TIJUCA FOREST – PIONEERING CONSERVATION
GLOBAL CONFERENCE – BUILDING A SUSTAINABLE WORLD

JOÃO PEDRO MARTINS DA SIVA - ROBERTO H S SOUZA - DAMIÃO MACIEL GUEDES

1. INTRODUCTION

The history of Tijuca Forest is unique. It shows us the consequences of environmental aggression by man in his search for easy wealth and it teaches us that when there is political will and determination backed by knowledge, it is possible to reverse a calamitous situation.

In the 19th century the Forest was on the brink of total destruction due to coffee

In 1991, Unesco declared it “Biosphere Reserve”, but nevertheless the 32 km² area is still under the threat of invasion by the 8 million inhabitants of the metropolis at its feet.

While few in the city (approximately 50,000 a year) find their way through the forest, about two million people visit every year its major icon, Christ the Redeemer, who inhabits the top of one of its mountains, Corcovado. The forest is surrounded by 46 shanty towns that, always in need of more space, unfortunately find the Forest in their way.

In order to ensure the survival of the Forest, the administration of Tijuca National Park (Parque Nacional da Tijuca ? PNT), which contains the Forest, decided to implant an Environment Management System (Sistema de Gestão Ambiental ? SGA) in conformity to Norma ISO 14001. This system will enable the Park administrators to exercise environmental control over activities, concessions and contracts, making a priority of the actions that, conforming to established goals, harmonize the Forest’s touristy vocation with the need for conservation and preservation of the Mata Atlântica (Atlantic Forest) as a whole, which is under their responsibility, ensuring thus the purity of its fountain-heads and contributing to the quality of life of the people of Rio.

2. BYGONE HISTORY, PRESSURES AND SOLUTIONS

The indigenous population that formerly inhabited the region was spread among several villages, mainly along the coastline, and lived off fishing, hunting and their manioc plantations. They only occasionally used the forest for hunting and gathering of fruit and essences¹. The Portuguese, fighting against the French of Villegagnon, founded the city of Rio de Janeiro in 1565 and decimated the Tamoio Indians for having chosen the wrong side to support. Having established themselves definitely in the region and

Conde de Clarac – Virgin Florest

searched for native preciosities, they extracted the wood called pau-brasil nearly to its extinction and sent it to Europe as a cheap dye that allowed ordinary people to wear red garments, previously a privilege restricted to the aristocracy and clergy.

Most historians agree that the original forest on the highest and steepest points around the new city underwent only minor alterations up to the mid-eighteenth century when, in 1763, Rio was raised to the position of Colonial Capital.

The ensuing expansion decimated most of all the lowest forests that supplied wood and timber for the new buildings. The highest forests were only devastated with the introduction of the coffee culture that proved to be marvelously suited to Rio de Janeiro and that quickly became a commercial culture in grand scale. In the early nineteenth century, the “tijuca coffee” was considered to be the best Brazilian coffee². Several aristocrats made fortunes planting coffee on their farms, some having over 100 thousand plants.

Rugendas – Coffee harvesting in Tijuca - 1821	Coffee farms took over Tijuca Forest

In 1808, the Portuguese royal family came to Brazil running from Napoleon, and the 20 thousand aristocrats, priests and military that followed caused an increase of 25% in the population of the city. Many went up the Tijuca range, settled down on farms and other rural properties, and built summer houses to avoid the summer heat, creating a district know as “Imperial Tijuca” (“Tijuca Imperial”) At the time of Independence, proclaimed in 1822, the city population was estimated at 80 thousand².

The inhabitants of this area had always depended on streams that came down the mountains around Guanabara Bay for their supply of drinkable water, since the little amount of water produced by wells was salty. In 1720, the canalization of the Carioca river created the “Lapa Arches” (“Arcos da Lapa”), an aqueduct that supplied water to the people in fountains and spouts throughout the city. The transportation of water to the manor houses was one of the slaves’ main jobs. Even Tiradentes, in his eagerness to find resources for the Inconfidência Mineira (revolutionary movement against Portuguese colonialism) had an audacious plan: he sent three petitions to court requesting permission to canalize the waters of the Andaraí, Carioca and Maracanã rivers in order to build a warehouse and a quay for boarding cattle ³.

Once water shortage started to be a menace, D. João VI ruled that “the devastation of the forest at the springs close to the city must be stopped and trees must be planted by some riverheads”. In 1818 he had surveyors expropriate lands that contained riverheads placing them under the jurisdiction of public authorities. Practically nothing happened in fact. The low level of production of the springs, due to the devastation of the forest added to years of little rain, caused Rio to be struck by severe droughts in 1824, 1829, 1833 and, specially, 1844. The situation in 1844 was so serious that the Brazilian Imperial Government officially admitted the expropriation of lands in order to reforest the areas near riverheads ².

Rugendas – Slaves carrying water – 1824 – 1st severe drought in Rio de Janeiro

It may have been the first time that Western society felt the consequences of large scale commercial agriculture.

The measures taken by D. João VI were of an urgent nature and needed to be implemented. Nevertheless, they were dragged along by governmental bureaucracy, which meant that only some control over the deforestation was exercised. Nearly 40 years later, thanks to the Imperial Minister Luiz Pereira Couto Ferraz, Baron of Bom Retiro, who lived in “Imperial Tijuca” and was a close friend of D. Pedro II, the survey was completed and money allocated in the budget for expropriation of lands. Some more years passed by and eventually, in December 1861, under the personal supervision of D. Pedro II, the Prime Minister of Agriculture, Manoel Felizardo de Souza e Mello, published Decision 577 with “provisional instructions for the planting and conservation of Tijuca and Paineiras Forests”, defining rules for conservation and reforestation that, probably for the first time in human history, took into consideration the original ecosystem.

“1°: In the federal grounds located in Tijuca and Paineiras, regular planting of Brazilian trees will be established.

“2°: The planting will take place especially in the forest clearings of the above mentioned sites; seedlings will be used and, in selected spots, nurseries will be set up for the new plants.

“3°: The planting will be done in straight lines parallel to each other. The work will start on the banks of riverheads to both sides, with the distance of twenty five hand spans between the trees.

“4°: The seedlings to be used will have more than three years and less than fifteen; they will be collected from Paineiras Forest and will be sowed in place in the appropriate season.

“1°: In the federal grounds located in Tijuca and Paineiras, regular planting of Brazilian trees will be established.

“2°: The planting will take place especially in the forest clearings of the above mentioned sites; seedlings will be used and, in selected spots, nurseries will be set up for the new plants.

“3°: The planting will be done in straight lines parallel to each other. The work will start on the banks of riverheads to both sides, with the distance of twenty five hand spans between the trees.

“4°: The seedlings to be used will have more than three years and less than fifteen; they will be collected from Paineiras Forest and will be sowed in place in the appropriate season.

Manuel Gomes Archer, “major” Archer, appointed administrator of Tijuca Forest, apparently had no formal knowledge of botanic. He worked systematically, planting various species of trees on the slopes, from the most degraded or most threatened by erosion to the sections important to the recovery of riverheads. He used seedlings that he fetched fro Paineiras, from his own farm called Independence and

In 12 years, Manuel Gomes Archer, Administrator of Tijuca Forest, planted 72 thousand new trees with the help of 6 slaves

later from nurseries in the Forest itself. He may have had a profound knowledge of the local flora, for the survival rate of seedlings reached 80%, an incredibly high percentage even for today. The productivity of his small team is also amazing: according to Archer’s own reports, about 72 thousand seedlings were planted in 12 years by 6 slaves, which gives us an average of a thousand seedlings/year per slave. The slaves also transported the seedlings from the farm (two days away), prepared the soil and looked after the surviving trees and the nurseries, besides performing other complementary tasks. Archer’s success caused his resignation. In his own words: “If the number of workers does not go up to 30, it will be necessary to stop sowing in order to take care only of the already planted trees; since the current number cannot cope with all the tasks related to the 61,852 planted trees, how could they possibly begin new plantations?”² In his numerous reports to the Crown, Archer suggested that, with the help of rational silvicultural techniques, forests could be created and cultivated for continuous production and selling of timber.² Thus he should be considered the father of forest engineering because it was only years later, in 1890, that Gifford Pinchot introduced modern concepts of rational cultivation in the management of public forests in the US.

Debret

The seedlings were obtained in Paineiras Forest, in Independência Farm (two days away) and later from nursering beds prepared in Tijuca Forest itself.

After Archer left, the process of recovering the forest continued in the administration of Baron D’Escragnolle. He planted over 21,500 seedlings and, with the cooperation of the French landscape artist Auguste François Glaziou, embellished the area with bridges, belvederes, recesses and lakes. In 1887, Tijuca Forest had approximately 95,000 planted and growing trees and had become an important area of recreation and leisure for the population.

3. CURRENT HISTORY, PRESSURES AND SOLUTIONS

Following the pioneering reforestation, the area was forgotten for a long time.

The Tijuca National Park, since 1967

Since 1943, Tijuca Forest has been under the safekeeping and supervision of City Hall. The other forests remained under the responsibility of the Ministry of Agriculture until the creation of the Park in 1961, with the Decree n.50.923 of President Jânio Quadros. The forests of the Union named Tijuca, Paineiras, Corcovado, Gávea Pequena, Trapicheiro, Andaraí, Três Rios and Covanca were brought together to form the National Park of Rio de Janeiro which, its name changed to Tijuca National Park by Federal Decree no 60.183 of 1967, was subordinated to the Department of Natural Renewable Resources of the Ministry of Agriculture. This decree conveniently excluded some trespassed and irrecoverable areas. On the other hand, the areas of Pedra Bonita and Pedra da Gávea were added.

Today the Park comprehends three non-contiguous areas: area A, Tijuca Forest; area B, Serra da Carioca with Corcovado Mountain (where Christ the Redeemer stands) and area C, Pedra da Gávea and Pedra Bonita. Covering a total of 32 km², it was the first national park in Brazil found in an urban area and is considered the largest urban park in the world. It is under the shared administration of IBAMA (Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Natural Renewable Resources linked to the Ministry of Environment) and Rio de Janeiro City Hall.

In 1991, Tijuca Forest, together with the Botanical Gardens and Lage Park, was pronounced Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO, and since January 2000 strives to be considered Heritage of Humanity.

On account of the long years of neglect and the frequent change of institutions that managed it, Tijuca Forest became a victim of urban expansion. Economic and social unbalance produced deprived multitudes responsible for the irregular occupation of its hillsides. In 1920, the shanty towns São Carlos, Querosene, Salgueiro, Macaco, Rocinha and Dona Marta had already occupied the hillsides of Serra Carioca

There are also in the Park 75 houses occupied by approximately 350 people: ex-officials of agencies that have managed the Forest (IBDF, City Hall, IBAMA) and their descendents, as well as persons that resided there before the decrees and, for different reasons, especially financial ones, have not been transferred to other places 7. Although more aware than the surrounding populations, they cause the same kind of problems, particularly litter and untreated sewage. Added to this is the impact caused by visitors, who, unaware of the care necessary to preserve such an important ecosystem, feed wild animals, open new tracks in the woods ignoring the existing trails, pick flowers and plants, risk their own and theForest’s safety lighting candles in religious offerings, among many other things.

“Quatis” became experts in persuading visitors to feed them

In order to face these and other of its many problems and continue to pursue its goals, Tijuca National Park has decided to implant an Environment Management System (SGA) based on the requirements of Norm ISO 14001. An Environment Management System is a fundamental tool to control the day-to-day of the Unit, for generally speaking, what happens is never what has been planned, routs diverge a long way from the original goal, often making the return nearly impossible.

Five basic principles stand out in an Environment Management System: 1) commitment of the organization, which publicizes its intentions (Environmental Policy); 2) planning: after an analysis of reality has shown what must be done, Environmental Objectives and Goals and a Program are established; 3) operativeness: implementing the Program; 4) monitorship: assessing results regularly and 5) a critical analysis of results through systematic evaluations looking for the improvement of its environmental performance.

The writing of Tijuca National Park’s Environmental Policy required an acknowledgement of the Park’s environmental situation from the verification of direct and indirect impacts on the environment caused by different activities. The whole team took part in the discussions:

Environmental Policy of Tijuca National Park

“Tijuca National Park, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Biosphere Reserve of Mata Atlântica, committed to ensure for the present and future generations an ecologically balanced environment by applying the National Environmental Policy and by continually improving environmental performance, publicizes its Environmental Policy that consists of:

- Protection and conservation of the biological diversity of the Mata Atlântica biome;
- Preservation of natural, historical and cultural treasures;
- Encouragement of an integrated management of the Unit, with the involvement of its different participants;
- Undertaking of means to ensure financial self-support;
- Environmental programs of interpretation, education and recreation for the population;
- Monitoring of activities in the Park, keeping possible environmental impacts to a minimum;
- Stimulating the participation of personnel and helpers in the implementation and periodical revision of its environmental policy, objectives and goals;
- Insuring the protection of its forests in order to keep the fountainheads and a climatic adjustment for the city of Rio de Janeiro;
- Encouragement of production and publication of information related to environmental conservation and preservation;
- Carrying out Environmental Legislation and other legal requisites applicable to the Park;
- Reduction and optimization of consumption of energy and natural resources.”

In order to really put into practice its Environmental Policy, the Park has described precisely Environmental Objectives and Goals and Environmental Management Programs that were set up based on its present situation and its investment potential. Each Objective was divided into Goals and for each one of them there was someone responsible, as well as identified deadlines and indicators for the monitoring of results.

Environmental Objectives of Tijuca National Park

1 – Reduction of environmental impacts by visitors
2 – Greater safety for visitors
3 – Land Regulation
4 – Basic Sanitation
5 – Development of new eco-tourism attractions and of adventure sports

Some Programs were described to make sure that other items of Environmental Policy were considered.

Environment Management Programs

1 – “Apagão Molhado” for reduction of water and electricity consumption
2 – “Otimização de papel de expediente” aiming at reducing paper consumption
3 – “Coleta Seletiva Interna” to collect office litter for recycling
4 – “Tecendo elos entre a Floresta e seus vizinhos” for the involvement of local population

The carrying out of the Program, 1st phase in the creation of the Environment Management System (SGA), was initiated with the description of activities of each sector of the Park, the survey of environmental aspects of these activities, followed by the assessment of resulting impacts on the environment. Several meetings were necessary with the staff of the Park to establish effective and feasible actions of control in view of the significant impacts found.

The appointed actions show great preoccupation with the safety of visitors as well as staff. 17 from a total of 101 actions in the Program refer to answering the requisites of ISO 14001, having in view Certification Office, including also the contract of a licensed Certifying Agency. 40% of the remaining actions are related to safety: emergency actions and accident procedures, prevention of accidents and even actions to buy equipment (radios, fire extinguishers and first aid kits). The actions to control impacts on the environment resulting from present Tijuca National Park (PNT) activities take 47%. The other 13% aim at the improvement of operational procedures and make an indirect contribution to safety and environmental preservation.

Telecom and broadcasting companies find in the Park the ideal place to install their antennas.

Many enterprises, institutions, non-governmental organizations (ONGs), concessionaries etc, that pursued some activity related to the Park were invited to participate. Firms dealing with security, food, souvenirs, sport associations, tourist transportation, eco-tourism, panoramic flights, radio broadcasting, and telecommunication, street, building and square cleaning, garbage removal, transmission of energy, together with local communities and Park technicians, took active part in meetings. The purpose was to survey the environmental aspects of their activities and to define controlling and emergency actions for the most significant impacts that they prioritized. The meetings tackled several items to be improved, not only in connection with environmental questions. The participants noted that the fact that they were surveying and analyzing their activities contributed to an improvement of the activity itself, with a decrease of waste and an alert for vulnerable points concerning safety for people and the environment. The major accomplishment was the informal commitment and the integration of these organizations with the objectives of the Park, the discussion having contributed to a greater environmental awareness of the participants and elimination of several existing conflicts.

Pedra Bonita launch gather hundreds of hang gliding and paraglide pilots all year around

The analyses of activities focusing on significant impacts on the environment also provided subsidies for the elaboration of Patterns of Conduct that express the environmental posture expected from organizations that operate in the Park. These Patterns, based on the actions described by the organizations, are requisites of environmental conduct that internal auditors will allow Tijuca National Park to monitor. They may also affect the renovated or new contracts and concessions with firms interested in operating in the Park. A total of 304 actions were described by the organizations. 33% refer to Safety and Health of visitors and staff of the organizations. 67% refer to Environment, including the Historical and Cultural Heritage of Tijuca National Park. The majority of training actions described by the organizations (27 in all) used the Park itself as source of knowledge for the formation of personnel.

Table 1 – examples of aspects, impacts and actions described by the Park staff

Table 2 – examples of aspects, impacts and actions described by organizations

4. CONCLUSION

The current work constitutes a landmark for Brazilian environmental institutions, since it is the first time a Conservation Unit has decided to implement an Environment Management System (EMS) according to the requisites of ISO 14001. This Norm expresses state-of-the-art Environment Management in the world and is used by many different organizations. In Brazil, approximately 650 of them have adjusted themselves to ISO 14001, having been certified by “Organismo de Certificação Credenciado” (through INMETRO), following the Brazilian Certification System that guarantees the seriousness of the process which they, placed thus at the top of the scale of ecologically correct undertakings, will be allowed to present to society in general.

What are the advantages for a Conservation Unit of implementing EMS according to the ISO 14001 model? In order to answer this question one must remember that a Conservation Unit’s main directive is its “Plano de Manejo”. ‘“Plano de Manejo” is the planning instrument of Conservation Units and its objective is to organize human and administrative activities of the areas in question, guiding actions for their conservation and utilization by society’ 7 It describes their characteristics and the activities necessary to the fulfillment of the objectives for which they were created. Such a plan should be the definite solution for existing problems, but the lack of financial resources to implement programmed actions and of necessary supervision to ensure that actions under way reach their targets is a constant difficulty.

Far from being a redundancy in a nature conservation institution, an Environment Management System enables the administration of the Conservation Unit and its entire staff to be aware of conflicting points between objective and practice and, in a systematic manner, to determine actions to eliminate such points. Furthermore, it makes it possible to know the significant impacts on the environment caused by organizations that operate in it and that need to be controlled. Besides planning, an EMS deals with recording of facts, analyses and monitoring, particularly monitoring. ISO 14001 determines that monitoring be done also through systematic and planned evaluations, the internal environmental assessments, that try to find improvement points in the system and to make sure that what was planned is being done. Corrective actions are prescribed, with someone being made accountable and deadlines set, for each incongruousness found. Thus activities anticipated in the “Plano de Manejo” can be controlled and, before they become unfeasible, alternative measures are taken to redirect means and reach targets.

This 1st phase, backed by IBAMA, Rio de Janeiro City Hall, MMA, CNPq and SEBRAE ends with the elaboration of the Plan of Action. The implementation of all the remaining parts of the Environment Management System, complying with the requisites of ISO 14001, is a task for the 2nd phase of this project that has already began supported by the National Fund for the Environment.

5. BIBLIOGRAPHY

1 – Freire, José R. Bessa; Malheiros, Márcia F. : Aldeamentos Indígenas do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de janeiro, Universidade do Estado dório de Janeiro, 1997, p88.

2 – Maya, Raymundo Ottoni de Castro : A Floresta da Tijuca, Bloch Editores, Rio de Janeiro, 1966.

3 – Torres, Luís Wanderley : Tiradentes, a áspera estrada para a liberdade, 25 ed. L. Oren Editora, São Pulo, 1977.

4 – Abreu, M. de ª : A cidade, a montanha e a floresta, Natureza e Sociedade no Rio de Janeiro, M. de ª Abreu (org), Coleção Biblioteca Carioca n°21, Prefeitura do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, 1992, p 55-103.

5 – IPLANRIO : Saga, Sistema de Análise Geoambiental, Sistema de Apoio à Decisão, Prefeitura do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, 1995.

6 – Mendes, Laila Souza : A problemática da ocupação humana no entorno e no Parque Nacional da Tijuca, Funbio, Rio de Janeiro, 1999.

7 – Sistema Nacional de Unidades de Conservação, SNUC, Lei federal n°9.985, julho, Brasília, 2000.

6. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors thank the Management of Tijuca National Park - Co-management IBAMA – Rio de Janeiro City Hall, Sônia Lúcia Peixoto and Antônio Pedro Figueira de Mello and all their staff, for their total support .

Authors:

João Pedro Martins da Silva - Hariel Ltda – Rua da Glória, 110/702 – Glória, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 20241-180 – Tel:. +55 021 2222-6961; e-mail: jp@hariel.com.br

Roberto Huet de Salvo Souza - Parque Nacional da Tijuca/IBAMA RJ – Rua Paissandu, 155/802 – Flamengo, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 2210-180 – Tel.: + 55 021 2205-5155; e-mail: huetsalvo@yahoo,com.br

Damião Maciel Guedes - Ministério do Meio Ambiente – SQS 409 bloco “M” ent. “D” apt 301 – Brasília. DF, 70258-130 – Tel: (061) 244-9470; e-mail: damião.guedes@mma.gov.br