Brasil 'Norte-Sul'

By Renato Robert, Project Coordination “Brasil Norte-Sul”, Prof. for Engineering and Forest Technology (UFPR), slightly modified by GS (UHH):

Brazil has a total area of 851 million hectares, 477.7 million of which are covered by natural forests,  grouped  into  six  Brazilian  biomes:  Amazon,  Caatinga  (xeric  scrubland  and  forest), Cerrado  (savannah),  Atlantic  Forest,  Pantanal  (tropical  wetland)  and  Pampas  (grassland), besides  5.6  million  hectares  of  plantation  forests.  Alone,  the  Amazon  biome  corresponds  to 49.29% of the national territory, being the largest continuous  area of tropical forest on Earth.  Also,  it  harbours  a  quarter  of  all  fauna  species  on  the  planet  and  more  than  20  thousand different  plant  species  that  grow  exclusively  in  that region.  It  plays  an  important  role  in climate regulation,  water quality  maintenance, erosion control, and  the provisioning of  other ecosystem services. However, according to the National Institute of Amazon Research (INPA) 
(on  www.amazonia.org.br  as  of  March,  2013),  the  Amazon  has  had  207.6  km²  of  its  area deforested  between  the  months  of  November  and  December  of  2011,  an  area  equivalent  to over 20 thousand soccer fields  and  50% more than what was registered over the same period the year before. 

For  some  years  there  has  been  a  growing  concern  with  the  sustainability  of  our  economic models.  Along  this  tendency,  the  year  of  2011  was  declared  by  the  United  Nations  as  the International Year of Forests. This aimed at raising awareness in  the global  society as to the importance of the conservation and preservation of forests in order to ensure the continuation of  life  on  the  planet.  In  2012  Brazil  hosted  the  UN  world  conference  on  the  Environment 
“Rio+20” in Rio de Janeiro, which was the sequel to the  Earth  Summit in 1992. These events also considered  the growing concern of the general community, scientific as lay,  regarding  the policies that have been made in the Amazon region. And despite the discussion about adopted policies in 2011 and international efforts to increase awareness, there are still many setbacks to be overcome.

Thus,  there  stands,  still,  the  importance  of  the  year  of  2012  in  the  political,  historical  and economic context in Brazil, as much as the basic functions of public universities, i.e., the role of teaching,  research  and  extension.  The  extension  is  the  most  efficient  interaction  between students  -  future  professionals  that  represent  the  mentality  of  the  university  -  and  the community in which they are inserted.

Study tours, field trips and summer courses are one of the main examples of extension programs, which provide to the participants complementing knowledge and fulfillment of academic learning through hands-on experience. Accordingly, it is intended to bring to students of Forestry from Federal University of Paraná and from partner universities such as the Rural Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and the German Universities of Eberswalde Freiburg and Hamburg, the reality of Forest Management in the Brazilian Amazon associated to concepts of Sustainable Development, Forest Based Industries, teaching institutions and companies which use non wood forest products. It is the purpose of this trip to provide valuable insights into the realities of forest management in the Brazilian Amazon as well as gaining experiences on how forest-related  products and value-chains work in this unique environment. Groups of students from various backgrounds and regions will work together to create the multinational fundaments for prospective and responsibly acting decision-makers.

In some parts the following information is to prepare and communicate the actual "viagem" in July 2014. Comments and critics are always warmly welcome!

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