Youtube series tells the story of the Amazonas riverside dwellers

The season takes place in Anavilhanas National Park, in the municipality Nova Airão.

Tourism in natural areas and the importance of conserving nature are the main aspects portrayed in the fourth and final episode of the 5th season of Foot in the Parka movement that aims to stimulate tourism in areas of environmental protection through audiovisual products. The season takes place at Anavilhanas National Parkin Amazonas and the last chapter was released this Wednesday (12/11), on the site of Pé no Parque and on the WikiParques channel channel on Youtube.

The green immensity of the Amazon brings to tourism several routes and tour options to get to know exuberant landscapes, biodiversity, riverside culture, and local history. The webseries shows the unique beauty of Anavilhanas and its archipelago of nearly 400 river islands - the second largest in the world. Amid breathtaking landscapes, it is possible to discover different aspects of the park, such as the strength of community-based tourism as a key to make people aware of the value of the standing forest.

"In the last episode we show how the richness of the forest is an attraction, and the ones who present all this richness to us are the local residents. People who have lived there for generations and know the forest like the back of their hand. They are the ones who, through community-based tourism, give even more value to the forest that provides them with food and medicine, as well as a source of income from tourism. In other words, one more reason for everyone to visit the Anavilhanas National Park," says the webseries' scriptwriter, Duda Menegassi.

The webseries is directed by photographer Marcio Isensee e Sá, director of the documentary Sob a Para do Boi (2018), and produced by WikiParques and ((o)) eco, with sponsorship from Fundação Grupo Boticário de Proteção à Natureza. "Tourism associated with natural areas is an income generating factor in different regions of Brazil. Through the webseries and the movement we want to show the importance that biodiversity conservation has to ensure the survival of ecosystems and the livelihood of thousands of families who find in environmental preservation a business opportunity," says the executive director of the Boticário Group Foundation for Nature Protection, Malu Nunes.

The park

Located 200 kilometers from Manaus (AM), Anavilhanas National Park is accessed through Novo Airão and can be visited all year round. Among the attractions of the park are water rides, land trails, observation of flora and fauna, tree climbing, panoramic flights and interaction with red river dolphins. From September to February, during the dry season, the park offers tourists beautiful white sand beaches. During the months of flooding, the tourist is taken on water trails to get to know flooded igapó forests. There is no entrance fee to access the park and the activities are offered by tourism agents.

Pé no Parque Movement

Pé no Parque is an initiative for the valorization of Brazil's national parks that uses the transforming power of audiovisual as a starting point to engage more people to visit and understand the importance of these areas for their quality of life and for the development of the country. Tourism in conservation units is essential, as is environmental education to make visitors increasingly aware. The movement is a union of the Associação O Eco, WikiParques and Fundação Grupo Boticário. The movement's webseries was launched in 2018, during the IX Brazilian Congress of Conservation Units (CBUC) and each season presents a different park, with episodes that portray the culture, natural aspects, history, and the characters that give face and voice to Brazilian national parks. The four seasons of Pé no Parque have already been watched by more than 1 million people.

Boticário Group Foundation

The Boticário Group Foundation is one of the first institutions linked to private enterprise focused on nature conservation in Brazil. Since 1990, it is one of the main funders of environmental projects in the country, with about 1,600 initiatives supported in all regions. It conserves two nature reserves, adding up to more than 11 thousand hectares of Atlantic Forest and Cerrado, the two most threatened biomes in the country. The Foundation also works to make biodiversity conservation a priority in business and public policies, in addition to helping nature serve as an inspiration or as part of the solution to society's various problems.