Standing forests are worth more than cut-down forests
2. Viveiro Cidadão 11
Restoration of the Amazon forest and income generation
3. Manguezais brasileiros 13
Conservation, restoration, research, and environmental education
3.1. Projeto Uçá
3.2. Mangues da Amazônia
4. Província Petrolífera de Urucu 15
An international sustainability benchmark in the “heart” of the Amazon
5. No Clima da Caatinga 17
The protection of water resources and forests, besides the mitigation of climate change impacts on the biome
6. Vale Sustentável 19
Forest restoration and sustainable development in the Brazilian semiarid region
7. Semeando Água 21
Restoration of Mata Atlântica and bodies of water in the Cantareira System’s region
8. Reflorestamento da Estação Ecológica de Jataí 23
The most extensive reforestation has already been done in a Conservation Unit in São Paulo.
9. Projetos de restauração ecológica em floresta na UTGCA 22
In 10 years, 5,500 plants, 51 native species, more than 600 trees over 10 meters tall, and return of the fauna
10. Projeto Guapiaçu 24
Ecologic restoration, fauna introduction, and environmental education in the Guanabara Bay region
11. Guardiões da Biodiversidade 26
The Indigenous people’s pivotal role in preserving and sustainably managing natural resources
11.1. Raízes do Purus
11.2. Projeto Ar, Água e Terra: Vida e Cultura
Guarani
11.3. Projeto Biodiverso
11.4. Projeto Berço das Águas
12. Redagua 28
Connections to preserve the water in the Guanabara Bay
12.1. Projeto Meros do Brasil
12.2. Projeto Coral Vivo
13. Floresta Viva 30
A partnership in investments to recover the Brazilian biomes according to nature-based solutions
14. Rede Biomar 32
A benchmark for marine biodiversity conservation
14.1. Projeto Golfinho Rotador
14.2. Projeto Albatroz
14.3. Projeto Baleia Jubarte
15. Viva o Peixe-Boi-Marinho 34
Preservation of an endangered Brazilian species
16. Projeto Aruanã 36
Preservation of turtles in the Guanabara Bay
17. Avaliação das Interações de Tartarugas
Marinhas com as Atividades de Exploração e Produção 38
Very few interactions with platforms and vessels
18. Projeto de Monitoramento de Desovas de Tartarugas Marinhas 40
Identification of endangered species and generation of information for environmental management on the coasts of Amapá and Pará
19. Tecnologias Ambientais para Inovação e Sustentabilidade na Margem Equatorial 42 Current coastline mapping, environmental basin characterization, contingency and impact assessment technologies, and biodiversity gain
20. Projeto de Monitoramento Integrado Dedicado na Bacia Sedimentar Foz do Amazonas 44
A species identification guide and environmental database
21. Space-Time Census on of Coastal Ecosystem and Migratory Birds in Amapá’s Conservation Units 46
36 thousand birds recorded from 236 species—ten are endangered
22. Migratory Birds 48
Coastal and marine bird conservation, habitation protection, knowledge generation, and environmental education
23. Projetos de Monitoramento de Praias 50
The rescue, rehabilitation, and release of thousands of animals per year
24. Projeto de Monitoramento de Cetáceos na Bacia de Santos 52
28 species identified—seven endangered
25. Projeto de Monitoramento da Biota Marinha em Atividades Sísmicas na Bacia de Santos 54
The sperm whale was the most viewed species, while toothed cetaceans were the most viewed individuals
26. Programa de Caracterização Regional da Bacia de Santos 56
Identification of rare species and biodiversity legacy for Science
III. Next Steps 58
I
According to the Convention on Biological Diversity, biodiversity is the variety of living organisms of all origins, encompassing land, marine, and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes in which they are inserted. It also includes the diversity within species, among species, and in ecosystems.
We at Petrobras understand that biodiversity is a part of our business since we operate in onshore and offshore environments with many life forms. As a large Brazilian company, our work is focused on oil and natural gas Exploitation and Production in deep waters and ultra-deep waters, including the segments of Refining, Biorefining, Logistics, Sales, and Low-Carbon Energies. We do it correctly, respecting the environment and its biodiversity, working to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, and, therefore, global warming—repaying Mother Nature for everything she gives us.
We go beyond respecting the laws that protect biodiversity where we operate, both in Brazil and abroad, and the commitments made across the country (the Convention on Biological Diversity signed in 1992 and ratified in Brazil in 1998, the 2015 Biodiversity Act, the 2022 Global Biodiversity Framework, 17 Sustainable Development Goals, 2030 Agenda, etc.).
We have added to this our commitments (the Petrobras Strategic Plan) that aim to protect the environment,
reduce our carbon footprint, and strengthen biodiversity by 2030 with a focus on forests and oceans; the Petrobras Social & Environmental Program, through which we will increase by 30% our efforts to protect the endangered fauna, recover and preserve areas, and revitalize protected areas; The Brazilian Corporate Commitment to the Biodiversity, which we signed in 2022, established by the Brazilian Corporate Board for Sustainable Development - CEBDS; LIFE Coalition for Business and Biodiversity; our Biodiversity Action Plans and Social Responsibility Policy, which stipulates that we supply energy respecting the environment and human rights etc).
Therefore, we have reduced our freshwater consumption and waste generation to minimize our impact on biodiversity. We have Biodiversity Action Plans in 77% of our assets (we estimate achieving 100% by 2025); we invest in qualification, research, development, and knowledge dissemination regarding biodiversity and the environment; and we support and implement environmental projects focused on forests and the ocean.
For instance, in the 2023 public selection of the Petrobras Social & Environmental Program alone, the investment is BRL 466 million across 65 projects sponsored for three years all over Brazil to protect endangered species, combat marine debris, recover, and preserve forests.
We have already restored or preserved over 358 hectares through protections integrating the Petrobras Social & Environmental Program. We protect 82
endangered animal species. We discovered 37 new species while recording nearly 18 thousand during the environmental characterization of the Santos Basin. We exploited oil and natural gas in Brazil’s largest proven land reserve, in the heart of the Amazon, the Urucu Oil Province, where 90% of the territory is preserved. We went beyond all the recommendations made by ten prominent scientists from different environmental segments and combined them into an Environmental Management Master Plan for the Amazon Region.
We believe a “standing” forest, which creates jobs and income and contributes to biodiversity, is worth more than a cut-down forest. In addition, we are aware that biodiversity, which encompasses restoration, preservation, and pertinent gains, is a strategic stepping-stone for any company’s growth. All companies must now measure their ecological impacts with robust metrics, make decisions based on environmental, social, and corporate governance aspects, inform their nature-oriented strategies, add their publics of interest to them, and render accounts widely through reports and transparent data. Following this path, as you will see below, we are bringing a compilation of environmental projects to our portfolio to show you what we do.
1. PROJETO FLORESTAS DE VALOR
Standing forests are worth more than cut-down forests
Run by Instituto Imaflora and sponsored by Petrobras since 2023, the Projeto Florestas de Valor sets out to keep the “standing” forests, adding value by implementing and maintaining sustainable production systems in 480 hectares of forests and sustainable extractivism in the Amazon and promoting products of the local social biodiversity.
Among those products, we can mention Copaifera spp (copaíba); Dipteryx odorata (cumaru); Bertholletia excelsa (Brazil nut); Theobroma grandiflorum (cupuaçu); Theobroma cacao (cacao); Euterpe oleracea (açaí); cassava flour; be and other family agriculture product.
To illustrate this point, the project has contributed over BRL 3 million in the past three years to generate and increase family income by managing and trading products from the Amazon biodiversity and family agriculture. The activities occur in an ethical market where the participants are inserted into a system with a guarantee of product origin and traceability across the production chain.
Through business partnerships with communities, companies, and public schools interested in acquiring the products, the project has already benefited over one thousand members of traditional Amazon communities, among family and Quilombola farmers from four communities (Erepecuru; Trombetas; Alto Trombetas I- Mãe Domingas) organized into five associations and a cooperative. Over 20 training sessions, three technical publications, and campaigns have been conceived for this public to raise awareness of the value of the “standing forest.”
The project also has the advantage of fostering biodiversity in the indigenous territories of TrombetasMapuera, Nhamundá-Mapuera, and KaxuyanaTunayana, in the Quilombola communities mentioned, and in seven Conservation Units in the state of Pará and Amazonas covering an area of over 10 million hectares.
Lastly, the project helps maintain carbon stocks, minimize greenhouse gas emissions, and mitigate climate change.mudanças do clima.
For additional information: www.imaflora.org Instagram: @florestasdevalor
2. VIVEIRO CIDADÃO
Restoration of the Amazon forest and income generation
Run by the Ecoporé Organization and sponsored by Petrobras through the Petrobras Social & Environmental Program, the Projeto Viveiro Cidadão boosts forest restoration actions in Amazon areas in Rondônia. Thus, it helps raise carbon stocks, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, form ecological corridors, bring biodiversity back to the Amazon Forest, and preserve fauna and the entire biome.
In partnership with traditional communities, the project stimulates agroforestry production in productive backyards and implements agroforestry systems to generate income sustainably; it values traditional knowledge and promotes the cultivation of seedlings and reforestation. Moreover, it provides environmental education and technical qualifications in its scope of operation. It has restored 470 hectares for over ten years and benefited over 10 thousand people.
Combining technical knowledge, traditional wisdom, camera traps, and direct sightings, the project performs active biodiversity monitoring since it involves farmers in the process of accompanying the use of restored vegetation fragments as a path or habitat by the fauna.
Forty-five fauna species are monitored: 45% mammals, 22% birds, 20% reptiles, and 31% insects. Among those species, four are endangered, according to the Red List of Endangered Species by the International Union for Nature and Natural Resource Conservation—the purus red howler (Alouatta puruensis), Rondon’s marmoset (Mico rondoni), and white-lipped peccary (Tayassu pecari) are considered vulnerable species. At the same time, the spider monkey (Ateles chamek) is an endangered species.
Knowing whether the ecological corridors foster biodiversity expands our knowledge of local ecosystem processes and helps channel efforts to increase forest restoration spaces and define fauna preservation strategies. Today, biodiversity monitoring in the restoration areas covered by Projeto Viveiro Cidadão is directly related to the Brazilian action plans to safeguard endangered species such as big cats, small cats, Amazon birds, and Amazon primates.
Mais informações: viveirocidadao.org.br
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Since mangroves—coastal transition ecosystems between land and sea—are critically important to life on Earth, and Brazil is the global runner-up regarding mangrove extension behind Indonesia, our Petrobras Social & Environmental Program portfolio includes projects to preserve and restore this ecosystem. Today, in the program’s scope, we have eleven supported voluntary projects operating in mangroves to restore, conserve, or maintain the local species.
Mangroves are found in many coastal regions around the globe, and 1.3 million hectares of them are found in Brazil, mainly in the northern and northeastern areas. 121 Brazilian conservation units have mangroves, which account for almost 90% of the Brazilian ecosystem.
Mangroves protect coastal regions, sequester carbon, mitigate climate change, serve as nurseries and food sources for many species, and support economically dependent communities. Between 70% and 80% of the marine fishes of commercial interest depend on mangroves for their development..
3.1. Projeto Uçá
Projeto Uçá is one of our mangrove-related projects; its name refers to a common crab (Ucides cordatus) in that biome. Run by the NGO Guardiões do Mar and sponsored by Petrobras since 2012, this project operates on several fronts: mangrove research, mangrove-oriented coastal ecosystem conservation, improvements in the social biodiversity of ecosystems in the Guanabara Bay and surrounding areas in the
state of Rio de Janeiro; ecosystem service maintenance; environmental education with community engagement; and appreciation for traditional peoples.
In the project scope, 18.2 hectares of mangroves have already been restored by planting 64,500 plants. In former Operação Limpa Oca editions, workers hired in traditional communities removed over 60 tons of solid waste from the mangroves in Guanabara Bay. Research indicated changes in the Uçá crab’s reproduction period, which is relevant to the scientific community. It detected the presence of microplastics in several parts of the crab’s body and eggs, which stresses the importance of Operação Limpa Oca. The project has also stimulated Community Base Tourism in mangroves in Guapi-Mirim, in Rio de Janeiro, assigning teams and resources to qualify leaders in this regard.
Environmental education actions, such as Andada do Uçá (itinerant) and Mundo Mangue na Escola (continuing), included courses to train multipliers and citizen scientists who assisted over 600 thousand people. They enabled a significant increase in species records sighted on the Inaturalist app. Furthermore, they were pioneers in Rio de Janeiro in accessibility for people with special needs, having released a sign language glossary with entries about mangrove ecosystems and other topics addressed by the project.
The project is now preparing to restore over 20 hectares in the Environmental Protection Area (APA) in Guapi-Mirim.
This project combines the most essential Conservation Unit boards in its field of scope. The NGO Guardiões do Mar, in turn, manages the Eastern Subcommittee for Guanabara Bay’s Drainage Basin, which was recognized by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) as an official partner in the Restoration Decade.
3.2. Projeto Mangues da Amazônia
Run by Instituto Peabiru and Associação Sarambuí, in collaboration with the Mangrove Ecology Laboratory (Lama) and Universidade Federal do Pará, this project, funded by Petrobras since 2021, restores degraded portions of the largest continuous mangrove area on the planet, lying on the Brazilian Amazon’s coast, and offers social-educational and social-cultural activities.
The project has already reforested 16.5 hectares by planting roughly 210,000 seedlings and propagules (vegetative structures that can become detached from plants and give rise to new plants), thus keeping the Amazon mangroves exceptionally wellpreserved. It was responsible for preparing maps and diagnoses that will serve as the basis to formulate management plans for these mangroves aiming at the sustainable use of the uçá crab (Ucides cordatus )
and the native mangrove tree known as white mangrove ( Laguncularia racemosa ). Hence, it enables the continual income generation and subsistence of the communities that live on resources extracted from the region’s mangroves. Besides, it draws the attention of the Amazon’s population to the importance of mangroves, the wealth found there, and the need to preserve the ecosystem and adopt sustainable management practices.
Lastly, the project involves the local community in preserving biodiversity in the Amazonian mangroves and sharing the management of four Marine Extractism Reserves in the region.
For additional information: Uçá: https://guardioesdomar.org.br/projetos/uca/ Instagram: @projetouca Mangues da Amazônia: https://manguesdaamazonia.org.br/ Instagram: @manguesdaamazonia
4. PROVÍNCIA PETROLÍFERA DE URUCU
II - Project Portfolio An international sustainability benchmark in the “heart” of the Amazon
Petrobras’s best case of environmental success, the company’s work in the Urucu Oil Providence, in the Amazon, to exploit oil and natural gas in the Amazon Forest, is the accomplishment of a sustainable project that confirms its respect for the environment and local biodiversity, including the concern with affecting as little as possible the surrounding areas.
Urucu is Brazil’s largest proven land oil and gas reserve. It currently produces nearly 13 million cubic meters of natural gas and 25 thousand barrels of oil and condensate daily, representing 3.5% of Brazil’s total oil production and 80% of the natural gas used to generate electric power in Manaus, the capital of Amazonas. It also produces 950 tons of LPG (liquefied petroleum gas or cooking gas) daily to supply Brazil’s northern region and a part of the northeastern region.
Our environmental concern started in the 1980s before Petrobras began operating there. And 36 years have gone by. We took ten prominent scientists from different environmental segments to Urucu to suggest how we could work there sustainably and efficiently. All the suggestions were consolidated into an Environmental Management Master Plan for the Amazon Region, which was adopted and surpassed expectations. Ten years later, the scientists were brought to Urucu again and were astonished at what they saw. Unsurprisingly, the province is considered an environmental surprise, even abroad.
All the areas affected by the activities are revitalized after the minute species cataloging and intensive vegetable coverage restoration, which encompasses soil preparation, decompaction, acidity correction, green fertilization, drainage, native species planting, base fertilization, dead coverage application, periodic maintenance, and result monitoring. In this respect, there are nurseries in Urucu with tens of thousands of seedlings of roughly 80 native species from the Amazon forest. Over 1.4 million seedlings have already been replanted, and over a third of the areas with nonproducing wells have been restored.
Among the native species planted are buriti, taperebá, açaí-solitário, lacre, munguba, pacotê, ingá-de-metro, ingá-de-macaco, and pau-de-balsa. Endangered species, such as rubber, Brazil nuts, copaiba, and crabwood trees, are also cultivated for seedling planting and perpetuation.
A green area measuring 467 million square meters is kept totally preserved to protect biodiversity, which includes jaguars, ocelots, margays, jaguarundis, oncillas, snakes, anteaters, capuchin monkeys, spider monkeys, woolly monkeys, tapirs, and macaws.
Organic waste produced is turned into fertilizer. Recyclable materials are separated and shipped to
licensed companies in Manaus for proper disposal. All the sewage is treated under the law. Iron scraps and waste that may contain contaminant residues are treated, neutralized, and given appropriate disposal according to legal requirements as well. Energy, in turn, is self-generated through a thermal power station running on natural gas and solar energy plates. Local vehicles running on fossil fuels are being replaced by electric cars. Heavy cargo and inputs are shipped outside the province through rivers.
Thanks to its service in Urucu, Petrobras won the concession this year to exploit two new areas in the region and renewed the concession to remain in another two areas for ten years. The total area covers 27 thousand m². Roughly BRL 3.5 billion in investments are estimated by 2029.
For additional information: Petróleo no Meio da Amazônia? #Boravê (youtube.com)
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5. NO CLIMA DA CAATINGA
The protection of water resources and forests, besides the mitigation of climate change impacts
Run by Associação Caatinga and sponsored by Petrobras since 2011, the No Clima da Caatinga project is in the only exclusively Brazilian biome, the world’s most diverse semiarid region. The project protects the Caatinga water resources and forests through conservation and forest restoration actions. It mitigates the effects of global warming and adapts rural communities to the climate.
The project is highly relevant as 89% of the biome has already been cut down, and roughly 13% are in an advanced stage of desertification brought on by human action. For instance, over one-fifth (22%) of the deforestation warnings validated across Brazil came from the Caatinga in 2023. That year, the deforested area in the biome amounted to 11% of the deforested area in Brazil; 201,687 hectares were deforested—a 43.3% increase over 2022.
The sustainable development of local communities and maintenance of the standing forest are two of the project’s strategies to safeguard biodiversity and maintain ecosystem services, boosting those communities’ resistance to climate change and semiaridity.
The project’s scope encompasses the towns of Fortaleza Crateús (Ceará) and Buriti dos Montes (Piauí). It is based in the Serra das Almas Nature Reserve (RNSA), a Private Natural Heritage Reserve (RPPN) covering 6,285 hectares.
The project enabled the establishment of five conservation units (UC), supporting, through conservation actions, seven UCs that conserve roughly 6.5 million hectares and stock over 1.6 million tons of CO2; helped to plant 117,760 seedlings, restoring over 100 hectares and contributing to water safety, maintain biodiversity, and sequester carbon from the Caatinga biome; made available 1,038 social technologies for interaction with the semiarid region (cement cisterns, ecological stoves, and biodigesters); trained 2,769 farmers in good practices; reached over 100 thousand people through environmental education actions; and lastly, benefited 4,000 families.
The project also supports and encourages research and fauna reintroduction projects; takes measures to protect habitats; stimulates the adoptions of social and environmental public policies, such as Ceará’s State Environmental Service Payment Act; plays an active part in national action plans, such as Caatinga, Tatubola, and Insetos Polinizadores; and leads environmental education actions. Furthermore, it helps preserve species such as the three-banded armadillo (Tolypeutes tricinctus), the cougar (Puma concolor), the grey-breasted parakeet (Pyrrhura griseipectus), and the primate species called red-handed howler (Alouatta ululate)—most of them endangered in Brazil.
In 2023, the project conducted a study that assessed the benefits of its water-related actions. The analysis concluded that the forest coverage in the Serra das Almas Nature Reserve prevents the loss of 4,800 megaliters of water per year because of the existing trees whose roots absorb water. So this makes for less superficial water outflow, deeper water infiltration into the soil, fewer sediment deposits, and better support for the water cycle in a semiarid region where water is scarce. The outflow averted is equivalent to the annual supply of over 299 thousand cement cisterns holding 16 thousand liters each, enough to supply a family during a dry spell in the Caatinga.
The SROI (Social Return on Investment) evaluation, carried out by Instituto para o Desenvolvimento do Investimento Social, indicated that for each BRL 1.00 Petrobras invested in the project, another BRL 7.91 was generated in social and environmental benefits.
For further information: www.noclimadacaatinga.org.br
No Clima Da Caatinga (@noclimadacaatinga)
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6. VALE SUSTENTÁVEL
Forest restoration and sustainable development in the Brazilian semiarid region
The Projeto Vale Sustentável aims to recover legal reserve and permanent preservation areas by enriching the forestry coverage, providing environmental education, and strengthening family agriculture and traditional fishing in the towns of Areia Branca, Alto do Rodrigues, Assú, Carnaubais, Guamaré, Galinhos, Macau, Serra do Mel, and Porto do Mangue, in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, in the Brazilian semiarid region.
Implemented by Associação Norte-Rio-Grandense de Engenheiros Agrônomos (Anea) in partnership with Petrobras, the project completed ten years of activities in 2023, having reached significant results so far: the reforestation of 290 hectares by planting 203,584 native seedlings of 49 different species from the Caatinga biome.
More than 220 hectares will be restored by 2027 by planting 200,000 native seedlings, which amounts to over 500 hectares of restored areas. 29,497 fruit seedlings have already been distributed to strengthen the production backyards. Another 22,000 will be accomplished by 2027, amounting to 51,497.
As a contribution to the sustainable development of the nine towns covered by the project and 25 rural communities and associations of fishermen and shellfish gatherers, the project boasts 38 partnerships that include Instituto Nacional de Reforma Agrária, municipalities, Instituto Federal de Educação, academics, Oriental North Atlantic Drainage Basin Committee, rural workers’ unions, communication associations, and farmer’s cooperatives.
As to strengthening agriculture, the project has already assisted more than 5,000 families by implementing production backyards, agroecological orchards, and meliponaries for native stingless bees, such as the Jandaíra (Melipona subnitida). This intervention aims to enable people’s interaction with the semiarid region, helping to improve the life quality of the local population, secure dietary sovereignty, and generate income from selling surplus production (fruits, legumes, vegetables, greenery) and honey.
The Vale Sustentável project has trained over 7,000 people in environmental education, covering kindergarten, primary school, high school, technical school, and college to foster education. The project runs gastronomy courses, fish handling, association, and cooperative management.
In today’s cycle, the project also provides for cleaning beaches, rivers, mangroves, and tree planting in urban/rural areas and in 80 public schools. In addition, environmental agents, Caating seed collectors, multipliers, and family farmers will be trained (for the conservation of natural resources and sustainable agricultural practices).
The SROI (Social Return on Investment) evaluation indicated that, for each BRL 1.00 invested by Petrobras in the Projeto Vale Sustentável, another BRL 5.05 was generated in environmental and social benefits.
For additional information: https://projetovalesustentavel.com.br/ Instagram: @projetovalesustentavel
7. SEMEANDO ÁGUA
Restoration of the Mata Atlântica and bodies of water in the Cantareira System’s region
Run by the Instituto de Pesquisas Ecológicas (IPE) and sponsored by Petrobras since 2013, the Projeto Semeando Água aims to revert the water body degradation processes in the Cantareira System’s region, one of the largest water collection systems on the planet. The system supplies water to over 7 million people in São Paulo’s metropolitan region, the largest in Brazil and one of the world’s ten most heavily populated regions.
It is a crucial fountainhead area that should have more comprehensive forest coverage, which may be obtained through forest restoration and better management of the production systems, mainly in the most vulnerable regions, such as around bodies of water (rivers, dams, and watersheds) and areas that are more susceptible to erosion.
In this context, the Projeto Semeando Água has already recovered 70 hectares (one hectare is equivalent to 10,000 square meters) and planted approximately 150 thousand native seedlings from Mata Atlântica in areas close to watersheds, rivers, and reservoirs, mainly. It has turned over 100 hectares into sustainable production systems, qualifying over 300 farmers to cultivate those lands. It has worked with more than 50 farms in eight towns.
In addition, the project increases landscape connectivity, helping preserve several fauna and flora species that inhabit the Cantareira System, such as the ocelot (Leopardus pardalis), buffy-tufted marmoset (Callithrix aurita), southern bristle tyrant (Phylloscartes eximius), Brazilian iguana (Enyalius perditus), and Juçara palm tree (Euterpe edulis)..
For additional information: www.semeandoagua.ipe.org.br/ Instagram: @institutoipe
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8. REFLORESTAMENTO DA ESTAÇÃO ECOLÓGICA DE JATAÍ
The most extensive reforestation has already been done in a Conservation Unit in São Paulo.
In São Paulo, in the Santos Basin’s Pre-Salt Complex, the most extensive reforestation already done by Petrobras is being implemented in a Conservation Unit in the state—Jataí Ecological Station. The restoration, a requirement for federal environmental licensing conducted by IBAMA, is partial compensation for the greenhouse gas emissions generated by the activities undertaken by Petrobras during long-lasting tests in the Tupi field. The field yields over 800 barrels of oil daily.
The restoration consists of reforesting approximately 425 hectares of native vegetation from the Brazilian cerrado (savanna) biome, equivalent to stocking up 60,000 tons of carbon over 20 years. Out of this total, subdivided into land portions, 79,844 seedlings were planted in an area measuring 135 hectares (portion 1), while 97,966 seedlings were planted in an area measuring 140 hectares (portion 2). The planting cycle of 122,438 seedlings is underway in an area measuring about 150 hectares (portion 3). In short, over 90% of the project’s seedlings have already been planted.
The soil coverage with native vegetation has been monitored in plots, by samples, and in campaigns— five campaigns have already been carried out. All presented satisfactory coverage.
The Jataí Ecological Station has endangered vegetable species, such as the sucupira-preto, perinha-do-campo, Juçara palm tree, and xaxim.
Concerning animal species, eight mammals inhabit the Conservation Unit: the anteater, howler monkey, maned wolf, jaguar, ocelot, bush rate, red brocket deer, and marsh deer. There are 19 birds: the undulated tinamou, pied plover, red-shouldered macaw, rufous-throated sapphire, plain-crested elaenia, ultramarine grosbeak, and black-throated saltator. There are four fishes: the guaru-listrado-do-cerrado, redhook myleus, wolf fish, and bagrinho-de-emas. The blue-tailed lizard is the only reptile found in the region.
For further information: ec.jatai@fflorestal.sp.gov.br
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9. PROJETOS DE RESTAURAÇÃO ECOLÓGICA EM FLORESTA
In 10 years, 5,500 plants, 51 native species, more than 600 trees over 10 meters tall, and return of the fauna
Run by the Tropical Forest Ecology Laboratory (Labtrop) of Universidade de São Paulo (USP) and by the Vegetable Ecophysiology Laboratory of Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), at Petrobras’s service, the projects “Ecologia e Restauração de Ecossistemas da Planície Costeira no Litoral Norte de São Paulo” and “Desenvolvimento de Técnicas para a Otimização dos Processos de Avaliação dos Reflorestamentos de Áreas Degradadas por Atividades da Indústria de Óleo e Gás” are highly relevant. They have been promoting the ecological restoration and biodiversity gain for the forest found in the Permanent Preservation Area on the land of our Caraguatatuba Gas Treatment Unit (UTGCA) and surrounding region since 2012.
The project encompasses an area measuring 1,300m long in the sandbars and low-land forests of the Mata Atlântica biome, including a 50-meter-wide range on the left-hand bank of Rio Camburu. The area had been deforested for over 50 years, and the remaining vegetation consisted of exotic grasses without any connection with the neighboring forests.
In 2012, thanks to a partnership between the Petrobras research, development, and Innovation Center (Cenpes), UTGCA, and Universidade de São Paulo, an ecological restoration was carried out in the Rio Camburu Permanent Preservation Area in the Petrobras asset in São Paulo, by planting roughly 15,700 seedlings of 48 native species in 6.5 hectares.
Ten years later, in 2022, a scientific partnership between Cenpes, UFRJ’s Vegetable Ecophysiology Laboratory, and USP’s Tropical Forest Ecology Laboratory put into effect the assessment of the restoration process carried out. The planted vegetation was surveyed and monitored since the planting time. An ecological sample of what had been planted was assessed, including identifying all the species that appeared spontaneously. The functional attributes of all the sampled species planted and born by natural regeneration were analyzed. The vegetable coverage was evaluated, too. Once such data and information on the species during the planting were gathered, the results achieved were measured based on the three indicators: vegetable coverage, taxonomic diversity, and functional diversity.
The result was that, in ten years, the forest developed satisfactorily, gaining good vegetable coverage. Today, the restored area has 51 native tree species, 35 planted, three replanted, and 16 arising from natural regeneration. The plant density is about 882 individuals per hectare. The number of plants has matched the values found in a reference forest—orchids and bromeliads can be seen in the trees now. The area presented a net gain in biodiversity of nine species. Some ecosystem functions are already recovering, such as soil coverage, carbon sequestration, and nutrient recycling, which consist of the exchange of substances between soil and plants, essential for vegetable species development and soil health.
The forest restoration is still ongoing; 618 trees from 14 species measure over 10 meters. Herbaceous and epiphytic plants are among some of the vegetable species found there. As to fauna, the presence of butterflies, beetles, snakes, birds, and armadillos suggests animals, including the presence of some essential processes, such as pollination, dispersion, nutrient recycling, and predation, are reclaiming the area.
So far, the projects have generated 18 scientific papers presented at scientific congresses, ten scientific initiation or final papers, four master’s degree dissertations, one doctoral thesis, and ten articles published in scientific journals.
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10. PROJETO GUAPIAÇU
Ecologic restoration, fauna introduction, and environmental education in the Guanabara
Run by Ação Socioambiental (ASA) and sponsored by Petrobras through the 2014 Petrobras Social & Environmental Program, the Projeto Guapiaçu carries out ecological restoration of Mata Atlântica and critical ecosystems in the Guanabara Bay region, local biodiversity monitoring, fauna reintroduction, environmental education, and strengthening of Redagua (a set of projects supported by Petrobras and implemented in the Guanabara Bay area).
The project, in all its work fronts, is currently strengthening biodiversity in the metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro by integrating mangroves and ombrophylous forests. These forests are characterized by rains that fall all year round and require deep shade to live. They comprise palm trees, climbers, epiphytic plants, and others.
Therefore, the project has restored 30 hectares of dense ombrophylous forests in the past two years with 57 seedlings of over 120 species endemic to Mata Atlântica; some are regarded as vulnerable or critically endangered, such as Cambuca (Plinia edulis), Juçara (Euterpe edulis), and Pau-Brasil (Paubrasilia echinata).
It has also recovered five hectares of mangrove— one of the most threatened ecosystems, associated with Mata Atlântica. This work included “LimpaOca” operations that removed nearly 15 tons of waste from the mangroves.
The reforestation occurs on the private land of partner farmers who side aside areas to plant forests. By September 2025, over 57 hectares will have been restored on such properties.
Biodiversity is monitored with the assistance of 60 camera traps. Ecosystems are expected to be restored with increasingly better ecological processes, forming a sizeable ecological corridor, connecting the remaining mature forest fragments, enhancing the genetics of vegetable and animal species, and enabling the ecosystems to be self-sustaining.
A considerable accomplishment is the sighting of 12 southern muriqui monkeys in the region of Parque Estadual dos Três Picos in Cachoeiras de Macacu (RJ) using a drone equipped with a thermal camera that captured infrared images. Those endangered primates, endemic to Mata Atlântica, are the largest in the American continent, measuring up to 1.5 meters and weighing over 12 kilos.
Concerning fauna restoration, the project has brought tapirs (Tapirus terrestris) back to the region; they had been extinct since 2014 and are ecologically very important for spreading seeds. Nowadays, there are 21 tapirs living free there—seven born free.
Forest restoration and biodiversity and Projeto Guapiaçu monitoring actions comprise the Biodiversity Action Plan of Complexo de Energias Boaventura, of Petrobras, and contribute to the National Action Plan for the Protection of Ungulates (PAN Ungulates), a name given to hoofed mammals.
Regarding environmental education, the project spreads knowledge in schools, including kindergarten, primary school, and Conservation Universities, where it organizes guided visits. Since the project’s inception, thousands of children and teenagers have already participated in those activities.
Concerning job creation and income generation, the project provides crab collectors with a subsistence allowance; it has already trained, through its Water Resource Monitoring Program, monitors who conduct physical and chemical analyses of the three main rivers that flow into Guanabara Bay. Hundreds of scholarships have been granted. Likewise, hundreds of monitors have been trained.
For further information: https://www.projetoguapiacu.org
11. GUARDIÕES DA BIODIVERSIDADE
The Indigenous people’s pivotal role in preserving and sustainably managing natural resources
Since indigenous peoples safeguard roughly 80% of the remaining biodiversity worldwide, they play a pivotal role in preserving and sustainably managing natural resources—indigenous lands are the most preserved areas in Brazil. Through the Petrobras Social & Environmental Program, we support 47 projects that support the autonomy of indigenous peoples and traditional communities. This is no small feat. This total accounts for 43.9% of the projects the program funds.
34 indigenous peoples, 75 Quilombola communities, and another 183 traditional communities are assisted. This support is given by backing up conservation actions in the territory concerning the sustainable use of natural resources and considering those groups’ way of life, their production systems, and knowledge regarding social biodiversity. Furthermore, it is aligned with Petrobras’s Strategic Planning that estimates
biodiversity gains by 2023, focusing on forests and ocean and a 30% increase in the size of environmental protection areas, such as Indigenous Lands and Quilombola Territories.
Four out of the 47 projects mentioned are the following: Raízes do Purus; Ar, Água e Terra: Vida e Cultura Guarani; Biodiverso e Berço das Águas.
11.1. Raízes do Purus
implemented by the indigenous organization Opan, the project aims to improve the life quality of indigenous peoples in the southern and southeastern Amazonas, protect biodiversity in indigenous lands, and help mitigate climate change. In 2023 alone, it aided six indigenous lands in an area measuring 2.3 million hectares, fostering the sustainable management of resources such as the pirarucu fish, Amazonian nut, açaí fruit, and copaíba oil, generating income and strengthening social unity. The production of those resources added another 62 thousand kilos, generating close to 410 thousand reais in earnings. This year, the project has won the Fundação Banco do Brasil de Tecnologia Social Award in the “Certified Social Technologies” category. The project partakes in public policy forums.
11.2. Projeto Ar, Água e Terra: Vida e Cultura Guarani
run by Instituto de Estudos Culturais e Ambientais, it promotes the sustainable management of Guarani indigenous territories in the state of Rio Grande do Sul.
It comprehends production area reconversation, biodiversity recovery and conservation, and environmental education. It has worked in three drainage basins where it preserved three thousand
hectares, involving 500 indigenous individuals in the actions. Implementing traditional farming for dietary use and an agroforestry system has contributed to food safety and is linked with the maintenance and expansion of vegetable coverage. The environmental education actions explore waste collection, recycling, and composting; sustainable territory management; ecologically efficient measures and income generation; and discussing human rights and gender equality.
The project intends to solidify the connection between Indigenous peoples and fauna/flora species, such as the endangered Brazilian white-lipped peccary (Tayassu pecari). In this context, it will preserve a highly relevant area due to the existence of vulnerable or critically endangered species—200 of which will benefit from the project’s actions.
It will also preserve the social and cultural diversity in its area of scope, which is secured by the Guarani peoples’ presence in the territory.
11.3. Projeto Biodiverso
rRun by the NGO Pacto das Águas, it encompasses over 1.4 million hectares of Amazon forest in five indigenous lands and an extractivist forest located in the northeastern region of Mato Grosso.
It aims to mitigate climate change by conserving the standing forest and engaging indigenous peoples and rubber farmers in the sustainable development and maintenance of carbon stocks and biodiversity. It supports strengthening the value chain concerning non-timber forest products and subsistence
agriculture. Therefore, it provides support, inputs, and technical assistance to manage, carry, and distribute such products and strengthen the Brazilian nut selection, drying, and storage system in the territories.
Moreover, it fosters environmental, territorial, and social management tools to grant the communities more autonomy and access to public policies, including the construction and supervision of such policies for production, income generation, and environmental conservation (National School Food Program, Food Acquisition Program, Policy to Guarantee Minimum Prices for social biodiversity Products, and National Family Farming Strengthening Program).
Indigenous and ribeirinha women, who receive a qualification, are a priority public for the project. The project aids over 900 people directly and another 3,000 indirectly.
11.4. Projeto Berço das Águas:
run by Operação Nativa Amazônia, it implements actions regarding the Territorial and Environmental Management Plan for the Rikbaktsa territories and the preparation of the second phase of the Territorial and Environmental Management Plan for Indigenous Tribes Apiaká do Pontal e Isolados comprising the towns of Brasnorte, Apiacás, Cotriguaçu, and Juara, in the state of Mato Grosso. The plans establish priority actions to safeguard the areas, stimulate the traditional and sustainable management of natural resources, and generate economic alternatives to support and maintain the indigenous culture. Thus, the plans aid biodiversity conservation and climate regulation in the region.
The activities involve supporting the area inspection and monitoring systems, promoting conservation through sustainable management, promoting the Brazil nut trade, and laying the foundation for communitybased tourism in the region.
The set of Indigenous Lands supported amounts to over 1.3 million hectares, which keep the estimated carbon stocks at 190.3 million tons, in a preserve region of significant importance due to its wealth of species, including rare ones, the large number of fishes and native birds, and the social-cultural diversity of its inhabitants.
Connections to preserve the water in the Guanabara Bay
The Guanabara Waters Conservation Network (Redagua), established in 2019, is a network of projects Petrobras supports through the Petrobras Social and Environmental Program. Those projects combine to integrate research, production, and knowledge dissemination. They also implement conservation, environmental education, communication, and social inclusion actions regarding Guanabara Bay’s Hydrographic Region in Rio de Janeiro and its connected ecosystems. This is no small feat. After all, it is the second largest in Brazil, with 391 km2 of watercourse, 22 islands, and social-environmental, economic, and social complexities, surrounded by a population of more than 11 million inhabitants.
The network follows a unique strategic plan, has common short and medium-term goals and concurrent activities, and shares technical-scientific information, work methodologies, experiences, and accomplishments. It comprises the following projects: Aruanã, Coral Vivo, Guapiaçu, Meros do Brasil, Uçá, and Petrobras. Let us learn more about these projects:
12.1. Projeto Meros do Brasil:
Run by Instituto Meros do Brasil in partnership with educational and research institutions that compose the Rede Meros do Brasil, the project aims to know, preserve, and recover the giant grouper (mero) populations in the Guanabara Bay, for which the mangrove serves as a nursery, while the rest of the bay is the place to grow and live. In addition, the project promotes environmental awareness among children, adults, and traditional communities. The giant groupers are critically crucial as top predators that feed on other fishes and invertebrates,
also serving as food for cleaner fish and housing for parasites. They are endangered and protected by law; their capture is strictly banned.
12.2.
Projeto Coral Vivo
run by Instituto Coral Vivo, it disseminates the importance of preserving the biodiversity of the coral environments found on the rocky coasts of the islands around the bay area covered by the National Action to Preserve Coral Environments (PAN Corais) and conferring with different social groups about the issue and correlated matters.
12.3.Projeto Aruanã
run by Instituto de Pesquisas Ambientais Littoralis, this project, which monitors the marine green turtles (aka aruanãs) from Guanabara Bay and coastal towns in Rio de Janeiro, researches and protects those turtles and encourages society’s participation in the pertinent actions in cooperation with traditional fishing communities. (More information on page...)
12.4 .Projeto Guapiaçu
run by Instituto de Ação Socioambiental (ASA), it promotes the social-environmental improvement of the Guanabara Bay and neighboring regions through actions that, by integrating local environments and communities, optimize the bay’s restoration, the monitoring of its biodiversity, the reintroduction of native fauna into the environment, and environmental education. The project’s scope, in the bay’s eastern side, encompasses the towns of Cachoeiras de Macacu, Magé, Itaboraí, and Maricá in the metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro. (Further detail on page. .)
12.5. Projeto UÇÁ
run the NGO Guardiões do Mar; it works to improve the social biodiversity of ecosystems in Guanabara Bay and neighboring areas through integrated and network actions combined with traditional wisdom and young engagement, contributing to the maintenance of ecosystem services, environmental education, and research, with a focus on mangroves. (Further detail on page. .)
In the past years, Redagua has been responsible for the Guanabara Bay Cleanup Days done by volunteer groups on beaches, rivers, and mangroves to remove tons of waste.
The network also produces the publication A Teia das Águas, adopted as educational-teaching material for teaching literacy to 55 thousands primary education students from public schools in Rio de Janeiro and schools in Duques de Caxias, Niterói, and Itaboraí, among other towns in the state of Rio de Janeiro. The book introduces to readers the beings and environments found in Guanabara Bay and how they are connected to each other and Mata Atlântica.
For additional information: www.guardioesdomar.org.br/projetos/uca www.projetoguapiacu.org www.coralvivo.org.br www.merosdobrasil.org www.projetoaruana.org.br
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13. FLORESTA VIVA —
A partnership in investments to recover the Brazilian biomes according to nature-based solutions
An initiative by Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social (BNDES) supported by partners like Petrobras and other companies, the Floresta Viva project aims to support ecological restoration projects by planting native species in all the Brazilian biomes. Hence, it helps preserve the local biodiversity, make water resources available, curb erosion, improve the microclimate, remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and create jobs, income, and other benefits attached to this initiative.
The Floresta Viva initiative is part of Petrobras’ strategy to increase social-environmental investments in projects for conservation, restoration, and sustainable use of forests and other ecosystems that maximize carbon capture and storage and/or avert greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Those projects are recognized as nature-based solutions focused on mitigating climate change and boosting climate resilience.
With the target of investing close to BRL 700 million over the course of 7 years, the initiative estimates 25,000 to 35,000 hectares of restored area in total, removing from 8 to 11 million tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere considering a 25-year vegetation growth cycle.
The Floresta Viva initiative relies on 50% of the resources from the BNDES Social-Environmental Fund and 50% from the supporting institutions; the fund Fundo Brasileiro para a Biodiversidade (Funbio), which organizes the call for proposals to select ecological restoration projects, is the managing partner.
Out of the issued invitations to bid, Petrobras supports two: “Manguezais do Brasil” and “Corredores de Biodiversidade.” The environmental projects selected through this invitation to bid will receive a five-year investment of BRL 100 million, with Petrobras contributing 50% of this amount.
Released in 2022, the call to bid “Manguezais do Brasil” supports projects to rehabilitate the native vegetation in Mangrove and sandbar areas in Brazil— coastal ecosystems of extreme ecological, social, and economic importance that have been adversely affected by urban expansion and human activities. Estimates predict the recovery of 1,757 hectares in Brazil’s northern, northeastern, southeastern, and southern regions. The proposal is to collaborate with society to promote restoration, expediting ecosystem services, generating carbon credits, and sustainable self-managing resources.
In turn, the invitation to bid “Corredores de Biodiversidade,” released in 2023, aims to support projects of ecological restoration for biodiversity corridors to preserve the Cerrado and Pantanal biomes, encompassing the states of Bahia, Goiás, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, and Minas Gerais. The idea is to strengthen the connection of remaining forest fragments of native vegetation, enabling the movement of animals and dispersion of vegetable species by spreading seeds across those biomes; after all, those biomes have been under unrelenting pressure over the past years due to disputes over the use of soil, extensive agriculture, and climate change made worse by bushfires that have been occurring more intensely lately.
For further information: www.bndes.gov.br www.funbio.org.br
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14. REDE BIOMAR
A benchmark for marine biodiversity conservation
Created in 2007 and today regarded as a benchmark all over Brazil for its area of expertise, the Rede de Conservação da Biodiversidade Marinha, aka Rede Biomar, gathers, under Petrobras’s supervision, five projects supported by the company whose actions are set out in an integrated and collective Strategic Plan drawn up in conjunction with Petrobras, project representatives, governments, and stakeholders. Those projects, which have already influenced the adoption of public policies and national/international laws, are the following:
14.1. Projeto Golfinho Rotador:
Run by Centro Golfinho Rotador in Fernando de Noronha, operates by conducting long-term research and bringing awareness to Ilhéus, tourists, and internet surfers to promote oceanic biodiversity conservation with a focus on the spinner dolphin. It uses tools such
as scientific knowledge, the dolphin’s charisma, and the facility to know the oceanic life on the island. So far, it has recorded roughly two million spinner dolphins in the project’s coverage area in Baía dos Golfinhos, all of them systematically monitored, checked, and protected. It also helps preserve another 12 marine species in Fernando de Noronha.
14.2. Projeto Albatroz:
Run by Instituto Albatroz, it works to preserve albatrosses and petrels, two of the planet’s most endangered birds, through measures to reduce unintentional capture during fishing and to help draft public laws and policies on marine bird conservation. It also promotes education and awareness initiatives, continuing training and qualification activities, and the production of technical-scientific publications on the animals in question
14.3. Projeto Baleia Jubarte:
Run by Instituto Baleia Jubarte, it works to recover the humpback whale population in Brazil, whose population has risen from roughly 2,000 individuals in 2001 to 35,000 in 2022. This initiative expands and broadens the scientific knowledge of the species and maximizes the social and environmental benefits of their presence through actions such as job creation and income generation regarding the ecotourism focused on this species. The project boasts the most extensive photographic identification catalog for this whale species kept by a single institution—comprising 8,000 animals.
14.4. Projeto Meros do Brasil:
Run by Instituto Meros do Brasil in partnership with the educational and research institutions that form the Rede Meros do Brasil, this project is dedicated to preserving and recovering the giant grouper ( Epinephelus Itajara ) in Brazil’s marine and coastal environments. This fish is critically endangered, and because of this, its capture is banned by Brazilian laws. The project is implemented in nine states and 37 towns across Brazil. It encompasses biology studies of conservation and population, the genetics of such fish, the marine pollution that affects them, and their environmental and aquacultural value. Besides, it includes training and development actions work in the project and grouper registration.
14.5. Projeto Coral Vivo:
Run by Instituto Coral Vivo in partnership with 13 other institutions, this project includes research, knowledge generation, and awareness of Brazilian corals and the conservation and protection of coral reefs and coral environments—the most diverse in the oceans. Furthermore, it provides environmental education activities for children and adolescents in partnership with public schools.
The scope of Rede Biomar encompasses the coast of 13 Brazilian states, 71 towns, Fernando de Noronha Island, and Atol das Rocas, helping foster approximately 50 Conservation Units.
Thanks to the network, 88 marine species spread along the Brazilian coast, 27 of which are endangered, are monitored or protected. Among the species included in the network’s projects are the “critically endangered” Tristan albatross (Diomedea dabbenena) and the grouper (Epinephelus itajara); “endangered” are the yellow-nosed albatross (Thalassarche chlororhynchos), northern royal albatross (Diomedea sanfordi), brain coral (Mussismilia harttii), white-tailed tropic bird (Phaethon lepturus), and greenbeak parrotfish (Scarus trispinosus).
Together, the projects have already mobilized over 10 million people committed to awareness and environmental education actions, generated more than 925 technical and scientific publications, supported the preparation and execution of six National Action Plans, and participated in over 2,670 national and international forums.
The actions for the network’s projects focus on priority publics, such as fishermen, Indigenous people, black people, disabled people, women, children, young people, educators, teachers, tourists, those who exploit tourism commercially, the scientific community, and the target public of their initiatives. A network of partnerships with governmental bodies, academic institutions, the production sector, society, and civil society organizations facilitates the implementation of the network’s actions.
The Planejamento Estratégico da Rede Biomar for the 2021-2030 period, inspired by the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, provides for, in the collection mission for the projects and its vision of a shared future, a collaboration that optimizes efforts and investments to bring positive, noticeable, and measurable social-environmental transformations for ocean conservation and use of marine biodiversity in a more sustainable manner. The idea is that the Atlantic Ocean, lying in the project’s coverage area, should be more known, healthy, rich in biodiversity, resilient, and productive.
To check the scope of the network’s goals, indicators are being developed in partnership with researchers, universities, and Brazilian institutions (Instituto Baguaçu de Pesquisa em Biodiversidade, Instituto do Mar da Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, etc.), such as the Ocean Health Index and socioeconomic ocean indicators. Today, we know that for each BRL 1.00 invested by Petrobras in the Rede Biomar projects, another BRL 8.00 in environmental and social benefits are generated on average.
For additional information: projetoalbatroz.org.br baleiajubarte.org.br coralvivo.org.br golfinhorotador.org.br merosdobrasil.org
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VIVA O PEIXE-BOI-MARINHO
Run by Fundação Mamíferos Aquáticos and supported by Petrobras since 2013, the Viva o Peixe-Boi-Marinho project fights to preserve the species that names the project and its habitats, which are Brazilian coastal and estuarial ecosystems, rallying social participation in the actions implemented. The manatee (Trichechus manatus) is classified as an endangered species. It faces threats like habitat loss, pollution, accidental fishing, and vessel collisions. The project has 25 partnerships signed with universities, institutes, associations, fishing colonies, and municipal departments.
The project’s efforts aim at implementing actions on the following fronts: research into the species (knowledge expansion), management, threat detection, improvements to Protected Marine Areas, technological development (increase in the diversity of satellite transmitters to monitor manatees and sea turtles), environmental awareness, sustainable community development, participation in public policy forums, a nd immediate care for stranded animals (dead or alive).
The project’s scope covers the Brazilian northeastern region, extending to the northern region in areas such as the coast of Amapá. In the Northeast, on the Piauí
coast, there is a diagnosis in place for the regions inhabited by manatees, including the ecological resources used by the species and threats. On the Amapá coast, where roughly 90% of the surface is still unchanged by humans and 72% of the territory is legally protected, which constitutes the best-preserved stretch of the Brazilian tropical zone, a more realistic and complete study than the current studies into the Brazilian manatee will be conducted.
One of the project’s recent accomplishments was the birth of Favo, the descendant of a female manatee reintroduced in the state of Paraíba. This demonstrates the relevance of the species’ introduction by the project. Eight other manatees had been introduced into nature in a cycle before the project, which extended from 2021 to 2023.
The project mobilizes fishermen, local inhabitants, and students for the activities undertaken, establishing and expanding a network of collaborators, safeguarding traditions, culture, and values, and promoting the continuity and preservation of such values. Besides, it fosters local economic development, supporting manatee observation tourism and local productive
arrangements, such as training in meliponiculture and the creation of handicrafts at Eco-Oficina Peixe-Boi & CIA, where products that represent the Brazilian aquatic fauna are created for sale.
The project’s results, such as the production of 14 technical and scientific articles, five book chapters, and 13 abstracts presented at national and international congresses, contribute to global biodiversity conservation strategies, such as the Sustainable Development Goals, Ocean Decade, and Decade on Ecosystem Restoration promoted and led by the UN. Furthermore, they contribute to the implementation of strategies to preserve the species in Brazil as described in the Plano de Ação Nacional para a Conservação do Peixe-Boi-Marinho.
For further information: https://vivaopeixeboimarinho.org @vivaopeixeboimarinho
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16. PROJETO ARUANÃ
Preservation of turtles in the Guanabara Bay
Run by Instituto de Pesquisas Ambientais Littoralis and sponsored by Petrobras since 2022 through the Petrobras Social and Environmental Program, the Projeto Aruanã, whose name means “green turtle,” researches the five marine turtle species found in Brazil, most of them endangered in the country (loggerhead turtle, hawksbill turtle, green turtle, olive Ridley turtle, and leatherback turtle). It preserves those species and the coastal/marine environments where they live. In addition, it promotes awareness and environmental education initiatives, having already impacted 22 thousand people through those initiatives. The project’s scope covers Rio de Janeiro, mainly the Guanabara Bay region, a highly relevant area.
The project includes international sea turtle capture, marking, and individual monitoring for scientific research in partnership with universities, public and private institutions, NGOs, and networks to expand knowledge of the ecology and how the turtles use the habitat. Through those initiatives, it was discovered that the coast of the metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro, including Guanabara Bay, is an important feeding area for the green and loggerhead turtles.
Through its Ciência Cidadã program, it receives and gathers, on a collaborative platform, records of the occurrence of sea turtles in Rio de Janeiro and elsewhere. Over 400 records were collected in less than two years, providing elements for future turtle preservation actions.
Regarding environmental education, the project holds a free fixed exhibition open to the public in its headquarters at Itaipu Beach in Niterói town. Traveling exhibitions and activities aim to disseminate oceanic culture, the importance of sea turtles, and the traditional knowledge of coastal communities.
The project operates in partnership with the traditional fishing community that comprises the Reserva Extrativista Marinha de Itaipu (Resex-Mar Itaipu) with a seat in the Decision-Making Body of this Conservation Unit (UC), managed by the Instituto Estadual do Ambiente do Rio de Janeiro (Inea), in partnership with the fishermen from Bairro Itaoca, in São Gonçalo town.
The project supervises the local fishing chain, helping to manage Resex-Mar Itaipu. Between 2022 and 2024, 113 marine species were identified as fishing resources in the region. An ecosystem model was assembled to prospect the resources used to manage fishing and provide elements for this management.
On certain occasions, the project also coordinates beach cleanup initiatives in cooperation with partners and the traditional fishermen’s community of Resex Marinha de Itaipu. Through those actions, they have already collected more than 370kg of garbage from the beaches and the bottom of the sea.
As of 2025, the Projeto Aruanã will expand the scientific research, intentional capture, and individual monitoring areas and open up a new public visitation center in Niterói, in the newly established Parque do Morcego local conservation unit.
For additional information: https://projetoaruana.org.br @projetoaruana
17. AVALIAÇÃO DAS INTERAÇÕES DE TARTARUGAS MARINHAS COM AS ATIVIDADES DE EXPLORAÇÃO E PRODUÇÃO
Very few interactions with platforms and vessels
In the state of Sergipe, in coastal areas and beaches (Pirambu, Abaís, Barra dos Coqueiros, and Caueira) and offshore (ultramarine) areas, Petrobras holds the project of Assessment of the Sea Turtles’ Interactions with the Exploitation and Production Activities run by the partners Salt and Fundação Tamar. This initiative is a requirement for federal environmental licensing imposed by Ibama.
This project consists of checking the olive Ridley turtles ( Lepidochelys olivaceae ) when they swim upstream to lay eggs on the Sergipe coast, capturing and marking those animals for satellite tracking, transmitting the data collected (position, habitation depth, maximum diving depth, diving time, route, water temperature...), and analyzing such data.
So far, it has been observed that the number of turtle sightings is substantial all year round throughout the Sergipe coast. They prefer three main routes: a southbound route, which goes from Sergipe to the São Paulo coast, and a northbound route, which goes to French Guyana, passing through the Amazon River Mouth. The third route crosses the Atlantic Ocean toward the African continent.
The targets dive down into maximum depths from 190 to 200 meters. They swim in water temperatures between 20ºC and 25ºC, sometimes below 15°C.
Most of those turtles start in Sergipe and migrate south, reaching the coastal regions of Bahia, Espírito Santo, and Rio de Janeiro. They also cover the southern coast of the state of São Paulo.
It has been observed that there is very little interaction between the turtles, local platforms, and non-fishing vessels.
So far, 30 olive Ridley turtles, measuring from 66cm to 77cm and weighing from 29kg to 47kg, have been monitored for approximately 5,050 days.
For further information: https://monitoramentosergipe.saltambiental.com.br/ mapper/
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18. PROJETO DE MONITORAMENTO DE DESOVAS DE TARTARUGAS MARINHAS
Identification of endangered species and generation of information for environmental management on the coasts of Amapá and Pará
Managed by Petrobras, run by Mineral Engenharia e Meio Ambiente Ltda, and supported by Fundação Pró-Tamar, the Projeto de Monitoramento de Desovas de Tartarugas Marinhas, run from 2022 to 2024, aimed to identify and monitor the sea turtle’s egglaying beaches on the coasts of Amapá and Pará, mark individuals, track them by satellite and, thereby, gather information about the animals in those regions, their behavior, and usual habitats. The information will contribute to the environmental management if Petrobras decides to expand its operations at the Equatorial Margin, assisting Brazilian biologists and scientists. This project meets the requirement for federal environmental licensing imposed by Ibama.
The project included the mapping of the local sandy beaches (443 stretches of beaches within 314km of extension, namely 30 stretches in Amapá and 413 stretches in Pará); collaborative mapping in the egglaying areas with the aid of the local communities (202 collaborators from 51 institutions); and night monitoring (during the turtles’ reproductive season), and day monitoring of 11 stretches of four selected beaches, amounting to 54.3km based on data obtained in previous stages.
There were records of sea turtles (160), egglaying (46), biometry of animals found (78 dead and 82 alive), turtle tagging (62), marking with transmitter (5), nest where eggs have hatched (17), new-born babies (970). The five sea turtle
species found in Brazil were identified: the leatherback turtle green turtle ( Chelonia mydas) , olive Ridley turtle ( Lepidochelys olivácea) , hawksbill turtle ( Eretmochelys imbricata), loggerhead turtle ( Caretta caretta) , and leatherback or giant turtle ( Dermochelys coriacea ). Loggerhead turtles, hawksbill turtles, olive Ridley turtles, and leatherback turtles are endangered species.
Out of the turtles marked with transmitters, the olive Ridley turtle remained in the nest-building region during the monitored period. Three others swam through coastal areas along the continental platform, starting migration toward French Guyana, probably returning to their feeding areas, and covering nearly 2,000km. The hawksbeak turtle headed for a reduced area, probably among its small feeding sites along the Brazilian continental platform in front of the country’s North, where the waters are dark and not many coral banks are known.
This information, presented at scientific events (Red ASO Tortugas in 2023 and 20th Latin American Marine Science Congress in 2024), is now a part of the Petrobras database.
For additional information: Website: ProjetosAmbientais_FZA-59 (arcgis.com)
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19. TECNOLOGIAS AMBIENTAIS PARA INOVAÇÃO E SUSTENTABILIDADE NA MARGEM EQUATORIAL
Current coastline mapping, environmental basin characterization, contingency and impact assessment technologies, and biodiversity gain
Started in 2022 and extending to 2029, the set of research projects named Tecnologias Ambientais para Inovação e Sustentabilidade na Margem Equatorial, born out of a partnership between Petrobras, 23 national and international science and technology institutions, the Brazilian Navy, the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation, and the Brazilian Geological Service, is hugely relevant. These projects aim to characterize marine and coastal environments to assess, with social and environmental responsibility, the potential of the Equatorial Margin as a new frontier for the oil and gas exploitation industry.
They intend to generate knowledge of the region and its more environmentally sensitive aspects through scientific research carried out with partners to achieve the specific goals of performing a regional environmental characterization of the five basins at the Equatorial Margin (Foz do Amazonas, Pará-Maranhão, Barreirinhas, Ceará, and Potiguar), devise technologies for immediate detection of operational emergencies and first response activation within 4 hours, and set metrics to assess the impact on biodiversity to attain earnings (more than losses) in the context of the operations on the Equatorial Margin.
The Equatorial Margin (MEq) is a region that comprehends the drainage basins in the North of Brazil between Amapá and Rio Grande do Norte. It has an exploitative potential recognized for presenting the same geological features as Guyana and Suriname, where oil reserves estimated at over 13 billion barrels have been discovered. Petrobras has already worked
with MEq, having drilled more than 700 wells; it has recently gained permission to drill on the coast of Rio Grande do Norte. The region is up-and-coming due to its oil characteristics and the estimated volumes. But its potential has not yet been totally assessed.
In environmental terms, the MEq gathers environments that are biologically complex, sensitive, and very important both ecologically and environmentally. These environments are characterized by a rich diversity of marine life influenced by large harboring rivers, habit diversity, high temperatures, plenty of sunlight, and intense coastal and oceanic currents. These environments require knowledge on solid scientific bases that enable the sustainable use of local resources.
This set of projects began after the research center (Cenpes), developed and updated by Petrobras, created a project portfolio to characterize the region’s ecosystems and develop solutions to prevent and mitigate possible environmental risks inherent in the oil Exploitation and Production activity.
The set of projects is very complex, working in mangroves, coastal and oceanic environments, pelagic (open sea) and benthic (bottom of the sea) environments on the Brazilian continental margin (from the coastline to 3,500 meters in depth), including reefs.
The regional environmental characterization comprehends the collection of primary data on the water column and sediment samples by teams aboard
vessels fitted out with specialized oceanographic research equipment. Images obtained through remote sensors and sensor-equipped self-driving vehicles complete this work, generating geological, physical, chemical, and biological data that will be combined with statistical modeling and machine learning to set up a georeferenced database to be used by Petrobras and partners.
The mapping and characterization of reef environments is done by acquiring high-resolution geophysical and oceanographic data, including images filmed by remotely operated vehicles (ROV) and/or towed cameras, and by collecting samples from the bottom of the ocean and organisms. Innovative environmental DNA (e-DNA) collection techniques are being widely used.
Drones and artificial intelligence will be used to detect, identify, and quantify mammals, chelonians, and birds using an image bank to monitor the marine megafauna. This will enable them to cover a significant extension of the Meq, minimize the difficulties in accessing the coastal regions, such as mangroves and muddy plains, and reduce risks to researchers.
Projects to improve the response to environmental emergencies caused by oil spills will require using drones and other autonomous vehicles that, through onboard sensors, will generate real-time data gathered and integrated into a portal to detect contingencies, monitor, and issue warnings. A public-domain platform with several alert data on oil stains will also be used.
Lastly, they intend to update the coastline sensitivity mapping (EOS - Environmental Oil Sensitivity letters) at the Equatorial Margin. The parameters used to model oil dispersion, necessary for contingency actions, will be enhanced, inserting new oil weathering parameters (a combination of chemical, physical, and biological processes that cause changes in the oil’s original composition when it falls into the sea). Moreover, the space-time modeling of the social-environmental impacts on the studied region and ecosystem services will be done for use in digital geospatial tools to assess the effects that accumulate.
For additional information: https://petrobras.com.br/quem-somos/novas-fronteiras
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20. PROJETO DE MONITORAMENTO INTEGRADO DEDICADO NA
BACIA SEDIMENTAR
FOZ DO AMAZONAS
A species identification guide and environmental database
The Projeto de Monitoramento Integrado Dedicado na Bacia Sedimentar Foz do Amazonas, which started in 2021 and finished this year, generated a legacy as an environmental licensing requirement imposed by Ibama. It set up an essential ecological database for the region and produced a guide to identify mammals, birds, and chelonians in Foz do Amazonas and Barreirinhas sedimentary basins.
The Project, coordinated by Petrobras and run by Mineral Engenharia e Meio Ambiente Ltda, aimed to record birds, mammals, and sea turtles through visual and sound monitoring and acquire oceanographic data to increase knowledge of the region and, thereby, identify possible impacts of exploitative maritime drilling on biodiversity and local ecosystems.
Oceanographic cruises left Belém bound for the oceanic area where we have exploitative blocks over 2,000 meters deep and returned sailing the coast, at 10m from the marine subsoil, at 10m off the marine subsoil, next to Amapá.
Equipment such as binoculars, cameras, GPS, portable VHF radios, and laptops with adequate software were used for visual monitoring. Hydrophones, sensors, and specific software, among other items, were used for acoustic tracking and logging. The oceanographic logging was performed with a multiparametric probe that could measure parameters such as conductivity, oxygen, pressure, temperature, and pH, collect water and sediments for physical, chemical, and aquatic biota analyses, and measure speeds and current flows.
Among the cetaceans, the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) presented the highest number on record and the highest frequency of occurrence. The sightings of individuals of the Ziphiidae family (toothed cetaceans), such as the Cuvier’s beaked whale, were a great surprise as they are tricky to observe due to their rarity. Among the birds, the common tern (Sterna hirundo) presented the highest frequency in terms of occurrence and numbers. Only the loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) was observed among the chelonians.
Cetaceans and chelonians were sighted mainly at depths of over 200m. In the case of birds, the highest concentration was observed in an oceanic area with greater depths and shallower waters close to Parque Nacional Cabo Orange, with a lower concentration in the estuary region (between land and sea) from Foz do Rio Amazonas.
All the species sighted were recorded and now compose the Guia de Identificação de Espécies da Fauna Marinha das Bacias da Foz do Amazonas e de Barreirinhas.
For further information: website: ProjetosAmbientais_FZA-59 (arcgis.com)
II - Carteira de Projetos
21. CENSO ESPAÇO-TEMPORAL DE AVES DE ECOSSISTEMAS COSTEIROS E MIGRATÓRIAS NAS UNIDADES DE CONSERVAÇÃO DO
AMAPÁ
Run from 2022 to 2024, and the Project Censo EspaçoTemporal de Aves de Ecossistemas Costeiros e Migratórias nas Unidades de Conservação do Amapá provided relevant information to manage the habitats of birds within the area covered by the Project in conformity with the National Action Plan for Wader (that live in mud) and Migratory Birds. In addition, it monitored the environmental quality in the studied areas. It improved the knowledge of the migratory routes taken by species that visit the Conservation Units to feed and stay during winter, leaving afterward.
Petrobras coordinates the Project, which Ambipar Response Control Environmental Consulting S.A. runs; it meets the environmental licensing requirement imposed by the Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente e dos Recursos Naturais Renováveis (Ibama).
The areas in the census, all in the state of Amapá, over 116 thousand hectares in total, comprise coastal ecosystems of the Conservation Units: the coast without vegetable coverage (beach and mud banks) and marshy forests (whose soil is very humid and intermingled with swampy vegetation) of the Parque Nacional Cabo Orange; the Estação Ecológica de Maracá-Jipioca and Reserva Biológica Lago Piratuba.
The Project’s execution comprised campaigns to catalog bird species from coastal regions and migratory birds through a census by observation, drone, and capturing those animals in mist net; migratory specimens were marked with satellite geolocators to pinpoint their route.
Overall, eight quarterly campaigns recorded 36,000 birds from 236 species; ten of those species were listed as endangered in Brazil by an ordinance from the Brazilian Ministry of the Environment in 2022 or globally by the Red List of Threatened Species published by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
We should also mention the observation of the following species that had not yet been recorded in any Conservation Unit monitored by the Project, despite being sighted elsewhere in Amapá: the wader birds golden-plover (Pluvialis dominica), maçaricode-costas-brancas (Limnodromus griseus), shortbilled dowitcher (Tringa semipalmata), and whiterumped sandpiper (Calidris fuscicollis), the royal tern (Thalasseus maximus) and white-bellied spinetail ( Mazaria propinqua).
All the Project’s georeferenced data will be stored on Petrobras’s database..
For further information: website: ProjetosAmbientais_FZA-59 (arcgis.com)
II - Carteira de Projetos
22. MIGRATORY BIRDS
Coastal and marine bird conservation, habitation protection, knowledge generation, and environmental education
Supported by Petrobras since 2020 through the Petrobras Social & Environmental Program, the Projeto Aves Migratórias (PAM) protects coastal and marine birds, including their habitats and other species that share the coastal ecosystems in the Brazilian North-Northeast. It generates knowledge to support prioritizing areas to prepare and execute conservation actions for those animals, records important sites to preserve any studied and protected species, and provides environmental education.
Furthermore, it establishes connections with traditional coastal communities, such as fishermen, through their relationship with birds. It promotes the sustainable use of natural resources, conservation of species and ecosystems, and producing handicrafts, paintings, and songs about birds to foster the local culture, generate income, and promote social well-being.
The Project’s scope encompasses Rio Grande do Norte, Ceará, Piauí, Maranhão, Pará, Amapá, and the Brazilian Equatorial Margin.
The project focuses on eight coastal birds that are endangered in Brazil mainly because of human action: maçarico-de-papo-vermelho, maçaricode-costas-brancas, maçarico-rasteirinho, batuírabicuda, maçarico-de-bico-torto, trinta-réis-debando, trinta-réis-real e trinta-réis-róseo. So far, it has recorded 16 important sites to preserve those species in the Brazilian semiarid coast, which comprehends the states of Ceará and Rio Grande do Norte, besides prospecting for new areas in the states of Amapá, Pará, Maranhão, and Piauí.
The Project encourages the public’s active participation in scientific activities regarding environmental education. Through initiatives such as “Young Scientists” and “Science is for Girls,” the project champions active young participation in schools and daycare centers, educating young leaders to defend Science and the environment. The Centro de Visitantes dos Cajuais provides educational tools and interactive activities to promote environmental education, raising public awareness of the importance of migratory birds.
The Project contributes resources for two National Action Plans for Conservation of Endangered Species; one focused on marine birds and the other on migratory wader birds that feed on invertebrates lying in the mud in humid areas. It also supports several strategic plans and work groups of international projection. As a member of the Managing Board of Area de Proteção Ambiental do Cabo Orange, in Oiapoque (Amapá), for instance, it helps to prepare and implement migratory bird management plans, conduct scientific research regarding the Project’s scope, and devise strategies for the sustainable use of natural resources.
For further information: http://www.projetoavesmigratorias.org Instagram: @projetoavesmigratorias
II - Carteira de Projetos
23. PROJETOS DE MONITORAMENTO DE PRAIAS
Rescue, rehabilitation, and release of thousands of animals per year
Petrobras four Beach Monitoring Projects (PMPs), in the Santos, Campos, and Espírito Santo Basins, from Sergipe-Alagoas to Potiguar, which, together, cover the coast of ten Brazilian states and constitute the most significant initiative of this kind in the world. The projects are run as conditions for federal environmental licensing through contracts that involve 35 scientific organizations specializing in marine fauna, working in partnership with local communities.
The projects consist of monitoring three thousand kilometers of the Brazilian coast, recording each marine bird, turtle, or mammal (dolphin, whale, manatee, and sea lion) found dead or sick, and carrying them to a network of 33 veterinary facilities. The information obtained there will deepen the current knowledge of the marine fauna’s health and the main threats. Besides, this information will serve as a basis for actions to preserve the monitored species.
In 2023 alone, 27,255 animals from the monitored groups were found in the area covered by the projects. Out of this total, 3,861 were alive; they underwent veterinary care and treatment for their subsequent return to nature on sites suitable for the characteristics of each species.
Dead animals undergo a post-mortem to establish the cause of death. Interactions with fishermen, vessel collisions, waste matter dumped in the sea, aggression, and vandalism are the most common causes concerning human action.
The projects also gather information about the monitored species, including 25 endangered species, which support the actions of the National Action Plans for Endangered Species managed by the Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade (ICMBio). They contribute to the creation of public policies on marine biodiversity. In addition, they constitute sources of research for writing publications. The Instituto Brasileiro de Meio Ambiente (Ibama) inspect all the monitoring activities.
The population actively participates in the projects, contacting the monitoring teams over the informed telephones as soon as they see a living or dead animal on the beaches.
According to the Beach Monitoring Projects, over 220 thousand stranded animals have been identified. Monitoramento de Praias.
BMP telephones:
PMP-BS Area SC/PR and Area SP – 0800 6423341
PMP-BS Area RJ (Paraty to Saquarema) – 0800 9995151
PMP-BC/ES (RJ) -0800 0262828
PMP-BC/ES (ES) - 0800 0395005
PMP-SEAL (Piaçabuçu/AL to Conde/BA)
08000-793434 or (79) 9 9683-1971
PMP-RNCE (RN) - (84) 98843 4621 and 99943 0058
PMP-RNCE (CE) - (85) 99800 0109 and 99188 2137
24. PROJETO DE MONITORAMENTO DE CETÁCEOS NA BACIA DE SANTOS
The Project, implemented in coastal and oceanic environments, encompasses 272,567 km² in extension and reaches distances up to 350 km off the coast and depths beyond 2,000m. It was subdivided into three execution cycles—Short-Term Cycle, from 2015 to 2021; Medium-Term Cycle, from 2021 to 2027; and Long-Term Cycle, after 2027.
Data are collected by direct approach (sightings by the onboard team, acoustic monitoring, telemetry, and overhead sighting) and indirect approach (genetic, biochemical analyses, photographic identification, and apparent skin lesion monitoring) to investigate aspects of the cetacean anatomy and assess the current state of their population and potential impacts caused by oil and natural gas exploitation and production in the region.
So far, 118 individuals from 14 species have received transmitters to monitor their movements and collect acoustic data.
Twenty-one cetacean species have already undergone 609 biopsies for biological studies.
Based on information collected from the Project, over 80 papers (scientific articles, monographs, dissertations, theses, etc.) involving national and international institutions have been published.
This is one of the most robust cetacean monitoring projects implemented worldwide. It is giving a relevant contribution to the knowledge and protection of those Atlantic Ocean creatures.
For further information:
The primary goal of the Projeto de Monitoramento de Cetáceos na Bacia de Santos, which started in 2015 and should finish when Petrobras completes all the activities in the region, is to assess the potential impacts of oil and natural gas exploitation, production, and drainage on the basin’s cetaceans. Furthermore, long-term monitoring helps preserve those animals. The Project, currently run by Grupo Socioambiental Consultores Associados at Petrobras’s service, was conceived according to the requirements for federal environmental licensing imposed by Ibama.
The Project’s second cycle of execution, a phase in progress, identified, in the Santos Basin, 28 cetacean species: 20 Odontoceti (toothed cetaceans, like dolphins and toothed whales) and eight Mysticeti (flipper whales or right whales, which use baleen plates to sieve food instead of teeth), divided into seven families. Seven species (25.9%) are included in the Official List of Endangered Brazilian Fauna Species : blue whale ( Balaenoptera musculus ), fin whale ( Balaenoptera physalus ), sei whale ( Balaenoptera borealis ), southern right whale ( Eubalaena australis ), sperm whale ( Physeter macrocephalus ), Guiana dolphin ( Sotalia guianensis ), and La Plata dolphin ( Pontoporia blainvillei ).
The sperm whale was the most viewed species, while toothed cetaceans were the most viewed individuals.
For decades, Petrobras has undertaken seismic activities or geophysical surveys to get information about the marine subsoil by emitting sound signals in the aquatic environment and recording the waves reflected by the subsoil layers in that environment. Thus, it seeks to discover new oil and gas reservoirs and monitor reservoirs under production. In this context, as a requirement for environmental licensing imposed by the Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente e dos Recursos Naturais Renováveis (Ibama), Petrobras, through contractors, is implementing the Projeto de Monitoramento da Biota Marinha (PMBM) in its seismic activities.
The Project, which follows the guidelines of the Guia de Monitoramento da Biota Marinha em Pesquisas Sísmicas Marítimas (Ibama, 2018), aims to generate data on the existence and behavior of marine mammals (dolphins, whales, etc) and chelonians (turtles) in the Santos Basin to mitigate the impacts of Petrobras’s seismic activities on those groups.
Accordingly, since 2021, in the basin’s deep and ultradeep waters in the areas of Sapinhoá, Tupi-Iracema, Itapu, Aram, Atapu, Berbigão, and Sururu fields, in the daytime, whenever visibility is good, onboard observers have been monitoring those animals. The seismic activities are interrupted whenever an animal is spotted within a 1000-meter radius concerning the position of the seismic sources (compressed-air cannons that emit sound waves). They only resume when the animals are no longer visible within a 1000-meter radius around the sources for 30 minutes of sweeping and, afterward, during the gradual increase in source power until the maximum power is reached.
A preliminary analysis of data generated by monitoring those fields has been carried out. Roughly 7,000 animals were spotted in over 13,000 hours of observation. Oceanic and coastal-oceanic species made up most of the sightings. Most of the sightings occurred in June and July. Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) were the most sighed species due to their seasonable migrations from polar or subpolar waters to warmer waters prompted by the onset of winter in those regions to reproduce and have their calves. The peak migration of the large whales that swam through the area (Mysticeti or whales that use baleen plates to sieve food instead of teeth)
The aquatic mammals known as odontoceti (toothed cetacean) made up the most significant number of sighted individuals; they are highly predominant in November, December, and May but observable throughout the year, particularly the pantropical spotted dolphin (Stenella attenuata).
Only 24 individuals were recorded among chelonians; the leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) was the most observed species..
For further information: https://comunicabaciadesantos.petrobras.com.br/
II - Carteira de Projetos
26. PROGRAMA DE CARACTERIZAÇÃO REGIONAL DA BACIA DE SANTOS
Identification of rare species and biodiversity Legacy for Science
Run by Petrobras in partnership with nine Brazilian universities (USP, Unesp, Unifesp, UFRJ, UFF, Uerj, UFPR, FURG, and PUC-Rio), Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais, Instituto Socioambiental, Instituto de Pesca do Estado de São Paulo, as a part of the development of the pre-salt layer in the Santos Basins, the Programa de Caracterização Regional da Bacia de Santos was one of the most important initiatives by the global offshore industry. It stood out for its dimension, scope of fieldwork, and international relevance of the results, which are permanent legacies for Science.
After all, the program, which met the requirements for environmental licensing imposed by Ibama, is doing very well. It covered an area equivalent to the territorial extension of Germany; described new species; discovered some scarce species; analyzed meteorological and oceanographic characteristics, water quality, and sediment quality; updated sensitivity maps of the seven main estuaries in the region; generated 105 scientific papers; leveraged 30 research lines mobilizing 300 researchers; and enriched the archives of Brazilian museums and scientific collections.
Petrobras used laboratories assembled in vessels to analyze chemical, physical, biological, and geological samples and technologies to collect sediments, seawater, marine organisms, and satellite images to make it all possible. They worked in the sea for 365 days.
The program assessed the ecosystems and biodiversity in an area of 350 thousand km2 in the Atlantic Ocean, between Florianópolis, in Santa Catarina, and Cabo
Frio, in Rio de Janeiro. This work recorded almost 18 thousand species that inhabit the region, excluding bacteria, plankton, benthos, fishes, whales, dolphins, chelonians, and birds. It analyzed the currents and quality of the water and sediments that influence their distribution.
The program described 37 new species for Science (for instance, a microscopic species of ultradeep-water crustacean called Pseudochirella obtusa and a new species of Loricefera, a microscopic organism that lives between grains of marine sediments) and 13 species nobody knew existed in the Santos Basin, one of the most studied in Brazil.
We also detected the presence of two other scarce species in the Santos Basin: a mini crustacean named Megacalanus princeps, only once observed at Atol das Rocas in Brazil, and a marine bird of the Pterodroma genus, a petrel, until then never recorded on the Brazilian coast.
The Project also updated the region’s environmental sensitivity letters, which now comprise an inventory of 2,273 species and 194 mapped conservation units. These letters serve to plan and implement ecological emergency response actions.
For further information: https://agenciagov.ebc.com.br/noticias/202309/pre-salgera-legado-inedito-para-ciencia-brasileira
III. Next Steps
Now, governments are developing their national biodiversity plans. Environmental reports, currently voluntary, as we do, will become mandatory according to established global parameters. Biodiversity credits are being created, and a market in this field is yet to be structured. We have targets to be achieved by 2030 (such as the one applicable to companies, to monitor, evaluate, and transparently disclose our risks, dependencies, and impacts in relation to biodiversity). We also have general objectives by 2050, due to the Global Biodiversity Framework. In this context, we are in action.
Our biodiversity-related actions are robust and significant, contributing to the targets of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework of the Convention on Biological Diversity. We will intensify our efforts to achieve biodiversity gains by 2030, with a focus on forests and oceans, completing the development of biodiversity action plans by 2025, achieving a net positive impact on vegetated areas by 2030, and increasing our biodiversity conservation efforts by 30%.
We continue to establish partnerships with thirdsector organizations, research institutions, and universities. For example, we have partnered with
the International Institute for Sustainability (IIS) and Coppe-UFRJ (Alberto Luiz Coimbra Institute for Graduate Studies and Research in Engineering at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro) to adapt internationally recognized biodiversity net impact assessment metrics to Brazilian terrestrial, coastal, continental aquatic, and marine environments, respectively. We believe in our capacity to innovate and transform, and we will remain strong on the nature’s journey.
