Scarlet ibis (Eudocimus ruber) in a mangrove treeIn May 2016, staff from the CSF Brazil team travelled to the Salgado Paraense region, located on the northern coast of the state of Pará.  Their goal was to collect important information as part of our project on the sustainability of mangrove ecosystems. This project seeks to sensitize the government and society to the benefits these ecosystems provide, and make recommendations about economic instruments that could be used to promote financial sustainability of protected areas.

Researchers’ training in Belém

Photo credit: Daniel Kieling.

Brazilian mangroves. Photo credit: Freya Fennwood . Mangroves are a key ecosystem contributing to biodiversity and flood protection on a local and regional level. Unfortunately most people are unaware of the ecosystem services provided by mangroves. As a result, overfishing and pollution threaten this critical habitat.

The region of the Tapajós basin is considered the new frontier of energy expansion in Brazil. Specifically the São Luiz do Tapajós hydroelectric project, the largest planned for the basin. If it is built, many ecosystem services will be impacted, influencing the well being of hundreds of local people who depend on them. In this perspective, CSF conducted a study that sought to understand the economic impacts on the services provided to local populations.

On 21st June, CSF-Brazil participated of a workshop about “Dams in Tapajós River”, held in PUC University (Brazil). It was an opportunity to debate with students, professors and other NGOs the subject of huge infrastructures in Amazon and its implications on social and environmental issues. The Heinrich Böll Stiftung made a report about this event and also an interview with Camila Jericó-Daminello, who is conducting the CSF’s study about the São Luiz do Tapajós dam, planned for the same river. This was repost with permission from Heinrich Böll Foundation – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Access here

Tapajós river basin, Pará State, Brazil © Camila Jericó-Daminello After an inventory of potential dams in the Tapajós river basin was released in 2008, the area has been hailed as the new frontier of energy development in Brazil. Due to the typically extensive environmental and social impacts of dam construction, governments and communities in the Amazon region have been engaged in discussions over the past few years on how to mitigate impacts on people and nature. Some dam projects are already underway with many more on the drawing board.

Amazonas native. © Fernanda Preto

The 2014 Brazil Economic Tools for Conservation course was held July 28 and August 8, 2014 at the Serra do Cipo, Minas Gerais. CSF's Economic Tools for Conservation, a well known and renowned course among conservation professionals around the world, provides participants with skills in economic analysis on which to build more efficient and effective strategies for environmental conservation.

Entre os dias 22 e 25 de julho de 2014 a CSF em conjunto com a GIZ (Agência Alemã de Cooperação Internacional) realizaram em Brasília o Curso de Capacitação TEEB/ISE: Integração de serviços ecossistêmicos ao planejamento para o desenvolvimento. Esta capacitação foi desenvolvida pela GIZ e tem como objetivo desenvolver capacidades sobre a Economia dos Ecossistemas e da Biodiversidade e a integração de serviços ecossistêmicos a processos de planejamento por meio da(o): • Introdução de conceitos relacionados aos serviços ecossistêmicos e à abordagem da Economia dos Ecossistemas e da Biodiversidade (TEEB);