The Regional Department of Southern Amazonia, RDSA (or NURAM in Portuguese), was created in March 2007 at a meeting which took place in the Brazilian capital of Brasilia, the agreement being signed on June 18, 2007 in Cuiabá by the State University of Mato Grosso, the Secretariat of Science and Technology of the State of Mato Grosso (SECITEC), the Research Support Foundation of Mato Grosso (FAPEMAT), and the Emílio Goeldi Museum of Pará (MPEG), the Ministry of Science and Technology being represented in partnership with the Federal University of Mato Grosso, including additional participation by extra-Amazonian institutions such as the UFRGS. RDSA (NURAM) currently has 35 researchers, 3 accredited collaborators and 7 scholarship students.