Cairuçu Environmental Protection Area ( pt, Área de Proteção Ambiental de Cairuçu) is a protected area in the south of

Rio de Janeiro state Rio de Janeiro () is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil. It has the second largest economy of Brazil, with the largest being that of the state of São Paulo. The state, which has 8.2% of the Brazilian population, is responsible for 9.2% of ...

, Brazil. It contains an important remnant of the Atlantic Forest biome.

Location

Cairuçu Environmental Protection Area lies in the

Paraty Paraty (or Parati, ) is a preserved Portuguese colonial (1500–1822) and Brazilian Imperial (1822–1889) municipality with a population of about 43,000. Indeed, the name "Paraty" originates from the local Guaianá Indians' Indigenous Tupi ...

municipality in the south of Rio de Janeiro state. It has a continental land area of plus 63 islands with a total of . It includes the villages of Guarani Araponga and Paraty-Mirim, the Quilombo do Campinho, the

Juatinga Ecological Reserve The Juatinga Ecological Reserve ( pt, Reserva Ecológica Estadual da Juatinga) is an ecological reserve in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It protects a rugged peninsula projecting into the Atlantic Ocern that is mainly covered by Atlantic For ...

and the Paraty Bay, Paraty-Mirim and Saco do Mamanguá Municipal Environmental Protection Area. It adjoins and in some areas overlaps the

Serra da Bocaina National Park Serra da Bocaina National Park is a national park of Brazil. It is located at the border between the states of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo in southeastern Brazil. Location Created by Federal Decree in 1971 and comprises an area of approximately ...

. It contains the Paraty-Mirim State Park, created in 1972. It is part of the

Bocaina Mosaic The Bocaina Mosaic ( pt, Mosaico Bocaina) is a protected area mosaic on the border between Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, Brazil. It provides coordinated management for a group of 10 federal, state and municipal conservation units covering an are ...

, created in 2006.

Purpose

The environmental protection area was established on 27 December 1985 and is administered by the

Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation The Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (Portuguese: ''Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade'', ICMBio) is the Brazilian Ministry of the Environment's administrative arm."Brazilian Federal Law 11.516/2007 (Por ...

. It is classed as

IUCN protected area category IUCN protected area categories, or IUCN protected area management categories, are categories used to classify protected areas in a system developed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The enlisting of such areas is par ...

V: protected landscape/seascape. The purpose is to preserve nature, scenic landscapes, fauna, flora and water systems as well as the traditional communities of '' caiçaras'', ''

quilombola A ''quilombola'' () is an Afro-Brazilian resident of '' quilombo'' settlements first established by escaped slaves in Brazil. They are the descendants of Afro-Brazilian slaves who escaped from slave plantations that existed in Brazil until ab ...

s'' and indigenous people. It tries to reconcile human activities with preservation of wildlife and other natural resources.

Environment

The region includes an important remnant of the Atlantic Forest biome including the various transitions from coastal mangroves to humid tropical forest on the hillsides. Protected species include

southern muriqui The southern muriqui (''Brachyteles arachnoides'') is a muriqui (woolly spider monkey) species endemic to Brazil. Taxonomy Taxonomy of muriquis is controversial because some scientists believe that they are a monotypic genus while others favo ...

(Brachyteles arachnoides), buffy-tufted marmoset (Callithrix aurita),

oncilla The oncilla (''Leopardus tigrinus''), also known as the northern tiger cat, little spotted cat, and tigrillo, is a small spotted cat ranging from Central America to central Brazil. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, and the popul ...

(Leopardus tigrinus), green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas), sea ginger coral ( Millepora alcicornis), catfish ( Trichogenes longipinnis), black-capped piprites (Piprites pileata),

white-necked hawk The white-necked hawk (''Buteogallus lacernulatus'') is a Vulnerable species of bird of prey in subfamily Accipitrinae, the "true" hawks, of family Accipitridae. It is endemic to Brazil.Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claram ...

(Leucopternis lacernulatus),

brown-backed parrotlet The brown-backed parrotlet (''Touit melanonotus'') also known as the black-backed parrotlet, the black-eared parrotlet, and Wied's parrotlet, is a small () green parrot found in south-eastern Brazil from Bahia to southern São Paulo. It has a dar ...

(Touit melanonotus) and

Chaco eagle The Chaco eagle (''Buteogallus coronatus'') or crowned solitary eagle, is an endangered bird of prey from eastern and central South America. Typically it is known simply as the crowned eagle which leads to potential confusion with the African '' ...

(Harpyhaliaetus coronatus).

Notes

Sources

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cairucu Environmental Protection Area Environmental protection areas of Brazil Protected areas of Rio de Janeiro (state) Protected areas of the Atlantic Forest 1985 establishments in Brazil Protected areas established in 1985