The Massairo Okamura State Park ( pt, Parque Estadual Massairo Okamura) is a
state park
State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...
in the city of
Cuiabá, capital of
Mato Grosso
Mato Grosso ( – lit. "Thick Bush") is one of the states of Brazil, the third largest by area, located in the Central-West region. The state has 1.66% of the Brazilian population and is responsible for 1.9% of the Brazilian GDP.
Neighboring ...
, Brazil.
It preserves an area of typical
cerrado forest in a densely urbanised area.
Location
The Massairo Okamura State Park has an area of in the city of
Cuiabá, Mato Grosso.
It lies to the east of the Avenida Hist. Rubens de Mendonça and north of the Avenida Ver. Juliano de Costa Marques, near the Universidade de Cuiabá, Pantanal.
About 500 people visit the park daily.
The park includes about of trails, public toilets, a centre for environmental education, administrative facilities and a stage for community activities.
The park contains the Praça Nações Indígenas (Indigenous Nations Plaza), a tribute to the
Bororo people who inhabited the region in pre-colonial times.
Environment
The park provides a green space with typical
cerrado vegetation in the centre of a highly urbanized area, and helps preserve the headwaters of the Barbado and Moinho streams.
129 species of trees or plants have been catalogued along the park trails.
They include cerrado species and medicinal plants such as ''lixeira'', ''
jatobá'', ''cumbaru'', ''angico'', ''carvão vermelho'', ''
quina'', ''
aroeira
''Schinus terebinthifolia'' is a species of flowering plant in the cashew family, Anacardiaceae, that is native to subtropical and tropical South America. Common names include Brazilian peppertree, aroeira, rose pepper, broadleaved pepper tree, ...
'', ''oiti'' (''
Licania tomentosa
''Moquilea tomentosa'' (syn. ''Licania tomentosa'') is a species of flowering plant in the family Chrysobalanaceae, native to most of Brazil. It is widely cultivated for its abundant fruit in South America and South Africa, and it is used as a ...
'') and ''sete cascas''.
It is home to
howler monkeys.
History
The Massairo Okamura Ecological Reserve was created by law 7.313 of 1 September 2000 as an
ecological reserve
A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...
in the political/administrative centre of the Mato Grosso state government.
On 21 September 2001 it was reclassified as the Massairo Okamura State Park.
A management plan was published on 31 December 2012, but was not made official through an ordinance.
The advisory council was reactivated on 16 December 2014.
Notes
Sources
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{{authority control
State parks of Brazil
Protected areas of Mato Grosso
Protected areas established in 2000
2000 establishments in Brazil