Trans-Cerrado - pedaling for preservation
Donation protected
The Brazilian Savannah (Cerrado) is the second largest Brazilian biome - covering 24% (80 million hectares) of the country - and has some of the richest biodiversity in the world. Unfortunately, it has already lost more than half of its natural habitat. The rate of conversion of its native vegetation was five times higher than in the Amazon biome from 2013 to 2015. Only 1.7% of the biome has been officially conserved in protected areas and parks.
To preserve the Cerrado means to protect its huge stock of carbon, rich fauna and flora, as well as its role as the “water tank” of Brazil, as it is the source of rivers that provide water to the largest cities. To protect the Cerrado it will be necessary to engage people and governments to promote and support initiatives of sustainable development and conservation.
This project, called TransCerrado, aims through outdoor sports (cycling) to inspire poor landholders living in small villages along unpaved secondary roads crossing the Cerrado to promote ecological and sustainable economic initiatives - especially those based on ecological tourism - to supplement their income and provide incentives to conservation of the Cerrado biome.
The ride: At the end of September 2019, Paulo Moutinho (a Senior Scientist at Amazon Environmental Research Institute-IPAM, Brazil) and Paul Lefebvre (a research associate at The Woods Hole Research Center-WHRC, US) will ride 750 miles (1.200 km) of unpaved trails crossing the heart of the Brazilian Savannah. During the trip the two cyclists will conduct structured interviews with small producers living along the unpaved roads and trails to measure the potential of them to offer support to outdoor adventurers. All the results from interviews will be part of a video and a report to be released to the media and local governments.
TransCerrado will feed web-based platforms like Google-Earth to track the expedition in real-time. Internet users will have access every two days to videos and reports about how the ride is going. Eventually, the cyclists will be interviewed for TV and radio.
Reaching the international community: The TransCerrado bike ride is expected to contribute to an emerging mass mobilization effort coordinated by prominent scientists, international organizations and civil society organizations, to inspire individuals around the world to take and demand climate action, environmental protection and sustainable economic solutions.
Budget: To successfully realize the TransCerrado, we are looking for partnerships and collaborations that include partnerships for reach (platforms, museums, events, etc.), content post-production, and basic funding. The funding needs for the project are estimated at USD $8-10k (Brazilian R$ 40k).
The cyclists:
Paulo Moutinho (Ph.D. Senior Scientist at IPAM). Paulo is 57-year-old ecologist. He has been working in Brazil with the impacts of deforestation on climate change and people over the last two decades. In 2017 he took a long bike ride (800 miles) with two other partners crossing the Amazon (https://pt.br/facebook.com/transamazon25/) to raise attention to the socio-environmental problems of the Amazon region.
Paul Lefebvre (M.A. Research Associate at WHRC). Paul Lefebvre is a specialist in Geographic Information Systems and a field research instrumentation engineer, who has worked in the Amazon since 1993. From 1995 to 1998 he lived in Brazil while helping to establish IPAM’s Remote Sensing and GIS laboratory, and continues working on research projects in the Amazon and helping young scientists with their research. He is a lifelong cyclist and veteran of many tours, including an unsupported crossing of North America.
To preserve the Cerrado means to protect its huge stock of carbon, rich fauna and flora, as well as its role as the “water tank” of Brazil, as it is the source of rivers that provide water to the largest cities. To protect the Cerrado it will be necessary to engage people and governments to promote and support initiatives of sustainable development and conservation.
This project, called TransCerrado, aims through outdoor sports (cycling) to inspire poor landholders living in small villages along unpaved secondary roads crossing the Cerrado to promote ecological and sustainable economic initiatives - especially those based on ecological tourism - to supplement their income and provide incentives to conservation of the Cerrado biome.
The ride: At the end of September 2019, Paulo Moutinho (a Senior Scientist at Amazon Environmental Research Institute-IPAM, Brazil) and Paul Lefebvre (a research associate at The Woods Hole Research Center-WHRC, US) will ride 750 miles (1.200 km) of unpaved trails crossing the heart of the Brazilian Savannah. During the trip the two cyclists will conduct structured interviews with small producers living along the unpaved roads and trails to measure the potential of them to offer support to outdoor adventurers. All the results from interviews will be part of a video and a report to be released to the media and local governments.
TransCerrado will feed web-based platforms like Google-Earth to track the expedition in real-time. Internet users will have access every two days to videos and reports about how the ride is going. Eventually, the cyclists will be interviewed for TV and radio.
Reaching the international community: The TransCerrado bike ride is expected to contribute to an emerging mass mobilization effort coordinated by prominent scientists, international organizations and civil society organizations, to inspire individuals around the world to take and demand climate action, environmental protection and sustainable economic solutions.
Budget: To successfully realize the TransCerrado, we are looking for partnerships and collaborations that include partnerships for reach (platforms, museums, events, etc.), content post-production, and basic funding. The funding needs for the project are estimated at USD $8-10k (Brazilian R$ 40k).
The cyclists:
Paulo Moutinho (Ph.D. Senior Scientist at IPAM). Paulo is 57-year-old ecologist. He has been working in Brazil with the impacts of deforestation on climate change and people over the last two decades. In 2017 he took a long bike ride (800 miles) with two other partners crossing the Amazon (https://pt.br/facebook.com/transamazon25/) to raise attention to the socio-environmental problems of the Amazon region.
Paul Lefebvre (M.A. Research Associate at WHRC). Paul Lefebvre is a specialist in Geographic Information Systems and a field research instrumentation engineer, who has worked in the Amazon since 1993. From 1995 to 1998 he lived in Brazil while helping to establish IPAM’s Remote Sensing and GIS laboratory, and continues working on research projects in the Amazon and helping young scientists with their research. He is a lifelong cyclist and veteran of many tours, including an unsupported crossing of North America.
Organizer
Paul Lefebvre
Organizer
East Falmouth, MA
