the areas of tourism, culture and sports and leisure from the two states covered participated, with budgets projects between R$ 25 thousand and R$ 200 thousand. The approved projects result will be announced at the beginning of the second half of 2022. Learn more.
After four months of training in the Strengthening Organizations project, 169 institutions, located in 39 affected municipalities, began to receive funds from the Renova Foundation. R$ 5,000 were allocated to each organization for initial investments in third sector projects in the areas of tourism, culture, sports, and leisure in the Doce River basin, in Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo states, with a focus on community development in the region. The institutions received training in management, strategic planning, and others, being conducted by the Integrated Center for Sustainable Development Studies and Programs (CIEDS).
As a way of strengthening cooperativism and associativism, Renova Foundation created and implemented the project for the Development and Strengthening of Solidarity-Based Enterprises (SBE) and Civil Society Organizations (OSC) in the affected municipalities.
The work carried out by the Renova Foundation in partnership with the consultancies – DVF and PLAN – lasted two years and ended in 2021 with good results, such as the associations formalization and regularization, their insertion in the market, training of their members in management and finance and increasing in income generation. In total, 22 solidary-based enterprises (EBS) were supported in Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo states.
The project focused on actions in the affected municipalities along the Doce River basin. At the beginning of the project, assistance was carried out in person. In the pandemic period, work with the entities was carried out online. Altogether, the project involved more than 1,700 hours of consultancy, serving more than a thousand people, directly and indirectly.
Among the initiatives that make up the integrated agenda in the states of Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo States, there is a front with the potential to diversify the local economy, attract investments and generate jobs and income. R$ 505 million were directed towards the structuring of more than 150 km of highways to facilitate the access of tourists to important centers of the region and the flow of local and regional production. An additional R$ 12.2 million were also allocated to the city of Doce River in Minas Gerais State with the goal of implementing an Industrial District, with an estimated area of 68,000 square meters.
The repair effectiveness involves education and social protagonism initiatives. The actions start from the concept of Education for Revitalization, which connects different visions of the future, with the training of young leaders, educators, strengthening of networks and communities of practices.
Renova Foundation signed agreements with the Federal Universities of Minas Gerais (UFMG) and Ouro Preto (UFOP) and with the Federal Institute of Espírito Santo (IFES) for the Training of Educators project, which aims to offer Improvement and Specialization courses and also Master’s and Doctorate degree scholarships for almost 7 thousand teachers from public schools in the two states. The courses and scholarships offered are linked to the process of recovery and revitalization of the impacted region and to environmental education along the Doce River Basin.
The training of young leaders is at the forefront of the Renova Foundation strategies for education. The goal is to recognize them as fundamental actors in the repair process of the Doce River Basin, through educational and socio-environmental development processes. The youth leadership training project started in February 2020.
THIS YEAR, THE PROGRAM BEGAN TRANSFER OF RESOURCES TO THE 58 SELECTED PROJECTS IN MINAS GERAIS AND ESPÍRITO SANTO TO WORK IN THE ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC REVITALIZATION OF COMMUNITIES ALONG THE DOCE RIVER BASIN. IN TOTAL, THE INITIATIVE IS ALLOCATION OVER R$ 1 MILLION IN RESOURCES TO DEVELOP THE ACTIONS.
The Renova Foundation began, in April 2022, the stage of acquiring the items chosen by the representatives of the 32 municipal public libraries that joined the Reading Incentive project. The project aims to revitalize public libraries along the Doce River basin. Each participating library has a maximum of R$ 200 thousand available, which is being used for infrastructure improvements, acquisition of books and equipment, as well as training of servers. The expectation is the requested items will be delivered in the beginning of the second half of this year.
In an integrated action between the Renova Foundation, the governments of Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo States, with the participation of the Forum of Mayors of the Doce River, about R$ 830 million will were allocated to investments in education, infrastructure and health in the region impacted by the Fundão dam collapse. Of this amount, R$ 238.9 million are being used to improve and structure up to 900 public schools in the affected municipalities.
The municipalities of São José do Goiabal and Sem Peixe (MG state) invested resources in improving local school transport, with the acquisition of new vehicles.
Actions to protect and restore the quality of life of indigenous and traditional communities aim to repair and compensate for the social, cultural, environmental, and economic impacts of these affected communities. These families, which are part of Doce River history, maintain their own relationship with the river.
In January 2022, Renova Foundation concluded the payment of indemnification agreements for more than 1,600 indigenous families and 8 associations in Aracruz (ES state). The agreements, approved by the 12th Federal Court, total approximately R$ 390 million.
Renova Foundation has the listening, the dialogue, and the social participation as guiding practices for its actions with the affected communities. Engagement actions are fundamental for building the joint path.
OMBUDSMAN: REGISTER AND INVESTIGATE COMPLAINTS RELATED TO DISSRESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS AND NON-COMPLIANCE WITH LAWS AND OBLIGATIONS
