Monitor Ambiental

Monitor Ambiental Local


There are some specialties in Brazil which apply for many caves, mostly if they are located in a Park. Visits are called SmileEcotourism, and there is normally one guy accompanying the group, who has the job to check that nothing is destroyed accidentally and no waste forgotten. He is called Monitor Ambiental Local or simply Monitor Ambiental and is responsible to protect the nature. The term translates environmental sensor, not guide, so he will normally not do any guiding or explanations except when its about nature protection or safety.

This was introduced with the condutor de visitantes (visitor drivers) at Chapada dos Veadeiros in 1998 for two reasons. First to ensure the safety of visitors who were often lost or injured on trails, and second to generate work for local residents. Accidents during visitations were radically reduced. The first park to adopt the idea was RegionParque Estadual Turístico do Alto Ribeira (Petar) in RegionSão Paulo. They have numerous undeveloped caves, and several were quite dangerous. Two dead visitors in 2003 and 2005 resulted in new rules in 2008 and the introduction of the Monitor Ambiental, and immediately accidents in the caves were drastically reduced.

The Monitor Ambiental is responsible for the security of the tour. He is planning the entire itinerary, checking climatic conditions and ensuring that the places to be visited will be accessible and in good condition. He will contact the agencies responsible for the site and solve authorization problems. So the best thing to do is first check and book the Monitor Ambiental, and then ask him about necessary steps. On the tour he explained the nature protection aspects, and makes sure the rules are followed. The main rules are obviously, no damage, no littering, not disturbing animals, and no stupid stunts.

We were impressed how strict and competent this was managed in the last years. Nevertheless, this exists in other countries virtually for centuries, it's called cave guides. And those cave guides additionally explain what you see, not just cave protection. Brazil is the only country we know which actually created Nature Parks and then allowed wild caving of untrained visitors. We are happy this has fundamentally changed.

For some unknown reason, probably legal, the Monitor Ambiental has to be paid additionally. This can result in three different fees: Park entry fee, Monitor Ambiental, and cave visit. Reductions normally do not apply for the Monitor Ambiental, and any participant including small children pay the same fee. And this fee is typically higher than the entrance fee for the cave or the park.

Another strange thing is that parks have a website for the reservation of tickets, but they offer only minimal help for finding a Monitor Ambiental. However, if you show up without one you can not go and the tickets are not refunded. There also exist travel agencies which offer a visit with a single price, which is obviously a little higher that the different fees together. But it's an all-inclusive package, all fees paid, and they provide the cave guide and the monitor. We think in most cases this service well worth the additional cost.


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