Albuquerque André L.
Organization: Terra Nova Regularizações Fundiárias
Year Founded: 2001
Country: Brazil
Website: www.grupoterranova.com.br
Terra Nova is social enterprise committed to the sustainable regularization of illegally occupied properties in Brazil’s urban areas. Focus: Regularization of Land Ownership, Urban Planning, Civic Participation Geographical Area of Impact: Brazil Model: Social Business Recognition: Regional Social Entrepreneur of the Year, Latin America, 2009; SEOY 2008 Brazil Background There are about 12.4 million Brazilians living in 3.2 million informal dwellings without access to public services such as water, electricity and waste collection. Most of these dwellings are located in favelas (urban shanty towns), which are beset by environmental degradation, diseases and urban violence. In the municipality of Sao Paulo, economically the largest and most important city in the country, there are 1,587 favelas, with over half located illegally on public land. The absence of a housing policy for low-income groups is one of the biggest factors in illegal land occupation in the country. Innovation and Activities André Albuquerque founded Terra Nova as a social enterprise committed to the sustainable regularization of illegally occupied properties in urban areas. Terra Nova acts as an intermediary between the legal land owners and the land occupiers to find a win-win solution for both sides. Regularization of these dwellings has almost always depended on actions by the public sector, which is overloaded and lacks funds. Government policies, when carried out, have been restricted to expropriations and urbanization services. Regularizing land ownership is expensive and not something politicians wish to invest in. Terra Nova was founded to resolve, in an amicable fashion, various conflicts that had dragged on in the courts for years. The land regularization process brings a final resolution to the conflict between landowners and occupants. The property rights are transferred to the occupants after payment of an indemnity; the title deeds go to the current occupants of the plots. Landowners are exempted from having to pay taxes accruing on the occupied area. For each plot of land negotiated, 40% goes to Terra Nova and 20% to a clearance fund to be used for projects within a community. The remainder goes to the original property owner, who accepts the deal, even if depreciated, to avoid long court cases that drag on through the judicial system and hardly ever guarantee the return of the property. In all the communities regularized by Terra Nova, the quality of life for low-income families has improved. At the first sign of the title deeds, the local town hall starts to supply water, electricity, a postal code, basic sanitation and public transport to the residents. This partnership represents a historic milestone in the country, as it means that the state changes its role from provider to supporting player in an initiative that promotes improvement in the lives of those that are least well off. Terra Nova acts directly in negotiations with the public authorities for structural improvements in the regularized neighbourhoods and indirectly, by encouraging the formation of neighbourhood associations. In addition to regularizing land ownership, Terra Nova has started to develop a programme for resettling the population affected by the construction of a hydroelectric plant in Rondonia in 2008. The Entrepreneur Bringing peaceful resolution to conflicts is a life mission for lawyer André Albuquerque. Standing against the tide of people who recriminate against profit in Brazil, André picked the challenge to set up Terra Nova as a social business. His idea is to capitalize those that have no capital. When the occupant becomes the owner, he can obtain bank loans, and when a community becomes legal, it has the right to improvements, such as asphalted streets and a sewerage system.
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