Brazil and Portugal share a language, a rich natural diversity, and a common challenge: conserving their natural areas by educating and raising awareness among professionals and outdoor enthusiasts.
These three factors encouraged the partnership between the Federação de Campismo e Montanhismo de Portugal and Gear Tips. The first initiative, a first for Portugal, was to bring the Leave No Trace – Level 1 Instructor course, part of the Programa CAPACITAR Gear Tips, to the country. Demand exceeded expectations and led to the opening of a second class. The courses will take place in November.
“We hope these people will become Leave No Trace ambassadors, spreading good messages about nature conservation. It’s essential not only to be sensitive to environmental issues, but also to change our behavior. I’m an enthusiast,” says Pedro Cuiça, technical director and educational coordinator of the Federation’s training center, who is already planning to offer Leave No Trace – Level 2 Instructor classes in the future.
Leave No Trace in Portugal
The arrival of Leave No Trace at the Federation strengthens the environmental initiatives led by Pedro Cuiça, whose professional career is marked by a commitment to nature conservation. A journalist by training, he worked in the environment section and was associated with the newspaper and magazine Fórum Ambiente, which focuses on environmental and outdoor issues. He holds a master’s degree in Human Ecology and Contemporary Social Problems and is a doctoral candidate in Human Ecology.
Since he began working at the Federation, Pedro has implemented initiatives that bring outdoor sports and environmental issues closer together. Among them is the Programa de Eco-Vigilância, created in 2003 and a pioneer in involving outdoor enthusiasts in the fight against forest fires, encouraging them to alert authorities to possible fire outbreaks. He has also developed informational materials for environmental awareness, a campaign on mountain activities and carbon footprints, and a series of lectures on environmental ethics.
Since there was no Leave No Trace training in Portugal, Pedro was immediately interested in bringing the Programa CAPACITAR to the country. “Gear Tips is a very trustworthy, high-quality company. That’s why we were interested in bringing the concept to our country. We hope to reap many rewards.”
The Leave No Trace – Level 1 Instructor training was validated by the Instituto Português do Desporto e Juventude (IPDJ) and was awarded four credit units, which can be counted by sports coaches (as guides and leaders are called in Portugal) in mountain, climbing, and other outdoor activities toward the renewal of their professional certifications. In Portugal, this activity is regulated, and continuing education is one of the requirements for renewing the certification.
The beginning and future of a promising global partnership
The rapprochement between the two countries began in 2023, when Pedro Cuiça and Pedro Lacaz Amaral, CEO of Gear Tips, met at the Mountain Protection Award ceremony, presented by the UIAA (International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation). On that occasion, Gear Tips was recognized for its Programa de Reciclagem.
The Federation’s director says he was curious and excited to meet, for the first time in so many years of attending UIAA events, someone who spoke Portuguese. In 2025, Pedro Lacaz Amaral took part in the Jornadas Internacionais de Pedestrianismo, organized by the Federação de Campismo e Montanhismo de Portugal in partnership with the Parque Nacional da Peneda-Gerês. It was at this event that the two reached a verbal agreement to make Leave No Trace courses in Portugal possible.
“I hope this is the beginning of a lasting collaboration, that we can make progress, because from my point of view, cooperation between Portugal and Brazil is very important. We speak practically the same language, we have a lot in common, and we can do many things together. The partnership has global relevance,” says Pedro Cuiça.
For the Federation’s director, there is fertile ground for exchanging knowledge, insights, and experiences between what is done in Portugal and in Brazil.
“I firmly believe that if we keep an open mind, we will always have things to learn. We are literally sibling peoples, linguistically and culturally, and I’m a big fan of Brazil. In Europe we are very traditional, and the Brazilian easygoing way of being and living in the world can be an interesting complement to our ways. Creating together will give us more strength, even in terms of international representation.”
For Pedro Lacaz Amaral, the partnership reinforces the international expansion plan of Gear Tips and the Programa CAPACITAR, creating opportunities to share knowledge in different countries.
“Standing alongside an experienced and serious organization like the Federação de Campismo e Montanhismo de Portugal is an important step forward in our goal of sharing knowledge globally and strengthening environmental conservation initiatives and safe practices in nature.”
This post is also available in: Português (Portuguese (Brazil)) Español (Spanish)
