Luiza Alonso, PhD FUMDHAM / MGCTI

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• Luiza Alonso, PhDFUMDHAM / MGCTI Universidade
  Católica de Brasília

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• Introduction
• Changing minds, changing lives social and
  economic development of grassroots communities
  around the Serra da Capivara/ Brazil national
  archeological park in Brazil

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• Introduction
• Southeast Piaui is a space for hundreds of
  archaeological sites gathered in two major
  National Parks the Serra da Capivara, declared
  World Heritage by UNESCO, and the Serra das
  Confusões
• The Archaeological parks are located in the
  Caatinga, an exclusively Brazilian biome, which
  means that much of the biological heritage of
  this region is not found elsewhere in the world,
  beyond the Brazilian Northeast
• It is a region of contrasts in which the
  archaeological wealth coexists with various forms
  of poverty of its residents
• The dry weather of the region has been essential
  for the preservation of the rock art, but water
  shortage is a major problem for the population
• Archaeological and geological studies have
  demonstrated that there are ways to cope with
  water shortages

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• Caatinga the environmental context
• Although subjected to extensive water stress, its
  vegetation is well adapted and presents a
  substantial biodiversity 930 plant species have
  been recorded, (380 endemic) The fauna presents
  185 species of fish, being 57.3 endemic, 107
  reptiles, 348 birds and 148 mammals (MMA 2002)

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Location of the parks
Piaui
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Question How the population can get a good life
quality in an environment that have periods of
water shortage followed by months of excess of
water?
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• Historical context
• Over the past 40 years archeological work has
  been performed by scientists that had created an
  organization FUMDHAM - that develops
  interdisciplinary work as its considers both the
  archaeological sites as well the population that
  inhabits the surroundings of them.
• One of the goals is to foster social and economic
  sustainability of communities around the
  archeological park
• In regard to the social context, FUMDHAM has
  developed an elementary school, community
  gardens, arts and musical programs, environmental
  education, training of guides, health services
  and water supply infrastructure

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• Social context
• In the 70s poverty was represented by high
  infant mortality, premature death among adults,
  low income and lack of schooling.

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• Intervention activities
• The Water project
• Environmental education activities within the
  population
• Socio Economic Atlas of the municipalities around
  the parks

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• The water project is an interdisciplinary project
  that considers scientific and technological
  dimensions, as well the social and economic
  future of both the installation and consolidation
  of environmental governance, regarding the
  preparation of an infrastructure for tourism with
  which the inhabitants of the region can overcome
  economic needs and increase their knowledge

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• Education activities
• Environmental Education intended to raise
  awareness about the effects of increasing
  erosion, siltation, disappearance of rivers and
  lakes, garbage dispersal, and hygiene and public
  health problems
• Activities were mainly done through artistic
  practices such as theater plays and singing.

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• Education activities
• The guiding theme of all activities was water
• Talks were held on the rational use of water and
  training of community members to assist in
  environmental management for dissemination of
  concepts related to environmental preservation
  and social responsibility in water resources
  management
• Workshops were held for the awareness of
  community stakeholders, regardless of age, gender
  and social class, for the use and preservation of
  local water
• Development of booklets on environmental
  practices, emphasizing the importance of the
  human being as a multiplier of environmental
  preservation, distributed in schools in all
  municipalities involved in the project

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• Educational activities
• Visits to archaeological and paleontological
  sites for knowledge and appreciation of local
  culture and its relationship to water since
  prehistoric times, monitoring the withdrawal of
  the fossils to broaden the understanding and
  importance of the archaeological and
  paleontological sites
• Technical meetings and the formation of a group
  with members of the communities around national
  parks for the purpose to plan joint activities of
  conscious intervention in the practices of local
  management of water interacting with the
  educational processes, productive and
  organizational sites

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• Education activities
• Visits to archaeological and paleontological
  sites for appreciation of local culture and its
  relationship to water since prehistoric times,
  participation of community members and
  researchers in the withdrawal of fossils, and in
  local management of water

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• Socio Economic Atlas of the municipalities around
  the parks
• Social and economic diagnostic was performed in
  ten grassroots communities around the national
  parks with the objective to know better their
  reality and give substantial support to develop
  sustainability also understood as the reduction
  of conflicts in the utilization of the waters
  that directly improve the quality of life
  settlements

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• Results of the Social Demographic Atlas
• Need of projects with a systemic understanding of
  the entire process in order to bring an
  appropriate and sustainable solution to the
  problem of water scarcity in the semi-arid area
  which houses the largest archaeological heritage
  of America
• Management of water resources can promote the use
  of natural resources, ecological tourism and
  sustainable development
• Inhabitants of the poor communities have an
  understanding of the cultural value of the parks,
  but do not comprehend how this could improve
  their life
• Poverty is no longer solely connected to life
  expectancy, years of schooling and income

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• Challenges
• Re-define the concept of poverty in a Digital
  World
• New educational programs for digital inclusion
• Establishment of an infrastructure for ecotourism
• New patterns in development of professional and
  technical skills, particularly, for small
  entrepreneurs
• Support and facilitate community organization for
  their effective participation in the water
  resource plans

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