http://www.spvs.org.br

SPVS

Founded in 1984 and qualified as OSCIP (Organization of the Civil Society of Public Interest) in 2001, the Society for Wild Life Research and Environmental Education – SPVS – works for the conservation of nature through the protection of native areas, through actions of environmental education, and through the development of models for the rational use of natural resources. Its activity is focused on the bioregion of the Atlantic Forest – the region of Guaraqueçaba – at the coast of Paraná –and its ecosystem associated with Araucaria Forest and Natural Prairies.



Among the initiatives developed by the SPVS are actions of environmental education, works to remove the Red-tailed-parrot from the list of endangered species, and the maintenance of the natural Reserves. It also makes efforts to recover and protect private natural areas through the Program of Avoided Deforestation, and it makes campaigns to avoid the contamination of the environment with heavy metals.

The Project of Conservation of the Red-tailed-parrot
The Red-tailed-parrot (Amazona brasiliensis) is a bird threatened of extinction. The area of his habitat is only a narrow coastal strip of the Atlantic Forest between the south of the State of São Paulo and the north end of Santa Catarina. It is estimated that there are about 6.500 of these parrots in nature –its largest population (around 5 thousand) is concentrated on the coast of Paraná.



The main causes of the decline of the population of the Red-tailed-parrot are the deforestation, the extraction of trees and plants used as food and shelter by the species, and the clandestine capture of nestlings for illegal trade.
Since 1998, the SPVS develops the Project of Conservation of the Red-tailed-parrot at the coast of Paraná, through efforts of study, management, institutional integration and activities of communication and environmental education. The main objective of the project is to protect the species, assuring the conservation of genetically viable populations, eliminating the extinction threats, raising awareness in the community about the relevance of its preservation, and promoting the environmental conservation of the area.

Private Reserves of the Natural Legacy
The SPVS maintains 3 natural Reserves inserted in the heart of one of the largest remainders of the Atlantic Forest of Brazil. Acquired since 1999, the Reserves have been implemented through projects of actions against the global warming and are being transformed into RPPNs (Private Reserves of the Natural Heritage) – a category of conservation unit established for private areas and that determines a character of perpetuity of biological conservation.
The three properties have an area of 18,5 thousand hectares and are located in the Environmental Protection Area (APA) of Guaraqueçaba. Besides of sheltering the activities of the carbon capture projects, they are designed for the protection of tracts of preserved forest, for restoration of degraded areas, researches regarding the conservation of nature, as well as for the promotion of activities of environmental education.

Natural Reserve Morro da Mina
Located in the municipal district of Antonina, it has about 3.300 hectares.
It possesses a great percentage of intact forests, with even centennial trees. The water that supplies part of the urban population of the municipal district of Antonina is captured form springs located in its interior.
The reservation comprises a nursery of native seedlings of the Atlantic Forest, that supplies the reservations of SPVS in the activities of forest restoration. There have already been identified in the place 19 species of fish, 7 of amphibians, 33 of reptiles and 49 of mammals. Inside of the reservation there are also located ruins of the old iron mine that existed at the place.

Natural Reserve Rio Cachoeira
Also located in the municipal district of Antonina, it is the largest among the areas maintained by SPVS. It has about 8.700 hectares and possesses 200 kilometers of trails and a Center of Environmental Education (CEA), where it is possible to get information on the three Reserves. It has a small library, a space for technical events and for the community, and a permanent exhibition on the Projects of Carbon Fixation. The area of CEA has also a trail of 1.800 meters for activities of environmental education. Researches developed in the Reservation until the year of 2003, already revealed the presence of 810 species of plants, 407 species of birds and 61 of fish, besides mammals threatened of extinction such as the otter (Lutra longicaudis), the leopard cat (Fidelis pardalis), the paca (Agouti paca) and the spotted jaguar (Panthera onca). There were also identified 44 sites with presence of archeological vestiges. Among them are sites with shells and fireplaces, ruins, ceramic leftovers and bones.

Nature Reserve Serra do Itaqui
Located in the municipal district of Guaraqueçaba, it occupies 6.653 hectares. The area possesses natural beauties such as waterfalls and  the 1.200 hectares large swamps. An attraction of the place is the waterfall Rio do Poço, formed by several falls and located in the center of the Reserve. Another highlight is the waterfall of Rio do Santo, that has a fall of approximately 20 meters. From the Rio Caçada, that emerges in the Reserve, water is captured  to supply the 600 residents of the Ilha Rasa, located in the area of the municipal district of Guaraqueçaba. There have been identified in the Reserve, until the year of 2003, more than 800 species of plants, 235 of birds, 52 of mammals, 42 of fish, 30 of amphibians and 39 of reptiles. There have also been spotted 22 areas with presence of archeological vestiges, among them sites with shells and fireplaces, ruins, ceramic remains and bones.

www.visiteguaraquecaba.com.br

COOPERGUARÁ

MATER NATURA

Projects of Mater Natura
At the website of Mater Natura are the summaries of the projects developed by the organization. Below follows the description of one of these projects, in which the André Safari & Tours is the partner of Mater Natura.

Conservation Project of the Marsh Antwren
The Marsh Antwren (Stymphalornis acutirostris) is a small bird, considered to be under risk of extinction, and discovered recently in 1995. Its global population, estimated to be about 12.000 individuals, exists only in parts of the states of Paraná and Santa Catarina, and covers an area of about 6.000 hectares, being among the birds with the smallest geographical spread of the world.
Since more than ten years – in the countryside of the bay of Guaratuba, south coast of the state of Paraná – a population of the species has been monitored by biologists of MATER NATURA, with the purpose of studying the species and gathering data to aid its conservation.

Photos: R_Belmonte-Lopes


The ecological importance of the Natural Municipal Park of Lagoa do Parado
The park has about 3.000 hectares of swamps “framed” by the National Park Saint-Hilaire/Lange, forming a kind of “swampland” in the heart of the Atlantic Forest. The place is used by biologists of MATER NATURA with the purpose of research, and it is “decorated” with small and centennial swamp-ariticum-trees, besides of comprising the largest continuous area of distribution of the Marsh Antwren.

BOTICÁRIO FOUNDATION FOR THE PROTECTION OF NATURE

The Boticário Foundation for the Protection of Nature is a nonprofit organization, whose mission is to promote and to perform actions of conservation of nature. Created in 1990, the institution is the most relevant expression of the policies of private social investment of the Boticário Company, and it acts all over the country. Its activities include the protection of natural areas, support to projects of other organizations, and sensitization of the society for the conservationist cause, contributing to the ecological balance of the planet and to the maintenance of life.

Through its natural Reserve, the Boticário Foundation protects important remainders of two of the threatened bioregions of Brazil: the Atlantic forest and the Cerrado savannah. Besides, it motivates others to invest also in the protection of natural areas, supporting projects and paying for ecossystemic services.

Natural Reserve Salto Morato
Opened to the public in 1996, it has 2.340 hectares and protects landscapes of rare beauty, such as Salto Morato, a waterfall of approximately 100 meters, and the fig tree of Rio do Engenho, whose root forms a “gate” over the width of six meters of the river.

The Reservation has educational trails, kiosks, a natural aquarium for bathing, a camping, a laboratory, a hostel for researchers, and a training center. Together with other conservation units of the area, it is accredited by UNESCO.as a Natural Patrimony of Humanity.

HUDSON GARCIA - The best in tropical bird photography

http://www.hudsongarcia.com

www.ornithos.com.br/

ELECTRONIC MAGAZINE ORNITHOS – Birdwatching Space

Through video cameras functioning 24 hours a day, the Magazine transmits images of the birds of the area of Morretes, Paraná. Countless species were already sighted and the website receives thousands of visitors from all parts of the world.

The Rancho Ornithos, a place where the filmings happen, is open to receive visitors and offers courses on photography and filming in nature.

KITTY HARVILL - AFC/ Artists for Conservation -

As a wildlife painter, she works presently with pastel and oil as well as with watercolor. Her thematic focus has become the radiant nature and the wild life of Brazil, where she lives now. A large part of her work is focused on species under risk of extinction and on the beauty of the hotspot "Atlantic Forest". She aims to show to the spectator the marvel, the magic and fundamentally the relevance of a severely threatened  region of our planet.

In case you are member of a NGO or Foundation and would like to enter into a partnership with HOTSPOT Safári & Tours, get in touch with us!