BRAZIL
BIOSPHERE RESERVE OF CAATINGA.
Year of creation
2001
The Caatinga is the only exclusively Brazilian biome. The Biosphere Reserve of Caatinga (BRCA) is located in a semi-arid region, covering an area of 103,751,780 hectares, encompassing 1280 municipalities and a population of 28 million inhabitants. It covers 60% of the Northeast Region and 13% of Brazil. It is the largest tropical dry forest in Latin America.
Its altitude varies from 0 to 600m, the temperature from 24ºC to 28ºC, and the rainfall average is between 250mm and 1000mm, resulting in a year-round water deficit. The RBCAA's buffer and transition zones provide ecological corridors between its various cores, as well as linking the continuous areas of the Atlantic Forest and the Cerrado biomes.
The RBCA continuously implements strategies for the preservation of biodiversity and the development of research, education, and environmental monitoring activities, as well as monitoring the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly climate change mitigation actions.
The economic foundation of the RBCAA is livestock breeding and irrigated agriculture. Its cultural expressions originate from the ethnic groups of the semi-arid region. Handicrafts in leather, clay, wood, and fabrics are of particular significance.
The Biosphere Reserve of Caatinga is distinguished by the "Caatinga" vegetation (meaning "white forest" in the language of the indigenous Tupi).
Its vegetation is primarily composed of small woody and herbaceous species, generally endowed with thorns. They are mostly deciduous, losing their leaves at the start of the drought, such as cacti and bromeliads, a typical vegetation of the semi-arid northeast. Most of the rivers are intermittent and the water volume is often limited, making it insufficient for irrigation. However, the São Francisco River is perennial, with a constant and stable flow throughout the year, with an average flow of 2,943 cubic meters per second, which allows it to be used for irrigation purposes.
Also notable is the project "Scenarios of the Caatinga Biome", aimed at presenting alternatives for the endogenous biome in order to increase its visibility in the social information space whilst creating a digital geographic database with socio-environmental, political and economic information.
Contacts
Rua Dois Irmãos, 92 Apipucos
CEP: 52071-440 - Recife-PE
Brasil
+55 81 9125-9301
+55 83 9630-3296
+55 81 99996-5711
