The Ilha do Mel Ecological Station ( pt, Estação Ecológica da Ilha do Mel) is an ecological station in the state of Paraná, Brazil.

Location

The Ilha do Mel Ecological Station covers the northern part of the island of Ilha do Mel in the municipality of

Paranaguá Paranaguá (''Great Round Sea'', in Tupi) is a city in the state of Paraná in Brazil. Founded in 1648, it is Paraná's oldest city. It is known for the Port of Paranaguá, which serves as both the sea link for Curitiba, to the west and the cap ...

, Paraná. It has an area of . The ecological station is the more strictly protected of two conservation units on the island, the other being the

Ilha do Mel State Park The Ilha do Mel State Park ( pt, Parque Estadual da Ilha do Mel) is a state park in the state of Paraná, Brazil, located in the municipality of Paranaguá. It is a very small island, with a lot of fauna and flora, due to its small index of urbani ...

. Public visits to the park are allowed for education, recreation and research. The ecological station is used primarily for scientific research, with public visits allowed only for environmental education with express permission of the administrator. The protected areas cover about 95% of the island's land area, including

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evoluti ...

restinga Restingas () are a distinct type of coastal tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forest in eastern Brazil. They form on sandy, acidic, and nutrient-poor soils, and are characterized by medium-sized trees and shrubs adapted to the drier and nut ...

s and forests. Outside the conservation areas there are beautiful beaches and attractions such as the Nossa Senhora dos Prazeres Fort, the lighthouse and the Enchanted Grotto which have made the island one of the state's main tourist destinations. A management board, with government and local resident representatives, monitors implementation of the zoning rules. In 2004 there were 1,140 residents, of whom 57% were not native but had managed to build unauthorized homes or hotels. About 43% of the buildings do not conform to the plan of use, which defines the lots, lot size, height of buildings and so on.

History

In 1982 the federal union heritage service transferred administration of the Ilha do Mel to the state of Paraná on condition that a conservation unit was created to protect its natural ecosystems. The Ilha do Mel Ecological Station was created on 21 September 1982 by the governor of Paraná through decree 5.454. On 27 February 1985 the state governor authorized the state department of agriculture to grant a land use concession to the residents of the island. An ordinance of 19 January 1998 defined regulations for visitors. There were modified by an ordinance of 17 March 2000. The ecological station is part of the

Lagamar mosaic The Lagamar Mosaic ( pt, Mosaico do Lagamar is a Protected area mosaic (Brazil), protected area mosaic that includes a number of conservation units in the states of São Paulo (state), São Paulo and Paraná (state), Paraná, Brazil. History The ...

of conservation units. It one of the conservation units of the

Serra do Mar Ecological Corridor The Serra do Mar Ecological Corridor ( pt, Corredor Ecológico da Serra do Mar or ''Corredor de Biodiversidade da Serra do Mar'') is a large collection of protected areas in the states of Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais, São Paulo and Paraná in sou ...

(''Corredor Ecológico da Serra do Mar''). It is also part of the core zone of the

Atlantic Forest Biosphere Reserve The Atlantic Forest Biosphere Reserve, or Mata Atlântica Biosphere Reserve (MABR, pt, Reserva da Biosfera da Mata Atlântica) is a biosphere reserve covering remnants of the Atlantic Forest in Brazil, including fully protected and sustainable use ...

Notes

Sources

* * * {{authority control Ecological stations of Brazil Protected areas of Paraná (state) 1982 establishments in Brazil Protected areas established in 1982 Protected areas of the Atlantic Forest