GEO Brasil - UNEP

populations, the maintenance of the genetic diversity of
species, and providing support to re-insertion programmes.
The main activities have included recording and monitoring
ofcaptive animals, integrating inter-institutional actions, and
researching technology for breeding in captivity. Currently,
Brazilian institutions either manage lead or participate in
these programmes aiming at the conservation of two species
of reptiles, ten species of birds and eighteen species of
mammals.
In sum, the most important programmes for the
management of animals in Brazil include a few successful
experiences, but they still include a very small part of the
fauna. This is true even when considering species officially
recognised as being endangered. The main reason for this
situation is lack of financial resources. Therefore, it is a
paradox that there has been substantial governmental
investment to rescue animals from areas flooded by
hydroelectric plant reservoirs in the last decades. Each of
these operations collects and transfers from dozens to
hundreds of thousands of animals generally without prior
evaluation regarding the feasibility of the operation and
follow-up. A single operation cost US$ 30 million 1 , seventeen
times the annual budget for the Tamar Sea Turtle Project, or
200 times the cost of the Lear’s Macaw Project (Ministry of
the Environment, 2000e). Most specialists condemn these
programmes. They consider them to be innocuous or even
harmful for animal conservation. Thus, although more
investment is necessary, a more rational use of the resources
available would result in a great deal of progress in the
programmes for management and conservation in the
country.
a) Control of Exotic Species Considered Harmful
For Environmental Balance
Control of exotic species is very difficult due to Brazil’s
continental dimensions and lack of financial resources. The
costs are too high for a developing country. A single
eradication programme comprising a restricted area will
cost around US$ 9 million. The programme for the
eradication of the carambolae fruit fly, co-ordinated by the
University of São Paulo (USP – Universidade de São Paulo),
has already spent US$ 5 million, and an other estimated
US$ 4 million will be necessary for it to be concluded (Folha
de São Paulo Newspaper, 2001). Currently, the greatest
governmental plan for controlling exotic species is the plan
to combat dengue. It estimates US$ 180 million in costs to
combat the vector of the disease (Aedes aegypti) for the
2001-2002 period (National Health Foundation 2001).
However, according to an evaluation performed by the
Ministry of Health, this investment will not be enough, and
complete eradication of the mosquito in the country is not
yet possible (Estado de São Paulo Newspaper 2002).
Prevention is a better alternative than control and mitigation.
Brazilian legislation made an important progress in this field
in the last fifteen years. Annex 2 of this publication, which
refers to the compilation of federal legislation related to the
various subjects dealt with in this report, presents the current
federal legislation regarding the control of exotic species
and introductions of any kind in nature. The Hunting and
Fishing Codes (1967) already prohibited the introduction of
policies feedback
In many hydroelectric power plants
in Brazil, the fauna that would have
drowned in the reservoirs was
rescued beforehand. The best
documented case is that of Tucuruí,
in the state of Pará, where the
reservoir flooded 285,000 hectares
in the Amazon Forest. While it was
being filled, a team of 611 people
captured approximately 280,000
animals, which were then released
randomly in four different areas
around the reservoir. The total cost
of the operation was US$30 million,
and there was no subsequent
follow-up on the animals rescued.
Even without a proper assessment
of the survival rates among the
rescued animals, the scientific
community is extremely sceptical
as to the efficacy of such operations.
They claim that the animals are
stressed and weakened by the whole
situation, and have few chances of
surviving in an unknown area.
Besides, those that survive will
represent an abrupt population
increase in the areas where they are
released, with the consequent
increase in competition, predation
and diseases, not to mention a
possible lack of food resources.
Finally, many of those species have
a clear social organisation and will
not survive unless they find their own
groups again, or else manage to join
a new group, which are both highly
improbable events. These rescue
operations represent some of the
highest management investments
ever made in Brazil. The rescue costs
in Tucuruí alone correspond to 60%
of the total costs of all 6,300 research
projects funded by the National
Council for Scientific and
Technological Development - CNPq
in 2000, or to 17 times the annual
budget of the TAMAR Project.
Sources:
Ferreira M.N. & Gribel R. 2000. O impacto da hidrelétrica de Tucuruí sobre os mamíferos terrestres. pp. 91-95 dos Anexos In: La Rovere, E.L. and
Mendes, F.E. Tucuruí Hydropower Complex, Brazil, A WCD case study prepared as an input to the World Commission on Dams, Cape Town. Versão on-line em
http://www.damsreport.org/docs/kbase/studies/csbranxb.pdf
.damsreport.org/docs/kbase/studies/csbranxb.pdf; Duarte J.M.B. 1999. Relocação de fauna no Brasil: Necessidade, Ignorância ou calamidade?
Anais do Seminário da Secretaria do Meio Ambiente de São Paulo. SMA/SP, São Paulo; home-page do CNPq (www.cnpq.br)
.cnpq.br).
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