The capital of São Paulo will have a trail of approximately 170 kilometers (km), connecting municipal conservation units and other protected areas in the south. The Interparques project includes municipal natural parks, state parks, dams, private reserves and areas close to indigenous lands in the Parelheiros, Marsilac and Bororé Island Ecotourism Pole region, still little known and visited. 
“Our aim is to make people aware of the existence of these parks and for conservation, because they have very significant fragments of Atlantic Forest in the municipality of São Paulo, mapped in 2017 by the Atlantic Forest Municipal Plan. We have a concentration of 70% of the municipality’s native vegetation there”, said Anita Martins, director of Management of Conservation Units (DGUC) of the Secretariat for the Green and the Environment, the body that leads the initiative.
The project, which is in the planning phase, also involves the Municipal Secretariat for Economic Development and Labor and Tourism, the Municipal Secretariat for Sports, the Municipal Secretariat for Mobility and Traffic, the Municipal Secretariat for Sub-Prefectures, the Municipal Secretariat for Urban Security and to SPTuris.
Trail
Studies have been carried out that have determined an orienteering route that is not yet definitive. It was made from the indication of residents, tourists and cyclists, in addition to surveys by Google Earth and field research.
“The idea is that the route can be done both by bicycle and on foot. It’s a long-distance trail along the lines of what is internationally known, both in the United States and Europe and here in Brazil”, points out Anita. She cites trails in the interior of São Paulo, such as the one that connects municipalities to Aparecida and routes in the Serra da Mantiqueira.
The proposal is to start at the Ferry on Bororé Island – Grajaú, passing through the Bororé, Varginha, Itaim and Jaceguava Municipal Natural Parks, then through the Várzeas do Embu-Guaçu State Park, Colônia Crater Park, Serra do Mar Curucutu State Park and, finally, the Curucutu Natural Heritage Private Reserve, returning to where it started.
According to the secretariat, the implementation of the route is complex, as it requires environmental studies, employee training and training of traders, bids, signage, among other aspects. The idea is that the route is delivered gradually. Anita highlights, for example, actions in partnership with the Transport Department, in view of the signs that will be needed on the road.
“There are a series of devices that have to be implemented, from speed reduction signs to speed bumps, so that we don’t have accidents, because people will share these lanes with vehicles”, explained the director. The expectation is to start a first stretch of 14 km this year. “You access a very peculiar place with very interesting landscape features, very pleasant. I’ts very interesting. You can’t even believe it’s still São Paulo,” she describes.
Initial surveys are being carried out by technical groups formed to deal with the various support structures needed, such as trade, personnel training, road access, construction and maintenance, signaling/communication and mobilization/shared management.
