16/10/2018

The book ‘Landscapes and Plants of Carajás’, launched by the Vale Technology Institute (ITV) in Pará, is one of the 10 finalists for the 60th edition of the Jabuti Prize, Brazil’s biggest literary award, which aims to encourage reading among the population. The publication competes in the category Science Essays. The announcement of those competing for the award was made last Tuesday (10/9).

The publication is an institutional strategy of ITV and Vale to make scientific research accessible to various audiences. The contents of the book are part of the results of the research conducted by the institute and the Emílio Goeldi Museum of Pará (MPEG) in the Carajás National Forest (Flona), in southeast Pará, which is home to one of the largest mineral provinces in the world, with peculiar vegetation known as canga or ferruginous field.

Divided into chapters, with English translation, the book shows the geological formation of the Carajás relief, the formation of the current landscapes, and is dedicated to the plants that occur there, going through the interactions with the animals that live there, especially those that pollinate the flowers and those that disperse the seeds, in addition to situating the ecological importance of the preserved caves that exist in the region. Although the work has the rigor of scientific research, it approaches the theme in a lighter way, as explained by Vera Fonseca, coordinator of ITV’s Biodiversity and Services area: “In all chapters, we bridge the gap between academic knowledge and general interest on the subject, but without a doubt, the illustrations and photographs help bring this knowledge closer to the general public,” he notes.

The publication was organized by botanical researcher Daniela Zappi, from ITV, with texts written by her, along with researchers Pedro Walfir Martins Sousa, Clovis Maurity, Ana Maria Giulietti, Vera Fonseca, Guilherme Oliveira, Rodolfo Jaffe (part of ITV’s Botany Program), Pedro Viana, and Nara Mota, both from MPEG.

 The winners of the Jabuti Award will be announced on November 8, at 7pm, at the Ibirapuera Auditorium, in São Paulo.