Land Purchase
REGUA currently owns 3,760 hectares and has management agreements covering a further 3,300 hectares, which in total allows REGUA staff to patrol and protect over 7,000 hectares (17,500 acres). The largest management agreement is with Schincariol, a large modern soft drinks and beer company, which owns an extremely important 2,500 hectares of forest in the heart of the reserve. Schincariol have constructed a large reservoir at the base of the mountains from which water is piped to its bottling plant near Cachoeiras. Maintaining the highest water quality, and therefore protecting the forest, is essential to their operation. The other significant management agreement is with Carlos Lemgruber who owns an 800 hectare plot adjoining REGUA’s newly purchased land above the village of Matumbo.
REGUA’s first purchase was the 600 hectare Donna Maria’s farm in 2001, followed by the 1,650 hectare Serra do Mar farm also in 2001 and then the Sao Jose farm of 405 hectares in 2003. In 2006 REGUA purchased the 785 hectare Joao Paulo farm, and in 2007-08 twelve separate plots of a total of 321 hectares were purchased above Matumbo. REGUA has also acquired three of the eleven shares in the 150 hectare lowland forest of Onofre Cunha and is hoping to increase its ownership as shares become available.
The stated objective of REGUA is the protection of the Atlantic Rainforest of the upper Guapiaçu river basin and in order to achieve this ambition REGUA has to expand the protected areas through further land purchases or management agreements, whichever is most appropriate. Most of the money raised for land purchase originates in Europe or North America, however it is important to note that all the land is purchased in the name of the REGUA Association and therefore ownership remains with the local Brazilians and is protected and managed for their benefit.
REGUA, with the help of its supporters, is pursuing an active land purchase programme whenever suitable land within the river basin at a realistic price becomes available. These purchases, especially the smaller plots with multiple family interests, can be very complex and lengthy especially as legal titles are not always available. Prices per hectare vary widely based on land access, agricultural opportunities and mineral water extraction potential, but REGUA has seen a gradual increase partly as a result of the project’s success. Rather perversely, the attempts to protect the area seem to be making the Guapiaçu valley a more desirable place to live leading to an increasing threat from city dwellers wishing to build holiday or weekend homes.
Some of the properties that REGUA is interested in acquiring lie within the boundaries of the 46,000 hectare Três Picos State Park which was created in 2002. This may appear slightly anomalous, but the landowners have received no compensation from the government for their land designation and nor do the Park have the resources to adequately patrol and protect the land. Furthermore ownership by an organisation such as REGUA rather than by an absent owner or government department provides a much stronger barrier to illegal occupancy. REGUA is a participating member of the Park governing council and its land acquisition strategy is supported and encouraged as the most effective method for long-term protection and management in this area.