ASSOCIAÇÂO ABTC-BRASIL (ONG)
NOTE: CLUB MEMBERSHIP FEES WILL INCREASE ON 14 FEBRUARY 2009! Fees not paid by New Years Eve will not be tax deductable in 2008!
Special One time service fee for non-members (Good for one trip or 90 days from date of entry) - US$ 50.00 or R$ 85,00 - No card is issued! This fee, if not paid in front, is charged as a 'service fee' on quoted packages to non-members.
Special Temporary (Good for one year from date of entry) - US$ 90.00 or R$ 150,00
OBS: Temporary Memberships may be renewed and billed yearly for five years ... renewable, converting at that time (at the end of the fifth year) to LIFETIME PAID
DONATE TO CLUB PROJECTS WITHOUT JOINING THE CLUB! THIS BUTTON! ENTER AT LEAST US$ 50.00 AND INDICATE PURPOSE OF DONATION.
New payment plan ... pay US$ 25.00 down payment and US$ 25.00 each month automatically by PayPal for 18 months, ... go to our page New Payment Plan
Gold Card - This Permanent membership card entitles member to all club benefits, discounts and point systems at all levels. CLASS A
OBS: There is a 5% service tax every six months on both Class A and Class B.
Silver Card - Also a permanent card issued to limited members - limited being that member has joined a special section of the club such as cycling, fishing, paragliding, or radical sports, or provides a service to the club projects such as the RPPN Sernativo . (see below) This card has its benefits geared toward the related speciality. CLASS B.
CLASS A - Lifetime - US$ 450.00 or R$ 765,00 (Payable in four equal monthly payments by credit card).
CLASS B - Lifetime - US$ 227.50 or R$ 385,00 (Full payment required).
Your Membership covers all members of your immediate family - Brother, Sister, Wife, Children, Mother, Father - Cards must be requested for each family member upon joining. New members (Temporary or Lifetime) must supply two 3 x 4 CM photos of each family member upon acceptance. One time trip temporary members do not receive a card.
SEND EMAIL TO CLUB DIRECTORS LISTING ALL FAMILY MEMBERS - Send complete address, ID or Passport number, and photos (normally 3 x 4 cm) of each family member. OR fill out our online registration form ... read the benefits listed in Portuguese and English.
For those that travel several times to Brazil or are residents in Brazil, the Lifetime membership offers many more promotions, discounts and benefits ... and certainly is the most economical
WE HAVE CHANGED OUR CLUB CHARTER TO THAT OF A NGO - (Non-Governmental Organization) - (ONG in Brazil), IN ORDER TO PURSUE OUR PROJECTS AND RECEIVE TAX EXEMPT STATUS!
Wide open spaces. Nature draws us still. In recent years, however, it has drawn perhaps too many of us. Much of what was once wide open is now cross-hatched with subdivision. The waves of sprawl are sweeping away wildlife habitat, biodiversity and a human connection to the land.
Today, our club in Brazil is pushing itself to do more, to increase conservation tactics and effectiveness exponentially by focusing its attention on developing high-leverage tools and strategies that create conservation results on a scale large enough to make an enduring difference.
Our Buyer Program is one such strategy applied through three basic steps:
- land is bought in critical conservation areas
- appropriate conservation easements are designed for the land to protect natural features
- the land is resold to individuals dedicated to the conservation of the land and supportive of the protective conservation easement
How You Can Help
There are two ways you can participate in our Club Buyer Program:
Contribute to the Buyer Fund
The Buyer Fund is a dedicated pool of philanthropic capital that has been donated to the our Club to be used exclusively for the purpose of buying and reselling important conservation lands in Brazil to conservation buyers. This high-leverage, market-based conservation tactic uses a revolving fund strategy whereby each time property acquired with Fund dollars is resold, the proceeds are recycled back into the Fund. Club membership fees are also donated to this Fund!
Become a Buyer - Buyers are individuals searching for natural lands in which to invest financial resources while protecting the property's natural and biological resources. Many discerning private, conservation-minded individuals have an interest in or passion for some aspects of nature, such as bird watching, fishing, and restoration projects, making them a natural partner for the Club. That is why the Andetur Group Management is focused on trying to connect private buyers with natural places to further sustain long-term biological diversity. Conservation easements are used to make sure the land and its important natural features are protected in perpetuity by the buyer.
For more information about the Buyer Program, how to contribute to the Buyer Fund, or how to become a Buyer or Partner, please contact us.
The information about properties identified and listed herein do not constitute an offer to sell any particular property and cannot be accepted without additional written agreements between the Club and a prospective buyer. A prospective buyer will be expected to execute further documents, including but not limited to a purchase and sale agreement, in order to undertake and complete any transaction contemplated herein.
If the transaction involves a donation by the purchaser to the Club Fund, a tax deduction may be available for the donation. It is the purchaser's obligation to establish the amount of the donation for federal tax purposes and prospective purchasers therefore must consult with their own advisers and rely upon their advice with respect to the availability of a tax deduction for the donation and the requirements for appraisals to substantiate the tax deduction.
ECOTOURISM
As the new millennium unfolds, we are becoming increasingly aware of the finite, interconnected and precious nature of our planet home. Likewise, tourism is becoming an increasingly popular expression of this awareness. With advances in transportation and information technology, ever more remote areas of the earth are coming within reach of the traveler. In fact, tourism is now the world's largest industry, with nature tourism or eco-cultural tourism the fastest growing segment.
In response to this increasing appreciation of nature experiences, a new travel ethic has arisen which is now called ecotourism. This term has become increasingly popular in both conservation and travel circles, but what exactly does it mean?
Our Club has adopted the following definition of ecotourism: - "Environmentally responsible travel to natural areas, in order to enjoy and appreciate nature (and accompanying cultural features, both past and present) that promote conservation, have a low visitor impact and provide for beneficially active socio-economic involvement of local peoples."
Most tourism in natural areas today is not ecotourism and is not therefore, sustainable. Ecotourism can be distinguished from nature tourism by its emphasis on conservation, education, traveler responsibility and active community participation. Specifically, ecotourism possesses the following characteristics:
- Conscientious, low-impact visitor behavior
- Sensitivity towards, and appreciation of, local cultures and biodiversity
- Support for local conservation efforts
- Sustainable benefits to local communities
- Local participation in decision-making
- Educational components for both the traveler and local communities
It is becoming evident that increased tourism to sensitive natural areas in the absence of appropriate planning and management can become a threat to the integrity of both ecosystems and local cultures. Increasing numbers of visitors to ecologically sensitive areas can lead to significant environmental degradation. Likewise, local communities and indigenous cultures can be harmed in numerous ways by an influx of foreign visitors and wealth. Additionally, fluctuations in climate, currency exchange rates, and political and social conditions can make over-dependence upon tourism a risky business.
However, this same growth creates significant opportunities for both conservation and local community benefit. Ecotourism can provide much needed revenues for the protection of national parks and other natural areas, revenues that might not be available from other sources. Additionally, ecotourism can provide a viable economic development alternative for local communities with few other income-generating options. Moreover, ecotourism can increase the level of education and activism among travelers, making them more enthusiastic and effective agents of conservation.
Goals and Objectives - The Ecotourism Program, in collaboration with other key staff members, has set a series of goals as part of a strategy to ensure ecotourism development contributes to the success of our mission.
Our overall goals are to: - Reduce the threats posed by uncontrolled tourism development at the fragile sites we seek to conserve
- Develop a source of long-term financial sustainability for the conservation of protected area sites.
Within these broad objectives, we have a series of goals and objectives over the next three years, including:
- The development of a methodology for monitoring tourism's impacts - an essential first step if we are to control those impacts.
- Training for partners in developing joint ecotourism strategies with local communities, including community-based ecotourism enterprises.
- Promote guidelines for facilitating greater community participation in the planning and management of ecotourism.
- Build our partners' capacity to provide income-generating services to tourism businesses, including developing joint ecotourism development strategies and business ventures with inbound tour operators.
- Assist our non-governmental organization (NGO) partners to influence ecotourism policy at the national level.
- Assist our international NGO partners to identify their optimum strategy in ecotourism development.
- Develop guidelines for partners on ecotourism planning, feasibility evaluation and where appropriate, business planning.
- Facilitate the development of model ecotourism and community programs and itineraries which generate benefits for site conservation, partners and local communities.
- Work with like-minded institutions to develop an ecotourism standards monitoring program.
- Create new partnerships with the tourism industry to promote ecotourism development at the appropriate sites where we work.
Developing Business Partnerships
- The success of ecotourism depends on the development of strong alliances between communities, NGOs and tour operators who have experience of managing tourists' needs and established linkages to the market.
- Our Club is exploring opportunities with private tourism companies to develop joint ecotourism initiatives.
- An ecolodge or other ecotourism operation will generate income for conservation and expose visitors to our partner's great work.
Brazil Program - Together with partners, Andetur Group Management (ABTC-BRASIL) is helping preserve Brazil's distinctive natural landscapes — from the once vast Atlantic Forest to the Pantanal, the world's largest freshwater wetland.
Did you know?
- Brazil covers about 5 percent of the Earth’s land area but harbors an estimated 17 percent of global biodiversity.
- Brazil’s Amazon and Atlantic forests account for about one-third of the world’s remaining rain forests, as well as the grasslands of the Cerrado and the diversity of the Caatinga in the Seridó.
Our Present Programs
DONATE TO GENERAL FUND
This fund helps us to do special projects such as our 'horta and mandalla' project in Acari.
RPPN SERNATIVO
ADOPT-A-HECTARE DONATION
In 1996, IBAMA, the Brazilian Ministry of Environment declared the Sernativo land as Protected RPPN., or privately owned ecological preserve.
Bill Hinchberger, American ex-pat journalist and director of BRAZIL MAX, the `hip gringos guide to Brazil`wrote an article "RPPN - Private Reserves Embrace Ecotourism in Brazil " that explains the concept of privately owned, government protected ecological reserves.
In addition to buying an ecological protection area, Andetur Group Management (ABTC-BRASIL) would be actively manage the ecological areas. In addition our company plans a guest ranch on the adjoining property - the Fazenda RPPN Sernativo. We have prepared a comprehensive management plan and hired full-time personnel to look after these irreplaceable natural resources. We have included a page of photes taken in May, this year, showing parts of the ranch and the lake Gargalheiras. See photos!
Our Adopt a Hectare program provides some of the funds we need to continue this important work.
For just $15 a month, you can adopt and protect an entire acre of tropical caatinga preservation area in Brazil´s Seridó region.
When you adopt a hectare, you agree to:
- Adopt a hectare (2.5 acres) of the reserve RPPN Sernativo located in Acari in the Seridó region of Rio Grande do Norte now!
- Adopt a hectare of caatinga preservation and our research project by agreeing to - $15 monthly payments for a year. Click on the Adopt a hectare Icon or the DONATE by PayPal Icon to pay using Paypal's segure online payment system.
Note that we are still using the Adopt an Acre buttons to link to PayPal.
Adopt a hectare of caatinga preservation and our research project - One $180 payment for a one-year commitment. Click on the Adopt an Acre Icon to pay using Paypal's segure online payment system.
Discounted Tours. We want you to visit your acre. To help, we give you a 15% discount off of the regular price of the proposed Sernativo Lodge tours at any time during the one year term of your adoption.
A Certificate of Adoption. This certificate recognizes your important contribution to the future of Brazil’s natural reserves. It includes the GPS (Global Positioning System) coordinates of your acre and a personal message from ANDETUR GROUP MANAGEMENT (ABTC-BRASIL) to you. The certificate is suitable for framing.
June 22, 2009
