Brazil biodiversity and health surveillance initiatives

Efforts to integrate environmental monitoring and public health surveillance are expanding across Brazil. In the Cerrado biome, the Patas do Cerrado project has engaged employees from Grupo Bom Jesus to document wildlife encounters, such as jaguars and tapirs, to support environmental education and international certification. Concurrently, Fiocruz and the Federal University of Goiás have worked toward a participatory surveillance model that combines epidemiological, social, and environmental data to protect the region and its traditional populations.

Furthering the focus on traditional knowledge, Fiocruz has released publications documenting the intersection of agroecology and health. These works highlight findings from the Ará project regarding food sovereignty and ecological sanitation in quilombola and indigenous communities. Additionally, new documentation from the ‘Abril Indígena Fiocruz’ initiative systematizes experiences from 74 indigenous peoples, addressing critical issues such as climate change, environmental racism, and the integration of indigenous medicines into health discourse.