The Baitaca Road is located around Serra da Baitaca State Park, City of Quatro Barras, State of Paraná, Southeastern Brazil. It is part of the Water Source Region that supplies Curitiba. It represents a gateway to the Atlantic Forest World Heritage Site and Biosphere Reserve, in an area categorized as a priority for extremely high conservation (http://www.rbma.org.br/rbma/rbma_hase_vi_04_form.asp). Moreover, it is one of the last strongholds of the ecotone between the Atlantic Forest and the Araucaria Forest.
The Serra da Baitaca Residents Association has been recovering and protecting private and public degraded areas in the region since 1994. Through our projects, we provided the scientific basis for the establishment of the Serra da Baitaca State Park, created in 2002. In 2013, we filed a petition presenting a protection project for this road and we got hundreds of supporting signatures (https://peticaopublica.com.br/pview.aspx?pi=P2013N36168).
Now in the year 2019, the City of Quatro Barras presented a proposal to the municipality that represents an initial step to protect this road and the river next to it. This proposal has our full support. It limits car access on two of the roads at the end of Estrada da Baitaca which access Serra da Baitaca State Park, thus directing car traffic to the main entrance of the park where parking and a tourist reception center are being implemented. The project is finding oposition from people who do not accept the car limitations at the end of the road, and because of this, this project is in danger to exist only on paper.
The control and protection of Estrada da Baitaca represents collaboration between local residents, the Paraná State Government, and the Municipality of Quatro Barras to protect the surrounding area of Serra da Baitaca State Park and Water Springs. Additionally, this project seeks to promote education and conservation activities around the Araucaria Forest, as well as aid the recovery of local rivers and forests.
This petition is intended to fully support the proposal presented by the City of Quatro Barras for the protection of Estrada da Baitaca (http://quatrobarras.pr.gov.br/pagina/2441_Proposta-de-Criacao-da-Estrada -Baitaca Park.html).
