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A port building forests:

heading toward a green future

The Ports of Paraná are located in the middle of a very important and well protected biome, known as the Atlantic
Rainforest, found in the east of the state of Paraná, bordering the Atlantic Ocean. This biome has a huge natural
richness and wide biodiversity that covers the largest section of the Brazilian coastline. That means we are inside the
Mata Atlantica Biosphere Reserve, recognized by UNESCO. We are also part of the Paranaguá Estuarine Complex, one
of the largest estuaries in Brazil.

Given its position in such an important environment and According to the partner university in this process, when
the effects that human activities have on its surroundings, carrying out monitoring actions, there is no other similar
Ports of Paraná act to try to minimize the most negative action in the world, being developed by a Port Authority,
effects that port activities have on the environment. with such emphasis and scale.
The Ports of Paraná have, as their main objective, the
sustainable development of the state's coast, taking into The project began by registering families of small farmers
consideration the conservation of the region's biodiversity, who had degraded areas on their properties and were
trying to act according to the 17 UN Millennium objectives. willing to restore these areas through the implementation
of agroforestry systems. The systems were chosen
Ports of Paraná currently run more than 40 environmental because they not only recover the areas but, by using
programmes focusing on environmental monitoring, native species that help retain sediments, they also
education and conservation. Among the programmes sequester atmospheric carbon, attract biodiversity and
developed are the Degraded Areas Recovery Plan, enhance the flora.
reaching up to 400,000 m² of area in the watersheds that
flow through the Paranaguá Estuarine Complex. The main Beyond these benefits, the project also guarantees food
objective of this important programme is to monitor the sovereignty and diversifies the income of participating
amount of sediment that will be prevented from being families. The agroforestry systems used not only imitate
carried by rain, through the watercourses, before it the natural plant succession in forests, but they also use
reaches the waters of the bay, causing the silting of the those varieties with economic value.
navigation channels.

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