Adopt a Park programs might be expected to benefit a large, outlying green space now and again—no surprise there. But an expanse of Amazon rainforest over seven times the size of Paris? That’s the case in Brazil, where a new, federally run Adopt a Park program has identified its first beneficiary—Resex do Lago do Cuniã, a 75,877-hectare (187,496-acre) extractive reserve in the western state of Rondônia. Brazil’s extractive reserves are publicly owned areas where traditional communities can engage in sustainable economic activities such as Brazil-nut gathering and agroforestry. At this month’s launch of the Adopt a Park program, the Brazil division of the France-based supermarket chain Carrefour made a non-binding, ceremonial bid of R$3.79 million (US$685,000) to adopt, manage, and maintain the Resex do Lago do Cuniã extractive reserve. The Adopt a Park program aims to benefit what the federal government... [Log in to read more]