IAT launches platform for biodiversity conservation and restoration

The Water and Land Institute (IAT) launched this Friday (28), World Nature Conservation Day, a new tool to collaborate with the preservation of the environment in Paraná. The Strategic Areas for the Conservation and Restoration of Biodiversity (AECR) platform, developed by the teams from the Natural Heritage Directorate and the Geographical Intelligence and Information Center (NGI), brings together various information of public interest, with a focus on maintaining biodiversity.

AECR brings, through different thematic maps, the native forest cover of Paraná; forest remnants by priority class; state and federal Conservation Units (CU); location of indigenous lands and other traditional communities in the State; phytogeographic regions of Paraná; in addition to strategic areas that can collaborate with the conservation and restoration of local biodiversity.

IAT Forestry Engineer and responsible for the project, Mariese Muchailh explained that the platform will facilitate access to environmental data and information, with fundamental technical subsidies for application in environmental projects, in compliance with current legislation and in the formulation and execution of public policies by the different spheres.

“It took us around a year to develop this system that will greatly help the environment in Paraná. It will be the focal point for developing any public policy aimed at biodiversity”, states the technician.

The expectation, she says, is that the tool will be widely adopted by environmental managers, researchers and the population in general, enhancing efforts to preserve and restore the state's biodiversity.

“It also ensures the national and international commitments that Paraná is part of, such as the Race to zero and Race to resilience campaigns, which aim to reduce and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and climate resilience”, she explains.

originality

The mapping of strategic areas also relied on technical and specialized support from researchers from the Paraná Environmental Technology and Monitoring System (Simepar) to update the existing mapping. They also developed an unprecedented methodology for prioritizing remaining fragments of native vegetation as an additional tool for biodiversity conservation.

“The creation of the database of forest remnants, which is part of the platform, will greatly facilitate the monitoring of native forests, in addition to providing technical support for the formation of ecological corridors and other environmental policies”, highlights Mariese.

“It will also help to indicate priority areas for the creation of new Conservation Units, including municipal ones, as well as indicate rural properties that have priority areas for compensation related to environmental licensing”, adds the director of Natural Heritage at IAT, Rafael Andreguetto.