About Chapada Diamantina Foundation
Founded 1994
Dedicated to all aspects of conservation, environmental research and activism, and cultural/historic preservation in the region surrounding the Chapada Diamantina National Park
Projects Underway
The Chapada Diamantina Foundation was recently approached by a donor who asked us to find an initial 100 hectare ( 240 acre ) plot of land to start a hard-wood recovery program. The idea is to plant noble hard woods that had been selectively harvested from most of the regional Brazilian landscape, such as Brazilian Rose Wood, Pau-d'árco, Ipê, Coração-de-Negro, Vinhático, etc.
We are set to purchase a very well preserved piece of forest bordering the Chapada Diamantina National Park . Since most all of these hardwoods are later successional species, we will need to open only small clearings in the forest to mimic natural tree-fall gaps in order to plant seedling of these selected species and have them develop under natural environmental conditions.
The Chapada Diamantina Foundation recently initiated a suit (3/2006) against the city government of Lençóis because it expanded the city limits right up to the border of the National Park ( 2 miles to the south) without a public hearing, in a move that favored a single developer. The local District Attorney has indicated that she will inform the Mayor that the law is invalid because of inaccuracies in its description of the new boundaries (got'em on a technical!). That will throw it back to the City Council where we have now enough support to change the whole law to allow for a much less aggressive expansion of the town.
We also have an action filed to increase access to a traditional mining/tourist trail that was partially fenced off by a private land owner. This action is also a sure-win, as it violates the municipal right-of-way laws (see the “Books” page on this site).
- Field support for visiting researchers at the Chapada Diamantina Foundation headquarters
The Chapada Diamantina foundation provides lodging and laboratory space for researchers visiting the region. The laboratory has work tables, basic equipment for field excursions and camping, as well as plant drying ovens, and there is bunk space for up to 12 people.
All Brazilian land owners are required by law to set aside 20 % of their property (farms) as permanent legal reserves. These lands must be maintained with their native vegetation and only can be lightly used. Additionally, riparian forests and vegetation surrounding springs and water courses are considered untouchable.
During the project that mapped the vegetation in an around the Chapada Diamantina National Park , it became very evident that an unusual plateau of cerrado (savanna) vegetation on the western border of that reserve was being rapidly and densely occupied by central-pivot irrigation plots. Due to its poor soils this area had been virtually unoccupied and pristine, but the flat, easily worked, and inexpensive land began to attract the attention of land-hungry farmers from the more developed southern part of the country in the 1980's and it soon became a rich center of agricultural production using modern farming techniques. Due to its proximity to the National Park, the intensive use of water resources and agro-chemicals inherent in this type of high-density agriculture (these are the headwaters of the river that supplies water to the capital city of Bahia State), and the existence still of significant undeveloped areas, the site was selected for a pilot program that will seek to integrate private use of natural resources with public conservation planning.
Both state and municipal governments have expressed their concern over the intensive use of water resources in the region (including the construction of dams), the intensive application of agro-chemicals and their effects on water quality. Farmers in the region are well aware of the necessity of a dependable and abundant supply of water, and conservationists hope to be able to maintain dispersal corridors and habitat for wildlife and native plants.
The Legal Reserve Project will work with both the farmers and governmental agencies to attempt to strategically delimit the legal reserves of these large land holdings to protect water resources and distance them from agricultural fields while at the same time creating ecological corridors composed of united and compact conservation units. The open regional vegetation is favorable to planning and subsequent monitoring of land-use using satellite images and simple Geographic Information system (GIS) technology, and both the land owners and the state government have expressed their interest in (and support for) the project.
- International Cooperation
The Chapada Diamantina Foundation has established ties with researchers and academics in the US , England , and Australia who are available for consultation on technical matters and/or who have been able to organize or cooperate with research projects in the country:
Dr. Robert Voeks
Coordinator, Environmental Studies Graduate Program
CSU – Fullerton, CA, USA
Dr. Leslie Landrum
Senior Research Scientist
Arizona State University
Dr. Mark Borchert
Ecology and Vegetation
US National Forest Service
Dr. Raymond Harley
Royal Botanic Gardens , Kew , UK
Dr. Rick Hansen
Missouri Fish and Wildlife Service
Bill Benenson
Co-Director of Common Ground Media
Frances and Benjamin Benenson Foundation
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