This certification, promoted by UNESCO and the World Tourism Organization, is aligned with the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the more recent guidelines of the Climate Agreement in Paris; the list includes destinations all over the world, such as the city of Barcelona in Spain or the Thompson Okanagan region in Canada

The MARAEY project, which will be the first sustainable touristic-real estate development in Brazil, is the first destination in the world to bear the Biosphere stamp as a private initiative. With this certification, the project takes on the commitment to follow the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the more recent guidelines of the Climate Agreement in Paris.

The “tourist destinations” category, which includes MARAEY, has only granted the stamp to 41 locations that are committed to promoting sustainable tourism. Among the cities and regions already listed are Barcelona and Tenerife in Spain, Thompson Okanagan in Canada, and Toro in Bolivia.

Developing across an area of 840 hectares in Maricá, only 45 km away from the center of Rio de Janeiro, MARAEY aims to become a worldwide example of sustainability, striking a sound environmental, economic and social balance. As well as tourist services, residential properties and the creation of the second biggest Reserva Particular do Patrimonio Natural (RPPN) of restinga in the Rio State, the project also will include an environmental research center, with the support of renowned academic institutions, such as UFRJ, UFF, UFRRJ, UFES and FURG.

“Obtaining the Biosphere certification is a welcome confirmation that we are on the right track. We are going to carry out a unique project, with a special focus on the environment, social responsibility and local cultural preservation” , highlights Emilio Izquierdo, CEO of IDB Brasil, the company responsible for the development of the MARAEY project.

ABOUT BIOSPHERE

The Biosphere certification is granted by the Responsible Tourism Institute (RTI), an organization that was born from a memorandum of understanding with UNESCO. Obtaining it means following a continued improvement process towards a series of goals divided into three groups in three main areas: environment and climate change, culture and social welfare, and economy. The RTI has the support and the recognition of the World Tourism Organization (OMT), the United Nations program for the environment (UNEP) and other entities.

Gaining this certification means applying the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the UN 2030 Agenda to tourism based on the work of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) after an analysis carried out by UNESCO and the WTO during the unique world conferences sponsored by United Nations in 2017, the international year of sustainable tourism. It establishes a sector guide for the development of products and services under a new model of non-aggressive tourism that takes into account customer and user needs, without compromising future generations.

For Patricio Azcárate, General Secretary of the RTI, it is an honor to have a Project with such a clear commitment towards sustainability. “MARAEY has become part of the Biosphere revolution for sustainability, involving all participants in the responsible tourism chain: administration, groups, companies, workers, civil servants and tourists,” he says.

The executive director of IDB Brasil, David Galipienzo, highlights that the MARAEY project was designed to preserve all the values of the ecosystems of the Environmental Protection Area (APA) of Maricá. “The environmental, social and cultural heritage of the region is a fundamental component of the project, and our mission is to protect it”, insists Mr. Galipienzo, BSc in Environmental Sciences.

ABOUT MARAEY

The MARAEY project will be developed in Maricá. Under its tourism brand, the project will have four five-star hotels that will receive an average of 300,000 tourists per year, with a luxury eco-boutique resort, a hotel designed to become the most iconic convention complex beside the sea in the country, and the MARAEY Golf Resort with a sustainable 18-hole international golf course.

The project will also offer new dwellings of different kinds (tenements, duplexes and villas) with integrated services such as a school, hospital, shopping and business center, in addition to no end of leisure and sports activities. MARAEY also includes an international hospitality management university with the aiming of putting Maricá on the map as a specialized training hub in Latin America.

With a building occupation rate of barely 6.6% of the land, the project will house the second biggest Reserva Particular do Patrimonio Natural (RPPN) of restinga of the Rio State. The project also includes an environmental research center supported by renowned academic institutions such as UFRJ, UFF, UFRRJ, UFES and FURG.

The forecasted private investment for the Project is R$ 11 billion, with taxes revenues of R$ 7.2 billion during the first 14 years (construction and sales consolidation) plus R$ 1 billion per year during the operation phase. The State of Rio is expected to experience an economic surge with the creation of 36,000 jobs once MARAEY is in full operation.

Close to 200 fishing families in the Zacarias community, inside the project area, stand to gain from the land regulation work, with the properties and definitive deeds being granted to the residents. IDB Brasil will also foster the local culture and fishing, with recovery programs for the Maricá lagoon, the restocking of native species and the rescue and dissemination of the Zacarias Family memory through the creation of the Fisherman’s Craft House.

ABOUT IDB BRASIL

IDB Brasil is the company responsible for the development of the MARAEY Project (maraey.com). It is controlled and managed by Spanish Companies, among them Abacus Property Development and the Cetya Group, who own certifications ISO 9002 and ISO 14001 and have been working in the raw materials, real estate and construction markets for over 50 years, including environmental recovery projects.

The Cetya Group also operates through the Cetya Foundation, assigning 0.7% of the company turnover to the development of sustainable projects in the areas where it works to sponsor sport, cultural and social projects.