Latest news with #ChicoMendesInstituteforBiodiversityConservation
LeMonde
18-07-2025
- Politics
- LeMonde
In Brazil, lawmakers pass a 'devastating' environmental deregulation bill
For Brazilian environmental advocates, this is one of the most harmful bills for the environment in recent decades. After the Senate approved it in May, the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies adopted, on the night between July 6 and 7, a bill relaxing environmental regulations, referred to by its critics as the "devastation law." At the heart of the 56-page document are two key acronyms: LAE, standing for licença ambiental especial (special environmental license), and LAC, for licença por adesão e compromisso (license by adhesion and commitment). The first allows the government to designate certain construction projects as "strategic," subjecting them to fast-track procedures with a maximum authorization period of one year, regardless of ecological impact. The second will let companies have their environmental exploitation projects approved through self-declaration, as long as they are considered to be of "small" or "medium" scale – definitions left up to federal entities, such as states or municipalities. Additionally, it removes the veto power of the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio), a body under the Ministry of the Environment, over construction within protected areas.
04-06-2025
- Science
Niède Guidon, the archaeologist who discovered hundreds of cave paintings in Brazil, dies at 92
RIO DE JANEIRO -- Niède Guidon, the Brazilian archaeologist known for discovering hundreds of prehistoric cave paintings in northeastern Brazil and for her research challenging theories of ancient human presence in the Americas, died Wednesday at 92, the Serra da Capivara National Park announced. Guidon first documented the red ocher cave paintings in the semi-arid state of Piaui in the 1970s. These ancient artworks, made with natural pigments such as iron oxides and charcoal, depict deer and capybaras, but also scenes of everyday life including hunting, childbirth, dancing and kissing. Guidon fought for the preservation of the area, leading to the establishment of the Serra da Capivara National Park in 1979. In 1991, UNESCO recognized the nearly 130,000-hectare park, with its sprawling valleys, mountains, and plains, as a world cultural heritage site. Guidon's discoveries shook traditional theories on when and how humans arrived on the American continent, according to a 2024 statement by Brazil's National Council for Scientific and Technological Development. It was previously believed that humans had reached the Americas approximately 13,000 years ago via the Bering Strait between Siberia and Alaska. Based on the exploration of archaeological sites in Piaui — which uncovered 15,000-year-old human bones, cave paintings estimated to be around 35,000 years old and evidence of fires dating back 48,000 years — Guidon argued that humans had arrived on the American continent from Africa via the sea, and much earlier than previously believed, the statement said. The Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation and the National Institute of Historical and Artistic Heritage commended Guidon's contributions in a joint statement Wednesday. 'If Serra da Capivara is today recognized as one of the most important concentrations of archaeological sites in the world, with a profound impact on the debate and understanding of the history of human occupation of the Americas, it is above all thanks to Niède Guidon's vision and tireless defense of science and culture,' they said. 'Professor Niède is one of those unforgettable figures who have inscribed their name in our history,' Mauro Pires, president of the Chico Mendes Institute, was quoted as saying, describing her contribution to global archaeology as immeasurable. 'Brazilian science is saddened by the passing of Niède Guidon, who helped us understand the origins of man in the American continent,' Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said in a statement. Guidon was born in the interior of Sao Paulo state in 1933. She graduated in Natural History from the University of Sao Paulo in 1959, before moving to France to pursue her studies. She completed her doctorate at Paris' Sorbonne University in 1975, after presenting a thesis on the cave paintings in Piaui state. Guidon went on to found the Foundation Museum of the American Man, a non-profit dedicated to the cultural and natural heritage of Serra da Capivara National Park, which she led between 1986 and 2019. 'For decades, she and her team fought to secure funding and infrastructure for the park, firmly standing against government neglect,' the nonprofit said on Wednesday, adding that her work was marked by 'passion, persistence, and a generous vision of science as a tool for social transformation.' In 2024, Brazil's National Council of Scientific and Technological Development asked Guidon about the obstacles she faced as a woman and a scientist. 'I never worried about people's opinions about me," she said. 'I worked hard, created a very qualified team, and history was made.'
Asharq Al-Awsat
02-05-2025
- Science
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Hope Floats in the Amazon as Bacuri, a Young Manatee, Fights for Survival
Deep in silence, as if under a spell, children watch intently as Bacuri, a young Amazonian manatee, glides around a small plastic pool. When he surfaces for air, some of them exchange wide smiles. The soft rustle of rainforest leaves punctuated by bird song adds to the magic of the moment. The children from riverside communities traveled for hours by boat just to meet Bacuri at the Ferreira Penna Scientific Base of the Emilio Goeldi Museum, Brazil's oldest research institute in the Amazon. Despite their endangered status, manatees are still hunted and their meat illegally sold, and they are increasingly threatened by climate change. Environmentalists hope that by engaging local communities, Bacuri and others like him will be spared. The Amazonian manatee is the region's largest mammal but is rarely seen, much less up close. The reasons for this are twofold: The manatee has acute hearing and will vanish into the murky water at the slightest sound; and its population has dwindled after being overhunted for hundreds of years, mostly for its tough hides that were exported to Europe and Central America. To help the manatee population recover, several institutions are rescuing orphaned manatee calves, rehabilitating them and reintroducing them to the wild. Bacuri weighed just 22 pounds (10 kilograms) - a fraction of the more than 900 pounds (400 kilograms) of an adult manatee - when he was rescued and taken to the federally protected Caxiuana National Forest. He was named after the local community that found him. Two years and several thousand milk bottles later, Bacuri has grown to about 130 pounds (60 kilos). Three institutions are responsible for his care. The Goeldi Museum provides facilities and educates nearby communities. The federal Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation assigns two staffers for 15-day shifts to feed Bacuri three bottles of milk a day as well as chopped beets and carrots, and clean the pool every 48 hours. The nonprofit Instituto Bicho d'Agua - meaning institute of water animals in Portuguese - oversees veterinary care, dietary planning and caregiver training. During their visit, the children learn that female manatees are pregnant for about a year then nurse their young for two more, feeding them from nipples behind their front flippers - the manatee equivalent of armpits. This long reproductive cycle is one reason the manatee population has not recovered from the commercial hunting that persisted until the mid-20th century. They also learn the species is endangered and that they are the ones who must protect it. "You are the main guardians," biologist Tatyanna Mariúcha, head of the Ferreira Penna scientific base, tells the children, who spend the rest of the day drawing and making Play-Doh models of Bacuri. With its auditorium, dormitories, observation towers, cafeteria and laboratories, the research station - two hours by speedboat from Portel, the nearest city - stands in stark contrast to nearby communities comprising clusters of wooden houses on stilts where families rely on cassava farming, fishing and harvesting açaí berries. School field trips and community outreach aim to narrow the gap. "Caxiuana is their home," Mariúcha told The Associated Press. "We can't just come here and do things without their consent." Local knowledge will play a key role when Bacuri is finally released. He is the only manatee calf under care at Caxiuana. Once he has fully transitioned to a plant-based diet, he'll spend time in a river enclosure before his release. That site will be selected based on where residents say wild manatees feed and pass through. If all goes as planned, Bacuri will be the first manatee released in the Caxiuana area. Two other calves rescued in poor health died in captivity, a sadly common outcome. While subsistence hunting isn't a major threat to the species, some fishermen still sell manatee meat illegally in nearby towns. Brazil banned hunting of all wild animals in 1967, with two exceptions: Indigenous peoples are allowed to hunt, and others can kill a wild animal to satisfy the hunger of the hunter or his family. The threat of hunters has become harder to manage due to climate change, said Miriam Marmontel, a senior researcher at the Mamirauá Institute for Sustainable Development, hundreds of miles (kilometers) upstream along the Amazon River. Dozens of dolphins died near Mamiraua in 2023, likely due to soaring water temperatures during a historic drought. Manatees avoided mass mortality then because they typically inhabit deep pools during the dry season, but recent droughts have dramatically reduced the water level, making manatees more vulnerable to poachers. "As climate change accelerates, manatees may begin to suffer from heat stress too," Marmontel said. "They also have a thermal limit, and eventually it may be crossed." That's why reintroduction efforts are so important. Around 60 rescued manatees are being cared for across the state of Para, where Caxiuana is located. Bicho d'Agua is caring for four in partnership with the Federal University of Para and Brazil's environmental agency. One of the four, named Coral, was found near Obidos and airlifted 620 miles (1,000 kilometers) to the institute's facility in Castanhal. She arrived dehydrated and with severe skin burns, likely from sun exposure. "The population has declined so much that every hunted animal impacts the species," Renata Emin, president of Bicho d'Agua, told AP. "That's why any effort matters, not just because one individual may return to the wild and help rebuild the population but because of the community and government engagement it inspires."
02-05-2025
- Science
Hope floats in the Amazon as Bacuri, a young manatee, fights for survival
CAXIUANA NATIONAL FOREST, Brazil -- Deep in silence, as if under a spell, children watch intently as Bacuri, a young Amazonian manatee, glides around a small plastic pool. When he surfaces for air, some of them exchange wide smiles. The soft rustle of rainforest leaves punctuated by bird song adds to the magic of the moment. The children from riverside communities traveled for hours by boat just to meet Bacuri at the field station of the Emilio Goeldi Museum, Brazil's oldest research institute in the Amazon. Despite their endangered status, manatees are still hunted and their meat illegally sold, and they are increasingly threatened by climate change. Environmentalists hope that by engaging local communities, Bacuri and others like him will be spared. The Amazonian manatee is the region's largest mammal but is rarely seen, much less up close. The reasons for this are twofold: The manatee has acute hearing and will vanish into the murky water at the slightest sound; and its population has dwindled after being overhunted for hundreds of years, mostly for its tough hides that were exported to Europe and Central America. To help the manatee population recover, several institutions are rescuing orphaned manatee calves, rehabilitating them and reintroducing them to the wild. Bacuri weighed just 22 pounds (10 kilograms) — a fraction of the more than 900 pounds (400 kilograms) of an adult manatee — when he was rescued and taken to the museum's research center in the federally protected Caxiuana National Forest. He was named after the local community that found him. Two years and several thousand milk bottles later, Bacuri has grown to about 130 pounds (60 kilos). Three institutions are responsible for his care. The Goeldi Museum provides facilities and educates nearby communities. The federal Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation assigns two staffers for 15-day shifts to feed Bacuri three bottles of milk a day as well as chopped beets and carrots, and clean the pool every 48 hours. The nonprofit Instituto Bicho d'Agua— meaning institute of water animals in Portuguese — oversees veterinary care, dietary planning and caregiver training. During their visit, the children learn that female manatees are pregnant for about a year then nurse their young for two more, feeding them from nipples behind their front flippers — the manatee equivalent of armpits. This long reproductive cycle is one reason the manatee population has not recovered from the commercial hunting that persisted until the mid-20th century. They also learn the species is endangered and that they are the ones who must protect it. 'You are the main guardians,' biologist Tatyanna Mariúcha, head of the scientific base, tells the children, who spend the rest of the day drawing and making Play-Doh models of Bacuri. With its auditorium, dormitories, observation towers, cafeteria and laboratories, the research station — two hours by speedboat from Portel, the nearest city — stands in stark contrast to nearby communities comprising clusters of wooden houses on stilts where families rely on cassava farming, fishing and harvesting açaí berries. School field trips and community outreach aim to narrow the gap. 'Caxiuana is their home,' Mariúcha told The Associated Press. 'We can't just come here and do things without their consent.' Local knowledge will play a key role when Bacuri is finally released. He is the only manatee calf under care at Caxiuana. Once he has fully transitioned to a plant-based diet, he'll spend time in a river enclosure before his release. That site will be selected based on where residents say wild manatees feed and pass through. If all goes as planned, Bacuri will be the first released in the Caxiuana area. Two other calves rescued in poor health died in captivity, a sadly common outcome. While subsistence hunting isn't a major threat to the species, some fishermen still sell manatee meat illegally in nearby towns. Brazil banned hunting of all wild animals in 1967, with two exceptions: Indigenous peoples are allowed to hunt, and others can kill a wild animal to satisfy the hunger of the hunter or his family. The threat of hunters has become harder to manage due to climate change, said Miriam Marmontel, a senior researcher at the Mamirauá Institute for Sustainable Development, hundreds of miles (kilometers) upstream along the Amazon River. Dozens of dolphins died near Mamiraua in 2023, likely due to soaring water temperatures during a historic drought. Manatees avoided mass mortality then because they typically inhabit deep pools during the dry season, but recent droughts have dramatically reduced the water level, making manatees more vulnerable to poachers. 'As climate change accelerates, manatees may begin to suffer from heat stress too,' Marmontel said. 'They also have a thermal limit, and eventually it may be crossed.' That's why reintroduction efforts are so important. Around 60 rescued manatees are being cared for across the state of Para, where Caxiuana is located. Bicho d'Agua is caring for four in partnership with the Federal University of Para and Brazil's environmental agency. One of the four, named Coral, was found near Óbidos and airlifted 620 miles (1,000 kilometers) to the institute's facility in Castanhal. She arrived dehydrated and with severe skin burns, likely from sun exposure. 'The population has declined so much that every hunted animal impacts the species,' Renata Emin, president of Bicho d'Agua, told AP. 'That's why any effort matters, not just because one individual may return to the wild and help rebuild the population but because of the community and government engagement it inspires.' ___
The Independent
02-05-2025
- Science
- The Independent
Hope floats in the Amazon as Bacuri, a young manatee, fights for survival
Deep in silence, as if under a spell, children watch intently as Bacuri, a young Amazonian manatee, glides around a small plastic pool. When he surfaces for air, some of them exchange wide smiles. The soft rustle of rainforest leaves punctuated by bird song adds to the magic of the moment. The children from riverside communities traveled for hours by boat just to meet Bacuri at the field station of the Emilio Goeldi Museum, Brazil's oldest research institute in the Amazon. Despite their endangered status, manatees are still hunted and their meat illegally sold, and they are increasingly threatened by climate change. Environmentalists hope that by engaging local communities, Bacuri and others like him will be spared. The Amazonian manatee is the region's largest mammal but is rarely seen, much less up close. The reasons for this are twofold: The manatee has acute hearing and will vanish into the murky water at the slightest sound; and its population has dwindled after being overhunted for hundreds of years, mostly for its tough hides that were exported to Europe and Central America. To help the manatee population recover, several institutions are rescuing orphaned manatee calves, rehabilitating them and reintroducing them to the wild. Bacuri's story Bacuri weighed just 22 pounds (10 kilograms) — a fraction of the more than 900 pounds (400 kilograms) of an adult manatee — when he was rescued and taken to the museum's research center in the federally protected Caxiuana National Forest. He was named after the local community that found him. Two years and several thousand milk bottles later, Bacuri has grown to about 130 pounds (60 kilos). Three institutions are responsible for his care. The Goeldi Museum provides facilities and educates nearby communities. The federal Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation assigns two staffers for 15-day shifts to feed Bacuri three bottles of milk a day as well as chopped beets and carrots, and clean the pool every 48 hours. The nonprofit Instituto Bicho d'Agua— meaning institute of water animals in Portuguese — oversees veterinary care, dietary planning and caregiver training. During their visit, the children learn that female manatees are pregnant for about a year then nurse their young for two more, feeding them from nipples behind their front flippers — the manatee equivalent of armpits. This long reproductive cycle is one reason the manatee population has not recovered from the commercial hunting that persisted until the mid-20th century. They also learn the species is endangered and that they are the ones who must protect it. 'You are the main guardians,' biologist Tatyanna Mariúcha, head of the scientific base, tells the children, who spend the rest of the day drawing and making Play-Doh models of Bacuri. Local knowledge is key With its auditorium, dormitories, observation towers, cafeteria and laboratories, the research station — two hours by speedboat from Portel, the nearest city — stands in stark contrast to nearby communities comprising clusters of wooden houses on stilts where families rely on cassava farming, fishing and harvesting açaí berries. School field trips and community outreach aim to narrow the gap. 'Caxiuana is their home,' Mariúcha told The Associated Press. 'We can't just come here and do things without their consent.' Local knowledge will play a key role when Bacuri is finally released. He is the only manatee calf under care at Caxiuana. Once he has fully transitioned to a plant-based diet, he'll spend time in a river enclosure before his release. That site will be selected based on where residents say wild manatees feed and pass through. If all goes as planned, Bacuri will be the first released in the Caxiuana area. Two other calves rescued in poor health died in captivity, a sadly common outcome. While subsistence hunting isn't a major threat to the species, some fishermen still sell manatee meat illegally in nearby towns. Brazil banned hunting of all wild animals in 1967, with two exceptions: Indigenous peoples are allowed to hunt, and others can kill a wild animal to satisfy the hunger of the hunter or his family. The impact of climate change The threat of hunters has become harder to manage due to climate change, said Miriam Marmontel, a senior researcher at the Mamirauá Institute for Sustainable Development, hundreds of miles (kilometers) upstream along the Amazon River. Dozens of dolphins died near Mamiraua in 2023, likely due to soaring water temperatures during a historic drought. Manatees avoided mass mortality then because they typically inhabit deep pools during the dry season, but recent droughts have dramatically reduced the water level, making manatees more vulnerable to poachers. 'As climate change accelerates, manatees may begin to suffer from heat stress too,' Marmontel said. 'They also have a thermal limit, and eventually it may be crossed.' That's why reintroduction efforts are so important. Around 60 rescued manatees are being cared for across the state of Para, where Caxiuana is located. Bicho d'Agua is caring for four in partnership with the Federal University of Para and Brazil's environmental agency. One of the four, named Coral, was found near Óbidos and airlifted 620 miles (1,000 kilometers) to the institute's facility in Castanhal. She arrived dehydrated and with severe skin burns, likely from sun exposure. 'The population has declined so much that every hunted animal impacts the species,' Renata Emin, president of Bicho d'Agua, told AP. 'That's why any effort matters, not just because one individual may return to the wild and help rebuild the population but because of the community and government engagement it inspires.' ___ The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
