The technical activities for developing an International Standard for Sustainable Territorial Management are been implemented, as part of a partnership established between Life Institute, Itaipu Binational and Itaipu Technological Park (FPTI).
Each institution is contributing accordingly with its expertise. As standard-setting organization, Life Institute is responsible for elaborating the Standard and its management system. After the Standard is developed, Itaipu Binational will use it for assessing its regional performance on both countries, Brazil and Paraguay. FPTI is responsible for developing the software and it might become a regional reference center for the application of the Standard under development.
The 1st Workshop happened on August 7th and 8th, in Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil. For the technical development of the Standard, interdisciplinary and interinstitutional working groups were established. Coordinated by Life Institute, the groups are composed of four thematic leaders (environmental, economic, social and cultural) and specialists with diverse professional backgrounds.
“In addition, the Working Groups will count with the support of an International Sustainable Territorial Management Network that is been established, involving renowned institutions and professionals from the academy, companies and civil society”, highlight the technical manager of Life Institute, Regiane Borsato, one of the mastermind behind the project.
Ariel Scheffer, Itaipu’s Environmental Management superintendent, welcomed the participants and highlighted the importance of the project and the benefit it will bring for Itaipu Binational.
“The integration that this project brings is very important”, mentioned Marlene Costa Souza Carvalho, responsible for the project in Itaipu Brazil. “This is one of the first time where Brazil and Paraguay are working together since the beginning of this sort of initiative”, adds Ibis Marta Martinez Sanches, responsible for the project inside Itaipu Paraguay.
During the event, the participants discussed the project’s objectives and activities, the objectives and structure of a Standard and elaborated a first draft of the Premises. “Defining the Premises is a crucial step, since they will guide all the development of the Standard”, says Karen Barbosa, technical coordinator of Life Institute.
The challenge for the working groups is ensuring that the Standard has robust technical basis and at the same presents a practical approach. The Standard must meet internationally consolidated parameters and processes. It will be based on principles of territorial sustainability, focusing on the maintenance of ecosystems’ services and their benefits for all sectors of society.
On August 23, the thematic leaders met in Curitiba to analyze the results of the workshop. “This meeting will allow us to evaluate and refine the Premises proposed, since they will bring the main concepts that will base the criteria and indicators related to the development model desired for a given territory”, says Regiane. “The Premises must reflect what values are desired for the sustainable territorial management and it is important that they can be replicated in any part of the globe”, emphasizes.
Later this year, other preparatory meetings with the thematic leaders and two workshops for discussing and validating the proposals with the Working Groups will be held.