Field Trip

Traducción Español

To receive information about ecosystems and biodiversity of São Paulo, the National Organizing Committee organized a field trip for the conference participants. The trip was related to the conference theme 'Global changes, ecosystem services and multilateral agreement in Latin America and the Caribbean", and complemented the conference with unique opportunities to experience diverse Brazilian nature.

The field trip took place on Friday, 26 October. See below the description of the selected site for the field trip.

Brotas, São Paulo

Brotas is a municipality located in São Paulo state which experienced its greater development period during the coffee farming expansion in Brazil - between the 1920s and the 1930s. In the early 1990s, in partnership with University of Campinas/Unicamp, the city led to the establishment of the first Brazilian Consortium for the protection of water, perceiving in the Jacaré Pepira River a touristic asset to be exploited. Nowadays, Brotas is known internationally for its specialization in adventure tourism, hosting the practice of several adventurous sports such as rafting and canoeing, taking advantage of the river. Around 2005-2007 revenues generated by adventure tourism activities became the main source of income to the municipality. 

The aim of the field work is to know the results of a successful project which modified the municipality's main economic source after the recovery and the conservation of the natural system. We will visit a Farm Hotel called 'Areia Que Canta' (Sand that sings) with springs water originating from Guarani Aquifer (a huge underground and transboundary water body that covers part of the territories of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay). The curiosity is when you rub the sand between your hands, the sound is like the sound of a common Brazilian samba instrument: cuíca.

The hotel area has a remaining part of the Brazilian savannah (called Cerrado) with 800 thousand square meters; the Cerrado is one of the most threatened biomes of the world. The natural area of the hotel has a rich birds community with 220 registered species, including endemic and threatened birds like a helmeted manikin. For the bird's contemplation, we offer a special activity such as bird watching.

What to bring