| Federative Republic of Brazil | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Location | Northeastern South
America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean Geographic coordinates 10 00 S, 55 00 W |
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| National websites | Conservation
International Country Program Base de Dados Tropical IUCN membership in Brazil |
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| Embassy / Chancery in U.S. | Ambassador Paulo Tarso Flecha de
Lima 3006 Massachusetts Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20008 |
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| Agencies responsible for biological inventory and conservation | The Ministry of Environment, Water
Resources and the Amazon Ministerio do Meio Ambiente, dos Recursos Hídricos e da Amazônia Legal, Esplanado dos Ministérios |
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| Non-governmental organizations concerned with conservation | Fundação André Tosello Secretaria
de Estado de Meio Ambiente e Desenvolvimento Sustentável Fundação Biodiversitas |
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| Major Natural Resources | Bauxite, gold, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, platinum, tin, uranium, petroleum, hydropower, timber (as per the Brazil World Factbook) as well as extensive agricultural areas and fishing along the coast. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Major Environmental and Conservation Issues | Brazil's environmental problems are many, complex, and interconnected. The Amazon rainforest, suffering from deforestation (some of the result goes to sawmills), presents an atmospheric problem by reduction of the planet's biggest carbon dioxide sink. The methods used to clear the forest compound the problem by polluting the atmosphere. The purpose of deforestation is to convert the land into farms, which means that dozens of native and possibly endangered species are being displaced or decimated. The process is systematically destroying the Amazon's ecology and therefore another major natural resource Brazil has little tapped until now, ecotourism. Its Cerrado plains are also fast becoming farms, reducing numbers of native species at an alarming rate, and its Pantanal runs the risk of following the same fate as Florida's swamps. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Statistics | Information Sources | ||||||||||||||||||
| Land area | 8,456,510 km2 | Brazil World Factbook | |||||||||||||||||
| Area of forest | 441,304 km2 | South American Tables | |||||||||||||||||
| Area of wetlands | 220,000 km2 | The Hutchinson Encyclopedia | |||||||||||||||||
| Area of territorial waters | 55,455 km2 | Brazil World Factbook | |||||||||||||||||
| Population: | 169,806,557 (July 1998 est.) | Density: | 20 / km2 | Brazil World Factbook | |||||||||||||||
| Area protected at all IUCN levels: | 32,189,837 ha | Fraction of land area protected: | 3.78% | WCMC Protected Areas Summary | |||||||||||||||
| Major Protected Areas | List of
Major Protected Areas Reserve de Biosphere Cerrado System des Reserves de Biosphere de la Foret Atlantique |
Information Center for the Environment | |||||||||||||||||
| Endemic Species |
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World Resources Institute | |||||||||||||||||
| Endangered, Threatened and Vulnerable Species |
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World Conservation Monitoring Centre - Animal | |||||||||||||||||
| Extinct Species |
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World Conservation Monitoring Centre - Animal | |||||||||||||||||
| Species listed on CITES Appendices | CITES-listed Species Database | ||||||||||||||||||
| Legislation | |||||||||||||||||||
| Laws protecting endangered or threatened species | Interministerial Commission on
Sustainable Development, Coordination for Biological Diversity (June 1994) National Biodiversity Program (Dec.1994) Biosafety Law (Jan. 1995) |
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| Laws protecting endangered ecosystems | National Council for the Amazon
Region (Aug. 1993) National Integrated Policy for the Amazon Region (Dec. 1994) National Policy on Ecotourism (Sept. 1994) National Policy to Control Desertification |
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| Signatory to CITES | 6 August 1975 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Signatory to Ramsar Wetlands Convention | 24 September 1993 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Signatory to Convention on Biological Diversity | 28 February 1994 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Signatory to Migratory Bird Treaty | N/A | ||||||||||||||||||
| Member of International Whaling Commission | by 19 November 1956 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Signatory to other international treaties designed to protect or manage biological resources | Marine Dumping: by 1972.12.29 Tropical Timber 83: by 1983.11.18 MARPOL: by 1983.10.02 Law of the Sea: by 1994.11.16 |
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| Natural Resource Use | Information Sources | ||||||||||||||||||
| Fisheries | Extensive fishing along the coast has caused concern for endangered coastal species. | Agenda 21 | |||||||||||||||||
| Forestry / deforestation | Extensive deforestation continues
throughout Brazil, due to demand for both wood and agricultural area. Brazil’s problems = Earth’s problems Logging in the Amazon increased by 30% in 1998 Preliminary reports show that logging in the Amazon jumped by 30 percent in 1998. Based on conventional estimates, about 17,000 square kilometers of forest in the Amazon were destroyed -- an area nearly the size of Israel. |
Agenda 21 | |||||||||||||||||
| Ecotourism | Surprisingly, the ecotourism statistics for Brazil are deplorably low. As of 1995, Brazil accounted for only 0.03% of the global ecotourism that comprises 10% of all tourism. Currently, Brazil's ecotourism potential is being developed and promises to become a major aspect of Brazilian economy. | Brazil Nature | |||||||||||||||||
| Trade in wildlife products | |||||||||||||||||||
| Hunting | Hunting is not a major aspect of natural resource use, although it does have some small effect on local species as native peoples hunt for subsistence. | Institute for Ecological Research | |||||||||||||||||
| Other uses of natural resources | Brazil counts heavily on agriculture for economic support, although it is turning to more industrial endeavors that involve hydroelectric plants and gold mining. | Amazon Life | |||||||||||||||||
| Human Impacts on Natural Resources | Information Sources | ||||||||||||||||||
| Air pollution | Brazil participates in various programs aimed at reducing atmospheric pollution, especially that produced mainly by forest fires (intentional or not) and industrial endeavors. | Agenda 21 | |||||||||||||||||
| Water pollution | Brazil has implemented extensive legislation around sanitation and maintenance of potable water, use and management of hydroelectricity, coastal management, pollution control and clean-up, fishing regulation, and ongoing research in these areas. | Agenda 21 | |||||||||||||||||
| Development activities | Agriculture all over Brazil is subject to the most regulation since it is needed in greater amounts, yet not at the expense of existing natural habitats. Deforestation, fertilizer misuse, and soil erosion are the areas of greatest concern. Comprehensive land-management legislation is in place to regulate allocation of land. | Agenda 21 | |||||||||||||||||
| Introduced species | Introduced exotic species is currently not a pressing issue. | Agenda 21 | |||||||||||||||||
| Legislation addressing these issues | Montreal Protocol (1990), London
Amendment (1991), United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (1994) Control of Air Pollution by Automotive Vehicle Program (1993) National Environmental Council Resolution no. 13 (1995) National Water Resources Policy (1997) The National Irrigation Policy Law No. 6662 (25 June 1979) Coastal Management Program Federal bill on Fisheries summarizing FAO Code of Conduct of Responsible Fishing National Environmental Program—Coastal Management sub-component Ecological and Economic Zoning Project (ZEE, 1990) Pilot Program for the Conservation of Tropical Forests in Brazil The Brazilian Government is slashing funds for most of its monitoring and conservation programs |
Agenda 21 | |||||||||||||||||
| Restoration and Reintroduction | Information Sources | ||||||||||||||||||
| Programs for restoration of damaged habitat | The Ecological and Economic Zoning Project (ZEE) is the primary program aimed at conservation and rehabilitation of areas designated as 'critical'. | Agenda 21 | |||||||||||||||||
| Programs for ex situ conservation (captive breeding and reintroduction) of endangered species | |||||||||||||||||||
Return to Endangered Species Protection around the World
Page compiled by Jason Lomeli as part of a class project in H90 "The Science of Biodiversity and Conservation" (Peter J. Bryant, Instructor), University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA