At the last UN Conference on Biodiversity (COP-10), held in October in Nagoya (Japan), Brazil was recognized as the nation which created more protected areas (known in Brazil as conservation units) around the globe over the past eight years.
In the same period, the extension of these areas in the country has expanded, jumping from 38 million to 77 million hectares. Today, Brazil has 310 federal Protected Areas (PAs), including all national biomes.
Brazil currently has the equivalent of 8.5% of its territory in protected areas. The creation of PAs is the main tool for conservation and biodiversity protection in the country.
In the celebration of the 10th anniversary of the National System of Conservation Units (SNUC), held on Tuesday (November 14) in Brasilia, Environment Minister Izabella Teixeira said that the big challenge now is to advance in the creation of new protected areas in coastal and marine areas of Brazil.
According to the minister, the success of SNUC placed Brazil as a reference in actions to protect biodiversity across the planet. "However, we still need to do much for conservation of biological diversity for us to achieve the goals established in Nagoya", the minister said.
Redes Sociais