Four municipalities in Chapada Diamantina have taken a new step toward strengthening the conservation of insect pollinators. Mucugê, Ibicoara, Rio de Contas and Livramento de Nossa Senhora have signed cooperation agreements with the Protection of Pollinating Insects in Latin America and the Caribbean (Poli-LAC) project, expanding work that was already underway directly with farmers and local communities.
The partnerships will enable the municipalities to receive technical support in areas such as environmental education, farmer training, infrastructure and the development of public policy instruments aimed at protecting pollinators.
Funded by the German government’s International Climate Initiative (IKI) and implemented by GIZ as part of German-Brazilian cooperation, Poli-LAC operates in five countries in Latin America and the Caribbean: Brazil, Costa Rica, Mexico, Paraguay and Peru. In Bahia, Chapada Diamantina was selected as one of the project’s pilot landscapes because of its importance for biodiversity conservation.
“We had already been working in the region to raise awareness about the issue and implement Pollinator-Friendly Practices. Now, with the partnership agreements, the project can expand its work by responding to needs identified by the municipalities themselves,” explains Lucia Maia, a specialist at the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and Poli-LAC’s supervisor in Brazil.
From farms to public policy
Poli-LAC’s work in Chapada already goes beyond raising awareness about the importance of pollinators. Thirty farms belonging to small and medium-sized coffee and passion fruit producers, as well as one red-fruit farm, have been selected to participate in the project and receive support to implement Pollinator-Friendly Practices (PAIPs).
These measures include crop diversification, maintaining plants and areas that provide food for insects, raising native bees and reducing the impacts of agricultural practices on pollinators.
The new municipal agreements now make it possible to take this experience to a broader scale. Planned activities include training for farmers on bio-inputs and pest management, environmental education initiatives, pollinator gardens and trails, and the installation of structures for solitary bees.
The partnership may also support municipalities in developing laws, regulations and other public policy instruments related to pollinator conservation.
An example that has already become law
In Ibicoara, the partnership has already produced a concrete result at the municipal level. Poli-LAC provided technical support for the development of Law No. 434/2025, which established the Citizen Science Programme in the municipality.
The legislation creates opportunities for residents to participate in knowledge production and environmental monitoring, bringing together scientific knowledge and local and traditional knowledge.
The project’s support also extends to new legislative proposals currently under discussion in the municipality. One would recognize pollinators as Ibicoara’s natural heritage. Another proposes restricting the planting of toxic plant species that could pose risks to insects. Both proposals are expected to advance by next year.
The experience in Ibicoara illustrates one of Poli-LAC’s central goals: making conservation not only an issue addressed by environmental projects, but also part of the decisions and policies of local governments.
A strategic region for biodiversity
Chapada Diamantina encompasses a range of natural environments, including areas of Caatinga, Cerrado, remnants of the Atlantic Forest and campos rupestres, creating a transition zone between biomes known as an ecotone.
This diversity makes the region a strategic territory for pollinator conservation — and also an important place to test solutions that can be adapted to other regions.
Beyond agriculture, the new agreements open opportunities for cooperation in areas such as meliponiculture, rural tourism, urban tree management, invasive species control and the creation of municipal conservation areas.
Municipalities may also establish nurseries to produce seedlings of species that provide food and shelter for pollinators, expanding green infrastructure in both urban and rural areas.
Connecting farmers, researchers and governments
Poli-LAC’s strategy is to bring together different stakeholders to address an issue that cannot be solved solely on individual farms. Farmers, researchers, communities and municipal governments are being encouraged to work together to create more favorable conditions for pollinators.
In practice, this means turning local experiences into knowledge, training and public policies — while creating conditions for solutions tested in the region to be scaled up.
Poli-LAC is funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUKN) through the International Climate Initiative (IKI) and co-financed by the European Union in Paraguay. In Brazil, the project is implemented in partnership with the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), the Brazilian Network for Plant-Pollinator Interactions (Rebipp) and other local institutions.
By bringing farmers and municipal governments closer together, the project is taking an important step toward making pollinator protection a lasting part of the environmental and agricultural agenda in Chapada Diamantina.
