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1.

Who we are?

The Institute

We work to transform protected areas into a source of pride for Brazilian women and men.

What moves us

We believe that natural and urban parks can become a significant source of wealth for the country, creating employment, revenue, leisure, and well-being for the population. Building highly varied models of partnerships between the public and private sectors to provide new management resources and tools for these spaces can turn that potential into a reality. This instrument generates new opportunities to offer quality services to society, thus allowing parks to fulfill their role in promoting socioeconomic development and encouraging visits to raise awareness of the importance of the conservation of these areas.

How we are going to get there

We support governments in designing and implementing park partnership projects. We collect, systematize and disseminate specific knowledge and coordinate governments, society, private partners, and third-sector entities to foster dialogue and make these partnerships viable. We strive to enhance operations in our supporter network to leverage complementary vocations and expand the impact of our work. In this manner, we also hope to help people understand the potential of partnerships and the parks themselves.

2.

Message from the Board and the CEO

The results of the 2022 elections showed Brazilians’ desire to redirect the environmental policy and re-establish Brazil as a global leader in this area. We hope that our natural heritage will finally be a central component of a sustainable development strategy for the country.

As recorded in the Parks as Vectors of Development for Brazil study, these spaces can generate one million jobs and move BRL 44 billion annually. In addition to the positive economic impact, valuing parks directly relates to society recognizing the value of environmental services, which are fundamental to our survival. It also prompts awareness of conservation units’ and urban green spaces’ vital roles in the resilience and balance of the planet and the people’s quality of life. That context further reinforces the need to create innovative solutions to overcome together the socio-environmental challenges facing the world.

In 2022, our Partnerships Map accumulated 41 tendered partnerships since 2012, many already in operation. Those partnerships will mobilize an estimated BRL 1.4 billion in investments, forecasted to generate over BRL 23 billion in revenue in the next 40 years. Those perspectives remain promising, with 68 parks (14 national, 28 state, and 26 municipal) with partnerships in the structuring process. Significant advances were made last year in urban parks in the State of São Paulo (Água Branca, Villa Lobos, and Cândido Portinari) and in iconic natural state parks such as Caracol, Tainhas and Turvo (Rio Grande do Sul), Ibitipoca and Itacolimi (Minas Gerais), and Conduru (Bahia).

The federal level also saw the renewal of the Iguaçu concession, which gave visibility to and incorporated important innovations with partnerships in recent years. That progress was essential for them to become increasingly more robust vehicles for inducing conservation and development policies.

Consequently, that process can be measured by the substantial increase in interested project investors, demonstrating that the economy and the environment can indeed walk together towards a greener, fairer, and more sustainable future. How these projects are regulated has also evolved to facilitate the integration of natural spaces with their surroundings, thus favoring actions to promote conservation and the development of local communities.

Dealing with these new administrations at their different levels shows that this policy of investing in and improving parks has become a societal demand, regardless of political guidelines.

There have been several noticeable advances. Many of them resulted from the joint effort of Semeia and the Brazilian Bank of Economic and Social Development (BNDES), which, besides the parks, included support for the Brazilian Forest Service in eight concession projects in the Amazon and Atlantic Forests. That new work front has taken Semeia further into debating rings, such as the Brazilian Coalition on Climate, Forests and Agriculture, complementing prior work with other reference entities and collectives, such as Coalizão Pró-UC.

With the mission of making protected areas a source of pride for all Brazilians, we believe that we are building the foundations to significantly expand the population’s contact with natural and urban parks. In addition to ensuring investments, good management, and governance, we strive to make visiting such spaces a tasteful experience for everyone and part of their routine.

Likewise, we believe it is fundamentally important to bolster the management bodies we have trained and supported with specialized knowledge of the intricacies of contractual partnership management. We concurrently seek to monitor the impacts of the various initiatives in our parks and forests. We have been working to produce, systematize, and disseminate knowledge to improve public policies and foster informed debates on the subject with society.

In 2022, we developed actions such as the Leveraging Parks study, which highlights the need to improve the experience of visitors by understanding different user personas; and the Parks and Pandemic assessment, which sought to understand the impact of social distancing on the connection of Brazilians with nature and on their quality of life. We also moved forward with the third edition of the survey Brazil’s Parks: Public Perceptions 2022, which aimed to map and present Brazilians’ feelings about these spaces and to identify what motivates or deters them from visiting parks.

Our quality of life depends on harmony with the nature surrounding us and of which we are a part. Therefore, we are committed to improving conservation unit management and strengthening biodiversity protection and the population’s health and well-being. As such, and only as such, we can transform our environmental heritage into a vector of sustainable socioeconomic development.

3.

Helping Governments Care for Parks

Brazilian parks can be protagonists of sustainable development in our country, helping to conserve biodiversity and generate opportunities for revenue, leisure, health, and well-being for the population. We believe that partnerships can enhance the management of parks and, therefore, can help to achieve that objective.

Throughout our history, we have worked to coordinate dozens of partnership projects in natural and urban parks with every level of government—federal, state, and municipal. In the last year alone, we collaborated with concession projects in more than 60 parks. Of those, 43 are part of the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) Support Program for the Concession of Conservation Units in 11 Brazilian states.

We bear in mind that successful park partnerships also depend on strong and qualified management bodies to develop initiatives and monitor their outcomes. Therefore, in addition to technical support in designing and implementing projects, we offer courses and workshops for training governments, park managers, and other stakeholders on partnership agreements and the best practices for efficient management.

We aim for that work to offer better-maintained parks with quality infrastructure and services for the public and to contribute to Brazil’s conservation and social and economic development.

4.

Impact monitoring

With the increase in the number and diversity of park partnerships, we have increasingly sought to organize and develop impact assessment methods for these initiatives from an environmental, economic, and social perspective. That monitoring will be used to assess the lessons learned to improve our supported projects to consistently provide better experiences for society and enable conservation and local socioeconomic development.

Thus, we systematized project information such as investment prospects and visitation even further to strengthen our work with governments and generate intelligence to influence decision-making and the construction of initiatives.

We are also evaluating ways to measure concessionaires’ and public agents’ satisfaction with their partnership contracts. In 2022, that interest gave rise to a model for internal studies to deepen the case, which ran as a pilot for the Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park, by collecting and analyzing information on actions resulting from compliance with the concession contract, analyzing impacts on management and governance, public use and visitor experience, local development and conservation.

In the end, in partnership with Professor Carlos Eduardo Young at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and researcher Maira Luiza Spanholi, we developed the “Valuation of the economic impact of public use in Conservation Units under a private concession regime” study. The preliminary results were presented at the Parques do Brasil.

5.

Support for private engagement in park partnerships

The success of park partnerships is linked to the planned and structured projects to expand and guarantee that parks fulfill their socio-environmental functions. Likewise, the collaboration between the public and private sectors can help catalyze the parks’ potential for generating opportunities, leisure, health, and well-being.

Therefore, we promote and participate in a series of forums, meetings, and gatherings to strengthen private engagement in this agenda, disseminating the project portfolio, expanding new partnership opportunities, and discussing ways to maximize the benefits for society.

Park Partnerships Event

In 2022, we promoted the event “Park Partnerships: investment opportunities,” bringing together government representatives, concessionaires, investors, and consultants. The September-1st event welcomed over 120 guests and addressed several projects being developed across Brazil, the public policies being considered in these partnerships, and discussed advances and possible improvements for the sector.

Expanding and strengthening the effectiveness of partnerships being the motive, the meeting led to great exchanges between the public and private sectors. Projects from several states and municipalities were presented: Minas Gerais; Santa Catarina; Bahia; Rio Grande do Sul; Recife (PE); and Porto Alegre (RS). Representatives from federal government agencies such as ICMBio and BNDES also participated.

Meetings and talks with the private sector

In addition to the event mentioned above, we helped organize more than 100 meetings between potential stakeholders from the private sector and governments to address the attractiveness of the numerous park partnership initiatives from a business perspective. We also discussed the challenges related to the agenda and shared investment opportunities.

Coordinating with sector entities

Putting together entities representing companies and institutions from different sectors to have recurring talks was another way to foster commitments to the partnerships, among them: Brazilian Association of Ecotourism and Adventure Tourism Companies (Associação Brasileira das Empresas de Ecoturismo e Turismo de Aventura – ABETA) and the Integrated System of Parks and Tourist Attractions (Sistema Integrado de Parques e Atrações Turísticas – SINDEPAT). Lectures, panels, and meetings helped better communicate the sector’s advances and best park partnership practices to the institutions and the public of the promoted events.

6.

Sowing knowledge

Did you know that 97% of people know at least one natural park? And that 82% agree that tourism develops and brings economic and social benefits to parks and their surroundings? Additionally, more than half of Brazilian women and men want to visit them more often after the pandemic ends!

Our studies to better understand people’s park experiences allowed us to map some of that data. We believe that the more this information gets produced and disseminated, the better the opportunity to improve park visits and services.

In addition to the studies, in 2022, we had the opportunity to promote technical training for governments and management bodies that operate or develop park partnership projects to help make these management instruments more effective and provide better services to society. We also published a series of technical content, our Toolkits for Partnerships, aimed at improving the planning, modeling, and implementation of these initiatives.

7.

Innovation

In 2021, we started to expand our frontier of action beyond the realm of parks, working to value the Brazilian environmental heritage, incorporating forestry concessions and Payment for Environmental Services (PES) into our operations. That same year, we joined the Brazilian Coalition on Climate, Forests, and Agriculture to expand our knowledge and understand the challenges and opportunities.

Therefore, considering the climate challenges facing the world, we have intensified our strategic action in the last year, coordinating and uniting the various actors involved. In addition, based on our extensive experience coordinating natural and urban park projects, we see a favorable way to allocate our support in formulating and implementing innovative and sustainable solutions for the forest agenda.

By networking with the public, private, and third sectors, the work scope is already under formation. See below our contribution in this segment with strategic partners in 2022.

8.

Engagement with the cause

One of our biggest missions is to help society access better public services, beginning with development solutions that do not jeopardize nature or the quality of life for the coming generations. Therefore, parks will become increasingly important in Brazil’s socio- environmental development and will be a source of pride for Brazilian women and men.

Thus, we strive to enhance operations in our supporter network to leverage complementary vocations and expand the impact of our work. We also hope to help society understand the potential of parks and partnerships for biodiversity conservation, creating jobs, income, and good health and well-being.

In the last year, given the urgency of the discussion on the environmental agenda for a more sustainable future on our planet, we have worked to strengthen and amplify the debate on a greener economy that can help overcome the socio-environmental challenges that lie ahead. That action reflected our support for constructing and disseminating the Painel Farol Verde (Green Lighthouse Panel).

We believe that parks can be a significant source of wealth for Brazil, contributing to biodiversity conservation, socioeconomic development, and people’s quality of life. Promoting the benefits of a relationship with nature and encouraging visits to parks is essential for us to build a greener, bluer, fairer, and more sustainable future. The Parks of Brazil event aims to discuss these and other issues where innovative ideas and agents of change converge.

The 2022 edition was held online due to the pandemic and featured a program loaded with professionals who are references in initiatives and projects for park management and enhancements. Internationally renowned specialists also addressed the environmental agenda’s most current issues and the future of Brazilian environmental policy.

Bárbara Matos

Bárbara Matos

Project Manager, Instituto Semeia

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Carlos Eduardo Young

Carlos Eduardo Young

Professor, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ)

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Clarice Silva

Clarice Silva

Head of Ibitipoca State Park, IEF – Minas Gerais

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Claudia Gaigher

Claudia Gaigher

Environmental Journalist

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Cláudio Maretti

Cláudio Maretti

Specialist in Collaborative Conservation and Environmentalist

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Érika Guimarães

Érika Guimarães

Environmentalist and representative of the Pro-UC Coalition

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Fernando Pieroni

Fernando Pieroni

Chief Executive Director, Instituto Semeia

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Francisco Gaetani

Francisco Gaetani

President, Brazil’s National School of Public Administration (Escola Nacional de Administração Pública – ENAP)

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Giane Brocco

Giane Brocco

Founder and CEO of Amazu Biomicry

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Guilherme Passos

Guilherme Passos

Board of Directors, Instituto Semeia

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Humberto Falcão

Humberto Falcão

Professor, Fundação Dom Cabral

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Manoel Serrão

Manoel Serrão

Program Superintendent, Brazilian Biodiversity Fund (FUNBIO)

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Mateus Fernandes

Mateus Fernandes

Advocacy Advisor, Democracy and Sustainability Institute (Instituto Democracia e Sustentabilidade – IDS)

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Pedro Passos

Pedro Passos

Board of Directors, Instituto Semeia

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Roberta Barbosa

Roberta Barbosa

Coordinator of Visitation and Ecotourism Planning and Structuring, ICMBio

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Rodrigo Levkovicz

Rodrigo Levkovicz

Executive Director, São Paulo Forest Foundation

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Ulisses dos Santos

Ulisses dos Santos

Head of the Iguaçu National Park, ICMBio

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DAY 1

Parques do Brasil 2021 - Day 1

DAY 2

Parques do Brasil 2021 - Day 2

To promote inspiring talks on parks, health, and society among the most diverse audiences involved or interested in this agenda, we pressed on with our SemeiaLive webinar series in 2022. The series included three online meetings on Semeia’s YouTube channel and Facebook. They gathered specialists from different areas who took on topics revolving around the benefits of parks, the public use of these areas, and issues related to Brazilian environmental policy.

The motto of the 2022 Um Dia No Parque campaign, promoted annually by the Coalizão Pró-UC, of which we are a part, was “Getting back home”. It was successful among the public and provided time to reconnect with nature after the pandemic’s period of isolation. On July 24, after two years of an online format, the country’s largest action to value parks and reserves united more than 100 thousand people in activities in 20 states and Brasília.

On that day, the protected areas had a special program. In Brasília, we promoted a sequence guided by women and for women in the Brasília National Park. The action was run in partnership with Sisterwave, a community of women who love to travel and whose purpose is to achieve gender equality in travel, uniting the power of technology and sisterhood. In São Paulo (SP), in Cantareira State Park, our team hiked to Pedra Grande and took the opportunity to visit Alberto Löfgren State Park, better known as Horto Florestal (Portuguese for Forest Garden).

Um Dia No Parque also moved social networks. The CUs and the public shared photos and videos of the activities throughout the country with the hashtag #UmDiaNoParque #ADayAtThePark. The campaign’s profile jumped from 6,500 to 11,000 followers.

To support voters in the search for candidates for the legislature that included proposals related to the environment, the IDS, in partnership with the Socio-environmental Working Group of the Collaborative Advocacy Network (Rede de Advocacy Colaborativo – RAC), created the Green Lighthouse Panel.

The project, in which we proudly participated, surveyed candidates to see how they positioned themselves on 12 topics linked to the socio-environmental agenda. Organized in an interactive panel, voters could access information to consciously base their votes.

The panel also provided information on how the incumbents were positioned on the main votes on climate and environment issues during the previous term (2019-2022), as well as their legislative proposals and their opinions on social media on the panel’s topics of interest (e.g., climate change, environment, socio-environmental rights, sustainability). Learn more at farolverde.org.br.

Participation in events

Above all, building a common, positive agenda for Brazilian parks means fostering dialogue between the most diverse audiences involved in this cause.

To this end, we participated in critical discussions and forums by various entities, control bodies, private consultancies, governments, and NGOs to foster interaction and the exchange of knowledge about parks and their management models.

See the events we participated in 2022 below:

Eventos dos quais participamos em 2021

Check out the main events Semeia took part in:

Eventos em que o Semeia esteve presente

Engagement beyond the cause

As a civil society organization that works to value Brazilian parks (and through them, for the people’s quality of life and well-being), we understand the real need to support initiatives that favor collective health, especially since the Covid-19 pandemic that emerged in 2020, which will continue to impact how we live as a society.

In addition to our regular activities, in recent years, we have supported “Serial Sero-Epidemiological Surveys to Monitor the Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 Infection in the City of São Paulo”. Better known as “SoroEpi MSP”, the project was designed to map the percentage of people infected by Covid-19 in the city of São Paulo. That information was used to provide scientific analyses to support public policies for controlling and combating the coronavirus in the city.

The initiative’s eighth and final stage results were released in May 2022, indicating that 98.2% of the adult population in São Paulo already had antibodies against the virus. University of São Paulo (USP) and the Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP) researchers conducted the project in partnership with Grupo Fleury and Intelligence in Research and Strategic Consulting (Inteligência em Pesquisa e Consultoria Estratégica – IPEC) and was supported by the Todos pela Saúde Program.

9.

Semeia in the media

Valuing Brazilian parks and natural environments has been at the heart of all the projects we work on. This has been reflected in our relationship with press vehicles and our efforts in other media to promote society’s awareness of the importance and benefits of parks for biodiversity conservation, quality of life, and creating jobs and income for people.

The more people who know about the countless possibilities of contact that protected areas provide, the greater our potential to captivate a network of park protectors. That’s essential; just encouraging people to make return visits to the units strengthens nature tourism as a whole.

Similarly, we spread information about natural and urban parks’ possibilities and innovative management models to share these initiatives’ potential benefits and risks. We also seek to amplify the messages, information, and data from the studies, materials, and projects we develop throughout the year.

10.

Institutional Partnerships

We believe that, together, our impact will be more significant. Therefore, we operate in a network with other organizations that seek innovative solutions to improve public services and transform Brazilian parks.

In 2022, the joint efforts with partner entities allowed the new dialogue to enrich our agenda and initiatives to be developed that value our natural heritage.

Bids

Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)

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BNDES

Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES)

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Logo Unidos Cuidamos

The Brazilian Coalition on Climate, Forests, and Agriculture

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Logo Colorado State University

Coalizão PRÓ-UC (PRO-UC Coalition)

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Logo GIZ

Boticário Group Foundation (Fundação Grupo Boticário)

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Logo UNOPS

Democracy and Sustainability Institute (Instituto Democracia e Sustentabilidade – IDS)

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Logo UNOPS

German Agency for International Development Cooperation (GIZ-Brasil)

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11.

Economic and financial results

In 2022, we saved 10% compared to the amount budgeted for the period. We maintained a 7% administrative expense cost, reflecting the hybrid work system. On the other hand, we increased the funding invested in projects and finalizing activities to 82%.

Although we made progress in resuming field visits and project-related meetings, we followed the trend brought on by the pandemic and continued with some remote initiatives performed online.

We value transparency in all our management processes. Thus, we adopt the best organizational governance practices, and our results are audited and reported annually.

Click here to see the technical opinion on the 2022 audit

12.

Contributors

Board

Pedro Luiz Barreiros Passos

Semeia’s Founder, Pedro participates on different boards and entities dedicated to the country’s industrial and social development. He has been president of Fundação S.O.S. Mata Atlântica since 2013. Pedro also founded Natura and is currently co-chairman on the Board of Directors. He holds a degree in Production Engineering from USP and in Business Administration from FGV.

Guilherme Ruggiero Passos

Mr. Passos holds a degree in Production Engineering from USP and an MBA from London Business School. Guilherme is a manager at Anima Investimentos, a wealth management office. He previously worked at Pragma Patrimônio and Bain & Company.

Fábio Tran

Director of the Omidyar Network, Fábio co-leads investments in education in Latin America, emphasizing Brazil. Previously, he worked at Rocket Internet, taking different leadership positions in the consumer tech portfolio in Latin America and Europe. He also served as the Executive Director of Fundação Estudar.

Lucilene Prado

Lucilene is a lawyer with expertise in corporate and tax law. She was the legal director of Natura and is currently a partner at Derraik e Menezes Advogados (Law Firm). She is a professor at the Brazilian Institute of Education and Research (Instituto de Ensino e Pesquisa – Insper) and chairs the Fiscal Committees of Natura Institute and the Political Action Network for Sustainability (Rede de Ação Política pela Sustentabilidade – RAPS).

Team

Adriano Sundfeld

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Projects

Bárbara Matos

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Projects

Carlos Falcão

/

Projects

Fernando Pieroni

/

CEO

Gianluca Fierro

/

Projects

Iago Batista

/

Communication

Joice Tolentino

/

Communication and Relationship

Karina Dominici

/

Projects

Lorena Assis

/

Financial Administrator

Mariana Haddad

/

Knowledge

Maurício Appolinário

/

Financial Administrator

Rodrigo Góes

/

Projects

Stefanie Saturnino

/

Projects

Semeia works with companies hired to carry out specific institutional management and project development activities.

Consultants:
Kleriston Karlos
Mauro Castex

Technical studies:
Boston Consulting Group
Havine Research

Audiovisual:
3Film
8 Milímetros
Volpe Deejay

Press office:
Tamer Comunicação Empresarial

Accounting:
RGM

Design and digital communication:
AtivGreen
Desenho Editorial
Nação Design

Human Resource Management:
Bordin

Information Technology:
Trivor

Legal Advice:
Derraik & Menezes Advogados Associados

Auditing:
Audisa

Translation:
Harkin Translations
Todd Harkin and Melissa Harkin

Follow us on social media

semeia.org.br

May of 2023

Cover

Credits

1. Who we are?
Cover:
Iguaçu National Park (PR) | ADVTP / Shutterstock

2. Message from the Board and the CEO
Cover:
Fernando de Noronha Marine National Park (PE) | Paula Montenegro Stock / Shutterstock

3. Helping Governments Care for Parks
Cover:
Itacolomi State Park (MG) | Gabriel Garcia / CC BY-SA 4.0

Federal Government:
Iguaçu National Park (PR) | Bhmartimiano / CC BY-SA 3.0

Bahia:
Sete Passagens State Park (BA) | Eliel de Araújo Andrade / CC BY-SA 4.0

Goiás:
Parque Estadual da Serra de Caldas Novas (GO)  | Corel2403 / CC BY-SA 4.0

Mato Grosso:
Serra Azul State Park (MT) | Wellyngton Nunes / CC BY-SA 3.0

Mato Grosso del Sur:
Várzeas do Rio Ivinhema State Park (MS)  | Erick Caldas Xavier / CC BY-SA 4.0

Minas Gerais:
Ibitipoca State Park (MG) | Arnmichels / CC BY-SA 4.0

Pernambuco:
Dois Irmãos State Park (PE) | Leeto Araújo / CC BY-SA 4.0

Río Grande del Sur:
Parque Estadual do Caracol (RS) | Tiago Fioreze / CC BY-SA 3.0

Santa Catarina:
Serra do Tabuleiro State Park (SC) | Thomas Lehmann / CC BY-SA 4.0

State of Sao Paulo:
Cantareira State Park (SP) | Sturm / CC BY-SA 4.0

Belo Horizonte:
Pampulha Modern Ensemble (MG) | Tuami Pricila Matielo / CC BY-SA 4.0

Porto Alegre:
Jaime Lerner Park (Orla do Guaíba) (RS) | Magrinusco / CC BY-SA 4.0

Recife:
Capibaribe River (PE) | marcusrg / CC BY-SA 2.0

Local Government of Rio de Janeiro:
Quinta da Boa Vista Park (RJ) | Halley Pacheco de Oliveira / CC BY-SA 3.0

Local Government of São Paulo:
Ibirapuera Park (SP) | Yandry Fernandez / Istockphoto

4. Impact monitoring
Cover:
Pair of Canindé Macaws | Rafael Barreto / CC BY-SA

5. Support for private engagement in park partnerships
Cover:
Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park (GO) | NiarKrad / Shutterstock

6. Sowing knowledge
Cover:
Serra dos Órgãos National Park | Guilherme Haruo / CC BY-SA 4.0

7. Innovation
Cover:
Parque Nacional Serra da Capivara | Diego Rego Monteiro / CC BY-SA 3.0

8. Engagement with the cause
Cover:
Catimbau National Park (PE) | Elias Rodrigues de Oliveira / CC BY-SA 4.0

Um dia no parque:
Monge State Park (PR) | Hector Souza / CC BY-SA 4.0

Farol Verde:
Aparados da Serra National Park (RS) | Vinicios de Moura / CC BY-SA 3.0

9. Semeia in the media
Cover:
Itatiaia National Park (RJ) | Iuliia Timofeeva / Shutterstock

10. Institutional Partnerships
Cover:
Amazon River (AM) | Christian Vinces / Shutterstock

11.Economic and financial results
Cover:
Ilha Grande State Park (RJ) | Larissa Chilanti / Shutterstock

12. Contributors
Cover:
Chapada das Mesas National Park (MA) | Otavio Nogueira / CC BY 2.0