Guardians of the Rainforest
The forest speaks.
But before listening,
we need to take
a close look at it.
For decades, human activity has disturbed the balance between fauna and flora. A tour into the
Amazon forest guided by those who are reconstructing this history is the best way to connect with
nature and meet real Guardians of the Rainforest.
In a documentary series designed by Vale, we will explore the Amazon through the meticulous eyes of
those dedicated to keeping the native forest standing, and learn about the projects, the research
studies and the people who work full time in the conservation of the Amazon rainforest. The series
is divided into four episodes with different themes: “Conservation”, “Science and Research”,
“Institutional Partnerships” and “Recovery”, and can be watched on Vale’s channels and on
YouTube.
The initiative also resulted in a 47-minute documentary to be aired on the Discovery channels.
Episode 4
It’s time to learn about the forest’s DNA, the genetic codes that reveal important information and point out new and promising paths to science.
Episode 1
Guided by the biologist Andre Rezende and the parabotanist Delmo, we will discover the biodiversity of the Carajás National Forest, the Vale Zoo and Botanical Park, and the famous golden parakeet, a species threatened with extinction
Episode 2
In this episode, we take off on a helicopter trip to see the
partnerships that contribute to the conservation of the forest.
Episode 3
The Brazil nut tree is an icon of the Amazon Rainforest, but it restricted to some conservation units. Researchers will show us the complex operation to maintain this species in an episode about the recovery of degraded areas.
Check out
Vale’s activities
Drag
Institutional partnerships
The Chico Mendes Institute of Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio, Instituto Chico Mendes
de Conservação da Biodiversidade) and Vale are working together to protect the largest
area of continuous forest in the south and southeast regions of Pará. Conservation of
this area is an important measure in reducing global warming due to the maintenance of
the forest carbon stock. This is just one of the examples of the partnerships forged by
Vale to protect the Amazon.
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Check out other partner projects
Recovery
Vale is reforesting pasture areas acquired in Serra Sul by creating ecological corridors
in addition to restoring the region’s fauna and flora. Since the start of the project,
1,045 hectares have been reforested and 3,853 are being recovered through partnerships
established by the Vale Fund.
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Discover other biodiversity projects
Science and Research
The company has invested R$ 792 million in research in biodiversity and study of species
genomes and climate change through the Vale Institute of Technology (ITV). ITV is
dedicated to research and studies focused on sustainable development and mining, which
help understand future scenarios according to climate change, forecast which forests are
at risk to be extinguished, and understand the types of native vegetation in a region.
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Learn about ITV
Conservation
The Zoo and Botanical Park, maintained and managed by Vale, is in a Federal Conservation
unit within the Carajás National Forest. The Park was created in 1985 in an area of 30
hectares, which is home to native species of Amazonian fauna and flora including birds,
agoutis and monkeys that live freely in the areas of visitation, providing visitors a
unique experience of immersion in the Amazon rainforest.
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Learn more about the Zoo and Botanical Park
Testimonials
Biodiversity is important to humanity because it is the source of medicines and
ecosystem services, but it was taken for granted until recently. This area of more than
one million hectares is one of the last preserved areas in southeastern Pará. Certain
endangered species, such as the harpy eagle, only occur here.
André Cardoso
Biologist
When we started to work on the hardpan in the Carajás National Forest, we initially
thought that there were about 200, 300 species in that place, but we ended up
identifying more than 1,100 species. We conduct a genetic study on plants, animals, fish
and water; water has a particular importance in this process because it collects all the
information from the forest. The DNA of all this biota surrounding is in the water. This
work is called metagenomics or metabarcode, which means over studying a species to
collect all biodiversity information with one single environmental sample. We cannot
lose this genetic heritage before we understand it.
Guilherme Oliveira
Manager of Scientific Knowledge at ITV.
A mature forest system is the result of millions of years of learning accumulated
through natural. By analyzing and learning from this system, we can create productive
systems to meet our own needs. That is why this practice is considered to be a
regenerative agriculture; we regenerate life in the soil and, from that, we grow.
Marco Oliveira Bellotti
Agricultural engineer from Earth University and consultant in Agroforestry Systems in
Canaã dos Carajás.
Extractivism is life: we live off the forest and in harmony with it. My dream is to see
the cooperative becoming a reference not only for cooperatives in the state of Pará but
also worldwide. There are people who depend on the forest standing.
Ana Paula Ferreira
President of the Extractive Cooperative of the Carajás National Forest.
The Amazon
It is urgent to keep the forest standing and to value and promote sustainable development
opportunities for local populations. Vale has been in the Amazon for more than 30 years helping
ICMBio protect approximately 800,000 hectares of forest, an area equivalent to five cities of
São Paulo.
Learn about other environmental conservation initiatives in the region
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