BRAZIL

Natural Partners -- with its local partners Apremavi and Instituto Rã-Bugio -- has completed design work on two major projects to preserve critical areas of Brazil's Atlantic Rainforest , one of the world's most biodiverse areas, but with just 7% still standing, also one of the most threatened, namely:

• A project with Apremavi to work with local communities to protect over 85,000 acres (125 sq. miles) of the Atlantic Rainforest, while helping local landowners adopt ‘best practices’ for the sustainable use of their farmland and forests and protection of local watersheds.
  
• A second project with Instituto Rã-Bugio, a premier environmental education group widely covered on Brazilian TV, to purchase and manage a near-pristine 2,000 acre tract of Atlantic Rainforest for a regional ‘ecological corridor’.

As shown in yellow on the map below, the Atlantic Rainforest runs from the upper NE corner to Brazil to the south of Brazil then inland to east Paraguay.

Both projects will help build ‘ecological corridors’ to piece together remnant areas of the Atlantic Rainforest in the State of Santa Catarina, to protect critical habitat for threatened species, such as the jaguar (onça pintada), the spider monkey (bugio), and many rare birds that have been forced into small fragments of the once very extensive forest. Below are a few images of forest remnants and the wildlife that depends on these areas. Serra do Pitoco Park in Atlantic Forest A corporate sponsorship campaign for the Apremavi-Natural Partners project will begin in mid-July 2007 with a first round of contacts with companies based in the State of Santa Catarina, followed by a widening circle of other corporate contacts in Brazil and the United States. Related sponsorship opportunities will be posted on the Websites of both organization shortly. Armadillo in Atlantic Forest Park Primate (Bugio) in Serra do Pitoco

The Araucaria Forest Adoption Program, Brazil
To prevent the complete disappearance of Araucaria Forest and rich history associated with it, Natural Partners has joined forces with Brazilian NGO Society for Wildlife Research and Environmental Education - SPVS to launch an "Adoption Program" for remnant areas of the forest. This pioneering initiative aims to encourage the 'drawning together' of those who, with the support of the two NGOs, can help save the Araucaria Forest: local companies and landowners who still have well-conserved remnant areas.
Download the Adoption Program brochure


The Pro-Araucaria Program
Natural Partners and its Brazilian partner SPVS have developed a program to begin the creation of corridors of private protected areas in Brazil's Araucaria Forest, one of the world's most endangered ecosystems with less than 1% of its original area still in good condition. Currently, the two organizations are searching for companies in Brazil and other countries interested in investing in the Program. For more information on this Program and its first Pilot Project, please contact Natural Partners representatives in Brazil and USA.