A Tapir Gallery Conservation
Profile:
More about
INSTITUTO DE PESQUISAS ECOLÓGICAS
(Institute for Ecological Research)
An International Partner of Wildlife Preservation Trust International
and
CONSERVATION BIOLOGY OF LOWLAND TAPIRS (Tapirus terrestris) AND THEIR
POTENTIAL AS "landscape detectives" IN THE PONTAL DO
PARANAPANEMA REGION - SAO PAULO STATE - BRAZIL.
COORDINATED BY: PATRICIA MEDICI
Click on any image to enlarge
All photos on this page © Copyright 2000 Patrícia Medici or Instituto de Pesquisas Ecológicas.
Death and Life . . . Left, a tapir lies dead alongside the road that runs through the park - a high-speed road for cars. Speed bumps have been promised, but they have not come soon enough for this tapir. Right, toucans are among the many species found in the Pontal region. Others include spotted and black jaguars, peccaries, black lion tamarins, deer, agoutis, howler monkeys, cappuchins, macaws, ocelots, pumas, capybaras, lizards, snakes, thousands of species of butterflies, and more. (Toucan picture enlargement is unavailable.)
Left, the Riberpo Bonito ("Beautiful River") settlement is home to 195 families. This settlement must be crossed by taiprs and other wildlife in order for them to reach a forest fragment within the boundaries of the settlement. In the background, the Devil's hill (Morro do Diabo) can be seen above the plowed fields. It is important to keep connectivity of the forest fragments so that wildlife can move among them and are not cut off from food, water, and other members of their species by human habitation and development. Right, tractors of the landless people are shown occupying a new farm. First, the settlers camp by the roads close to the unproductive farm they are requesting (see photo below of vehicles along the road) and they start negotiating with the owner and the government for the land. If they do not suceed in the negotiation, they occupy the land and establish their own plots. This is the only way the thousands of landless people in the Pontal can pressure government to do something about the inequality of land ownership.
Left, people in the landless movement assemble every week to discuss
their situation and new actions. This is a very democratic process since
the entire group decides what will be done each step of the way. The red flags are the symbol of the movement. Right, you can see one of the many landless camps that are spread throughout the Pontal region. When they are camped, the people live under very poor conditions. Some camps last for more than three years while their inhabitants wait for farms that will become their new homes and livelihood.
The picture above shows the nursery, where a group of landless people at Morro do Diabo State Park are taking classes on agro-forestry, establishment of plant nurseries, and the benefits of including trees in their farm plots. These "agro-forestry workshops" are given for members of one specific settlement each day. Groups are held almost every day, and the attendees spend the whole day at the park. During the morning they take classes and see slide shows, and in the afternoon they go to our nursery inside the park's administration area where they learn how to establish a nursery, how to work with the seeds, how to plant them, etc. In this way, we have stimulated 12 settlements to establish their own nurseries, and they've been using seedlings they grew themselves to reforest portions of their plots. These forested areas benefit not only the farmers, but also the wildlife in the area.
Return to June/July, 2000, Capture Round.
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Write to Patrfcia Medici: epmedici@uol.com.br
Write to Tapir Preservation Fund: tapir@tapirback.com
