Tropical Biodiversity Research Center - Ecotropical

1. Tropical BiodiversityResearch Center - Ecotropical

2. Implementation: Brazilian Energy Institute (Instituto Energias do Brasil) Address: Rua Bandeira Paulista, 530 11º andar CEP: 04532-001 São Paulo – São Paulo, Brasil. Contact: José Lopes Alves e-mail: jose.lopesalves@enbr.com.br Ecológica Institute (Instituto Ecológica) Address : 103 Sul, Rua SO 11, Conjunto 3, Lote 28 CEP: 77015-034 Palmas – Tocantins - Brasil Contact : Stefano Merlin e-mail : stefano@ecologica.org.br Aveiro University (Universidade de Aveiro) Address : Departamento de Biologia, Campus Universitário de Santiago. 3810- 193 Aveiro, Portugal Contact : Dr. Amadeu Soares e-mail: asoares@bio.ua.pt Tocantins Catholic University (Faculdade Católica do Tocantins) Address : Av. Teotônio Segurado - 1402 Sul Cj. 01 Cep:77061-002 Palmas – Tocantins - Brasil Contact : Luiz Antônio Hunold de Oliveira Damas e-mail: ladamas@catolica-to.edu.br Science and Technology Ministrty – Global Climate Change General Coordination (Ministério da Ciência e Tecnologia – Coordenação Geral de Mudanças Globais do Clima) Address : Esplanada dos Ministérios, Bloco E, CEP: 70067-900, Brasília, DF Contact : José Domingos Gonzales Miguez Partners:

3. Location: The Ecotropical Center is situated in an area of ecosystem cerrado (a form of savannah), 35 km from Palmas, the capital of the state Tocantins, and 9 km from the urban zone of Taquaruçu. The Center will be made up of 2,000 hectares of cerrado with diverse phytophysionomies. Location: State of Tocantins Photos of the Ecologica Farm

4. Mission: Development of interdisciplinary research about tropical biodiversity with a focus on climate change, renewable energy and Social Carbon among others, promoting exchange and interaction between community, national and international researchers and the public community.

5. Objectives: • To implement a research center turned to the development of research, training and education. • To establish a records center and library concentrating all the information generated in the region. • To promote exchange and interaction between community, national and international researchers and the public community. • To develop practices which value the conservation and the use of biodiversity. • To maximise the effectiveness of conservation programmes by the interaction of scientific data with sustainable development policies, among others.

6. Context: • State of Tocantins foundation: 1988, after the dismemberment of the state of Goiás; • Development of the state: agriculture and livestock expansion, construction of new roads and the construction of the state capital Palmas; • Advance of economic activities: consequences on the regional biodiversity with the degradation of the cerrado ecosystems which, in their original composition, covered over 87% of the Tocantins’ surface; • Population distribution: result of a series of historical, political and biogeographical factors, and determined by the predominant forms of production; • Agriculture, both traditional and modern, and its contribution to the state and national economies directly influences the degradation of natural resources and impacts upon biodiversity; • Different forms of demographic expansion: uneven impact upon regional biodiversity.

7. Ecotropical in the Cerrado Ecosystem: • The cerrado is the second largest ecosystem in Brazil; • Of the original 204 million hectares, 57% have already been completely destroyed; • Flora with more than 10,000 species of plants, of which 4,400 are unique to the region; • 837 species of birds; • 161 species of mammals, of which nineteen are unique to the region; • 150 species of amphibians, of which 45 are unique to the region; • 120 species of reptiles, of which 45 are unique to the region; • Just within the Distrito Federal, there exists 90 species of termites, 1000 species of butterflies and 500 species of bees and wasps; • Approximately 6.5% of the cerrado is protected as parks and reserves; • High degree of uniqueness; • The remaining 12.2% is covered by diverse forests.

8. The Importance of Biodiversity in the State of Tocantins: • Cerrado: has a high level of biodiversity, significant number of unique species and great agricultural potential, considered one of the last ecosystems capable of supporting cereal production; • Because of these characteristics, there is a high level of fragmentation and degradation of these ecosystems; • Four categories of ground cover are present on the Brazilian cerrado: ‘campo sujo’ (‘dirty field’: low-level vegetation, consisting of grasses and herbs); ‘campo cerrado’ (‘savannah-field’: low-level vegetation with sporadic shrubs and bushes); ‘cerrado’ (‘savannah’: shrubs, trees and low-level vegetation); and ‘cerradão’ (‘thick savannah’: large trees growing very close together); • Flora of Cerrado: the richest of the world’s savannahs, many plants of the region are used locally as foods or medicines, sources of cork production, fibers (grains), honey, oils, waxes, tannin, decoration and handcraft. • The current biodiversity depends upon research and conservation strategies which guarantee the preservation of areas where species can survive future environmental changes and, above all, upon concrete and quantitative knowledge of the richness of species and potential of Brazilian biodiversity. Photos of the Tocantins’ cerrado

9. The Importance of Research for the Conservation of Biodiversity: The planning of sustainable use and conservation of biodiversity depends on ecological research and studies into the roles of organisms in self-managed ecosystems. Priority research into biodiversity management include analytical inventories of biodiversity and the creation of maps of distribution for: a) unique local species, endangered species, key species and migratory; b) exotic species, invaders and problem-species; c) domestic animals, economically important species and methods of making environmental services more economically important.

10. Principal factors endangering the maintenance of biodiversity: • Loss of habitat (including procreation grounds, migration routes etc.); • Habitat degradation and ecological imbalance (achievements, business, roads, fire, pollution, community settles); • Lack of know-how; • Hunting for food, incidental capture and human-animal conflicts; • Genetic problems, fragmentation and isolation of populations; • Shortage of protected areas; • Live capture for trade; • Invading species, illness, competition, hybridisation; • Climate changes; • High demographic growth; • Little value acknowledged to natural resources; • Agricultural specialisation; • Social inequality; • Judicial and institutional systems which promote unsustainable development and exploitation.

11. The Importance of Research about Climate Change: • The research center will serve as a place to disseminate researchs and practices carried out by the Ecológica Institute with the goal of reducing the effects of climate change. • It will also be an opportunity for continuation and application of new studies: • Identification, analysis and evaluation of biomass calculus methodologies and carbon projects, including development of software to calculate biomass and evaluate carbon stocks. • Measurement of the carbon cycle in the different region’s types of forests. • Climatic and environmental monitoring. • Analysis and evaluation of climatic changes and the reactions of the ecosystems.

12. SOCIALCARBON: • At the research center the methodology of SOCIALCARBON will be used and taught, spreading the knowledge of it to other institutions through training and courses. • SOCIALCARBON research activities: • Development of methods to evaluate the social benefits derived from projects of Clean Development Mechanism. • Identification of techniques, methods and indicators for the climate change monitoring projects, which allow an approach to study phenomena's related to time scales, space and magnitude, for the improvement or implementation of environmental policies and norms. • Identification and evaluation of alternative methods that brings income increase for communities which advocate the conservation of biodiversity and maintenance, reduction or sequestration of carbon stocks. • Research of production systems focused on climate change mitigation. Biodiversity Financial Human Carbon

13. The Importance of Establishing a Research Center: • Cerrado: savannah with the biggest biodiversity in the world. • Agricultural expansion is resulting in rapid destruction of the savannah ecosystems. • Studies reveal that climate effects are becoming more extreme in the region. • The region has great potential for maintenance and sequestration of carbon. • Research's can explain how changes in land use are affecting the global climate and how global climate changes are affecting the forest. • Accumulation of knowledge and creation of climatic and environmental data banks on the ecosystems under pressure from human activity. • Previous carbon research carried out by the Ecológica Institute have already influenced the local economy: the ceramics sector is beginning to change their energy sources. • The development of research into this patrimony is an extremely important step for the conservation of biodiversity and the mitigation of global climate change.

14. Tropical Biodiversity Research Center - Ecotropical

15. Future Installations of Ecotropical Center

16. Future Installations of Ecotropical Center

17. Side-Plan of the Ecotropical Center:

18. Bird’s-Eye Plan of the Ecotropical Centre: ? ?

19. Information: Maria Amélia Maciel – maria@ecologica.org.br Luiz Eduardo Leal – leal@ecologica.org.br Tel.: +55 (63) 3215.1279