Photo: Frico Guimarães/ SOS Pantanal
Donation made by Termope – Neoenergia’s thermal power plant adds up to other R$ 150 thousand transferred by Neoenergia Institute during the wildfires striking the region over the second half of 2020
In 2020, Pantanal suffered the wildest fires over the past 50 years, scorching over 30% of the biome area, which is equivalent to 4.5 million hectares or 30 times the City of São Paulo. In virtue of that, local communities and fauna need help after the dry season and the wildfires. In order to aid the population and the biodiversity preservation, the thermal power plant Termopernambuco (Termope), controlled by Neoenergia, made a voluntary donation of R$ 150 thousand to two organizations acting across the region: Arara Azul Institute and SOS Pantanal, R$ 75 thousand each. Another contribution in the same amount had been made by Neoenergia Institute.
The donation made by Termope is the first action of a new conservation plan prepared by the company. “The objective of our controlling shareholder, Iberdrola group, is to make up the null net loss in biodiversity by 2030. With that donation and other initiatives to be implemented in the upcoming future, we are in line with that target and the compliance with our social dividend. We are committed to foster for and voluntarily promote biodiversity conservation and natural capital recovery projects, either for sites surrounding the plant, which is located in Pernambuco, or other regions in Brazil, which is the case of Pantanal", stated Termope's manager, Tatsumi Igarashi.
In Pantanal, after the drought season and the end of the wildfires, in November, the animals now live on a devastated environment, with little offer of food. For that reason, distributing food to the fauna is paramount by aiding the remaining population of animals. In addition, aiding the riverside communities and the indigenous population affected by the wildfires, as well as by COVID-19 pandemic.
Photo: Frico Guimarães/ SOS Pantanal
Termope's donation to Arara Azul Institute will contribute to the actions in Mato Grosso do Sul and Mato Grosso, States struck by wildfires affecting the hyacinth macaw and other species interacting with it.
“The impacts on the specie are under observation for short and medium term. The support will be provided in order to strengthen the necessary actions, such as: handling natural nests and placing artificial nests; acquiring lost and new equipment to enhance the research; collecting and analyzing information by listing the key indicators of threats and implementing actions to minimize the impact in medium and long-term on the species", explained the institute's executive director, Eliza Mense.
The funds allocated by the company to SOS Pantanal NGO will be primarily used in four actions: donation to support Tamanduá Institute, which is leading rescue, feeding and hydration actions in South Pantanal; purchase of two quad bikes to survey the affected areas, assist the animals and coordinate the input distribution logistics inside the conservation units; installation of 20 metallic plate signs to prevent animal roadkill on roads crossing natural areas, such as Parque do Pantanal Sul road; and donation of food baskets and basic inputs to 53 riverside families in Serra do Amolar region, with a highlight to the Barra do São Lourenço community and Guató Indigenous Land.
“The donations enable us to promptly relieve the suffering of people and animals who suffered and are still suffering the severe impacts on the drought and the wildfires", stated Gustavo Figuerôa, non-governmental organization's biologist.
Photo: Frico Guimarães/SOS Pantanal
Commitment to biodiversity
The donation was the result of an action plan prepared by Termope after a pilot project held in 2020, which sought to integrate methodologies internationally acknowledged by UN Convention on Biological Diversity in order to monitor the compliance with the group's biodiversity objective. Through a partnership with LIFE Institute, the plant impact over the biodiversity and the necessary responses in voluntary actions to make them up were objectively quantified, seeking thus the null net loss in biodiversity by 2030.
LIFE's methodology is divided into three stages, followed by Termope in the project pilot. The first stage was the calculation of the Biodiversity Pressure Index and the measurement of the Minimum Performance in conservation actions and projects to fulfill the Biodiversity objective. Next, the company's management regarding Biodiversity was analyzed in details through the institute's standards, with principles, criteria and indicators. At last, an Action Plan for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (PABS) conservation, a roadmap with aligned conservation proposals and projects, in magnitude and nature of the actions, the pressure exerted by the plant operation.