Meetings – Long term monitoring on the Brazilian oceanic islands

At the first week of December of this year researchers, managers and the Navy had gathered in a workshop in Rio
Grande do Norte University (UFRN), northeastern Brazilian coast, to discuss about research goals and the long
term monitoring program on the Brazilian oceanic islands - PELD , that had just been renewed for more four years.
Each oceanic island of Brazil has a complete different oceanographic regime and unique biodiversity, high rates of
endemism, while having different protection status and unique challenges to conservation goals. As the population
in each island range from 4 in Atol das Rocas and the St Peter and St Pauls Archipelago to 5,000 in Fernando de
Noronha Marine National Park, the problems and research demands are quite specific for ecological and social
issues. In the last decade the Brazilian Navy had helped with logistics to reach the islands as well as to build and
maintain local research stations on each one. Dr. Guilherme Longo from UFRN had host the workshop and
mediate the debate among participants in order to encourage the debate between researchers and managers and
get focus on priorities of ecological/conservation issues and social/economic conflicts. Since the start point to
reach three of these islands is from the northeastern coast, especially the city of Natal, where the workshop was
held, the participation and integrative process of researchers in that region are especially important for the future of
the PELD project and other cooperative projects. The Brazilian oceanic islands have tremendous importance
harboring part of the Atlantic marine biodiversity, but we are still far from have this heritage really protected for future
generations.

Written by: Carlos Ferreira