Specialist reinforces the importance of dialogue with communities and the creation of partnerships for the reconstruction of the areas impacted by the Fundão dam collapse
On November 28, 2016, the Renova Foundation, in partnership with the Dom Cabral Foundation (FDC), arranged a meeting in Nova Lima (MG) with Pavan Sukhdev, sustainable development and green economy specialist from India.
Participating to the event, which was also transmitted live via webcast, were representatives from the affected communities, and civil society organizations, such as public authorities, academic representatives, environmental organizations, advocacy groups and NGO’s, as well as governance members of the Renova Foundation and representatives of the sponsoring companies.
During the seminar, Pavan Sukhdev emphasized the importance of hope and resilience in the rebuilding process. “I would like to say that we should move on believing that there is hope and working collaboratively towards this new future. I would also like to say that there is no real replacement for the pain, for the losses and the sadness for the lives that were lost, never will we be able to make up for it, nevertheless the goal is rehabilitation. This is the goal of the Renova Foundation, which has to be won through resilience”, he said.
Pavan also mentioned the necessity for the development of an action plan for repair, restoration and reconstruction based on the needs and opinions of the impacted communities and a low environmental impact. As an example, the expert presented some of the actions applied in the process for reconstructing the town of Minami Sanriku in Japan, one of the most devastated by the earthquake and tsunami that occurred on March 11, 2011. According Pavan, the Amita Consulting Corporation has developed and presented a plan to the government and stakeholders for generating thermal and electrical energy at low cost from the incineration of waste and tailings from the disaster.
“Certainly, there will never be one single solution to prevent us from disasters or recover from their occurrence. The restoration work of the affected areas is, in itself, a reaffirmation of human resilience and creativity in building efficient solutions in such challenging situations. Out of respect for those who have died and those impacted by the disaster, we must learn from the affected communities through ongoing dialogue to find the best strategies”, said Pavan Sukhdev.
Pavan Sukhdev, sustainable development and green economy specialist from India, in conference organized by the Renova Foundation. | Photo: Marcus Desimoni / NITRO
Satya Tripathi, lawyer and economist, assigned by the United Nations (UN) for the coordination of the international recovery process of the Aceh and Nias regions in Indonesia, hit by the 2004 earthquake and tsunami, attended the event by video conference.
Just as Pavan, Satya Tripathi reinforces the participation of affected communities in the recovery work, in addition to building strong and effective partnerships. “The community has to decide its own destiny and all those involved in the work should get together to understand and accept that the most important opinion is found in the community, this is collaborative work. You must also be aware of and welcome those who want to help, not just companies, foundations, but any type of partnership truly interested in building a new future, “said Tripathi.
The Renova Foundation, in its belief that knowledge stimulates collective construction and transformation, intends to promote other meetings with various professionals, academics, civil society and, above all, communities and people impacted to find ways and solutions to repair, restore and reconstruct, in a collaborative and efficient manner.
The entire event can be watched here.