Natural infrastructure refers to the conservation, management, and restoration of ecosystems such as parks and forests. The benefits and challenges of public-private partnerships were debated during the 3rd Meeting of the Infrastructure Working Group on Wednesday (26) in Foz do Iguaçu, in the Brazilian state of Paraná.
Brasil has 74 national parks and 11 Public-Private Partnership (PPI) concessions, which help the government maintain the sites and preserve the environment. The benefits and limitations of this type of partnership were debated in the panel Natural infrastructure management models as drivers for mobilizing private resources during the 3rd Meeting of the Infrastructure Working Group on Wednesday (26) in Foz do Iguaçu, in the Brazilian state of Paraná.
Natural infrastructure refers to the conservation, management and restoration of ecosystems such as parks and forests. According to Carla Guaitaneli, national coordinator for public use at the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio), Brasil has 173.5 million hectares of protected area under federal government management. The premise is that private initiative helps to preserve this heritage.
"These collaborations promote a variety of experiences across all of Brasil's biomes. Our challenge is to increase visitation to our parks and thereby entice the business sector," she said.
While the country still has few parks with more than 500,000 visitors a year, most have 10,000 a year. Not all the landscapes have waterfalls like the Iguazu National Park, but all of the parks are remarkable and offer natural beauty.
According to Munir Calaca, CEO of Urbi, a company that partners with the Federal Government in the management of the Iguaçu National Park, people must be encouraged to visit the parks through the creation of an environment where families can go on weekends, instilling the habit of visiting these spaces in the younger generations. He also says that the private sector brings a legacy of quick decision-making and contributes to tourism development.
"In 2023, we received almost 24,000 public school students in environmental education initiatives. Spreading awareness and investing in new generations is key to determine our success."
Munir Calaca further stated that 70% of the Park's suppliers are from the region, and 10% of its employees are foreigners, demonstrating that Public-Private Partnerships may contribute to sustainable development through economic growth.
Renato Rosenberg, director of concessions at the Brazilian Forest Service (Serviço Florestal Brasileiro/SFB), explained that there is a balance between the interests of the economic sector and the need to protect the forests. The private sector cannot exploit the wood of certain species, such as chestnut trees, for example. In addition to a series of restrictions, such as not having concessions in areas of indigenous lands and quilombola communities, this model also requires daily monitoring the forests that receive Public Private Partnership concessions.
