Letter from Eduardo Ditt

We have recently reviewed IPÊ’s transformation vision, following global changes in social behavior and the need to conserve socio-biodiversity in the world. In a context of multiple crises that society is currently facing, climate being the main one, we understand that biodiversity must be at the center of planning and decision-making for the social advancement we need. We envision a society in which biodiversity conservation is essential to drive socioeconomic transformation and face climate challenges. Based on this vision of the future, we develop socio-environmental research and projects, sustainable business and education, and we work in articulations and networks. These actions generate countless products and results that add up to achieve six sets of long-term impacts, which correspond to:

• Improved conservation status of the Black Leão Tamarin and other species;
• Conserved biodiversity, with social participation and scientific research;
• Transformative education that encourages a fair and sustainable world;
• Implemented mitigation and adaptation strategies to climate effects;
• Sustainable territories and landscapes, with community leadership and stimulating bioeconomy;
• Public policies ensured for the conservation of socio-biodiversity.
  
  The impacts briefly described here are more than goals established for us to disclose in reports or measure results. They carry a set of stories of socio-environmental transformation that we are helping to create in Brazil.

Over more than 32 years, it is common and inspiring to hear stories of people who, due to our projects, changed their traditional work and production practices to more sustainable and economically viable activities. There are stories of people who changed the direction of their lives and their professions for the better, based on experiences they had in our environmental education courses and activities, or even through contact with our researchers and teachers at ESCAS. We also heard several stories from local communities, stronger in their territories because of our work listening to their needs and our social mobilization actions. There are still stories that we need to tell personally, those that we witness daily with the species that we are helping to conserve in nature, based on the efforts and advances of our field research.

With our work, we hope to achieve all the desired impacts transcribed here, but we have an even stronger desire to tell and hear more similar stories of socio-environmental transformation.

See our latest results. 

Eduardo Ditt, IPÊ’s executive director