The Mouth of the Aguapeí Private Natural Heritage Reserve ( pt, Reserva Particular do Patrimônio Natural Foz do Aguapeí) is a private natural heritage reserve in the state of

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

, Brazil. It protects an area of marshland known as the "

Pantanal The Pantanal () is a natural region encompassing the world's largest tropical wetland area, and the world's largest flooded grasslands. It is located mostly within the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul, but it extends into Mato Grosso and p ...

of São Paulo" where the Aguapeí River enters the

Paraná River The Paraná River ( es, Río Paraná, links=no , pt, Rio Paraná, gn, Ysyry Parana) is a river in south-central South America, running through Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina for some ."Parana River". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Br ...

Location

The Mouth of the Aguapeí Private Natural Heritage Reserve (RPPN) is divided between the municipalities of

Castilho Castilho () is a municipality in the state of São Paulo, in Brazil. It has an estimated population of 21,521 (as of 2021) in an area of , and its elevation is of above the sea level. The municipality contains 3.69% of the from the Aguapeí St ...

São João do Pau d'Alho São João do Pau d'Alho is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. The population is 2,100 (2020 est.) in an area of 118 km2. The elevation is 354 m. The municipality contains 2.24% of the Aguapeí State Park, created in 1998. ...

and

Pauliceia Pauliceia is a municipality located in interior of the state of São Paulo, Brazil. The population is 7,454 (2020 est.) in an area of 374.1 km2. The elevation is 328 m. History The settlement Pauliceia was founded by Ezequiel Joaquim de Olive ...

in the state of São Paulo. It has an area of . It is located at the mouth of the Aguapeí River on the

, and the Ilha Comprida. It forms a continuous protected area with the

Aguapeí State Park The Aguapeí State Park ( pt, Parque Estadual do Aguapeí) is a state park in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. It protects an area of floodplain in the Atlantic Forest biome, home to many water birds. Location The Aguapeí State Park is divided ...

, which is part of the environmental compensation for the

Eng Sérgio Motta Dam The Engineer Sérgio Motta Dam, formerly known as the Porto Primavera Dam, is an embankment dam on the Paraná River near Rosana in São Paulo, Brazil. It was constructed between 1980 and 1999 for hydroelectric power production, flood control a ...

. The reserve protects one of the last naturally flooded areas of the state, home to

marsh deer The marsh deer (''Blastocerus dichotomus'') is the largest deer species from South America reaching a length of and a shoulder height of . It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay. Formerly found in much of tropical ...

and other species typical of this environment. It should reduce sand and clay mining, and strengthen enforcement against hunting the deer for sale of antlers or stuffed heads. The reserve supports environmental education and research.

Environment

The reserve is covered by secondary growth of seasonal semi-deciduous forest, arboreal/shrub/herbaceous formations in the várzea areas, and areas of riparian palms. Vegetation includes the vulnerable ''

Euterpe edulis ''Euterpe edulis'', commonly known as juçara, jussara (an archaic alternative spelling), açaí-do-sul or palmiteiro, is a palm species in the genus '' Euterpe''. It is now predominantly used for hearts of palm. It is closely related to the aç ...

'' (''Jussara palmito''). Vulnerable, threatened or endangered fauna include

horned screamer The horned screamer (''Anhima cornuta'') is a member of a small family of birds, the Anhimidae, which occurs in wetlands of tropical South America. There are three screamer species, the other two being the southern screamer and the northern scr ...

(''Anhima cornuta''),

wood stork The wood stork (''Mycteria americana'') is a large American wading bird in the family Ciconiidae (storks), the only member of the family to breed in North America. It was formerly called the "wood ibis", though it is not an ibis. It is found in ...

(''Mycteria americana''),

black-collared hawk The black-collared hawk (''Busarellus nigricollis'') is a species of bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. It is monotypic within the genus ''Busarellus''. It has a widespread range of presence, from western Mexico to Uruguay. Its natural hab ...

(''Busarellus nigricollis''),

jabiru The jabiru ( or ; ''Jabiru mycteria'') is a large stork found in the Americas from Mexico to Argentina, except west of the Andes. It sometimes wanders into the United States, usually in Texas, but has been reported as far north as Mississippi. ...

(''Jabiru mycteria''),

American pygmy kingfisher The American pygmy kingfisher (''Chloroceryle aenea'') is a species of "water kingfisher" in subfamily Cerylinae of family Alcedinidae. It is found in the American tropics from southern Mexico south through Central America into every mainland ...

(''Chloroceryle aenea''),

toco toucan The toco toucan (''Ramphastos toco''), also known as the common toucan or giant toucan, is the largest and probably the best known species in the toucan family. It is found in semi-open habitats throughout a large part of central and eastern Sou ...

(''Ramphastos toco''),

blue-and-yellow macaw The blue-and-yellow macaw (''Ara ararauna''), also known as the blue-and-gold macaw, is a large South American parrot with mostly blue top parts and light orange underparts, with gradient hues of green on top of its head. It is a member of the la ...

(''Ara ararauna'') and

South American tapir The South American tapir (''Tapirus terrestris''), also commonly called the Brazilian tapir (from the Tupi ''tapi'ira''), the Amazonian tapir, the maned tapir, the lowland tapir, the ''anta'' (Portuguese), and ''la sachavaca'' (literally "bushcow ...

(''Tapirus terrestris''). The "Pantanal Paulista Wildlife Refuge", as it was called in earlier discussions, would be part of the proposed

Trinational Biodiversity Corridor The Trinational Biodiversity Corridor ( pt, Corredor Trinacional de Biodiversidade) is a proposed ecological corridor that would link protected areas in the Alto Paraná Atlantic forests ecoregion in Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina. History The p ...

, which aims to provide forest connections between conservation units in Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina in the Upper Paraná ecoregion.

History

On 16 April 2003 the State Council for the Environment of São Paulo (Consema) approved the environmental compensation agreement for the Três Irmãos Hydroelectric Plant of the

Companhia Energética de São Paulo The Companhia Energética de São Paulo (CESP) is the largest producer of electricity in the state of São Paulo, with total installed power of 7,455 MW, and the third largest in Brazil. It owns and operates six hydroelectric plants integrate ...

(CESP). The mouth of the Aguapeí River was to be made a wildlife refuge. The RPPN was created by resolution 117 of 19 December 2010. As of 2016 CESP listed the RPPN Foz do Aguapeí as having an area of . In fact the RPPN proper has an area of , covering 63.67% of the CESP property. CESP was required to provide a total of including the buffer zone of the reserve.

Notes

Sources

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mouth of the Aguapei Wildlife Refuge Private natural heritage reserves of Brazil Protected areas of São Paulo (state) 2010 establishments in Brazil Protected areas of the Atlantic Forest