In 1942, the "Great Reserve of the Pontal do Paranapanema" was created in western Sao Paulo State to protect 247,000 hectares of forest. Unfortunately, during subsequent years the reserve experienced intense deforestation, primarily due to illegal occupation of large tracts of land by cattle ranchers and later agrarian conflicts.

As a result of the lax enforcement of the reserve borders, its size was reduced to 36,000 hectares, which now compose the Morro do Diabo State Park, and 12,000 hectares of remnant forests distributed throughout the original area. The surrounding landscape primarily comprises pasture or sugar cane plantations, small agricultural lots and rural settlements.

The contentious issue of property rights in the Pontal has in large part predetermined the social transformations occurring in the region, and these are a primary threat to the remaining forests and the wildlife that inhabits them. To reverse the degenerative tendencies of the last half century in the "Great Reserve of the Pontal do Paranapanema", a plan of action is being implemented with the aim of reconciling conservation and sustainable agriculture.

Read more about our work in the Pontal below: