Good Practices and Innovations in Public Governance 2003-2011

Good Practices and InnovATIONS in Public Governance
to urban areas in search of a better quality of life. Migration further weakened the
human capital of the region and fostered an atmosphere of hopelessness, especially
among the youth. Lack of education and inclusion prevented them from participating
in decision-making processes and from pursuing better living conditions for themselves.
Segments of the population that were of African descent experienced even
more extreme poverty and marginalization.
Ironically, the region had enormous economic potential due to its ecological richness and
its ability to provide high-quality raw materials. However, the absence of institutional
infrastructure and participatory mechanisms for the local people to help shape public
policies resulted in these resources going untapped and yielding no benefits for citizens.
The Solution
The Bahai State Government and the Brazilian Federal Government promoted an
integrated regional and sustainable development model for the Lower South region.
It comprised new and inclusive political processes and citizen participation mechanisms
to engage the public in decision-making. The programme resulted in a harmonized
approach to regional development with improvements in building environmental,
human, productive and social capital. The key component was the emphasis on
decentralization that led to socio-political and paradigmatic institutional improvements.
Many associations and organisations were created to implement the various
aspects of the programme, and results very quickly materialized. The following seven
results are most noteworthy and important:
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• Community members who had previously been socially excluded became actively
involved in building their own future.
• New schools opened that provided opportunities for basic education and technical
training and were pertinent to organising and mobilizing a work force.
• The opening of educational opportunities paved the way for new economic
prospects, by developing new capabilities geared toward agricultural cooperatives,
product processing and commercial distribution.
• The cooperatives effectively created a supply chain of family units within the
community and led to the establishment of partnerships with the private sector
for product distribution.
• Agricultural and aquacultural production processes were conducted with modern
technology that used less land to achieve abundant crops. This contributed
to preserving undeveloped forest land and restoring damaged areas.
• The overall economic development plan was integrated with environmental
and heritage protection efforts and promoted hydrological sustainability.
• Most importantly, the new paradigm opened avenues for integrating residents