Makhtar Diop, who is in Tocantins for a two-day visit to evaluate the potential of the state, attended a briefing on the economic, social and environmental aspects and praised the government’s initiative to develop the Strategic Planning of the State for 30 years. "It's great to be setting a long-term vision for Tocantins, since the partnership of the bank with Tocantins is not of one or two years but already 15 years," said the director.

The query letter to hire the PDRIS loan with the World Bank was approved in December by Cofiex - Commission for External Financing of the Ministry of Planning, Budget and Management of the federal government and is awaiting approval by the Senate. The funding value is of $ 300 million, with a consideration of US$ 75 million from the state government.

According to Secretary David Torres, the government may reduce the value of the consideration with the evidence of investments in areas similar to what will be hired for PDRIS, with an exception to infrastructure works. "Once again the bank is validating our actions. On March 25th the bank will be sending representatives from the management department to assist the government in speeding up the procedure and hopefully by June we are already signing the contract," affirmed the secretary.

The World Bank director suggested that a part of the planned investments in PDRIS be directed to the improvement of management in the areas of Education and Health "The suggestion of the director coincided with the priority of Governor Carlos Gaguim, which is Health and Education. Therefore, a share of resources for investment will be allocated for these two areas," explained David.

The PDRIS is the continuation of investment of the PDRS - Regional Sustainable Development Project, which ends this year. The difference between the two is the inclusion of productive chains in PDRIS, which will receive the largest investment.

This was the businessman’s second visit to Tocantins, and he came with the purpose of following up with contacts to enable the company's investments in Tocantins. He was accompanied by the financial director Catherine Lebre, the spokeswoman for Export, Annabelle Loume, and the consultant Pierre Chauveau, the latter resides in Tocantins for 10 years. The meeting was also attended by entrepreneur and vice president of Fiet, Emilson Vieira.

The Secretary gave a presentation on the possibilities and logistics of the State and the possibilities for partnerships with local investors, pointing out promising areas for investment in the industry, such as, multimodal platforms, the Center for Logistics Support of Aguiarnópolis and the Praia do Norte Port, which will have a retroport area with storage services and transshipment of cargo. All of this because the French group wants to implement in the state refrigerated warehouses for storage of food loads.

The company also operates in other segments such as insulated gates, pre-fabricated houses of strong resistance and fast assembly (one week), which can serve the social housing programs.

At the time, was also discussed the feasibility of implementing the technology which is expected to be launched worldwide in 2011, as Richard Chang, one of the responsible for creating the technology, reported to the governor.

The Chinese representatives of the group, the scientist Richard Chang and consultants Paul Liu and Paulo Lin presented to the governor two projects – "led" light bulbs with high capacity of lighting at low cost and next-generation solar panels at reduced prices. 

Carlos Gaguim emphasized that the presence of these entrepreneurs in the state comes as the result of the government’s administration, and efforts will be made to firm partnership with the group. "Many Latin-American countries would like to receive this partnership, which can generate four thousand jobs in addition to being environmentally friendly, so let's do our part to enter into this partnership," said the governor.

Paul Liu, consultant of Fortune Consulting, said the state is likely to be rewarded the project. "We have some partners already in Tocantins and have come to know their potential and identify opportunities," said the consultant.

At the meeting were present Deputy Governor Eduardo Machado and Secretaries Roberto Sahium of Agriculture, and John Telmo Valduga, of Industry and Trade.

This agreement foresees a contract for the donation of US$ 3 million for environmental projects, financed by the Global Environment Fund and administered by the World Bank - Bird. The signing will take place between Tocantins Government, the Ministry of Environment and Bird.

The Tocantins’ project selected is the Sustainable Cerrado (scrubland) of Tocantins, prepared by SRHMA and intended for the conservation of biodiversity in the cerrado (scrubland).

Project Data

The GEF Sustainable Cerrado iniciative, was a project born of a partnership between the Ministry of Environment, the Fund for Global Environment and World Bank (Bird). The Sustainable Cerrado of Tocantins Project will act in the eastern part of the state, with about 116 thousand square kilometers (42% of the state), where most preserved areas of the Cerrado are concentrated.

The visit is part of the institution's procedures to get to know the works and commitment of the department in implementing the projects included in the PPCDAM / TO - Action Plan for Prevention and Control of Fires and Deforestation of Tocantins State.

As a representative of Cofa - Orientation Committee of the Amazon Fund, Naturatins was the first state to present a project to combat illegal deforestation in the Legal Amazon and therefore is listed among the first from the nine states to be awarded resources of the Amazon Fund.

During the meeting, attended by a technical team from the department responsible, the visitors got to see the structure, activities and projects developed by Naturatins in the state, besides the technical presentation of the project for illegal deforestation combat in Tocantins.

This project aims to implement a model of control of deforestation in the Amazon biome and 20% of the Cerrado biome in the vicinity of the Estreito hydropower plant. In the project are addressed actions of modernization and sharing of forest management, a partnership between the productive sector and the government, the systematic monitoring of the vegetation in these regions, and also actions of forest regularization.

With the approval of the project, the State Government foresees in a period of three years the financial transfer of R$ 12 million, being that the state matches R$ 3 million and R$ 9 million come from BNDES funds.

According to representative of BNDES, Eduardo Cenepa, the money transfer should happen in seven months. "At this moment the department is entering the qualification stage, which means the stage where the bank evaluates if the submitted project meets the Fund’s criteria. In the following step there is a search for new information and then the contracting phase," explained.

In order to compete for resources from the Amazon Fund, a Letter of Intentions was signed (October 2008) between the Federal and State governments, in which both pledged to support and develop the Plan.

Tocantins state awaits the release of US$ 30 million from the Japanese government for Propertins - Program of Water Perpetuation of Tocantins. The program foresees the construction of dams for the accumulation and elevation of water levels at Sobrado, Manuel Alves and Itaboca Rivers, in the state's southeast. The building of dams will minimize the drought in the rural municipalities of Dianópolis, Paranã and Taguatinga.

The project waits for the visit of a Japanese assessment committee. "We expect that no later than April or May, this project of US$ 30 million, with virtually no cost to the state, can begin its development. Japan is a great partner”, said the governor.

According to JICA’s chairman, the governor's visit was timely for furthering current cooperation agreements, but the release date depends only on the Japanese government. "JICA awaits the preliminary design (...). We are expecting a response from the Japanese government in order to send a committee”, he said.

Carlos Gaguim invited representatives of the Agency to visit the state and made available a Tocantins team to attend the institution.

The Governor was accompanied by Secretary of Representation, Carlos Patrocínio, Secretary of Education and Culture, Senator licensed Leomar Quintanilha, Parliamentary Coordinator of Brazil-Japan, Federal Representative Nilmar Ruiz, and coordinator of International Relations of Representation, Marilda Nakane .

According to the Secretary of Agriculture, Roberto Sahium, this partnership is of vital importance for Tocantins’ producers to ensure the dissemination of knowledge. "We need to come up with new technologies for increasing the productivity of grains. Tocantins is essentially an agricultural state. Furthermore, we have all weather conditions and logistics to achieve good results in agriculture," he emphasized.

For the coordinator of the company in Brazil, Carlos Raupp, Tocantins’ Government greatly encourages the implementation of new technologies in productions with high added value. "Our investments are focused on seed grain with genetically modified organisms and therefore more productive and disease resistant," he said.

Company

Pioneer Company operates in Tocantins for the last three years and has invested around three million dollars in technology projects. Currently it has a plantation of soybean seed in an area of 30 hectares and another of corn in an area of 90 hectares.

According to Raupp, seed production is a dynamic and continuous process. "As soon as we finish one experiment, we start another. We work with approximately 500 varieties and genetic materials of soybean and corn. In some tests with corn we reached 8.4 thousand kilograms per hectare, exceeding the three thousand kilograms already produced in Tocantins", explained.

The group's investments in the construction of the project reached R$ 30 million, besides the land acquisition. The construction work generated 800 jobs. Today, the business unit made up of Extra and Assaí Wholesaler, generates 400 jobs. The regional director, Luiz Carlos reported that priority was given to local laborers.

Also in terms of social responsibility, Extra’s store manager, Ricardo Denaldi, said that the group continues to contribute to Tocantins, paying taxes to the state and county and providing opportunities for small and medium traders to purchase goods at competitive prices.

For the governor, the fact that Pão de Açúcar has invested in Tocantins gives a positive signal about the economic reality of the state. "Today, Pão de Açúcar is one of the largest groups in Brazil and the world, which shows that Tocantins is on track and it opens up possibilities for the state to expand its trade with the states of Pará, Bahia, Piauí and Goiás, which will be served by this store," he said.

At the ceremony, Mayor Raul Filho said that this is the third large business unit to inaugurate in the city of Palmas in little over a year and noted that in about 90 days a mall will also open in the Capital.

Extra Hyper retailers offer consumers more than 42 thousand items ranging from food to electronics. Assaí Wholesaler offers approximately 9 thousand items - 500 of these of its own brand, all sold in bulk. A drugstore and digital photo development department are also offered in the store, every day of the week.

Group

Pão de Açucar presents itself as a Brazilian pioneer and largest in the food retail sector, with 61 years of operation. Today, the group has 1200 stores, including supermarkets, hypermarkets, gas stations, drugstores and shops for durable goods, operating in 18 states and the Federal District. By teaming with Casas Bahia, Pão de Açúcar adds 513 stores, becoming the largest private employer in the country, with 137 thousand employees.

Through Pro-Culture, cultural projects will receive state funding of up to 80 percent of its total value, whether submitted by individuals or public entities. Funding for the program will be guaranteed by 0.5% of the net tax of the state, passed to the State Fund for Culture - assured the decree by regulating state law No 1402/2003, which created the Pro-Culture Program.

The first funding edition of cultural projects could by launched as early as February, covering the areas of scenic arts, visual arts, media, crafts, literature, music, libraries, archives and cultural heritage (material or immaterial) of traditional populations of Tocantins, as the indigenous and quilombolas (African descendants).

At the ceremony Governor Carlos Gaguim said he would work "fast to recover all the artists’ class lost over the years" and said he will not allow political interference in the choice of projects covered by the Pro-Culture. The governor has also insisted that the decree was read in its entirety during the event, "so that each of us, the State and the artistic community, becomes aware of their obligations."

For the president of the Federal Cultural Foundation, Sérgio Augusto Lorentino permanent resources for cultural projects represent a guarantee of the preservation of our culture, compel the market, generate employment and foreign exchange and will take Tocantins art beyond the limits the state, he said, noting the date as "a milestone" for cultural producers of Tocantins.

Representing the artists’ class, Wetenberg Nunes said that since 2003, regulating the law establishing the Pro-Culture was the main demand of the local artistic class.

Overall, considering all grain crops, Tocantins anticipates increasing its harvest by 4.9% in 2010, when the average growth for the northern states is estimated at 2.7% and for the country 4.6%.

For the 2009/2010 harvest, Conab foresees an yield in Tocantins of 1681 tons, against 1602 tons in 2008/2009. The area planted with grains should also grow 6%, coming to 613 hectares.

Conab’s survey of soybeans was performed between December 15th to 18th, and covered the states of the Central-South region, western Bahia, south of Maranhão and Piauí and in the north, the states of Tocantins, Roraima , Para and Rondonia.

Cynthia was selected in Tocantins competing with students from 13 Regional Educational Boards in September 2009. Her volunteer project to the school community on the OBMEP - Brazilian Mathematical Olympiad of Public Schools, was decisive on her selection for the award.

The Youth Ambassadors Program is a social responsibility initiative of the United States Embassy in partnership with the State Departments of Education, for students of public schools that have a leadership profile and awareness of citizenship.

Exchange

The program in the United States will extend to three weeks, not two weeks as in previous years. The student will stay with a host family, attend classes in regular schools and do educational presentations on Brazil to the North American community.

Soon after the countdown, the New Year was greeted by a colorful fireworks display - more than a ton of fireworks decorated the sky of the capital for about 15 minutes. This was the moment of celebration, when family and friends greeted and hugged each other.

Soon after, the governor delivered his message to the audience. "I hope that in 2010 God will bless each of you and that Tocantins will bring to each of you better opportunities in this coming year," said Carlos Gaguim – who was accompanied by his wife, Rose Amorim, his children, the vice-governor, Eduardo Machado, the chairman of the Legislative Assembly, Junior Coimbra, secretaries of state, parliamentarians and other friends.

The New Year’s at Graciosa had as attractions Chitãozinho e Xororó, Company of Calypso Band, Só Modão Band and Bandaêra, plus regional bands.

The governor showed the Dalai Lama some advertising material that demonstrates the state’s potential. The publication produced by the State Department of Communication provides information on economy, culture and data showing that the state already follows a pace towards development. "He will see if he can visit our Tocantins. I made an invitation and will keep in touch for him to come," said the governor.

The conversation lasted for about ten minutes, on a day when more than a thousand people tried to have an opportunity to at least get near the religious leader who is considered one of the most committed on world peace with a tireless quest to make dialogue, and compassion, the path to be followed by men. "That's what I want for Tocantins, much peace and development," said Gaguim.

International Mission

Gaguim and committee arrived on Sunday, 20, to the United Arab Emirates. Today, 21, the Governor is at the capital, Abu Dhabi, where he will visit a pharmaceutical company and meet with entrepreneurs from other sectors.

The Tocantins committee is on an official international mission since December 8th. The group, led by the Governor, has already signed important partnerships in business meetings in the United States, attended the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, in Denmark, where, among other activities, announced the deployment of the first project of Reducing Emissions by Avoiding Deforestation and Degradation of the Cerrado.

Governor Carlos Henrique Gaguim, who attended the Forum of Governors, emphasized the importance of Tocantins being inserted in this international mechanism for preserving the environment. "Tocantins\' entrance in this Task Force will allow our state to share technologies and positive experiences for sustainable development," said the governor.

During the event, governors from Amazonas, Eduardo Braga, and Pará, Ana Julia Carepa, were elected to share the chairmanship of the organization, position currently held by Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Braga and Carepa are ahead of the GCF from January 1st to December 31st 2010, with the commitment to implement the Joint Action Plan developed by the states and provinces members of the group, and ensure that the concerns and issues involving sub-national forest carbon are represented in efforts of climate policies in state, national, and international contexts.

The CGF was created to implement the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) established last year during the 1st Conference of Governors on Global Climate, signed then by the Brazilian states of Amazonas, Amapá, Mato Grosso, Acre and Pará, in addition to the Indonesian provinces of Aceh and Papua and the American states of California, Illinois and Wisconsin, providing a foundation for future cooperation on several issues related to climate policy, funding, exchange of technology and research.

The project’s announcement was made during the Seventh Forum of Governors of the Amazon, during discussions held at COP 15 - United Nations Conference on Climate Changes. "Tocantins’ biggest challenge now is to unify strategies for sustainable development around a shared vision for the future of the country, the states of the Federation, particularly of the Northern region," said Governor Carlos Gaguim.

Payment for environmental services was a key demand of the nine governors of states that make up the Legal Amazon during the last Forum, held in October, in Amapá.

Carlos Gaguim explained to the Forum’s participants what the government of Tocantins is doing to facilitate investment in projects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the state. The focus in on actions that make the environment an opportunity and resource: the reduction of fires; a reduction of illegal logging, through environmental education programs; implementation of the first project for carbon sequestration in Brazil in 1997; project of exchange of fuel from the ceramic industry; the planting of one million seedlings in 450 days and the strengthening of environmental agencies for control and inspection.

Environmental Commodities

Also on Tuesday 15, Governor Carlos Gaguim met with the executive director of TZ1, the largest registry system for environmental commodities in the world, Helen Robinson, who has pledged to cooperate with Tocantins for the creation of a development program of new environmental commodities, such as water, biodiversity, soil conservation, among others. "These actions will be addressed in a strategic plan of innovations, which combine local development and sustainability, to be coordinated by the State Department of Water Resources and Environment", says Gaguim.

Environmental commodities are goods originating from natural resources in sustainable conditions and are vital inputs for the maintenance of agriculture and industry. They are a complex production that involves seven matrices: water, energy, mining, biodiversity, wood, recycling, and emission control of pollutants (water, soil and air).

On the agenda of meetings, the governor also met with the executive director of EDP Energies of Brazil, Pedro Sirgado. EDP Institute already develops social actions in Tocantins, such as the Letters of Light Project, in partnership with the Victor Civita Foundation, which encourages children to read through theater presentations. Gaguim requested support from the Institute for the Pioneers Mirins Program. (Secom)

The company serves a population of over 1 million inhabitants, and with the separation of garbage collected can produce 9 megawatts of power. In addition, recycling generates fuel to heat more than 3 thousand local homes.

According to the head engineer of Waste Management, Steven J. Poggi, only 15 percent of waste produced in the United States is composed of organic material, which is animal and vegetable originated waste. Compared to the organic waste of China, which reaches 70%, the amount of American waste is very small.

According to Poggi, waste recycling starts in the home of Americans, where bottles, organic waste and inorganic are disposed in different garbage cans. Waste Management provides garbage cans to residents, which are also made of recycled plastic, and the colors serve as a guide in the selection process. "Here in America we separate the material that is recyclable, such as paper and plastic, already in the garbage truck. What is not recycled goes to the landfill, where it goes through a system of rotation land use," said Possi.

Craig Cassarino, idealizer of the “Sister States” partnership between New Hampshire and Tocantins, reveals that in Brazil half of all garbage is made of organic material, which can generate even more promising results in transforming this kind of waste into electric power.

"In Brazil there is much waste of food. Our people need to go through an integrated process of reeducation. It's not right to just go out and build a new landfill. We need a study, including a health program to combat diseases,” said Julio Rezende, from Origine, self-sustainable farm located in Tocantins that will serve as a model for Cassarino’s project.

According to Pedro Afonso’s Mayor, Jose Júlio Eduardo Chagas, Brazil may have an advantage in the recycling process, because "the higher the organic waste, the greater the gas production, which can be converted into energy."

Governor Carlos Henrique Gaguim is thrilled about importing the American technology of recycling.

According to the agreement text, the two states undertake to develop partnerships in various business areas, exchange of recycling technologies, sustainable energy projects, ecotourism, and even to exchange students. "We plan to work together. Obviously they have many natural resources in their State, and we have ours, we will perform collaborations that will ultimately generate jobs," said the democratic Lynch.

New Hampshire is a lightly populated state known for its political independence, and progressive in the international business area. According to statistics from the International Trade Resources Center, the commercial branch  New Hampshire's government, Brazil is the 16th partner of the state, among a list of more than 210 countries.

"We know it was in New Hampshire that it all started in the U.S. and you can feel that the people here love their country. Indeed their slogan (freedom or death) fits well for our state, because all we want is to give a good opportunity for the life of those who chose to live in Tocantins," said Gaguim.

The partnership that was achieved on Wednesday was the result of more than 35 years of research by one passionate for environmental services. The love of the entrepreneur Craig Cassarino for Brazil began after he sold his recycling business and went to Rio de Janeiro on vacation. From there, Cassarino went to Tocantins, and soon became fascinated by the eco-sustainable model developed in Origine Farm.

"Now that everyone already understands what Tocantins can offer we can pick up the good work of the people of New Hampshire and turn it into a major creator of jobs here and there," Cassarino said.

The farmer and founder of Origine, Julio César Rezende, believes that both states have complementary qualities. "Ecotourism is now one of the biggest job creators, and to partner with universities will help us create a more responsible resident, who can also take care and call for more sustainable measures for their state," said Rezende.

In the agreement are plans for several bilateral programs, including the exchange of technology for sustainable energy, generators powered by vegetable oil, plus research, technology and academic cooperation.

All of this was designed by Craig Cassarino, an entrepreneur with ecological vision who after selling his recycling company in the 80’s went – literally, lie down on the beaches of Rio de Janeiro.

"In Brazil I felt at home, it seemed an adventure," said Cassarino, who later married a Brazilian and continued to do business with Brazil as commercial consul in New Hampshire.

But it was in Tocantins, and more specifically on a farm called Origine, that Cassarino found the ideal model for his projects.

"We are delighted that Craig has chosen Origine to launch his projects. We are at the heart of Brazil and we have in our state one of the largest river islands in the world," said Julio Rezende, lawyer and environmentalist who after 9 years of research idealized the bio-sustainable model of farm where he lives.

According to Dawn Wivell, director of the international business office in New Hampshire, Brazil is the 16th trading partner of the state. Dawn’s team serves 2,200 customers from 215 countries, but sees in Brazil one of the most promising partners.

"If you're investing in a new industry such as sustainability, isn’t it great that you can establish a relationship with one of the fastest growing countries in the world?" said Dawn.

Tocantins drew New Hampshire’s attention for being a new state, only 21 years, without many bureaucracies and with many natural resources. Moreover, the American state is known for colleting fewer taxes of its population.

On Wednesday afternoon, Governor Gaguim signs the agreement with Governor Joe Lynch, after attending a luncheon party where there will be dozens of entrepreneurs from various countries. On Thursday, Tocantins’ delegation will visit a recycling plant as well as the University of New Hampshire (UNH), where a new college program will be introduced called "Ecotourism," which foresees visits by American students to Brazilian farms in Tocantins.

"When I was in college a professor told me: Economy and Ecology have a same radical – ‘eco’, which comes from Greek and means 'to manage someone's home." To study ecology is to study relations, reason why I'm always trying to find out how things are related," said Cassarino. (by Eduardo de Oliveira, journalist collaborator of O Globo, who lives in the United States)

Eduardo Machado will remain as chief executive until the 23rd of this month, period in which the governor will have commitments in the United States, Denmark, India and UAE.

Agenda

In the U.S., the international mission led by Governor Gaguim aims to expand relations in tourism, agribusiness, science and technology. In India and UAE, the delegation will seek business contacts in the pharmaceutical sector. In Denmark, Carlos Gaguim will participate in the COP 15 - United Nations Conference on Climate Changes in Copenhagen.

The American Company making the investment is Cogent Partners, which operates in several countries in the area of reforestation. In Tocantins, the company responsible for developing and running the project is Brazil Timber, with headquarters in Sao Paulo and with several years of industry experience. The president of the Brazilian company, José Leal, gave some details about the initiative. "As managers, we chose the area, purchase it, and are responsible for the entire technical project. We chose Tocantins because it is a state with great potential," he said.

After a few years, the eucalyptus trees planted in Ananas are used in the production of cellulose and charcoal, and also distributed to sawmills in several states. "In addition to creating dozens of jobs for the planting and maintenance of trees, the state grows with the supply of products and the environmental impact is highly positive," said Leal. The president of Brazil Timber concluded by saying that "Tocantins is the state where, in my perception, there is most political will to contribute to investments of this size. The governor has demonstrated this and we're excited. "

Initially R$ 35 million will be invested, but according to those responsible for the project, the growth potential is even greater. The investors showed they are willing to make a long-term commitment to working in the Bico do Papagaio Region. "The intention is to transform the region into a pole of eucalyptus production," concludes José Leal.