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Marechal Newton Cavalcanti Instruction Centre holds environmental treasure in Aldeia
Many people are unaware, but at the end of the Aldeia Road (between km 20 and km 30 of the PE-27) is nothing less than the largest continuous strip of Atlantic Forest above the São Francisco River, inside the Marechal Newton Cavalcanti Instruction Centre (CIMNC).
5 myths and 5 truths about Aldeia
That’s no small feat! It means that seven decades ago, since the Army began building the centre to train the northeastern troops that would be sent to World War II, those lands stopped being sugarcane plantations and became more than 7,000 hectares of closed forest.
“This is an environmental treasure,” says Colonel Mário Vidal, director of CIMNC since January 2016. “There is a huge variety of fauna and flora stored here.
And the most incredible thing is that many Pernambucans are unaware of it.
If we look at the aerial image of the Metropolitan Region of Recife, we will clearly see a green spot standing out. It is precisely the CIMNC area with its preserved forests. A beautiful thing!”.
Watch the video about the Marechal Newton Cavalcanti Instruction Centre
Centro de Instrução Marechal Newton Cavalcanti
According to the colonel, in addition to keeping the native forest intact in almost the entire length of the CIMNC, the Army has ceded some degraded hectares to be reforested as environmental compensation by companies that have an impact on the state, including Camará Shopping (which is being built in Camaragibe) and the National Department of Transport Infrastructure (DNIT).
Visits to the Marechal Newton Cavalcanti Instruction Centre
To learn more about the natural wealth of the site, the Marechal Newton Cavalcanti Instruction Centre has agreements with the Federal and Federal Rural Universities of Pernambuco, as well as Fiocruz, which carry out studies of the fauna, flora and environmental conditions of the forest, which is part of the Aldeia-Beberibe Environmental Protection Area (Apa) and passes through seven municipalities: Araçoiaba, Abreu e Lima, Camaragibe, Igarassu, Paulista, Paudalho and Tracunhaém.
Visitors are also welcome at the Marechal Newton Cavalcanti Instruction Centre, provided they book in advance and comply with the conditions imposed by the Army. According to the director, the centre has welcomed groups of pathfinders, scouts, sportsmen and churches (retreats).
“There have been races here that have had up to 650 runners,” he says. “In addition, there are horse rides and outdoor activities promoted by organisations and universities. I would like to host more schools, to be able to show everything we have to students,” he says.
Origins of the Marshal Newton Cavalcanti Instruction Centre
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Originally called the Engenho Aldeia Military Instruction Centre, the CIMNC was built during the Second World War to train Brazilian troops from the expropriation of eleven mills.
With the end of the war, the planned investments were not completed – only 2% of the projected constructions were executed (fortunately for the Atlantic Forest) – and the barracks were used only for routine military activities of the Army and Air Force.
Seven decades later, the CIMNC’s forests continue to guard at least eight river springs, six of which are part of Recife’s water supply, as well as dams, waterfalls and streams.
Many wild animals rescued by CPRH are taken there, such as sloths, alligators, snakes and capybaras.
An ecological paradise that needs to be better known and valued by all.
Marshal Newton Cavalcanti Instruction Centre
