Jungle Marathon Roadbook

Below the pix is brief text about the Tapajos National Forest to go on JM roadbook. We would like to encourage you to visit the website or scroll down the blog for deeper information about this amazing conservation unit.






A Floresta Nacional do Tapajós é uma Unidade de Conservação Federal composta por grande biodiversidade e beleza.
Encontra-se perto de centros urbanos e protege muitas espécies raras e endêmicas.
´E habitata por cerca de 1400 famílias divididas em 29 comunidades, na maioria às margens do Rio Tapajós, vivem de forma tradicional, nos quase 600.000 hectares
que compõem a reserva.
Ecoturismo, projetos sustentáveis e pesquisas cientificas são desenvolvidas
na Flona Tapajós/ICMBio e por outras organizações conservacionistas e
instituições cientificas.
Visitem:
www.ibama.gov.br/flona_tapajos
www.flonatapajos.blogspot.com

The Tapajós National Forest is the second largest conservation unit located in the Tapajos river watershed, a region of great biodiversity, with many species endemic to the region, and extremely scenic.
It is the only conservation unit near an urban centre that protects such a large portion of flora and fauna of clear water river systems.

There are over 1400 families divided in 29 communities, mostly settled along the Tapajos River, living in traditional style in the near 600.000 hectares that compose the reserve.
Ecotourism, several other sustainable projects and scientific researches are currently being carried in the reserve with the support of ICMBio and other conservation and scientific organizations.
Visit:
www.ibama.gov.br/flona_tapajos
www.flonatapajos.blogspot.com

Ibama's crew

This morning we went to IBAMA's office to drop some tee-shirts drop and get some more details Jungle Marathon. I have several friends there, and I had chance to get this shot with Domingos who works at Tapajos National Forest for ages. A cool guy indeed.

Sou aquilo que continuo plantando.

Arthur Alexander(son of Steve Alexander, from Alaska and Dr Aurea from Stm and Bosque Sta Lucia, a portion of quite biodiversified rainforest surrounded by soybeans with a nice museuam in the centre) who lives in Santarem for over 30 years. The Alexander's have contributed immensively for the ecotourism industry and recently published their debut book about Santarem, whose cover is actually composed by Arthur's)posted these pictures in the net. I just thought it would be fair to share with you all. He currently studies Marketing in Belem is one of the brains and soul that Santarem needs to bring back. We have enought football players to share with the world but not conservationists and wildlife photographers.

Apoio

A Maratona da Selva orgulhosamente anuncia dois novos patrocinadores para este ano.
Ainda no inicio da semana Santarem Tur (www.santaremtur.com.br) confirmou-nos seu apoio.

Ontem pela manhã encontramos com Sr. Roffé que anteriormente discutiu com o Secretario de Turismo Arnoldo Andrade e decidiram também apoiar calorosamente a Maratona.

A prefeitura de Santarém, Belterra, Aveiro e a sub-prefeitura de Alter-do-chão não medirão esforços para torná-la um sucesso maior ainda.

A popularidade da Maratona aumenta com a chegada do dia “D”.
Gil Serique, coordenador de Mídia conseguiu que a Maratona da Selva ficasse na boca e no coração dos Santarenos.

Adesivos encontram-se em capacetes, bicicletas, carros e até um adesivo gigante se encontra rolando num ônibus em Santarém.
Detalhes finais estão sendo feitos; as trilhas já fora marcadas pelos comunitários e percorridos pela idealizadora da Maratona, Shirley Thompson e equipe do Corpo de Bombeiros.

Os primeiros atletas já começaram a chegar. Atletas locais nos visitam entusiasmados no QG da Maratona e outros se preparam isoladamente para o melhor resultado possível.

A chegada será aqui em Alter-do-chão dia 16 de outubro!!!!!

Para informações atuais sobre a Jungle Marathon, the world’s wildest eco-race acessem:

www.junglemarathon.blogspot.com e www.flonatapajos.blogspot.com

Outros detalhes consultem nosso coordenador de mídia e RP Gil Serique
pelo tel 9901 6135 e gilserique@gmail.com

Mark-hines... Msc. Bsc. (Hons.)

Mark is coming again, welcome dude. Last year as a volunteer in the dr team. This year as a participant and a relevant donation given by John, in his rucksack
Many thanks mate
we are all eager to see you

Gil Serique

Babico

Como se fosse um deus pagão,

Filho de Ogum ou Iansã

Sentava na beira do cais

No olhar o brilho das manhãs

Pescar é arte que ninguém

Conhece mais que seu arpão.

Companheiro do tucuxi

Nadava mais que o apirá

Fazia do peixe seu pão

Iara foi sua mulher

Trapiche velho era o seu lar

E o Tapajós o seu quintal.

Nada-que-nada, que a água é mãe do chão

Pesca-que-pesca, que vida outra é vâ.

Filho de são Sebastião,

Não tinha santo protetor

Sua alma inda vaga no rio

E quem quiser testemunhar

Sua fama de pescador

As caratingas contarão.

Catauari@ig.com.br

Jungle Marathon

jm2008

JUNGLE MARATHON 2008

On October 7th this year, an international Field of competitors will once again Begin their journey at the picturesque resort of Alter-do-Chão, and sail up the Tapajos River, The most beautiful Amazon River’s tributary, to the tiny Hamlet of Itapuama. Here they Will spend two days at JM base camp, aclimatising and learning how to handle many of the obstacles they may encounter in the Amazon Jungle, in preparation for the start of the 2008 edition of Jungle Marathon.

Jungle Marathon is a 200 Km footrace, run in stages. The race is sufficient meaning that competitors carry all their own food and equipment for the week and an efficient local and international team provide comprehensive logistic support.
Runners pass by check points every 5Km- 7Km where they are resupplied with bottled water and they can be monitored by the medical team. Nights are spent sleeping in hammocks in pre-determined campsites, generally on the crystalline-sand beaches along the Tapajos River with the backdrop of the deep jungle behind them.
The stages vary in length from 16Km to 85Km. The longest of the stages takes competitors two days to complete so they continue running through the night.

The race itself is held in the spectacular Tapajos National Forest, a 600 thousand protected area in the Amazon Rainforest, which lies in the Brazilian state of Pará, in North West Brazil. Here the competitors will interact with the people hospitality and outstanding rainforest biodiversity.
This year up to 80 runners Will take part in the race, coming from various parts of Brazil and from countries as far reaching as Australia, South Africa, USA, Germany, Austria,, France, Belgium, England, Scotland, Canada, China and Denmark. Several are runners who failed to make to the finish on the previous year, but for many, it is the beginning of an incredible experience, combining the challenge of sport with the thrill of an eco-adventure.

Jungle Marathon 2008 takes place from October 7th-16th. For further information please contact our media Co-ordinator Gil Serique on:
info@junglemarathon.com

Norwegian Help

Last night Jens Stoltenberg(Norwegian prime minster) arrived in Santarem with Ana Julia(Governor of Pará) Minc(Brazilian Environment Minister) and a party of party friendly-looking vikings. In their luggage a US$15 million-dollar donation to protect rainforest in Pará State. Funds can reach 1 billion dollar if wisely used.

The other picture shows when he was introducing himself and getting a perspective from Dr. Fábio Tozzi(PSA) on what would be waiting for him at FLONA TAPAJOS: An amazing hospitality, unlimitless biodiversity and Tapajos river warm water.

Be welcome, have fun and thank you very much indeed.

Skolllll

pix of flona tapajos

Visit to communities in the Flona

www.ibama.gov.br/flona_tapajos

www.ibama.gov.br/flona_tapajos

Science Direct

Rubber agroforests at the Tapajós river, Brazilian Amazon—environmentally benign land use systems in an old forest frontier region

Götz SchrothCorresponding Author Contact Information, E-mail The Corresponding Author, a, Paulo Coutinhoa, Vicente H. F. Moraesb and Ana Luisa Albernaza

Abstract

Scientific and public attention concerned with natural rubber (Hevea brasiliensis) production in the Amazon has focused on the high-tech practice of double-grafted, leaf blight resistant and high-yielding rubber clones on the one hand, and the low-tech practice of extractive use of natural rubber stands on the other. The intermediate, traditional practice of enriching slash-and-burn plots with rubber trees and managing them in a secondary forest environment, in association with other timber and non-timber species, has largely been overlooked. We present results from a survey of 51 farmer families conducted on the eastern bank of the Tapajós river in the central Brazilian Amazon, focusing on the population zone of the Tapajós National Forest and its northern vicinity. Actively managed rubber agroforests were most common on the sandy river banks and on humus- and clay-rich and ferralitic soils near the edge of the plateau at a few kilometers from the river. There was a gradient in management intensity between the proximity of the villages at the river, where rubber was often a component of homegardens, and the distant groves on the plateau, which often resembled secondary forests. The spatial separation of access to water at the river and more fertile soils on the plateau, the historical practice of abandoning the rubber groves at times of low rubber prices, and a substantial risk of losing plantations to abiotic and biotic threats, especially fire, are identified as factors that have presumably favored the development of agroforests with low management intensity in the region. Although about half of the interviewed farmers expressed a preference for weeded plantations, almost 90% of them extracted vegetal products other than rubber from the agroforests or used them as hunting grounds, and 80% believed that associated vegetation had no negative influence on rubber yields. The often good health of old rubber trees in Amazonian agroforests is explained with lower pressure from root rots, the periodic abandonment and especially a tapping technique that is well adapted to a moist forest environment.

Author Keywords: Agroforest; Amazonia; Buffer zone; Forest reserve; Hevea brasiliensis; Non-timber forest products; Traditional agroforestry practices

Copyright © 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.