Project Rondônia

Record-setting fires have created an environmental crisis in Amazonian Brazil. The loss of forest to these fires displaced people and animals, negatively effected air quality in the region, changed rain patterns on a continental scale, and reduced the forest’s capacity to clean air for the planet. Rondônia is especially important because it is one of the most biodiverse areas of the Amazon with a wide range of habitat types and topography, but its flora is among the least documented. For many years, Dr. Daly has been leading a research project in the region, in partnership with the Federal University of Rondônia and state and national government agencies, investing in training, institution-building, scientific exchange, and of course, botanical exploration and collecting throughout the state.

As thousands of fires burned in Rondônia, the important work of Dr. Daly and his team of Brazilian collaborators was literally under fire. Given the urgency of the recent crisis, they traveled to Rondônia—the eye of the firestorm—to finalize a training project and collect and document plant specimens to complete field research on a set of key species.