The proposal was elaborated collectively, with fishing communities, technical entities and public authorities, like ICMBio, the Superintendent of Fishery and Incaper
Fishermen of 28 towns along the Doce River basin that were affected by the collapse of the Fundao dam (MG) are being assisted by the Renova Foundation’s Mediated Indemnity Program (PIM) to sign the indemnity payment agreement. It is expected that during this first phase approximately 10,000 fishermen will be assisted and, if eligible, indemnified until March 2018. There are about 4 thousand fishermen in Minas Gerais and 6 thousand in Espirito Santo.
So far, more than 2,800 agreements have been signed in the two states. Since the beginning of November, customer service has been intensified in the 15 towns where the PIM offices are located, expanding the offices and teams. A task force is also in place with itinerant costumer services in 12 locations, such as Regencia, Pontal do Ipiranga, Barra do Riacho and Santa Cruz, in Espirito Santo.
The indemnity payments for general damages are for those people or micro and small businesses that suffered damages or losses in their economic or productive activities as a result of the Fundao dam collapse. The amounts paid are evaluated case-by-case, based on information from the Integrated Register, surveys carried out by Renova in the affected towns, and documents submitted by the affected parties.
In the case of the fishermen, who are facing difficulties in proving their income, the Renova Foundation used a collective process for constructing the indemnity proposal, seeking to simplify the access, being more flexible in the evidence that is accepted and defining values that stay close to the realities of the affected population. Representatives of fishing communities, technical entities and public authorities, such as ICMBio, the Superintendent of Fishery, the Espirito Santo Institute of Research, Technical Assistance and Rural Extension (Incap), the Prosecution Service and the Public Defender’s Office participated in this process.
This proposal model was used in a pilot project for the category of professional fishermen, considering the moral damages, materials and average income of each professional fishing subgroup. The proposal, approved and validated by the Interfederative Committee (CIF) in October 2017, is being extended to other fishing categories: those of secondary documentation and subsistence, respecting the characteristics of each group and the current legislation.
The approved indemnity proposal for fishermen compensates for moral and material damages. In the case of the professional category, the indemnity also compensates for the loss of earnings for the period from the collapse through December 31, 2017, without discounting the financial aid received. Every year, the resumption of economic and productive activities in the communities will be reassessed.
Between financial aid and indemnities, Renova estimates a disbursement of around R $ 2 billion. This value will depend on the return of economic and productive conditions in the localities and the number of people who join the program.
Costumer Service
“To provide the customer service, independent mediators contact people by telephone, based on the information gathered in the Integrated Register, and schedule a time. In the case of indemnity for fishing, if all documentation is correct, the proposal is submitted and, if one agrees with the terms and values, the agreement will be signed,” explains PIM leader Ana Weisz.
The payment is made within 90 days after signing, according to the term established by the Transaction and Conduct Adjustment Term (TTAC). This means that the indemnities for the people served at this stage, based on information from the first Integrated Registration campaign, will be paid until March 2018. A second phase for providing this service is already planned for people of the second registration campaign. In this phase, payments will be made until June 2018. The objective is to indemnify all persons impacted until the first half of 2018.