In Depth Coverage

Calha Norte in Brazil

About 42% (212 million hectares) of the Brazilian Amazon is under protection as indigenous land or conservation units. Forty three percent of the conservation units were created between 2003 and 2006. However, federal and state agencies will face enormous challenges for the effective protection and sustainable use of these areas because most of them are not consolidated, i.e., do not possess management plan and have poor infrastructure. Additionally, most protected areas in the Brazilian Amazon are under tremendous anthropogenic pressure. In the Calha Norte Project we will assist the State Government of Pará in preparing the management plans required to consolidate the Conservation Units of this region and will help to protect them by using an integrated and innovative landscape and environmental law monitoring approach.

• Link With Climate Change

  Open

  In 2006, the Brazilian Ministry of Environment (MMA) updated the map of priority areas for conservation in the Brazilian Amazon. The map shows that the new conservation units in Pará Calha Norte are either of very high or of extremely high biological importance, threatened by both economic pressure and global warming. Moreover, the MMA has also identified that the Calha Norte is of high or extremely high priority for consolidation. In addition, these state conservation units complete the Brazilian portion of the Guyana Shield that has been considered a global conservation priority. Finally, these conservation areas protect the most significant freshwater reserves in the region (e.g., the headwaters of all major rivers in the region are now protected).

• Objectives

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  Our long-term goal is to contribute towards the effective conservation and sustainable use of protected areas of the Calha Norte region. Specifically, in the next three years we propose to contribute towards two major outcomes: (i) Consolidation of 7.4 million hectares of State Forests; and (ii) Reduction of Illegal human pressure in protected areas in Pará State´s Calha Norte region. Our specific objectives are to protect the biodiversity, watersheds, rivers and carbon stocks, and contribute to improve the life quality of the local communities of this region.

• Work plan

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  tbd

• Schedule

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• Technical and Scientific Approach & Methods Proposed

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  tbd

• Results

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• Deliverables

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• Use of Satellite Imagery and GIS Solutions

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• Local Actions

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  Specifically, in the next three years we propose to contribute towards two major outcomes: (i) Consolidation of 7.4 million hectares of State Forests in Pará State's Calha Norte region; (ii) Reduction of Illegal human pressure in protected areas in Pará State´s Calha Norte region.

• Miscellaneous information / interesting details on project

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  tbd

• Region Name

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  Calha Norte Region : located in the northern side of the Amazon River in the State of Pará, Brazilian Amazon

• Partners involved in project

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  My team is my own technical reference.
  Other project partners:
  - Secretaria Estadual de Meio Ambiente – SEMA
  - Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi (MPEG)
  - Conservation International, Brasil (CI)
  - Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation (GBMF)