The history of the Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRRJ) has its roots in the School of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine (Esamv), created on October 20, 1910. It was only in 1943 when the Rural University was created. In 2007, the Program to Support Federal University Restructuring and Expansion Plans (Reuni) created new campuses and courses, including the tourism course, which was established with the emphasis on public policies in the area of culture, environment, events. The University has: 3 campuses located in Seropédica, Nova Iguaçu and Três Rios; 2 – in metropolitan area; and 1 – on the Mountain Range area. Also, we have an advanced agricultural research and extension campus, located in the city of Campo dos Goytacazes, and a secondary and elementary school. The University has nearly 1300 teachers and 1500 staff on all campuses.

In 2007, the John and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation encouraged the formation of the International Commission on Education for Sustainable Development Practice. This Commission recommended the creation of a new interdisciplinary training program on an international scale, at the master’s level, aimed at training professionals able to deal with problems related to sustainable development. The commission called this program Global Master’s in Development Practice (MDP). UFRRJ was one of the institutions invited to participate in it, along with 26 other HEIs in Latin America. Hence, UFRRJ established the Program in Practices in Sustainable Development (MDP Brazil). It features 3 research lines, 2 of which are related to ecotourism planning and management: Environment, Sustainability and Conservation of Natural Resources and Public Policies, Governance and Social and Environmental Conflicts.

UFRRJ will build synergies between the programme developed in this project and its MDP Brazil. Further possibilities for cooperation include: master’s degree “Ecotourism and Conservation”, from the State University of Rio de Janeiro, where our professors are currently collaborating.