The Buritis Brooks Nature Reserve is an 84 hectare private reserve - equivalent to more than 100 soccer fields - created in 2020 to "produce nature" in the landscape of Chapada dos Veadeiros. The reserve aims to protect the biodiversity of fauna and flora, maintain and increase carbon stocks, protect water sources and streams, and catalyze local development. Buritis Brooks functions as an ecological corridor between the Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park, the Kalunga Quilombo Historic Site, and other adjacent private areas.

The Reserve is home to critically endangered species of fauna, such as the maned wolf, the giant anteater, and the puma, in addition to more than 130 species of trees, many of which are endemic. The Reserve's vegetation stores about 15 thousand tons of CO² and protects the waterways and springs that flow into the Almas basin, which is fundamental for water use in the region.

The reserve was created in the area of the former Canada farm. Over the decades, cattle breeding on this farm has degraded the soil and vegetation of the reserve, reducing its fauna and flora, damaging the watercourse and emitting carbon into the atmosphere. This damage, with the application of appropriate techniques, can be reversed. The Reserve is also threatened by constant fires in the region, requiring integrated fire management to protect it and its neighbors.

Using science and local knowledge, in collaboration with other reserves in the region, the Buritis Brooks Nature Reserve aims to "produce nature" - to recover and conserve the biodiversity, waters, and soil of the Cerrado (savanna) in the Chapada dos Veadeiros region, and to contribute to the socioenvironmental development of the region.

We also aim to be a catalyst for local development and sustainable management of natural resources in the municipality of Cavalcante (690,000 hectares) and beyond, in the landscape of the Chapada dos Veadeiros and the Pouso Alto Environmental Protection Area (750.000 hectares). The Reserve collaborates with local government, local communities, NGOs, and other private landowners to expand actions beyond its boundaries. Existing partnerships include the Network of Participatory Monitoring of Fauna of which the Reserve is a founding member, the municipality of Cavalcante, and the Network of Cerrado Seed Gatherers.

The Reserve intends to promote environmental education and awareness among young people about restoration, fauna management, and faunal biodiversity to influence future behavior. It is hoped that this will increase local people's pride in their environment and territory, leading to long-term local support for conservation.

Cerrado, Chapada dos Veadeiros and Cavalcante

The Cerrado biome covers 24% of the Brazilian territory (more than 2 million km²) and is the most biodiverse savanna on the planet, being one of the 36 global biodiversity hotspots. The biome is critical for the security of water resources and includes the headwaters of the three largest river basins in South America (Amazon, Tocantins/São Francisco and Prata).

The Cerrado is extremely rich in endemic species and is home to around 12,000 plant species, 251 mammal species, 856 bird species, 800 fish species, 262 reptile species and 204 amphibian species.

Recognized as a World Heritage Site in 2001 and located in the northeast of the state of Goiás, the Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park covers 240 thousand hectares and is between the municipalities of Alto Paraíso de Goiás, Teresina de Goiás, Nova Roma, São João d'Aliança, and Cavalcante. The town of Cavalcante, where our reserve is located, has about 9,000 inhabitants (most living in rural areas) and is a historical town with origins in the gold cycle of the 18th century. Besides overflowing with culture and biodiversity, Cavalcante is home to most of the Kalunga Historical and Cultural Heritage Site, the largest quilombola territory in Brazil.