The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, through the State Superintendency in Pará (SES/PA), held, this Wednesday (13), the launch of the “Species Richness Map 2025”, an initiative that marks the beginning of the celebrations for the 90th anniversary of the IBGE in the Northern Region and celebrates the institution's background in the production and dissemination of geographic and statistical information in the country.

The event took place in Barcarena, a municipality where the second Pilot Test of the 12th Census of Agriculture, Forestry and Aquaculture is being carried out, from May 11 to 22 of this year.

The launch ceremony took place in the auditorium of the State University of Pará (Uepa), Campus XVI – Barcarena, in partnership with the Geography School – a course for teachers to be.

The map provides information about biodiversity around the world. In terms of cartographic representation, it places Brazil in the central position, highlighting its importance in the current social and political context, and presents the traditional North-South orientation inverted, in addition to incorporating innovations from the Equal Earth cartographic projection.

The official opening of the event took place with the presence of authorities and institutional representatives, including Rony Helder Nogueira Cordeiro, state superintendent of the IBGE in Pará; Manoel Reinaldo Elias, general coordinator of the State University of Pará (UEPA), Campus XVI – Barcarena; Professor Dr. Wanderson Carvalho da Silva, coordinator of the Department of Geography at UEPA on the same campus; the mayor of Barcarena, José Renato Ogawa Rodrigues, represented by the municipal secretary of the Environment, Felipe Passos; and Professor Milena de Nazaré Santos Quaresma, coordinator of the Teaching Degree in Geography. The initiative also included a partnership with the State University of Pará, through Campus XVI – Barcarena, the Department of Geography, and the Coordination of the Geography – Teaching Degree course, reinforcing the integration between the IBGE and educational institutions in the fostering of academic and institutional activities.

The initiative aims to raise awareness on biodiversity and highlights Brazil's role in this context. “At the age of 90, the IBGE is transforming cartography into a political and civilizational statement, placing Brazil at the center, inverting the North-South axis, and revealing the continents in real proportions. Therefore, the new world map challenges centuries of Eurocentric vision and places the Global South at the center of the debate on biodiversity, power, and the future of the planet,” said the President of the IBGE, Marcio Pochmann, recalling the launch of the inverted world map at COP30 in November 2025.

The map is not just a cartographic piece. It brings a reflection on our role, on our individual contributions that can help with environmental and sustainability issues. The map brings some new features, which are a provocation, a reflection on what Brazil can do for the world, building solutions so that our planet is healthier and more sustainable,” said the superintendent of the IBGE in the state of Pará, Rony Helder Nogueira Cordeiro.

The event was attended by academics from UEPA, students, and representatives of public administration. The municipal secretary of the environment of Barcarena, Felipe Augusto dos Passos, thanked the city for being chosen to launch the initiative. “Barcarena being the first city in the Amazon to receive the IBGE world map is a privilege for us. We are living in a time of climate crisis, and Barcarena has intensified its actions in sustainable development,” he highlighted.

The general coordinator of UEPA at the Barcarena campus, Manuel Reinaldo, emphasized the importance of the map for the academic community and for society. “We have a European perspective on this map. Throughout our academic training, we have consumed a culture that is not our own, starting with the world map. This map is magnificent, especially for our students, for our research, so that we can identify ourselves as an important population in the construction of knowledge,” the professor highlighted.

Milena Quaresma, professor and coordinator of the Teaching Degree in Geography, thanked the IBGE for the partnership. “Barcarena is the first city to receive this project, where we bring together the academic community and society in this construction of knowledge.”

World Map “Species Richness 2025”
The launch is also part of the actions related to the International Day for Biological Diversity, celebrated on May 22nd, whose theme for 2026, defined by the United Nations, is “Acting locally for global impact”, reinforcing the importance of protecting biodiversity for environmental balance, health and well-being of the population.

The first launch of the Map took place on May 4th, 2026, in Brasília, at the Itamaraty Palace - Ministry of Foreign Affairs, marking the beginning of the celebrations of the 90th anniversary of the IBGE in Brazil.