Fibria believes that a trusting environment is built with permanent and transparent dialogue and valuing diversity. Therefore, since its inception, the company has established relationship strategies to create the best solutions with the different cultures living in the regions where our business operates.
Currently, 890 communities are located within a 3-km radius of our properties or of areas we lease for production of eucalyptus. Of this total, four are formed by traditional fisherman communities and 15 by native communities, as well as dozens of Quilombola communities, located mainly in Espírito Santo and Southern Bahia. These are very different groups that have specific origins, needs, and vulnerabilities, which require in-depth knowledge so that we can establish joint actions.
For this purpose, Fibria has always sought the support of specialists with various competencies and has qualified internal communicators. We formed a multidisciplinary team able to understand the issues and engage NGOs, institutions, and governments.
Since 2015, we have had dialogues with the National Institute for Settlement and Agrarian Reform (INCRA) and the State Coordination of the Quilombola Communities of Espírito Santo, which claim lands to the north of the state. This is a very sensitive issue and requires the involvement of all parties in the search for a solution. One of our goals in 2016 was to strengthen and advance in this relationship - following the example of the relationship we developed with the Landless Workers Movement (MST); this is a priority issue for Fibria. The political instability of the period hindered the process and we postponed our goal to 2017.
Quilombola Jaó community, in Itapeva (São Paulo).
Photo: Márcio Schimming.