Brazil

Project/Location
John Robinson Planning and Design
was commissioned by the
Inter-American Bank to prepare a
strategy for six State Parks in the
Mata Atlántica Region, west of San
Paulo, Brazil. The overall goal of the
Tourism Development Programme is
to contribute to the socio-economic
development of the Region by
means of attracting additional
income associated with ecotourism
activities.

The Mata Atlántica Region, has
considerable potential as a tourism
destination. The Region is
extremely important in terms of
conservation, having World
Heritage status, it is a very scenic
area possessing a rich diversity of
natural assets and distinctive
cultural heritage. However, it is, as
yet, a largely undiscovered
destination and its tourism sector is
underdeveloped. Much can be
done to expand the Region's
tourism industry and to increase its
economic and social contribution.

The Ecotourism Strategy is focused
on the following six parks:

1. Carlos Botelho

2. Intervales

3. Petar

4. Jacupiranga

5. Ilha do Cardoso and

6. Ilhabela.

The first five parks fall within the
Vale do Ribeira. Their potentials for
sustainable tourism development
was assessed and a list of
candidate projects identified.
Ilhabela has different constraints
and opportunities from the Vale do
Ribeira parks and is defined as a
separate programme.

Project Description
The Plan is in two parts:

Part 1: Strategy for Ecotourism
Development

Part 2: Concepts and Indicative
Projects

The aim of the Ecotourism Strategy
is to integrate the proposals with
the park's management plans and
present an overall framework for
future development, identifying key
projects for short-term
implementation. The successful
realisation of the Strategy is
therefore dependent upon the
implementation of specific action
plans.

Eleven projects were prepared
based on the Ecotourism Strategy.
The project outlines included
detailed descriptions and concept
drawings, estimated cost, timing
and detailed terms of reference for
follow up work.

Client
Inter-American Development Bank
Government of the State of Sao
Paulo