2019 was a year full of great achievements and
celebrations. Check out the year's highlights here.
At Havaianas' invitation, IPÊ went to Lisbon (Portugal) for a special commemoration: our 15 year-long partnership with the brand. Between partners, supporters and admirers, we celebrated our achievements thus far with the IPÊ-Havaianas collaboration - the flip flops which showcase Brazil's biodiversity, with 7% of the profits going towards our conservation work. The celebration marked the European launch of the 2018/19 collection.
"It's been a pleasure for Havaianas to work with IPÊ for all this time. The company holds very similar values to ours. For 57 years Havaianas have been putting flip flops on the feet of people across the world, and we believe that this partnership is a great tool for bringing environmental issues to light in society. I strongly believe in partnerships between private companies and the tertiary sector, this is an excellent way to promote a cause pairing it with a quality product" says Guillaume Prou, Havaianas director for the EMEA region (Europe, Middle East and Africa).
"Nature's one of my biggest inspirations, that's why when I was invited to paint the mural, I didn't think twice. Doing this work made me feel like I was contributing to something that really makes all the difference!", Arlin Graff commented
To top off the celebration, the Brazilian plastic artist Arlin Graff who signed the Havaianas-IPÊ collection was invited to graffiti a 30 meters tall wall in Lisbon with the image of a red-and-green macaw; one of the stars of the Havaiana's IPÊ run. He painted another in July, this time in London (England), of another species, the black lion tamarin.
Scientists from various organisations and universities around the world propose introducing a new method of evaluating biodiversity risk by using Areas of Habitat (AOH) maps. They indicate not only where the species have been spotted in traditional field surveys, but also where they might be able to live more safely. In October's edition of "Trends in Ecology and Evolution.", researchers led by IUCN's (International Union for Conservation of Nature) head scientist PhD. Thomas Brooks, explain that this new methodology has already produced maps for Areas of Habitat of over 20,000 mammalian, avian and amphibian species; compiling data from the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species with remotely collected data. Clinton Jenkins, researcher at IPÊ, took part in the study. To find out more head to:
http://bit.ly/pesquisaAOH
A collection of 114 scientists published a lengthy article on the importance and challenges facing the conservation of the Pantanal; drawing attention to the science undertaken in the area and the need for investment into research. Coordinated by researcher Walfrido Tomas and joined by Rafael Chiaravalloti, Patrícia Medici and Arnaud Desbiez, researchers at IPÊ, the article lays out the ways in which conservation may be carried out in the region that, in reality, is still at risk, despite some data to the contrary. To find out more head to:
http://bit.ly/artigo-pantanalIPÊ shared its experience on integrated solutions in protected areas in the Amazon at III Latin American and Caribbean Congress on Protected Areas so to help solve the issue. In it's third year, congress managed to link world behavioural tendencies (heading towards social inclusion) with the issues necessary for the conservation of these protected areas. It was interesting to see the impact that women, the young and indigenous had; acting as important strategic groups for the transformation.
On the 28th of September, IPÊ'S ESCAS (Graduate School in Environmental Conservation) had the Leadership for Conservation Research Symposium (I Simpósio de Pesquisas Liderança para a Conservação) and the Professional Master's Leavers' Reunion (I Encontro de Egressos do Mestrado Profissional). The reunion served to strengthen the connections of an active network of people for socio-environmental revolution.
During the symposium, the old students had a chance to share their career progress and reflect on conservation leadership too. " The relationship with people, how to engage with them, I really got deep into that during the masters, and I saw during 2 years of working after the degree that conservation is carried out by people, and I need to work with people to get results. Going through IPÊ was the only way to come to that understanding ", commented Karlla Barbosa, from SAVE Brazil.
One of the biggest conservation awards in the world, the National Geographic Society/Buffett Award for Leadership in Conservation was awarded to the Brazillian Patrícia Medici on the 12th of June in Washington D.C. Medici has been the go-to reference for studies on the Brazilian tapir (Tapirus terrestris), for more than 23 years. The award was also given to Tomas Diagne who works for the conservation of critically endangered freshwater turtles. The award highlights the work scientists do for wildlife and natural resource conservation. It's offered every year to South American and African professionals. Patrícia Medici is the founder and coordinator of LTCI- The Lowland Tapir Conservation Initiative at IPÊ. She's also president of the Tapir Specialist Group - TSG, Species Survival Commission - SSC, International Union for the Conservation of Nature - IUCN where she heads a global network of more than 130 tapir conservationists across 27 countries.
We received the 2019 Muriqui Prize in the Legal Entity category. The award is a recognition from the Atlantic Forest Biosphere Reserve for our work, and especially the results of that work, in the conservation of the biome.
The trophy, which pays homage to the only two species of the genus Brachyteles, symbol of the Atlantic Forest, was awarded on the 7th of September at the opening of the Seminário Nacional Turismo and Atlantic Forest, Mata de São João (BA).
The award seeks to incentivise work that might contribute to the conservation of biodiversity, stimulate and spread knowledge both traditional and scientific, as well as promoting the sustainable development in the biome's region.
In December we received two significant honours from local communities for the work carried out with them in the Amazon. The first of which was given by the communities of state-protected reserve Uacari, Sustainable Development Reserve (RDS) and Extractive reserve (Resex) Médio Juruá, which awarded us for turtle conservation efforts via the Participatory Monitoring of Biodiversity project (Monitoramento Participativo da Biodiversidade). The United States Agency for International Development is recognised as a partner of Resex and RDS and received the award through Fabiana Prado, who is responsible for Institutional Articulation and is a Project Coordinator of IPÊ, on behalf of ICMBio, SEMA and the Communities of Médio Juruá. The other award was given to IPÊ by the Extractive Reserve (Resex) Tapajós Arapiuns. During the commemoration for the 21 years since the creation of Resex, and the 20 years of the Tapajoara Association, IPÊ was honoured as NGO partner with the Celino Rodrigues Trophy. The trophies were presented to Suzana Machado Padua, IPÊ's president, and to Claudio Valladares Padua, Vice President and rector of ESCAS at IPÊ's headquarters in Nazaré Paulista (São Paulo). The awards given to IPÊ's initiatives are thanks to the partnership of ICMBio, the support of Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and USAID.
In 2019 we implemented the use of LogAlto in projects for measuring and managing impact. The Canadian software is proprietary, inclusive and designed to be used in remote areas with poor connectivity such as those areas where researchers often find themselves during projects.
The measure follows the global trend of measuring results, already used by international CSO's.