(photo: fishermen on a boat throwing a fishing net)
A lot is said about biodiversity, but have you ever heard of socio-biodiversity? If not, socio-biodiversity is, in a nutshell, a set of goods and services generated by the connection between biological diversity and sustainable activities. In other words, it adds to the cultural and ancestral knowledge of the populations and benefits these communities with the preservation of natural resources, by definition of the Ministry of the Environment (ME).
Brazil is quite socio-biodiverse by nature. We have a giant expanse of territories, both terrestrial and marine. In addition, we are the most biodiverse country in the world. We hold about 25% of all global biodiversity, as well as 20% of all drinking water on the planet, according to the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
The plurality of biomes and communities
The concept of sociobiodiversity refers to an integrated system of nature and communities, including, in a broader perspective, efforts in order to raise awareness about the use of natural resources and equal distribution to all beneficiaries in a territory. Back in 2008, the Brazilian government implemented the National Sociobiodiversity Plan in order to promote production chains, add socio-environmental value and generate income for traditional communities and family farmers.
Speaking of biomes, we have seven in total. They are: Pampa, Atlantic Forest, Pantanal, Cerrado, Caatinga, Coastal Areas and of course, our world heritage, the Amazon.
In addition to daily activities, the communities that live in these territories conserve and develop practices through which they express their knowledge about ecosystems. For these peoples, all socio-biodiversity and its wisdom are part of their heritage and must be therefore guarded and preserved.
And by the way…
We are currently in World Environment Week, which focuses on sustainable living in harmony with nature. This milestone from June 1 to 5 was conceived in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Stockholm Conference, which defined the fifth day of such month as World Environment Day.
Here at Raízes, we work based on the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Soon, we will start a project in partnership with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), focusing on the biomes of the Cerrado and the Atlantic Forest.
Keep an eye out here in our blog posts: we’ll be releasing more information soon!
