The Program

The Biodiversity Observatory OBBIO - is a network of video cameras that record the fauna and flora 24 hours a day, generating films and content for use in research and education. The dream is to make wildlife monitoring accessible to everyone by placing it online allowing with anyone interest to participate in conservation efforts. Moreover, if the model works and other NGO, National Parks and Research Institutes use the same technology they can link their networks to transfer images, videos and knowledge seemlessly. Therefore OBBIO also seeks to establish partnerships with individuals, businesses and institutions wishing to conduct online monitoring of fauna and flora in other regions of the country. Our videos have been used on the Discovery Channel and are regularly published on our YouTube channel. People interested in adding content to the database or can put the content to good use in clips, documentaries or magazine publications are welcome. Anyone with editing or digital ar skills would be of great help also.

You can work closely with our biologist and photographer to join them on expeditions to capture the images or to set up the camera traps in the forest. They can provide you with important information about what species are endangered, what are the major cause that driving extinction and the current models for conservation. 

Living at IPBio

Volunteers will stay at the Darwin House, situated on the reserve itself, which accommodates up to 8 people in 2 rooms. This house has a bathroom with a hot shower and has a fully equipped kitchen where volunteers can cook. It is the volunteer’s responsibility to maintain and clean the house, we take this very seriously. Volunteers can use our organic vegetable and herb patch in their cuisine. Shops are in the town of Iporanga 6km away from the reserve, which you can walk or get a lift, where there are various shops with all you will need. Every day you will wake up to the sound of birds, monkeys and frogs and can explore the reserves grounds. During the weekend volunteers can visit the State Parks to explore the caves, hike into the dense forest surrounding them or visit the waterfalls. At the reserve we have a deck where you can swim as well as use our tubes (big circular water balloons) to drift down the river along with the current. Volunteers can also organize dinners, movie nights or social events which can be enjoyed with a glass of wine or two. You can use the internet at the Center to Skype loved ones.

Location

The Atlantic Forest stretches from the northeastern to the southern regions of Brazil and northern Argentina and southeastern Paraguay. Five hundred years ago, the Atlantic Forest of Brazil covered approximately 330 million acres, but today only 7% remains. In the Ribeira Valley, our region of the Atlantic Forest, we are at the footsteps of 21% of the 7% that is left, it being largest contiguous section of the Atlantic Forest. Despite the forests diminished state it still ranks as a global conservation priority. Although it is now just a small fraction of the size of the Amazon rainforest, the Atlantic Forest still harbors a range of biological diversity similar to that of the Amazon. The Atlantic Forest harbors around 2,200 species of birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians – 5% of the vertebrates on Earth. This includes nearly 200 bird species found nowhere else. The Betary Reserve is located next to one of the most famous Brazilian State Parks named PETAR. The region is called the Cave Capital as it known for containing over 300 spectacular caves, some which are accessible to tourists.