The Duas Bocas Biological Reserve ( pt, Reserva Biológica de Duas Bocas) is a biological reserve in the state of

Espírito Santo Espírito Santo (, , ; ) is a state in southeastern Brazil. Its capital is Vitória, and its largest city is Serra. With an extensive coastline, the state hosts some of the country's main ports, and its beaches are significant tourist attra ...

, Brazil. It protects an area of

Atlantic Forest The Atlantic Forest ( pt, Mata Atlântica) is a South American forest that extends along the Atlantic coast of Brazil from Rio Grande do Norte state in the northeast to Rio Grande do Sul state in the south and inland as far as Paraguay and th ...

, the source of a drinking water supply.

Location

The Duas Bocas Biological Reserve is in the municipality of

Cariacica Cariacica is a municipality in the state of Espírito Santo, Brazil, part of the Greater Vitória metropolitan area. Location Cariacica is located 10 km northwest of Vitória, the capital of the state. It has a population of 383,917 (2020) ...

, Espírito Santo. It has an approximate area of . The reserve contains the Duas Bocas Dam, inaugurated by President

Getúlio Vargas Getúlio Dornelles Vargas (; 19 April 1882 – 24 August 1954) was a Brazilian lawyer and politician who served as the 14th and 17th president of Brazil, from 1930 to 1945 and from 1951 to 1954. Due to his long and controversial tenure as Brazi ...

, which impounds the Pau Amarelo, Panela and Naia-Assú rivers. It is part of the Duas Bocas - Mestre Álvaro Ecological Corridor. The main activities are school visits and scientific research. The forest coverage has suffered in the past from human activities including banana and coffee cultivation and grazing. However, about 70% of the reserve is covered in primary

. It is home to rich and diverse wildlife, including rare and endangered species. The

cougar The cougar (''Puma concolor'') is a large Felidae, cat native to the Americas. Its Species distribution, range spans from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America and is the most widespread of any large wild terrestrial mamm ...

(''Puma concolor'') has been seen in the reserve.

History

The Pau Amarelo Dam was built in 1912 to distribute water to

Greater Vitória Greater Vitória (''Região Metropolitana da Grande Vitória'') is a metropolitan area in Espírito Santo, Brazil. It is made up of the following municipalities: Cariacica, Fundão, Guarapari, Serra, Vitória, Vila Velha, and Viana and accor ...

. From this date there was little human interference with the ecosystem to avoid polluting the drinking water. The Duas Bocas Dam was built 1949–54 to accommodate population growth, and still supplies water to some of the residents of the municipality of Cariacica. The Duas Bocas Forest Reserve was created on 12 January 1965 to protect the area. On 2 January 1991 the level of protection was upgraded to biological reserve, with visits allowed only by permission of the Institute of the Environment and Water Resources. Its category was redefined through state law 4.503. It became part of the

Central Atlantic Forest Ecological Corridor The Central Atlantic Forest Ecological Corridor ( pt, Corredor Central da Mata Atlântica is an ecological corridor in the states of Espírito Santo and Bahia, Brazil. It promotes improvements to connectivity between fragments of Atlantic Forest ...

, created in 2002.

Notes

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Duas Bocas Biological Reserve Biological reserves of Brazil Protected areas of Espírito Santo 1991 establishments in Brazil Protected areas established in 1991