Historic

SPVS started from the restlessness of a group of youths - students and newly graduates - engaged in taking up the nature conservation cause on a professional basis. By 1984 they had created the institution - at a time when non-governmental organizations in the environmental area were still few in Brazil - and obtaining resources to invest in nature conservation was an almost impossible task.

The first actions of this NGO relied on volunteers who joined the group and incorporated efforts to promote environmental education for the community of Curitiba. In the first years of its history, SPVS had already expanded its actions towards the coastal cities of Paraná and carried out some projects in partnership with governmental agencies and private companies. Currently, this institution has reached the mark of more than 100 projects, performed in eight Brazilian states.

From 1991 on, SPVS has elected the Environmental Protection Area (EPA) of Guaraqueçaba, on the northern coast of the state of Paraná, as its priority focus of action. This EPA is part of the major continuous Atlantic Forest block, still well-preserved and characterized by its scenic beauty and richness of biological diversity.

In 1999, SPVS achieved an important step towards strengthening its actions in the Atlantic Forest. The institution obtained financial support to implement three long-term projects, including the acquisition of degraded areas for the development of forest recovery projects (reforestation with native trees) and the search, together with the local communities, for income generation alternatives compatible with nature conservation. These projects also have the purpose of helping in the fight against global warming. Thanks to the photosynthesis process, the planted trees contribute to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, one of the main gases causing global warming.

In 2003, SPVS added a new focus to its work: the protection of the Araucaria Forest - an ecosystem which exists in Southern Brazil exclusively. Currently, only less than 3% of well-preserved areas of this ecosystem remain. The efforts made by SPVS in this area are geared towards encouraging the private sector to adopt well-preserved areas owned by local people who, based on reason and love for nature, faced all the opposing forces to keep the Araucaria Forest alive. In 2007, SPVS started a new action to protect this forest: due to carbon storage in the biomass, natural remaining areas serve as a tool that offsets emissions of greenhouse gases for companies interested in fighting global warming.

The seriousness of its work and the success of its trajectory have led SPVS to be recognized as one of the most important NGOs in Brazil working towards nature conservation. Due to results achieved in 25 years of history, this institution is a model to be followed in the efforts to protect and maintain the quality of natural ecosystems.

For further information, please e-mail us at: spvs@spvs.org.br

Back