The Bacia do Rio Macacu Environmental Protection Area ( pt, Área de Proteção Ambiental da Bacia do Rio Macacu) is an environmental protection area in the state of

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

, Brazil.

Location

The Bacia do Rio Macacu Environmental Protection Area (APA) covers parts of the municipalities of

Cachoeiras de Macacu Cachoeiras de Macacu (; means "Macacu Waterfalls" in Portuguese) is a municipality located in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro. Its population was 59,303 (2020) and its area is 956 km². Next to neighboring Rio Bonito municipality, it c ...

Itaboraí Itaboraí (, ) is a city in the state of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, that belongs to the Rio de Janeiro metropolitan area. It was founded in 1672. In 2020, it had a population of 242,543. Location Culturally, its closest municipalities are São ...

and

Guapimirim Guapimirim (, from Tupi 'little spring', ''guapi'' 'spring', ''mirim'' 'little'), is a Brazilian Municipality in the state of Rio de Janeiro around 50km(31 miles) from its state capital, the city of Rio de Janeiro. Its in a region known as Baixad ...

in Rio de Janeiro. It has an area of . It includes areas of plains and lowlands and mountainous areas with springs and important remnants of forest. Its largest area is occupied by pastures, vegetable fields and quarries for sand to be used in construction. The Guapimirim-Macacu sub-basin is part of the Guanabara Bay basin. It is bounded to the north and northwest by the

Serra dos Órgãos The Serra dos Órgãos ("Organ Range") is a mountain range in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It contains the Serra dos Órgãos National Park. Location The Serra dos Órgãos is the name of the region of the Serra do Mar in the central pa ...

, to the northeast by the Serra de Macaé de Cima, to the east by the Serra da Botija and the Serra de Monte Azul, and to the south by the Serra do Sambê and the Serra dos Garcias. The

Macacu River The Macacu River ( pt, Rio Macacu) is a river of Rio de Janeiro state in southeastern Brazil. Course The Macacu River is born in the Serra dos Órgãos at about in the municipality of Cachoeiras de Macacu, and runs for about to its junction wi ...

, the main river of the APA, is born in the Serra dos Órgãos at about in the municipality of Cachoeiras de Macacu, and runs for about to its junction with the Guapimirim River. Protected areas near the APA include the

Serra dos Órgãos National Park Serra dos Órgãos National Park ( pt, Parque Nacional da Serra dos Órgãos: "Organs Range") is a national park in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It protects the Serra dos Órgãos mountain range and the water sources in the range. It wa ...

with ,

Três Picos State Park The Três Picos State Park ( pt, Parque Estadual dos Três Picos) is a state park in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It preserves a large, mountainous region of Atlantic Forest. Location When created, the Três Picos State Park was divided ...

with ,

Paraíso Ecological Station The Paraíso Ecological Station ( pt, Paraíso Ecological Station Paraíso) was an ecological station in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In 2013, it was absorbed into the Três Picos State Park. Location The Paraíso Ecological Station (ESE ...

with ,

Guapimirim Environmental Protection Area Guapimirim Environmental Protection Area ( pt, Área de Proteção Ambiental de Guapimirim) is a coastal marine protected area on Guanabara Bay in the state of Rio de Janeiro, southeastern Brazil. Location The marine coastal protection area, whi ...

with and

Petrópolis Environmental Protection Area Petrópolis Environmental Protection Area ( pt, Área de Proteção Ambiental da Região Serrana de Petrópolis) is a protected area of Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil. Location The protected area in the Atlantic Forest biome, which covers , was c ...

with . Most of these were created to protect springs and headwaters in the forested mountains as well as biodiversity.

History

The Bacia do Rio Macacu Environmental Protection Area was created by state law 4.018 of 5 December 2002. Its objective is to protect marginal areas in the basin of the

, the largest contributor to

Guanabara Bay Guanabara Bay ( pt, Baía de Guanabara, ) is an oceanic bay located in Southeast Brazil in the state of Rio de Janeiro. On its western shore lie the cities of Rio de Janeiro and Duque de Caxias, and on its eastern shore the cities of Niterói and ...

. It is included in the

Central Rio de Janeiro Atlantic Forest Mosaic The Central Rio de Janeiro Atlantic Forest Mosaic ( pt, Mosaico da Mata Atlântica Central Fluminense is a protected area mosaic in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The mosaic is inland, to the east of the city of Rio de Janeiro. History A p ...

, created in December 2006. The management plan was prepared in 2009 by the

Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation The Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa - pt, Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária) is a state-owned research corporation affiliated with the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture. Since its inception on April 26, 1973, it ha ...

(Embrapa) in cooperation with other institutions, within a regional planning strategy for the mosaic which considered opportunities for forming corridors between the protected areas and for ecologically sound agriculture.

Notes

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Location

History

Notes

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Further reading