Anglo American has signed an agreement with the Caruara Reserve, the largest private conservation unit dedicated to the preservation of the restinga in Brazil. The investment aims to support work in favor of biodiversity and environmental education. Maintained voluntarily by the Port of Açu, in São João da Barra (RJ), Caruara covers 40 km², equivalent to 5,000 soccer fields, and is considered the largest sustainable tourism center in the north of Rio de Janeiro.
Anglo American is present in the region through the Minas-Rio System’s iron ore filtering and export operation, carried out at the Ferroport terminal in the Port of Açu. For Cristiano Cobo, Anglo American’s Technical and Environmental Director in Brazil, “the contribution to the Caruara Reserve reinforces the company’s purpose of reimagining mining to improve people’s lives. Our aim is to provide conditions for the continuation of conservation work and the preservation of the restinga ecosystem and the sea turtles that breed in the area of influence of the Port of Açu. In addition, we aim to strengthen awareness-raising and environmental education activities among local communities, especially fishermen and their families,” he explains.
Created in 2012, the Reserve has planted more than 1.5 million seedlings and restored more than 1,350 hectares of sandbank. Conservation programs have identified more than 880 species of fauna and flora, including 22 threatened species. In order to promote environmental education and scientific research, the Port of Açu has partnered with the main universities in the Northern Fluminense region, such as the Fluminense Federal Institute (IFF) and the State University of Northern Fluminense (UENF), which use the area as an open classroom and laboratory. Through technical cooperation agreements, around 50 scientific studies have already been carried out at Caruara.
In addition, in 2022 the Port of Açu inaugurated the Caruara Reserve Visitor Center, a hub for tourism, environmental education and scientific research, integrating the port and the community, with a focus on generating shared value for society and ecotourism. The space has already welcomed more than 35,000 people, with completely free access to the population.
“We’ve developed various actions and programs in an inclusive way with a focus on environmental education, ranging from a tour of Caruara to ecological trails, workshops and exhibitions. We are very happy with this partnership with Anglo American, which will certainly add to and expand our commitment to biodiversity conservation,” concludes Caio Cunha, manager of the Caruara Reserve.
About Anglo American
Anglo American is a global leader in mining, committed to the responsible production of copper, premium iron ore and agricultural nutrients – essential products to enable the future, drive the decarbonization of the global economy, improve living standards and strengthen food security. Our world-class operations and exceptional resources give us a robust portfolio with great growth potential in all three of our businesses. This strategic combination positions us ideally to capture the main demand trends, which are structurally attractive in the long term.
Our integrated approach to sustainability and innovation drives our decision-making throughout the value chain, from how we discover new resources to how we mine, process, move and market our products to our customers – safely, efficiently and responsibly. Our Sustainable Mining Plan establishes clear commitments with comprehensive targets over different time horizons, ensuring our contribution to preserving a healthy environment, promoting prosperous communities and strengthening confidence in our position as a corporate leader. We work together with our business partners and various stakeholders to generate lasting value from precious natural resources for our shareholders, for the benefit of the communities and countries in which we operate and for society as a whole. Anglo American is reimagining mining to improve people’s lives.
Anglo American is currently implementing a series of important structural changes to unlock the value inherent in its portfolio and thus accelerate the delivery of its strategic priorities of operational excellence, portfolio simplification and growth. This portfolio transformation will focus Anglo American on its world-class resource asset base in copper, premium iron ore and agricultural nutrients, once the sale of our coal and nickel steel businesses, the demerger of our PGMs business (Anglo American Platinum) and the separation of our iconic diamond business (De Beers) have been completed.
