IBGE Unveils Inverted World Map Putting Pará at the Center for COP30

Overview

• The institute is presenting the “Mapa-múndi invertido — Pará no centro” at COP30 in Belém in a ceremony with UFPA, the Pará state government, Belém city hall and the IHGP.
• A large-format print measuring roughly 4 meters by 2 meters is being displayed at the UFPA convention area for the official launch.
• An accompanying technical note contends there is no cartographic requirement for a north-up orientation and deems the inverted view as valid as conventional representations.
• The map emphasizes Brazil, delineates the Amazon and neighboring countries that share the forest, and identifies the “Amazônia Azul” maritime zone.
• The release has renewed criticism from an IBGE staff union over technical backing and institutional neutrality, and it continues a pattern of Brazil-centered maps from 2024 and May 2025, with a December event in Salvador set to distribute an inverted map as a giveaway.