The Atlantic Forest Trail: Reconnecting People, Biodiversity, and Protected Areas

Sustainability issues in a tropical mega trail

“…Thus, the trail can contribute to the improvement of tourism activity through the adoption of the best practices existing in other regions of the AFT itself. This result was already expected, since besides criteria related to connectivity between protected areas and forest remnants, among the guidelines used to define the route are the prioritization of passing through major tourist attractions, protected areas, local tourist routes or circuits and traditional communities that express interest in developing tourism [3]. The objective was to strengthen existing local initiatives and also to spread the benefits of tourism from consolidated attractions to new, less popular areas.…”

“…The high species diversity is determined by the great variation of habitats in all its geographic extension [1], which in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest includes woody and herbaceous vegetation formations, distributed among a variety of reliefs and landscapes [2]. Since in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest there are landscapes from beaches to mountains [3], it is also possible to find a climatic gradient of 10°C within 100 km only, as in the Rio Janeiro State for example.…”

“…Mega trails are routes that cover many thousands of kilometres, crossing different states, regions or countries [27]. The Atlantic Forest Trail (AFT) is 4270 km long on its main axis, crossing 130 protected areas (figure 1 and electronic supplemental material), and the north to south orientation makes this a potential corridor for biodiversity in response to climate change [3,28]. The AFT was defined in many workshops with protected area managers, climbing and hiking organizations, tour operators and NGOs [3].…”

“…The Atlantic Forest Trail (AFT) is 4270 km long on its main axis, crossing 130 protected areas (figure 1 and electronic supplemental material), and the north to south orientation makes this a potential corridor for biodiversity in response to climate change [3,28]. The AFT was defined in many workshops with protected area managers, climbing and hiking organizations, tour operators and NGOs [3]. The project has four main goals: trail implementation and consolidation of protected areas; civil society engagement in conservation; promotion of green business, strengthening the ecotourism value chain; and the increase of the connectivity among the remnants of this biome through forest restoration and/or friendly land use (e.g.…”

A tale of two trails: Lessons from a comparative account of the Trans Canada Trail and the Sendero de Chile

“…This is important in a context of growing interest in trails and outdoor activities. One exception is a study conducted by Viveiros de Castro et al (2021) that addresses the process of planning and governance for the Pacific Trail which extends more than 4,000 km along the south‐southeast coast of Brazil. Attention to the planning, management, and governance of international level long‐distance trails has been surprisingly lacking (Stender et al 2018).…”