Considered among the best-preserved areas on the planet, Indigenous Lands (TIs) provide a vital refuge for a large portion of the world’s biodiversity. They account for 13.9% of Brazil’s territory and cover approximately 109.7 million hectares of native vegetation—19.5% of Brazil’s native vegetation in 2020.

To ensure the conservation of these areas and the well-being of the peoples living there, it is essential to develop and support Territorial and Environmental Management Plans (PGTAs), as they outline actions for the protection, conservation, and use of environmental resources and biodiversity on indigenous lands in Brazil and serve as the primary guiding instruments for implementing public policies aimed at indigenous peoples, particularly the National Policy for Environmental and Territorial Management of Indigenous Lands (PNGATI).

With the goal of protecting and preserving this wealth, the Ywy Ipuranguete project (a term derived from the Tupi-Guarani language meaning “beautiful land”) – “Biodiversity Conservation in Indigenous Lands”—will implement Territorial and Environmental Management Plans (PGTAs) in 15 Indigenous Lands across Brazil’s five biomes —the Amazon, Atlantic Forest, Cerrado, Caatinga, and Pantanal—contributing to the conservation of 6 million hectares of Brazilian Indigenous lands, home to approximately 57,000 Indigenous people.

The project’s main actions are: the consolidation of Indigenous Territories through improvements in community infrastructure and the strengthening of territorial monitoring and surveillance; supporting income generation and food sovereignty through the promotion of sustainable agriculture; ensuring access to national food procurement policies; improving production chains for natural products; strengthening traditional knowledge, cultural practices, and territorial governance with a focus on women and youth; and managing and disseminating the knowledge generated by the project.

Ywy Ipuranguete is an initiative of the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples (MPI), executed by the International Institute of Education of Brazil (IEB), with support from the National Indigenous Peoples Foundation (FUNAI), and implemented by the GEF FUNBIO Agency. Funding comes from the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF), which is part of the Global Environment Facility (GEF).