A Family's Legacy

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With nearly 30 years of history, the Otter Project (Projeto Lontra) works for the conservation and expansion of technical knowledge regarding the neotropical otter (Lontra longicaudis) and other members of the Mustelidae family in the Atlantic Forest and Pantanal. Holding two Centers for Research, Conservation and Environmental Education, the main base of Projeto Lontra is nestled at Lagoa do Peri Municipal Park, on the Island of Santa Catarina, southern Brazil. This biological reserve, rich in fauna and flora, is considered a nursery for wild species such as the neotropical otter, blue jay (Cyanocorax caeruleus) and broad-snouted caiman (Caiman latirostris). 

It was in this research center that Alesandra Bez Birolo, President of Instituto Ekko Brasil (IEB), and Junior Carvalho, Projeto Lontra Coordinator and member of the IUCN/SSC Otter Specialist Group, spent most of their lives. Partners in work and in life, they have lived with their daughter in the center since its creation. For them, it is not enough to understand about preservation, it is also necessary to mobilize. 
Environmental education and socio-environmental mobilization are seen as tools to achieve the goals proposed by the project and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) established by the United Nations General Assembly. Climate change, water conservation and biodiversity conservation represent the main topics addressed in the Program for Assistance to Education, Research and Extension developed by the project, seeking community co-participation and co-responsibility, spreading knowledge and leaving a positive legacy for future generations.​