CONNECTING THE CERRADO

Goal: To protect at least 2000 hectares (4,942 acres) of native Cerrado in a network of interconnected private reserves within 20 km of Cantão Park.

The Cantão ecosystem in the Araguaia valley of Central Brazil is the world’s richest ecotone. Here, rich, moist lowland Cerrado comes into direct contact with Amazonian flooded forest, resulting in a steep species gradient with very high biodiversity. Unfortunately, only the Amazonian side of this amazing ecotone is protected, within Cantão State Park and Araguaia National Park. The Cerrado side all consists of private lands which are quickly being deforested. Brazil’s economy is heavily dependent on agriculture, and the vast majority of Brazil’s annual harvest (as well as most of the beef production) comes from the Cerrado, so the government is reluctant to intervene. Land prices in the region were about half of current prices before the first big soybean producers arrived around 2012 and put in the grain storage and transport infrastructure that made it viable for smaller ranches. However, now prices for land where soybeans can be grown is skyrocketing everywhere in the Cerrado, even where there is still no infrastructure. High land costs make the establishment of public protected areas unfeasible, making federally recognized private reserves (RPPNs) the only alternative.

RPPN stands for “Reserva Privada do Patrimonio Natural” in Portuguese or “Private Reserves of Natural Heritage” in English. RPPNs are established by a legal act of the government environmental agency at the request of the land owner, and become a formal part of Brazil’s National System of Protected Areas. 

The land remains private, but the title is altered to make the reserve legally binding in perpetuity, applicable to any heirs or future buyers. Only areas with relevant native habitat are eligible. These areas become tax-exempt, but must be managed by the same rules as national parks, with no hunting or tree harvesting of any kind allowed. All RPPNs in Brazil are subject to the same federal regulations. 

Strategy and Viability

In 2017 a grant from the Global Forest Watch - Small Grants Funds and a partnership with the American company Planet made it possible for Instituto Araguaia’s research team to map out the region and to identify remaining patches of pristine Cerrado around Cantão Park, as well as to map the possible paths for their connectivity. Once those areas were identified, a thorough ground truthing was conducted in order to verify the ecological significance of the most outstanding patches. Priority was given to the areas adjacent to Cantão Park, taking into consideration the critical size needed to ensure the area’s ecological viability and connectivity provided by the Rio do Côco and the strips of riparian forests, which are legally protected in Brazil (Fig1).

With funds from Rainforest Trust, and private donors, Instituto Araguaia purchased 240 hectares of pristine Cerrado in 2018. The property was to be sold to a neighboring soybean farm but now fortunately it is Instituto Araguaia’s private reserve RPPN Canto do Obrieni. It is home to several breeding pairs of the endangered Kaempfer’s Woodpecker (Celeus obrieni), as well as native Cerrado megafauna like giant anteaters, giant armadillos, maned wolves, rheas, tapirs, peccaries, deer, and jaguars. It also serves as a refuge for Park terrestrial fauna during high floods. We have already documented several animals, including jaguars and pumas, moving between the Cerrado reserve and the flooded forest deep in the Park. A set of giant otter dens on the reserve’s riverfront, across from the Park, has been used by 2-3 groups of giant otters every year since 2013, especially at the peak of the floods, when it is the highest available riverbank. 

With this example in hand, the team of Instituto Araguaia engaged in a bold campaign targeting key landowners for the creation of RPPNs. As a result, two more sites (43 hectares total) were made available at no cost by their owners. 

In 2020 with a grant from the American Bird Conservancy Instituto Araguaia has purchased another property within the scope of the Corridor, the 145-hectare Lago do Campo RPPN. Lago do Campo was purchased by Instituto Araguaia in 2021, in the Cerrado across the Rio do Coco from Cantão State Park.  It contains native grassland, gallery forest, three oxbow lakes, and a strip of Amazonian flooded forest.  This reserve will also be converted into an RPPN.

A Bolder, Innovative Approach to Cerrado Conservation 

With funds from the IUCN Netherlands Committee and the American Bird Conservancy, we were able to sign a 10-year lease for 190 hectares of pristine Cerrado forest, savanna, and marshland at Fazenda Guaíra, bordering Cantão Park and only 5 km from Instituto Araguaia’s Canto do Obrieni reserve (Fig1). The lease terms stipulate that the area will be converted into an irreversible RPPN before being returned to the owners at the end of the lease. The owners are attempting to establish an ecotourism camp next to the site, and Instituto Araguaia will manage the new reserve in synergy with this enterprise, so that by the time we return it to the owners they will have an incentive to take over its protection. 

A species survey and habitat map is being carried out by Instituto Araguaia’s field team is all the reserves, supported by a team of Biology specialists, to ensure that all RPPNs in the network have adequate connectivity with each other and with Cantão Park, with most of them bordering the park. Instituto Araguaia has been studying wildlife movements across the ecotone since 2010, using camera traps and other means. Most larger Cerrado species can and do use the park’s forest ecosystems to disperse, forage, and even reside for much of the year.

Protection and Management

We will continue our efforts towards the creation of a viable Amazon-Cerrado Wildlife Corridor adjacent to Cantão Park. Our goals will be to manage and protect the wildlife and habitats within the four RPPNs of the Cantão-Cerrado Corridor and to expand the Corridor by establishing new public and private protected areas. 

We will campaign and fundraise for the establishment of additional RPPNs on the rural resettlement projects along the corridor, and develop an integrated management plan for the RPPNs. We will increase our understanding of the ecological processes and habitat needs of endangered species in order to have science-based management plans and Corridor expansion projects, and work with the local communities in order to increase public awareness and interest in RPPNs, the Corridor, and the protection of the Amazon-Cerrado ecotone in the Cantão region. 

Our team of rangers, operating out of Instituto Araguaia’s field station, will carry out year-round weekly patrols of all the RPPNs focused on where we detect signs of poaching, with support from state authorities if necessary; they will open and maintain firebreaks and preventive burns, maintain cattle-exclusion fences and, whenever needed, will engage in firefighting operations. 

Out research team will monitor deforestation and land use along and around the Corridor through daily satellite images with 3-meter resolution, made available through a partnership between Instituto Araguaia and Planet.