The South American giant, the country with the greatest biodiversity on the planet thanks to the extension of its territory and the geographical variety it hosts, Brazil contains in its 8.5 million km² a huge portion of rainforest and the largest wetland of the Americas. But it doesn’t stop there; besides the Amazon and the Pantanal, the country holds extensive plains of extreme weather with the rarest species, paradoxical deserts whose dunes hide blue lagoons, green mountain ranges that land on long beaches, and thousands of forests, rivers and waterfalls. Are you ready to learn a bit before coming to visit?
REGIONS OF BRAZIL AND ITS ECOSYSTEMS
Due to its immense proportions, the Brazilian territory is divided into regions, not politically or administratively, but to better understand its geographical and biological characteristics, which are also grouped into six ecosystems: Caatinga, Pantanal, Amazon Rainforest, Atlantic Forest, Pampas and Cerrado.
For example, in the northern region, the equatorial climate predominates and most of its vegetation is formed by the Amazon rainforest. It is believed that the forest has 30% of the world’s biodiversity (especially plants and insects), which makes it the largest biodiversity reserve in the world, and only about 50% of its species have been identified by science. Among the incredible and surprising diversity of fauna, here we find the black caiman, the marmoset, the anaconda, the river dolphin, the harpy eagle, the jaguar and hundreds of species that make this wonderful jungle their home.
The northeast region, in addition to having the largest coastline in Brazil combined with the lush Atlantic Forest, displays an exotic geography with plateaus and depressions, giving it a climatic range from the humid equatorial to the semi-arid tropical. Here coexist the ecosystems of the caatinga and the cerrado, the first being dry climate with shrub, arboreal and herbaceous vegetation, and the second, an area of enormous ecological importance, recognized as the richest savanna in the world in biodiversity. In these regions live the strangest animals that have to adapt to the extreme climatic conditions to survive, including the giant anteater, the Sauá monkey, the armadillo, lizards, monkeys and rodents.
Now, the center-west region includes a good portion of the cerrado and it is also where the Pantanal is located. We don’t get tired of talking about this immense flooded plain, simply because its humidity levels and its bogged surface attract thousands of mammals, amphibians, reptiles and birds. In the Pantanal, life follows an annual cycle of rising and falling waters, dictated by the rains and the course of the Paraguay River and its many tributaries. In the rainy season – the hardest from October to March – the rivers slowly rise and flood the plains with an average of one to three meters of water. At the end of the rainy season only small islands and hills remain dry. And like lions in Africa or orangutans in Indonesia, it is here in the Pantanal where you find the greatest opportunity to see the great jaguar! Not forgetting that you can easily meet around the corner with capybaras, tapirs, yacarés and macaws.
In the southeast of Brazil there are some of the highest points in the country with a tropical climate of four well-defined seasons. Like the previous two, the cerrado is part of this region, as it is the largest biome in Brazil, and also a good part of Atlantic Forest, the most important tropical rainforest due to the exceptional biodiversity richness of its ecosystems, its natural beauty and universal value for humanity. In this region you’ll find São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais, with many urban areas surrounded by mountainous landscapes and the Atlantic Forest populated by numerous monkeys such as the great muriquí and the small marmosets, as well as iguanas, turtles, sloths, toucans and parrots.
Finally, the southern region is presented with beautiful valleys, flatlands, plains, araucaria forests and paradisiacal beaches in the middle of the ecosystem called Las Pampas, which Brazil shares with Argentina and Uruguay. To this region belong not only Iguazu and its famous waterfalls, but also a large number of leafy forests inhabited by foxes, ocelots, wolves, crocodiles and egrets. Numerous ecosystems cohabit in a single country, which explains its more than 70 National Parks managed by the Chico Mendes Institute for the Conservation of Biodiversity (ICMBio), whose basic objective “is the preservation of natural ecosystems of great ecological relevance and scenic beauty, enabling scientific research and development of environmental education and interpretation, of recreation in contact with nature and of ecological tourism ”. It is not for nothing that Brazil is in third position in the 2019 Global Wildlife Travel Index!
PRESERVATION THREATS AND PROJECTS
However, many of the above mentioned species are at risk or endangered. Brazil’s natural heritage is constantly threatened by livestock, agriculture, logging, mining, oil and natural gas extraction, overfishing, wildlife trade, water pollution, climate change, fire and invasive species. That’s why throughout the territory initiatives of people and entities that want to contribute to the preservation of the species and the incredible natural wealth of the country arise. Some of these projects have also been established to generate interaction and offer accommodation to foreign visitors who seek to live adventures in the Brazilian territory and at the same time get to know, learn and participate in the fauna and flora conservation programs developed by the respective research centers. If you are planning a trip to Brazil, don’t miss this opportunity, ask us about it and we’ll show you who, where and how. Not only will you be making a difference, but your travel experience will also acquire a new layer of meaning and transformation.
It is entirely possible to discover the wonderful mysteries of a huge country, meeting face to face with its wild side, its indomitable nature and its incomparable diversity. It is possible to merge with the life that swarms in each region, each tree, each river, lake, mountain, to understand the role that each one plays in the infinite planetary ecosystem that welcomes us. And it is absolutely possible to generate with our actions a positive impact on every place we visit, inhabit and discover.
