Manaus Ágil tourism and culture of the AmazonThe measure was necessary due to the reduced framework of servers. Institution sought several alternatives, but they did not meet the needs of regular operation of the space.
O Bosque da Ciênciathe public visitation space of the National Institute for Amazon Research (Inpa/MCTIC)will be closed for public visitation from Tuesday (09) indefinitely. The institution will continue only with group visits scheduled and confirmed by the coordination of support service to the visitation areas.
According to the coordinator of Extension of Inpa, the researcher Rita Mesquita, the reason is the need to reformulate the operation of the Forest of Science due to the reduced number of servers to serve in the space. Dedicated to education, scientific dissemination and leisure, the forest received last year about 100 thousand visitors, about 70% of them for free.
Admission costs R$ 5, but children, the elderly, and scheduled school and social groups do not pay. The amount collected is deposited in a Federal Government account and has not been returned to the forest, which is open from Tuesday to Sunday and closed for maintenance on Mondays.
"We are very sorry to have to inform you that the forest will close for visitation and will work partially, despite all the efforts and the search for partnerships", explained Mesquita.
According to the coordinator, small acts of vandalism have been happening in the space, and the measure comes also to try to protect the integrity of the forest until it has conditions to work regularly. Today the 13 hectares of the forest, a forest fragment in the middle of the green area of Manaus, has only four employees, plus the outsourced employees for surveillance and maintenance (cleaning).
To maintain the activities and cover the more than 20 attractions, the forest counts on the help of curricular trainees (mandatory internship at the Education Institution) from technical and graduation courses in the environmental and tourism areas, who vary according to the period.
Of the 23 curricular interns who started last semester, divided into weekdays and weekends, only 13 are completing the activities. More than 40% give up along the way, for finding a paid internship or lack of financial resources to pay for travel to the curricular internship.
To have an idea, only in the House of Science, which was reopened a month ago and came with an innovative and interactive exhibit, the Plots of Science, at least ten people are needed to support the visitors.
The institution is seeking partnerships with other organizations, but the negotiations have not materialized. The outsourcing of the forest is on the agenda, before some actions are necessary and require the application of financial resources, such as technical and economic feasibility studies.
With information from the press office
