In 1994, with the support of The Nature Conservancy, the Fundação O Boticário purchased an area with approximately 4,200 acres at the heart of the Atlantic Rainforest and changed into the Salto Morato Natural Preserve. At present, with 5,680 acres and exemplary planning and management, Salto Morato is a national reference and is visited by around seven thousand visitors a year, despite difficult access. Dozens of research projects have been developed there. In 1999, the Preserve was recognized by UNESCO as a World Natural Heritage Site.



In 2005 this project expanded to the Cerrado region with land acquisition for the implementation of the second Fundação O Boticário Preserve.
As part of the strategy, other actions are developed around the Natural Preserves as a way of strengthening and integrating protection efforts to these ecosystems.

The O Boticário Foundation works to strengthen the Brazilian System of Protected Areas by generating and making available information about the Brazilian protected areas.
This project will make possible the discernment of whether or not theprotected areasare really efficient in accomplishing their objectives, i.e., if they are really conserving the ecosystems that they shelter and if the parameters of the national system are appropriate.

The information is generated through a standardized method comparing the results of this project with those of similar projects in other Latin American countries. Potentialities and threats are identified, followed by recommendations to deal with them. The results are made available to the general population and especially for use by those responsible for the administration of protected areas. With this information available, administrators can evaluate and make adjustments to their activities, if necessary.

This process will create an opportunity for the Brazilian protected areas to increase their effectiveness to achieve their purpose of protecting Brazilian biodiversity and land quality.

The Fundação O Boticário also provides technical and financial incentives for private landowners to conserve nature in their properties by establishing private protected areas or other conservation mechanisms. This action results in increased protection for the Natural Preserves, benefits private properties, expands the total number of protected areas, and helps to establish biodiversity corridors between the existing protected areas in the region.