Adopting wild mammals as indicators of environmental health in the Xingu River headwaters agro-industrial region, the Instituto de Pesquisa Ambiental da Amazônia undertook a biodiversity survey and developed maps and a pocket guide to assist rural soy producers in protecting the region’s biodiversity.

 

IPAM staff member Oswaldo de Carvalho Jr. presents to rural producers at Querencia workshop. Photo courtesy of IPAM.

 

In the Xingu River headwaters region, a new frontier of deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon, the community has limited knowledge of local wildlife; many in the community are migrants from the south of Brazil who arrived in the region less than two decades ago to clear the forest for cattle ranching and soybean cultivation. Despite this and continued deforestation, sixty percent of the original forest remains, offering a unique opportunity for conservation efforts. One such effort is that of Instituto de Pesquisa Ambiental da Amazônia (IPAM), or Amazon Environmental Research Institute, which is targeting land use impacts on wild mammals to assess biodiversity conservation amid soybean production.

 

IPAM began by carrying out a biodiversity survey in private forest lands to identify the species which inhabit the area, evaluate the current status of the wildlife population and develop a demographic model to predict the viability of these populations in the future. They chose to focus on medium to large-sized mammals as they are good biodiversity indicators with popular appeal. IPAM then walked a total of 2,572 km of forest transects covering five properties, where they recorded a total of 589 sightings of 25 medium to large mammals species. Through the use of additional methods such as camera traps and footprint surveys, the number of species sighted increased to 37. In line with the number of species expected in the region, and given the presence of large carnivores like jaguar and puma, IPAM concluded good environmental quality.

 

Out of this research, IPAM produced land use maps showing habitat characterization, potential habitat, agricultural suitability, biodiversity potential and conservation risk and future regional scenarios and a mammal footprint pocket field guide. The mammal field guide was sent to more than 500 rural soy producers and farmers in the Xingu and nearby regions who were also invited to a workshop that IPAM organized in Querencia, Mato Grosso. Twenty-five rural producers attended the event, during which IPAM presented the results, reinforced the importance of biodiversity and discussed the possible ways to combine biodiversity conservation and economic activities. One participant commented, “This kind of presentation is very useful for us producers, because it helps us know our own land and also how to protect the environment”.

 

The cover of the Pocket Guide for Large Mammal Identification produced by Oswaldo de Carvalho Jr. and IPAM.

 

During the workshop the producers also had an opportunity to attend talks by fellow Biodiversity and Agricultural Commodities Program grantee Aliança da Terra on their Registry of Social-Environmental Responsibility, and hear about Banco do Brasil’s new credit “Low Carbon Agriculture Program”. It is expected that the guide and workshop will enable rural producers to develop wildlife lists to monitor for their property. Additionally, IPAM is working to produce recommendations for on-farm practices that could improve and protect habitat for a variety of species as well as implement a large scale biodiversity monitoring initiative on farms participating in the Registry of Social-Environmental Responsibility.