Pontal

The corridors project seeks to solve the lack of connectivity between forestry fragments, restoring degraded Permanent Preservation Areas and Legal Reservations in rural properties. The priority areas for restoration are identified by the "Dream Map", created by IPÊ. To implement the corridor, saplings used come from eleven community nurseries established and supported by the Institute, producing 400,000 saplings of native species each year.

Ecological Loofahs

IPÊ environmental education initiatives encourage farmers in the Pontal to restore the Atlantic Forest whilst also increasing their monthly income through the cultivation of loofahs.

Threatened Birds

This project is in its final phase. The data were collected in the field, analyzed and are now being prepared for publication. The study was divided into five chapters. The first is a general analysis of fragmentation on the birds of the study region.

Ecological Detectives

This project seeks evaluates the population size, genetic status and dispersal patterns of three large mammal species in Morro do Diabo State Park and surrounding forest fragments in the Pontal do Paranapanema.

Green Hug

Forest fragments in the Pontal do Paranapanema are exposed to anthropic actions that lead to degradation (fires, logging, agro-toxins) and edge effects (wind, fluctuating temperatures, excessive sunlight, decreased humidity, and exotic plant species). These factors influence ecological processes in Atlantic Forest fragments.

Agro-Forestry Plant Nurseries: Teaching and Community Nurseries

Community nurseries produce saplings of forest tree species used by agrarian reform settlers on their properties and demonstrate techniques for nursery operation in settlements. The nurseries also provide assistance to settlers in planning their properties by emphasizing agroforestry and silvopastoral practices. This stimulates the creation of agroforestry lots that form forested 'islands' that serve as stepping stones or refuges for regional fauna.

Coffee with Forest

The Coffee with Forest Project, conducted since 2001 with agrarian reform farmers in the Pontal do Paranapanema implements a diversified system that combines coffee (Coffea arabica L.) cultivation with annual crops such as beans, maize, and cassava. In the same growing area, Atlantic Forest tree species, such as Inga, Cordia trichotoma, Timburi, and Ficheira, are also planted.

Environmental Education

From its beginning, the Environmental Education Program in the Pontal do Paranapanema has been integrated into the conservation biology initiatives of the black lion tamarin. Results from scientific research are critical to inform the activities of this program, which disseminates information to the public in an accessible way.

Effects of Fragmentation on the Diversity of Ticks and Their Pathogens

Forest destruction converts continuous habitats into fragmented landscapes, often surrounded by cultivated areas, pasture and cities. These changes generate alterations in fauna and flora, as well as the transmission dynamics of infectious diseases. Pathogens previously maintained at endemic levels and at an environmental equilibrium become threats to human and animal life. They are responsible for emerging or re-emerging infectious disease.

Black Lion Tamarin Conservation

The black lion tamarin, scientifically known as Leontopithecus chrysopygus, is one of the rarest and most threatened primate species in the world. It was for many years considered extinct in the wild. Today, the species remains in a precarious state and is listed in the Red List of Threatened Species (IUCN) as endangered (EN). The main threat to its survival is forest fragmentation and habitat degradation, which leads to population isolation and decline.

Lowland Tapir Conservation Initiative

Since October 1996, Patrícia Medici, a senior researcher and co-founder of IPÊ, has been undertaking a research and conservation program focused on the Brazilian tapir in the Atlantic Forests of the Pontal do Paranapanema Region (Teodoro Sampaio, São Paulo State). This region includes Morro do Diabo State Park, a forested area of 35,000 hectares and one of the last significant remnants of interior Atlantic Forest, and other surrounding forest fragments totaling 12,000 hectares. The Brazilian Atlantic Forest is one of the most threatened biomes in the world; its original area was of 1,300,000km² (12% of Brazil's area). However, today, this has been reduced to approximately 7% of the original size.

Pontal - SP

Targets 2025

Atlantic Forest Corridors