Story 28 Aug, 2019

Rio Doce Panel experts present recommendations at an ordinary meeting of the Interfederative Committee (CIF)

Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, August 27, 2019 - Recommendations of the Independent Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel for the restoration of the Rio Doce Basin were presented on Tuesday, August 27, at the 40th ordinary meeting of the Interfederative Committee (ICF), in Belo Horizonte.

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Photo: © IUCN/Rio Doce Panel

RDP presentation at CIF Meeting

The CIF, chaired by Ibama and composed of representatives of the Union, the governments of Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo, the impacted municipalities and the Rio Doce River Basin Committee was created in response to the collapse of the Fundão dam located in the municipality of Mariana (MG). After the disaster, a Transaction and Conduct Adjustment Agreement was established, which defined the 42 programs that are the basis of the Renova Foundation's work. The committee is responsible for validating and guiding the acts of the Foundation, which for its part is responsible for managing and implementing the remedial measures.

The CIF meetings have been held monthly since its creation and bring together different actors, including representatives of technical chambers, the Rio Doce basin committee, the State and Federal Public Prosecutors' Offices, the affected committees and other representatives. 

Members of the Rio Doce Panel, Luis E. Sánchez, professor of mining engineering at the University of São Paulo and expert in impact assessment, and Maria Cecilia Wey de Brito, an expert in biodiversity, presented the work at the meeting and answered questions from the public. The main questions were about the Renova Foundation's responses to the recommendations made by the Panel, the need to establish a space for listening and dialogue with those affected, as well as greater dissemination of the Panel's work. 

The overall goal of the Rio Doce Panel is to provide the Renova Foundation with objective and independent technical advice for the recovery of the Rio Doce Basin, through an integrated and long-term strategy, from a landscape-scale perspective and nature-based solutions. 

Recommendations are delivered in two categories of knowledge products - Thematic Reports and Issue Papers- which address topics relevant to recovery and pre-defined in the group's work plan. All recommendations are public and documents are available for download from the English and Portuguese web pages. After the launch of each document, an in-depth meeting is held on the recommendations and then the Renova team gives feedback to the Panel on their acceptance or not and applicability. The Renova Foundation's responses on the recommendations will be made available soon on the Rio Doce Panel's website.