Wildlife Screening Centers (CETAS) are essential facilities for the management and rehabilitation of animals that are victims of environmental crimes, accidents, or disasters. Nevertheless, many of these 25 federal centers, located throughout the country, lack resources and infrastructure investments. Addressing this shortfall is at the heart of the Reabilita CETAS project, signed in December 2024, which initially focuses on four centers located in the states of Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo (Group 1), but also aims to strengthen the entire CETAS Network nationwide (Group 2). A total of R$ 211 million will be invested in the entire project, of which R$ 66 million will go to the centers in Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo, and another R$ 118 million will be allocated to investments in the rest of the country.

The funds come from a transfer agreement signed between FUNBIO and the Renova Foundation, as part of the legal obligations for the environmental restoration of the Doce River Watershed, which was impacted by the Fundão dam collapse in 2015. To carry out these actions, a Cooperation Agreement was also signed between the Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama) and FUNBIO, with the involvement and consent of the Renova Foundation.

The year 2025 was dedicated to the preparations, planning, and governance necessary for the project’s implementation, which is scheduled to run through 2030.

Over the next few years, plans call for the implementation of two new CETAS—one in the municipality of Nova Lima, in Minas Gerais, and another in Serra, in Espírito Santo—and for their maintenance to be guaranteed for at least three years after construction; in addition to the maintenance of the existing CETAS in Montes Claros and Juiz de Fora, both in Minas Gerais.

The engineering and architectural design for construction and renovations at the CETAS is already in the contracting phase, and this stage is expected to be completed by the end of the first half of 2026.

As for Group 2, the project will invest in initiatives to strengthen the entire CETAS Network, including maintenance, revitalization, and environmental education efforts. In 2025, an assessment was conducted to identify the necessary improvements and emergency repairs at the centers, which will be carried out starting next year.

The project also provides for support to Wildlife Release Areas (ASAS)—suitable locations with appropriate regulations for returning rescued and rehabilitated animals to the wild.

“Reabilita is strategic in strengthening the CETAS Network throughout the country. The project, which stems from this collaboration between Ibama, the Renova Foundation, and FUNBIO, will enable the structuring of the network so that animals can be rehabilitated and released back into the wild in their original habitats,” states Maria Izabel Gomes, director of Biodiversity and Forests (DBFlo/Ibama) and Ibama’s focal point for the project.

The contributions to Reabilita CETAS are part of the Doce River Basin Remediation Agreement, signed by Samarco, Vale, and BHP Brasil; the Federal Government; the state governments of Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo; the Federal and State Public Prosecutor’s Offices; and the Federal and State Public Defender’s Offices (MG and ES), among other public agencies and institutions, and ratified in November 2024 by the Federal Supreme Court (STF).