DERSA strictly monitors the fauna and flora in the regions crossed by the Nova Tamoios to preserve natural conditions and minimize potential impacts caused by the works.

Through the Programa de Apoio às Unidades de Conservação (Conservation Unit Support Program), 0.5 % of the project funds were set aside for the Fundo Especial de Despesa para Preservação da Biodiversidade e dos Recursos Naturais (Special Fund for the Preservation of Biodiversity and Natural Resources).

To ensure the quality of water resources in the highways, DERSA monitors the quality of the water in all drainage systems crossed by the works. Accordingly, the water has the same quality before, during and after the completion of the projects.

Through the Programa de Reflorestamento e Plantio Compensatório (Reforestation and Compensatory Planting Program), which recovers areas through the planting of native seedlings and trees, approximately 400 hectares will be planted alongside the works of the Nova Tamoios.

All construction sites have nurseries and biologists that take care of the plants collected during the works to be further planted in other locations.

In March, 2014, DERSA donated 800 native bromeliads and 30 orchids to the Parque Estadual da Serra do Mar (Serra do Mar State Park). The plants were rescued by the Programa de Conservação de Flora (Flora Conservation Program) of the Nova Tamoios Contornos in lots 1 and 2, in Caraguatatuba.

Since the start of the works, all species found in the area of the works have been identified through the Programa de Monitoramento de Fauna (Fauna Monitoring Program). Based on these findings, DERSA identified the locations and ways to direct the fauna to safe passages through fences and limits to ensure the safety of the animals in their own habitat.

Before the start of the works, a team of experts looks for animal species with low mobility, such as rodents, sloths, and infant animals, in addition to bird nests, which are rescued prior to the vegetation removal.

10 passages for animals will be built in the Plateau Section of Nova Tamoios, among which the first aerial passage ever built in a Brazilian highway, located in a section that houses a significant number of animals and where it’s not possible to build an underground passage.

Through the Programa de Resgate e Afugentamento de Fauna (Fauna Rescue and Displacement Program), rescued animals are listed, identified and relocated, when feasible. All construction sites have a service unit and a veterinarian who examines all hurt animals. After being treated, they are reintegrated into their natural habitat, in a location close to the place where they were found. More severely hurt animals are sent to DERSA’s partners to receive the most adequate treatment.

Through the Fauna Rescue and Displacement Programs, DERSA built a Premise for the Rehabilitation of Wild Animals in the city of Jundiaí. The facility houses animals that need to be temporarily confined until they are fully recovered or that need to be confined indefinitely.

For DERSA, environmental licenses are more than a legal and paper requirement. They are a set of measures and postures incorporated into all of its activities.

The Programa de Prospecção, Resgate Arqueológico e Preservação do Patrimônio Arqueológico, Histórico e Cultural (Prospection, Archaeological Rescue and Preservation of the Archaeological, Historical and Cultural Heritage Program) prepared a manual that was distributed to the region’s schools to educate students about the existing archaeological sites near the Nova Tamoios.

A village inhibited by indians dating back to the 1400’s was found at the banks of the Paraibuna Reservoir. The ruins indicate that the tribe had no contact with the Portuguese who arrived in the country in 1500. The site will be used for research purposes.