Since 1997, IPÊ has been involved in environmental education in the municipality of Nazaré Paulista. During these years, the emphasis has been to foster conservation education among the rural community about the ecology and fragility of the Atlantic Forest, introducing sustainable alternatives that can be put into practice. The idea is to highlight the region's characteristics, promoting conservation values and sustainable attitudes and behaviors that can improve the social and the environmental richness.
The Atibainha reservoir, located partly in Nazaré Paulista, supplies water to more than twelve million residents in the metropolitan regions of Sao Paulo and Campinas cities. It also supports the largest industrial center in Brazil. Thus, an effective and sustainable long-term management plan for this important watershed should be a national priority.
To these ends, IPÊ has implemented diverse activities including seminars, ecological exhibits and reforestation programs as a means to involve all parts of the community in nature conservation. The education work helps make the population aware of the importance of resources conservation, particularly of the protection of water. It has also promoted activities that both increase monthly incomes for rural families and positively influence the local habitat.
In addition to water conservation, IPÊ's environmental education activities also address primates native to the region, such as the threatened black-fronted titi monkey and the buffy tuffed-ear marmoset.
