BOOK REVIEWS

the journal of

Check Lis

Check List 11(3): 1639, April 2015 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.15560/11.3.1639
ISSN 1809-127X ©2015 Check List and Authors

Biodiversidade do Municipio de Sorocaba

Biodiversidade do Municipio de Sorocaba by W.S. Smith, V. D. Mota Jr. and J. L. Carvalho. 2014. Sorocaba:
Prefeitura Municipal de Sorocaba. 272 pp. ISBN: 978-85-89017-02-0.

One of the major current challenges of our society is
to conciliate biodiversity conservation and human
population needs. Half of the world’s population is
currently living in urban centers and the prospect is that
by 2030 this population will double. Accordingly, the
relationship between biodiversity and human beings
today is strongly connected to what happens in cities.

The city of Sorocaba is the fourth most populous
in the countryside of SAo Paulo, with a population of
more than 600,000 inhabitants. The newly created
metropolitan region encompasses 26 cities. It has an
area of 456.0 km’, with 349.2 km? of urban area and rural
area of 106.8 km’. The city is an important industrial
center in the state of Sdo Paulo and Brazil.

The Secretary of Environment of the city of Sorocaba
organized several workshops with 59 researchers from
12 national and international institutions under the
theme “Biodiversity of the city of Sorocaba”. The goal
of this working group was to provide guidelines for
environmental actions within the city. The results
of it are available now in a recently released book
(Biodiversidade da cidade de Sorocaba). The book
brings about a compilation of studies carried out in
the city that address not only biodiversity inventories,
but also socio-environmental and legislation, priority
areas for conservation and improvement of landscape
connectivity. A PDF of the book is freely available on
the web (http://www.meioambientesorocaba.com.br/
Pagina.aspx?pg=87). The 14 chapters of the book provide
an overview of the biodiversity of Sorocaba, addressing
topics such as: legislation, forest remnants, with the
identification of areas of high environmental value,
surveys of flora and fauna, suggestions of public policies,
and the role of the Zoological City Park “Quinzinho de
Barros” in the conservation of animal biodiversity.

© Check List | www.biotaxa.org/cl

Moreover, knowledge gaps that should be addressed in
future research were identified. The way the information
was generated and how the book was produced favored
citizen’s access, creating a survey instrument that could
be usedas reference by teachers, undergraduate students,
new researchers, and new projects developed by local
universities. Another important aspect addressed
by the book was to provide guidelines for making the
informative useful to a wider readership, strategies
and environmental educational activities, besides
public policies on biodiversity. This book contributes
to the Environmental Education programs of the city,
whose concept has been expanded. Its publication can
improve Environmental Education programs in schools
and city parks, in addition to providing the teacher
local information for the development of projects.
Educational campaigns were also developed to enhance
population’s knowledge of common species and inspire
stewardship for biodiversity, popularizing scientific
knowledge.

The knowledge about the flora and fauna is the
starting point for the elaboration of public policies
for the management and conservation of biodiversity.
Therefore, the book represents a major source about
the biodiversity of Sorocaba and a reference for future
studies. It is also a baseline to facilitate decision making
by public authorities.

Welber Senteio Smith

Universidade de Sorocaba, Programa de Mestrado em Processos
Tecnolégicos e Ambientais, Rod. Raposo Tavares km 92,5 CEP
18023-000, Sorocaba, SP, Brazil

Universidade Paulista, Laboratério de Ecologia Estrutural e
Funcional, Av. Independéncia 752, Iporanga, CEP 18103-000,
Sorocaba, SP, Brazil

E-mail: welber_smith@uol.com.br

Volume 11 | Number 3 | Article 1639

biodiversity data