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A biosphere reserve teams up with green tourism
Under threat from urban development and demographics, the Sao Paulo City Green Belt Biosphere Reserve in Brazil is receiving an increasing number of visitors. A plan to teach sustainable tourism is designed to make the local young people aware of the fragile nature of their environment while also lifting them out of the poverty trap.
The road that leads to Paranapiacaba crosses the heart of the Mata Atlântica, the Brazilian Atlantic forest. This little town is dependent on Santo André, one of the towns in the suburbs of Sao Paulo that is part of what is known as the “Green Belt”. In summer, the road is sprinkled with manacas flowers, whose white and violet colours contrast with the green of the abundant vegetation. It is difficult to believe that such a natural paradise can exist near to a megalopolis of 17.8 million people like Sao Paulo. And that in the space of barely 40 minutes, you can go from a world of concrete and asphalt to this ocean of greenery. But this paradise is under threat from the anarchic urbanization of the surrounding towns. With already 92 percent of its original surface area lost, Mata Atlântica is a victim of the attraction it holds for the people of the Sao Paulo region. Already a popular destination for Sao Paulo residents, the forest is attracting increasing numbers of foreign tourists - with disastrous consequences for the environment.
That is why in 1994 UNESCO made the Sao Paulo City Green Belt a Biosphere Reserve, in order to preserve this natural heritage site that is home to one of the greatest examples of biodiversity in the world, and to ensure that protecting the environment, improving the residents’ social conditions and developing the economy go hand in hand.
Paranapiacaba thus became one of the bases for the Youth Training Programme for Ecojobs, an educational project created in 1996 to introduce pupils to activities related to sustainable development and to promote environmental protection in the region.
New life for local economy
Seven town authorities in the Greater Sao Paulo area and the State Forestry Institute participate in this programme, which trains girls and boys aged 15 to 21 from under-privileged families over a two-year period. Seven hundred of them have already taken the course; another 290 are currently studying.
“We offer them lessons in ecotourism, forestry, sustainable agriculture and waste recycling so that they leave here aware of the necessity of protecting nature,” explains Rodrigo Victor, the reserve coordinator. And so that they leave better qualified to find jobs.
Because in the long term, the project is all about energizing the local economy. “The whole Sao Paulo City Green Belt, including its forests and waterfalls, has enormous potential. Not only can sustainable tourism lead to more respect for the environment, it can also help local communities by bringing them work,” says Vanessa de Souza Silveira, one of the programme’s coordinators. According to the Tourism Secretariat of the State of Sao Paulo, activities related to ecotourism could increase 70% in five years.
In the classroom of the Paranapiacaba Youth training programme, the girls and boys look just like teenagers anywhere else in the world. André Fantineli, 20, wants to be a disc jockey; Paulo Pinheiro, 16, has ambitions to be a policeman; Salatiel Santos, 15, wants to be a lawyer... All of them aspire to a better future. From low-income families, they live in the poor suburbs that surround the big cities and are exposed to many of society’s ills: drug dealing, domestic violence, unemployment, poverty...
Today, one year after they began the training offered by the Youth programme, some say they have changed. Salatiel views the forest in a new way. “Before, for me the forest represented a place where you could enjoy yourself, tearing down trees... Now I know that the vegetation is important for all of us,” he says. Renata Silva, 20, has discovered her vocation in life. “I really want to work in tourism. I have learned to speak in public, as a guide,” she says.
Positive results
Some have already taken the first step. On the former motorway linking Sao Paulo and the coastal town of Santos, which has been transformed into an ecological route, young guides lead tourists on walks and explain to them the importance of Mata Atlântica, giving them information about local history or the fauna and flora of the region. “We have managed to convince our partners that it is preferable, for the development of the region, to take on young people from around here rather than bring in people from other regions, even if they are qualified. This allows us to create more jobs in the city,” Vanessa says.
The results speak for themselves, especially for the young people, a large number of whom are now free from the trap of social exclusion. Elaine Cristina Alves da Silva, 19, is one of the guides. Thanks to the lessons, she has overcome her shyness. Eventually, she would like to study biology at university, just like another guide, 18-year-old Ednalva Aparecida Oliveira, who is already taking courses at the tourism school. It represents a victory for her, given that her parents were opposed to her taking part in the Youth training programme. “They wanted me to continue working in the family bar and they thought the lessons were a waste of time,” she says.
A waste of time? In Sao Bernardo do Campo, a community to the south of Sao Paulo, 18 teenagers have followed the Youth training programme for two years. When they completed it, they all found work as guides for the Sao Bernardo Ecotouristic Office for Coastal Paths.
Photo © Vanessa Silveira, Brésil: More than 700 people have already taken the training courses for "ecojobs".
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Author(s) |
Gabriela Michelotti Freelance journalist, São Paulo (Brazil)
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Periodical Name |
the new Courier
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