GEO Brasil - UNEP

4.1.2. Advances in Planning
Experience has shown that the maintenance of “viable”
portions of natural environments has taken place only in
areas destined to the protection of natural resources, that
is, in conservation units. Thus, it is very important to include
the environmental variable in regional planning, and it is
also important to strengthen the existing system of
conservation units and to propose the creation of new units
in areas of great biological importance.
Studies carried out in natural environments warn about the
danger of extinction of species and ecosystem imbalance
in isolated environments that underwent a drastic reduction
in size. These studies show the need for making up a mosaic
of natural environments free of human presence and also
for promoting the connection of the remaining natural
vegetation. These actions theoretically make it possible for
the area available for the survival of native flora and fauna
to be enlarged, thus guaranteeing ecosystem balance in
the long run (Herrmann, 1999).
4.1.3. Identifying priorities for the conservation of
biodiversity
In order to fulfil the country’s obligations to the Convention
on Biological Diversity and aiming at gathering subsidies
for the elaboration of the National Strategy for Biodiversity
Conservation, the Ministry of the Environment held a variety
of workshops (subprojects) where the biological richness
of each Brazilian biome and their socio-economic
conditioning factors were evaluated. This happened through
the project “Conservation and Sustainable Use of Brazilian
Biological Diversity” (Probio). Important proposals that
have been utilised for guiding new actions for the
conservation of biodiversity in the country were elaborated
as a result of these workshops.
Five subprojects were carried out so as to involve all of the
Brazilian biomes. In March, 1998 a workshop was held in
order to define priorities for conservation in the biomes of
Cerrado and Pantanal. After that there was a subproject for
evaluation of the Atlantic Forest and the Southern Fields in
August, 1999; of the Amazon in September, 1999; of the
Coastal Marine Zone in October, 1999; and of the Caatinga, in
May, 2000. As a result, 705 areas were given priority. 182 were
Atlantic Forest and Southern Fields areas (www.
conservation.org.br/ma/index.html). 87 were Cerrado and
240