Laranjal do Jari () (''Jari Orangery'') is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

located in the west of the state of

Amapá Amapá () is one of the 26 states of Brazil. It is in the northern region of Brazil. It is the second least populous state and the eighteenth largest by area. Located in the far northern part of the country, Amapá is bordered clockwise by Fr ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. It is the only municipality in the west boundaries of Amapá, except for a small part of Vitória do Jari. Its population is 51,362 and its area is 30,783 km², which makes it the largest municipality of Amapá.

History

The land was originally inhabited by Amerindians. Later businessmen set up

rubber Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Thailand, Malaysia, and ...

plantations. The largest plantation was owned by who owned of land which made him the biggest landowner at the time. In 1948, his tenants revolted and he was forced to sell the land to Portuguese businessmen who sold it to Daniel K. Ludwig, an American billionaire, in 1964. Flood Laranjal do Jari Amapá Brazil 1

In 1967, Ludwig conceived the

Jari project The Jari project was an attempt to create a tropical tree farm in Brazil for producing pulp for paper. Background The Jari project was a brainchild of US entrepreneur and billionaire Daniel K. Ludwig. In the 1950s he noticed that demand for pa ...

. He wanted to replace the

rainforest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...

with ''

Gmelina arborea ''Gmelina arborea'', (in English beechwood, gmelina, goomar teak, Kashmir tree, Malay beechwood, white teak, yamane ), locally known as gamhar, is a fast-growing deciduous tree in the family Lamiaceae. Distribution and habitat ''Gmelina arbore ...

'' for the

pulp Pulp may refer to: * Pulp (fruit), the inner flesh of fruit Engineering * Dissolving pulp, highly purified cellulose used in fibre and film manufacture * Pulp (paper), the fibrous material used to make paper * Molded pulp, a packaging material ...

industry. A planned city called Monte Dourado was built in

Almeirim Almeirim () is a city and a municipality in Santarém District, Portugal. The population in 2011 was 23,376, in an area of 222.12 km². The city proper had a population of 10,520 in 2001. History There are vestiges of mid-Paleolithic to Meso ...

, however it was unable to provide housing for all the workers, and a shanty town called Beiradão emerged on the other side of the

Jari River The Jari River, or Jary River ( pt, Rio Jari), is a northern tributary of the Amazon River on the border between the states of Pará and Amapá in northeastern Brazil. It is in the most downstream regions of the Amazon Basin and borders the Gui ...

. The project turned into a major money losing failure, and in 1982, he sold the land. In 1987, the land became an independent municipality, and Beiradão was renamed Laranjal do Jari. The city is still mainly a river slum, and suffers from fires, floods, and open sewage.

Transport

Laranjal do Jari is connected to the

BR-156 BR-156 is a federal highway of Brazil. The road consists of 552 km between Oiapoque and Macapá, and 271 km between Macapá and Laranjal do Jari (except via Santana city), totalling 823 km of road through forest and savannah. Only the road betwe ...

and

BR-210 BR-210 is a federal highway of Brazil. The 411.7 kilometre road, popularly known as ' ("north perimeter"), is primarily located in the Northern Brazilian state of Roraima, with other segments in Amazonas, Pará, and Amapá. The planning of the ...

highways. The city of Monte Dourado can be reached by ferry.

Nature

The municipality contains 39% of the

Rio Cajari Extractive Reserve The Rio Cajari Extractive Reserve ( pt, Reserva Extrativista do Rio Cajari) is an extractive reserve in the state of Amapá, Brazil. It protects a region of dense rainforest, ''cerrado'' fields and flooded riparian zones that is rich in biodiversit ...

, created in 1990. It also contains 69% of the

Rio Iratapuru Sustainable Development Reserve The Rio Iratapuru Sustainable Development Reserve ( pt, Reserva de Desenvolvimento Sustentável do Rio Iratapuru) is a sustainable development reserve in the state of Amapá, Brazil. It contains a well-preserved area of terra firme forest with ric ...

, created in 1997. A part of the

Tumucumaque Mountains National Park The Tumucumaque Mountains National Park ( pt, Parque Nacional Montanhas do Tumucumaque; ) is situated in the Amazon Rainforest in the Brazilian states of Amapá and Pará. It is bordered to the north by French Guiana and Suriname. History Tum ...

is located within the municipality.

Indigenous peoples

The Wayampi Indigenous Territory is located in the municipality and is home to the

Wayampi The Wayampi or Wayãpi are an indigenous people located in the south-eastern border area of French Guiana at the confluence of the rivers Camopi and Oyapock, and the basins of the Amapari and Carapanatuba Rivers in the central part of the state ...

and

Aparai people The Aparai or Apalai are an indigenous people of Brazil, who live in Amapá and Pará states."Aparai".
''Povos Indígen ...

. The area inside Laranjal do Jari measures . A group of Wayampi have settled along the Amapari and Anakui Rivers, however information about the group is very limited.

Villages

São Francisco do Iratapuru São Francisco do Iratapuru is a village in the Brazilian municipality of Laranjal do Jari, in the state of Amapá. It is located at the confluence of the Iratapuru and the Jari River, and is 12 kilometres from the Rio Iratapuru Sustainable Develo ...

References

External links

Official website
(in Portuguese) * {{Municipalities of Amapá Municipalities in Amapá Populated places in Amapá Populated places established in 1987 1987 establishments in Brazil