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What Is It?
The Guanabara Bay Institute (Instituto Baía de Guanabara - IBG) is a Non-Governmental Organization with no political, religious or government affiliation. Its purposes are to study, research and take part in the solution of the environmental, social and urban problems in the Guanabara Bay watershed and other areas. IBG's Mission:
"To think and act so as to commit society as a whole to the sustainable development of the Guanabara Bay". Deliberative Council:
Statutory Audit Commitee:
Honorary Members:
General Superintendent: Adauri Chagas Souza Assistant Superintendent: Debora Ferreira de Oliveira IBG has An Environmental Education Center located in the Botanical Garden of the city of Niterói. A building with an area of 160 m2 made available by means of an agreement with SEAAPI - the Rio de Janeiro State Secretariat of Agriculture, Supplies, Fishing and Instate development, containing a large room with a stage, a library, a meeting room, an office, a small kitchen and two bathrooms. The building was restored and equipped through partnerships with private companies UNIBANCO Ecologia, ANFRA Construções e Incorporações, and DESK Móveis Escolares. Some Characteristics of IBG's Actions
Since its creation in 1993, the Guanabara Bay Institute has attracted several people with technical backgrounds seeking to cooperate and revert the still critical environmental situation of the Guanabara Bay and its surroundings. Many of IBG's members work for the government, others for private institutions, and while some are still beginning their careers, many have extensive experience and may be even retired. Among IBG's members, 17 have or are about to have PhD degrees and more than 30 have or are about to have Master's degrees. IBG's actions have been mainly financed by the Brazilian Federal Government. Through the Ministry of the Environment's National Environmental Fund (FNMA), the Guanabara Bay Institute has conducted three projects on the eastern side of the bay, a region called Leste da Guanabara comprising most of the Guanabara Bay's watershed. One of such projects, "Gente do Caceribu", has been distinguished among the 693 projects which were financed by the National Environmental Fund throughout the country in the first 10 years of the creation of the Fund. IBAMA, the Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources, has transferred close to 75 thousand dollars in resources for the development of the Management Plan for the Guapi-Mirim Environmental Protection Area, a mangrove region also located on the eastern portion of the bay. IBG has taken part in IBAMA's Program for the Revitalization of the Guanabara Bay through the "BaiAzul Consortium", formed by 6 NGOs and led by Fundação Onda Azul. In this consortium, IBG was in charge of the development and maintenance of a database on the Guanabara Bay, which will be incorporated into CIGUA - Centro de Informações da Baía de Guanabara (Guanabara Bay Information Center). The information center was set up in 1997, with resources from the FNMA. The Guanabara Bay Institute has also conducted field and office work for PETROBRAS' Research Center, assessing the impact caused on the coast by accidental oil spills, using NOAA methodology. IBG's latest job for PETROBRAS involved the development of a manual, written in Portuguese, containing an adaptation of NOAA's shoreline evaluation method to the ecosystems found on the Brazilian coastline. IBG always incorporates university students in the staff of its projects, through agreements with UFF (the Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro) and UNIRIO (University of Rio de Janeiro). IBG also takes part in the implementation of water basin and coast management policies in the State of Rio de Janeiro, through its participation in several Technical Committees, in the State Council for Water Baisins and in the Guanabara Bay Management Council, where it has a seat. The Guanabara Bay Institute was the catalytic agent in the creation of the Commission for the Basins in the East of Guanabara. Address
Alameda São Boaventura, 770 Fonseca, Niterói - RJ - Brasil CEP 24120-192 Tel/fax (021) 2625-4311 ou 2625-0226 e-mail: ibg@baiadeguanabara.org.br |
