Meet the Amazon
Meet the Amazon, Meet Manaus!
The name Manaus is a reference to manaós Indians who lived there. Manaus was one of the first Brazilian cities to rely on urban infrastructure from electricity, storm sewers, water treatment and sewage, electric tram service, inaugurated the first university in 1909, through to luxury buildings replicating European styles of architecture, all this construction was financed by wealth generated by rubber exports in the late nineteenth century.
Today, tourists around the world are attracted by the exuberance of the Amazon rainforest, an ecosystem that is home to one of the greatest biodiversity on the planet. The region has jungle lodges that make possible to know the diversity of pristine tropical forest. Manaus offers varied walks like that takes tourists to the meeting of the waters of the Rio Negro and Solimões.
In the Brazilian context for its natural and cultural wealth of the Amazon emerges as one of the priority regions for conservations of natural resources and building development models able to enhance and protect the natural base, rescue and preserve the cultural heritage and ensure benefits to local populations. Under this approach, ecotourism is recognized as an important alternative for regional development.
Recent estimates show that the region is home to about 2.5 million species of insects, tens of thousands of species of vascular plants, about 2000 species of fish, and 950 species of birds and 200 species of mammals.
In the Amazon the beauty and diversity of natural landscapes are different from region to region, exercising fascination over the imaginary global.A wealth of its natural and cultural heritage entitles the state to practice ecotourism, confirming its vocation for development this activity.
The Western Amazon comprises the states of Acre, Rondonia, Amazonas and Roraima, whose capital is Rio Branco, Porto Velho, Manaus and Boa Vista, respectively.
Many species of this region are known worldwide, such as natural rubber, chestnut, guarana, açaí and cupuaçu. Other species, intended mainly to food and medicinal use and for production of fuels, are developed. Mineral resources are also abundant in the region and are represented by large reserves of oil and petroleum gas; tin; limestone; sylvite; kaolin; clay; niobium; tantalum; and aggregates for construction (crushed stone, sand and granite, among others).
Tame the wild beauty of the Amazon
A large mosaic of varied landscapes, ranging from dense forest to savanna, through wetlands, savannas, swamps and mangroves. This is the Amazon, one of the greatest natural heritage sites. The region, which spans 6.6 million km2 covering nine South American countries, offers a wide variety of ecosystems, landscapes and attractions for its visitors, but remains unknown by tourists -. Especially Brazilians
All in the Amazon is great. It has the largest rainforest in the world, the Amazon with more than 6 million km2 within its territory, occupying the states of Amazonas, Acre, Amapá, Pará, Rondônia, Roraima, Tocantins, Mato Grosso and Western Maranhão. It also has the world's largest river, the Amazon River, with 6850 km, and the largest river basin in the world, the Amazon Basin, with 3,984,467 km2. The highest mountain of Brazil, Pico da Neblina, with 2993 meters, is also there. And that is where you find the greatest biodiversity on Earth, hundreds of thousands of species of plants and animals whose exact number nobody knows for sure.
Of the more than 6 million km2 of forest, 65% belong to Brazil - the equivalent of more than 4 million km2. This large chunk of the country receives two separate referrals.
One is the Amazon Biome, an ecological definition that covers the areas of forest formation and its associated ecosystems, and has 4.2 million km². The other is the Amazon, a policy area which covers the seven states of the North (Amazonas, Pará, Roraima, Amapa, Acre, Rondônia and Tocantins), plus Mato Grosso and half of Maranhão, and has more than 5 million square kilometers.
For all its beauty and grandeur, the Amazon remains unknown by tourists, national and international. In the Brazilian Amazon, ecotourism is practiced sporadically and is limited to hotels in the jungle and some river cruises around the city of Manaus and in northern Mato Grosso State. Most of all the Amazon, however, still waiting to be cleared.
There are several reasons why tourism is small in the region. Difficult access, lack of resources in some localities, and even fear of tropical diseases such as malaria are factors constantly cited by tourists who do not visit the site. Another factor is the preservation - some conservationists believe that tourism can be detrimental to the region. This view began to change only recently, when the government, population and ecologists realized that tourism, contrary to what was previously believed, can be an excellent alternative to preserve all the natural wealth of the Amazon.
Deforestation has already affected large areas of the Amazon, having consumed more than 17% of its territory (700 square kilometers). Protected areas are few and do not have sufficient staff to provide protection and care of properly managed. As in other parts of the world, tourism - particularly ecotourism - is being seen as a way for local people to from natural areas left intact. In this sense, tourism is an alternative for the sustainable development of the Amazon, since if well planned, is able to minimize environmental impacts, in addition to a significant multiplier potential in terms of generating jobs and income.
For these reasons, the federal and state governments are making a concerted effort to boost tourism and ecotourism in the region as a way to not only generate income residents, but disclose the location and encourage the preservation of this valuable natural heritage. The project, which is named after Proecotur will include studies of selected sites for ecotourism, assessing market demand, creating a legal framework, training programs, and local investments. The studies will provide the basis for a much larger project to be launched in the near future. Thus stimulating tourism, therefore be stimulated the development and preservation of the region, one of the most beautiful and important in the world. Both tourists and Amazon get out of it.