Chapada dos Guimarães Park is auctioned for R$ 926 thousand – 02/02/2024 – Environment

The Chapada dos Guimarães National Park, in Mato Grosso, was auctioned to the private sector for R$926 thousand, with a premium of 0.02%. The conservation unit’s services were granted to the Parques FIP em Infraestrutura consortium, which will be responsible for the area for the next 30 years.

The auction was held in a public session this Friday (2), at the headquarters of B3, in São Paulo.

The consortium had already acquired the Chapada dos Guimarães concession in 2022, for R$1 million, which represented a premium of 9% in relation to the minimum for each bid. However, the auction was suspended by the TCU (Federal Audit Court) at the request of MT Par, a mixed economy company whose largest partner is the government of Mato Grosso.

The state government alleged irregularities in the content and dissemination of the concession notice, published by ICMBio (Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação e Biodiversidade).

Last Monday (29), the government decided to give up participating in the bidding, stating that there was a strain between state management and ICMBio (Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation).

“During this period we had many clashes and felt a lot of resistance from ICMBio. This left the relationship environment frayed. Therefore, we made the choice to let them continue with the planned course, without participating in the auction”, said MP Tar in a note.

According to the Ministry of Tourism, the Parques FIP consortium is expected to invest R$18 million in infrastructure over the next five years. The amount will be allocated to the implementation of trail systems, renovation of existing buildings, improvement of internal transport, among others.

In addition, the ministry also foresees an investment of R$179 million in the operation and management of the park over the 30 years of the contract. The estimate is that the concession will generate 900 direct and indirect jobs.

Parques FIP already manages the Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park, in Goiás, and the Caminho do Mar Park, in São Paulo, through the company known as Parquetur.

The concession proposal for Chapada dos Guimarães was prepared by BNDES (National Bank for Economic and Social Development), in partnership with UNESCO and the Ministries of Environment and Tourism.

According to BNDES, the concessionaire selection criterion involved the highest fixed grant value, which is the amount to be paid to the public authority. The winner of the bid committed to expanding visiting conditions in the park, prioritizing ecotourism, in addition to supporting scientific research and environmental conservation activities.

The Chapada dos Guimarães National Park was created in 1989 and has an estimated area of ​​33 thousand hectares. The unit is part of the Pantanal, considered a natural heritage of humanity by UNESCO.

It is within the park that the headwaters of the Cuiabá River are located, one of the main suppliers of the Pantanal of Mato Grosso. The plateau is also the habitat of endangered species, such as the maned wolf and the jaguar.

In addition to its environmental importance, Chapada do Guimarães is also one of the most visited national parks in the country. According to data from ICMBio, in 2022, more than 22 million visitors went to the region.

The Chapada dos Guimarães concession was requested by ICMBio in 2019. It was included in a bidding project for other conservation units, such as the Jericoacoara National Park, in Ceará.

In 2021, BNDES started to help with studies for the concession processes in these areas. The Jericoacoara park was auctioned this week, on January 30th, for R$61 million.