Shortly after going blind, about four years ago, exterminator Leandro de Queirós Vieira, 45, visited the Itatiaia National Park, in Rio de Janeiro. Thanks to a sensory trail recently installed there, he was able to autonomously experience the variety of fauna and flora that the Atlantic Forest offers when walking barefoot along the green path, supported by a wooden handrail.
Leandro smelled nature, touched a redwood specimen, stepped on sand, stones, grass, leaves and petals. “It looked like a velvet rug,” he describes.
The inclusive action is part of a national movement to make Brazilian nature a more accessible place for diverse audiences, such as children, older people, parents with strollers and people with sensory, physical and intellectual disabilities.
Natural parks cannot undergo alterations that modify characteristics of the environment, so managers need to promote changes in a sustainable and creative way.
“That’s why interventions are carried out with minimal impact, always thinking about the protection of both nature and visitors. We managed to keep the experience more primitive, closer to nature and, of course, more accessible”, says Roberta Barbosa, planning coordinator, visitation structuring and ICMBio ecotourism (Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation).
The coordinator cites some national parks that have model accessible structures, such as the Fernando de Noronha National Marine Park (PE), listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, the Tijuca National Park (RJ), which houses the statue of Christ Redentor, Chapada dos Veadeiros (GO), Serra dos Órgãos (in Teresópolis, RJ) and Itatiaia itself, the first national park in the country, which turns 85 years old.
“They are bridges and suspended trails, sensory forests, ramps, vehicles, elevators, chairs adapted for people with reduced mobility for mountaineering and hiking trails, amphibious [para serem usadas na água]and Braille signs, among others”, she says.
Another inclusive attraction of Itatiaia Park is the fauna sidewalk, where the footprints of animals such as jaguars, capybaras and tapirs are carved in 20 plates on a trail. There, children, adults and seniors can have the size of the animals just by touching them.
“It’s a way for blind people to feel the depth of the paw of a jaguar or a wild cat. It was an exciting, very interesting experience”, says Vieira, one of the first visually impaired people to visit the Itatiaia sensory forest. .
See below an accessible video that describes the beauties of the Itatiaia National Park:
According to IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics) data from 2019, Brazil has 17.3 million Brazilians with some type of difficulty seeing, hearing or getting around, that is, 8.4% of the country’s population.
These people can and should have the same rights to be in nature as anyone else, reinforces Joice Tolentino, institutional relations manager at Instituto Semeia, an organization that seeks to enhance Brazilian parks.
“If we think that accessibility is still in its infancy in Brazil, this data from the IBGE shows a high number of people in the country who have limited contact with nature or who are denied the opportunity to visit natural parks and do not pass the entry”, says Tolentino.
“Without this, they miss a chance to develop an awareness of this natural wealth in order to preserve it”, completes the manager.
Tolentino says he believes that sustainable tourism can help preserve parks and also raise investment to further expand accessibility without damaging nature.
“The parks must be spaces to promote diversity and the community meeting. There is still a long way to go, but many advances in inclusion are already noticed”, she evaluates.
But the tourism potential is currently underused, according to Tolentino. “Sustainable tourism could be explored more, this would benefit not only the users, but the parks themselves. Everyone wins.”
She says, however, that it is very important to think about the preservation of nature to guarantee access to all people in a safe way. This tourism, she emphasizes, must be adapted both to have structures that serve people with reduced mobility and parents who take their young children, who love to run freely through the space.
“Regardless of the target audience, it is necessary to look at examples from abroad, such as Chile and the United States, to show that all this is possible. There is a lack of resources for the development of sustainable tourism, but there is a maxim that says: ‘Knowing to preserve’ So, we need to take this movement forward”, says Tolentino.
Brazil, a country known worldwide for its natural beauty, has an accessible green space that attracts many tourists every year, the Iguaçu National Park, in Paraná, known for having one of the most beautiful waterfalls in the world, and also recognized as a natural world heritage site. by UNESCO.
Barbosa, from ICMBio, explains that to admire the famous waterfalls, the park offers an accessible transport system. These buses leave from the visitor center and take tourists to the so-called Devil’s Throat walkway. “It’s a sensory experience very close to nature in action”, explains Tolentino.
In Piauí, the Serra da Capivara National Park has 172 archaeological sites, 16 of which are accessible to tourists with a disability. They have ramps, walkways, handrails, rest areas, indicative and interpretive signage of the main circuits of the park.
“One of the points that offers accessibility in this park in Piauí is Sítio do Meio and Boqueirão da Pedra Furada”, exemplifies the ICMBio professional.
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