The vegetation cover of the city of Campinas is made up of isolated fragments, generally quite degraded. In this context, ecological corridors - homogeneous and linear vegetation strips - play a primary role. By connecting forest remnants, fragmentation between them is reduced, enabling genetic flow between fauna populations. How important are these and other green areas present at Fazenda Argentina and in the territory of the International Hub for Sustainable Development (HIDS)? How will the occupation of Fazenda Argentina impact this heritage?
It was to discuss proposals for the occupation and regeneration of Fazenda Argentina that the Executive Directorate of Human Rights (DeDH) brought together researchers, professors and employees from the University and the City of Campinas on December 16th. “The acquisition of Fazenda Argentina is an opportunity to seek new relationships with the environment. We have to reflect on the occupation of this space with water, animals and people. This is what we are starting with this workshop”, said Silvia Maria Santiago, Executive Director of Human Rights.
Near HIDS there are two linear parks: the Hermógenes de Freitas Leitão Filho Ecological Park and the Ribeirão das Pedras Linear Park. The creation of these Parks enabled the formation of an ecological corridor 10 kilometers long between neighborhoods, shopping centers, Unicamp and campus 1 of PUC-Campinas. There are fragments of natural vegetation, some already listed, such as Mata Santa Genebra and the forest of Sítio São Martinho, Permanent Preservation Areas (APP). The HIDS perimeter covers a large part of the Santa Genebra Connectivity Center and houses the Ecological Corrector “Mata Santa Genebrinha – APP Ribeirão Anhumas”, established by Municipal Resolution nº 13 of 2016, which connects the areas of native vegetation in this region.
However, although made official (in a municipal resolution), there are no real connections between these areas. “There is a lack of afforestation along the corridors, there are fauna crossings being crossed by the road system and discontinuity of fauna routes between fragments of vegetation”, explained the architect, urban planner and coordinator of the Unicamp Master Plan, Thalita dos Santos Dalbelo. According to her, there is already an action plan to connect the preservation areas and the compensation polygons of the Zeferino Vaz campus and Fazenda Argentina. This connection, which would include fragments of vegetation in the area outside the university, would allow the gene flow of fauna and flora through fauna passages, planting and maintenance of vegetation in ecological corridors, with fencing and signage. “The idea is to execute this plan in partnership with the Environment Division (DMA), but we depend on resources to implement the executive project and, later, to plant trees, to fence the corridor, to work on the fauna and, finally, for maintenance”, points out the architect.
The past and the future – The connectivity between the vegetation fragments and between the two micro-basins – the Anhumas and the Rio das Pedras – should contribute to the survival of several species. “It is essential to evaluate past mistakes when expanding the area we occupy”, observed veterinarian Paulo de Tarso, coordinator of the Animal Monitoring Center (CEMA-DMA). Channeling streams and buildings in areas close to springs (and therefore floodable) are two examples. Paulo also drew attention to the need to maintain the flora, with the planting of native species, which attracts a diverse fauna that includes capybaras, pacas, wild dogs, rabbits, deer and birds.
The professor and researcher at the Department of Public Health at the Faculty of Medical Sciences (FCM) at Unicamp, Herling Gregorio Aguillar Alonzo, defended expanding discussions on sustainable development at Unicamp, including more actors, to reflect on the occupation of the Argentine Farm. “We have to increase green areas and not just maintain what we already have,” he said.
Until 2018, according to land use and occupation legislation, Campinas had 2/3 of rural area and 1/3 of urban area. However, as explained by Sueli Thomaziello, from the Municipal Secretariat for Green, Environment and Sustainable Development, even though studies at the time indicated that there were enough empty spaces in the urban perimeter in Campinas for population growth over the next 50 years, the pressures from the real estate sector were so strong that they ended up resulting in changes to the land occupation and use law, reversing the proportions in the 2018 Master Plan. Fazenda Argentina is directly affected by this change, becoming part of the urban perimeter, which implies different occupation rules . “It is, therefore, the ideal time to discuss the conversion of a natural space into an urbanized space, considering the principles of sustainable development. It will be essential to identify the sources and river courses and then design permanent preservation areas and preserve the ecological corridors”, said Sueli.
She suggested that the occupation process involves, firstly, a new hydro-geological study to correctly identify the springs. “It is very important that Unicamp preserves these green areas based on the definition of APP given by the Forest Code”, she added. In early December, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) made official the company hiring which will carry out an environmental diagnosis of the HIDS territory, which includes a survey of springs.
Located between Mata Santa Genebra (Conservation Unit) and Mata Ribeirão Cachoeira (core of APA Campinas and largest conservation unit in the municipality), Mata Santa Genebrinha is a point of connectivity between smaller fragments. Hence the importance of the occupation process of Fazenda Argentina and HIDS considering the enrichment of vegetation fragments present in this territory. “This will be fundamental for environmental management that actually meets the SDGs in this new space at Unicamp”, considered Sueli.
Consolidation – The urbanization process, however, does not necessarily need to go against the grain of protecting and caring for the environment. “It is possible to have a high population density and preserve the environment, adopting the concepts of 'compact city' and '15-minute city'. These are urbanization models that make it possible to densify and, at the same time, reserve empty spaces”, explained the architect and professor at the Faculty of Civil Engineering, Architecture and Urbanism (FECFAU), Gabriela Celani, who coordinates the physical-spatial model component of HIDS .
According to her, this would be the path to occupying the Argentine Farm that would take advantage of the area's full potential, where there are important research institutions, such as CNPEM, CPQD and the Eldorado Institute, for example. “I believe we have a great opportunity to generate knowledge”, she added. Students from Specialization in Architecture, Urbanism and Civil Engineering (Course 90E), coordinated by the architect, developed a series of proposals linked to the urban environment from a socio-environmental perspective. One of them is the creation of the Parque das Anhumas, delimited from the strips demarcated as APPs of the Ribeirão das Anhumas, also covering the floodable areas along the stretch of the river present within the perimeter of the HIDS. The proposal took into account the tourist, cultural and ecological potential of the area, creating an axis of vegetation and historical heritage in the region.
For Wagner Romão, deputy director of DeDH, a solid policy is needed that takes into account the fauna and flora corridors. “The Argentine Farm needs to be an example of what the University as a whole can be: without losing its pedagogical character and being clear about what we want to learn and what we want to teach with this project,” he said. He suggested organizing a cycle of seminars on the occupation of the Argentine Treasury, with the involvement of several participants, and expanding the dialogue with the commissions linked to DeDH. Silvia Santiago recalled the possibility of the Farm being a space for food production in an agroecological model, combining concepts of ecology and traditional knowledge. “We can even think about providing food for campus restaurants, or even for surrounding communities and schools,” she suggested. “We cannot move from a sugarcane monoculture to a “culture of buildings and laboratories”. We have to diversify forms of occupation, considering models that are not just aimed at exploration, but rather at establishing exchanges with the territory”, concluded the DeDH coordinator.
Living laboratory and ancestral knowledge
Among the proposals for the occupation of the Argentine Farm is the creation of House of Ancestral Knowledge, project of the Directorate of Culture (DCult). According to the deputy director of DCult, Carolina Cantarino, the idea was motivated by the possibility of having a multi-ethnic space at Unicamp, valuing the presence of traditional wisdom, such as that of indigenous peoples, quilombolas and caiçaras. “The House can be a research center, a living laboratory that mobilizes the 240 indigenous students today at Unicamp. “We believe that this political alliance is vital for the university, favoring regeneration processes, based on other forms of relationship with the land,” she said.
