The country of Brazil contains a large portion of the Pantanal, one the world’s largest tropical wetlands. It is a critically important environment for many plants, birds and animals. So much so that it has earned three separate designations for protective services – it is the Pantanal Conservation Area, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it contains the Pantanal Matogrossense National Park and the SESC Pantanal Private Natural Heritage Reserve

Curitiba, the capital of Parana, is one of Brazil's urban success stories. It has received various United Nations awards, including the Habitat Scroll of Honor in 1992 for its "Trash That Ins't Trash" initiative.

This efficient system of collectiong and recycling garbage involves purchasing usable waste from disadvantaged sections of the community. This city has managed to modernize in a relatively sane manner- historic buildings have been preserved , a handful of streets have been closed to cars and there are many parks, gardens and wide boulevards.

The population is mostly the descendants of Italian, German and Polish imigrants with great respect for their historical past have also lead to the preservation of the Paranaense Museum, Flowers Street, the Guaira Theatre, the Paiol Theatre, and the stately Federal University of Paraná.