The Restinga de Bertioga State Park ( pt, Parque Estadual Restinga de Bertioga) is a
state park 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 Ga ...
, Brazil.
It protects an area of
restinga, mangroves and dense rainforest on the coast of São Paulo.
The park provides an important ecological corridor from the coastal
restinga to the
Serra do Mar State Park
The Serra do Mar State Park ( pt, Parque Estadual da Serra do Mar) is a state park in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. It covers of the Serra do Mar mountain range, and is one of the largest remaining areas of continuous Atlantic Forest. The State ...
further inland.
Location
The Restinga de Bertioga State Park is in the municipality of
Bertioga
Bertioga is a Brazilian municipality of the state of São Paulo in the Baixada Santista. It is part of the Metropolitan Region of Baixada Santista.
The population is 64,723 (2020 est.) in an area of 490.15 km2.
Because it neighbors resort to ...
, São Paulo.
It has an area of .
It contains
sambaquis
A midden (also kitchen midden or shell heap) is an old dump for domestic waste which may consist of animal bone, human excrement, botanical material, mollusc shells, potsherds, lithics (especially debitage), and other artifacts and ecofac ...
, shell and bone mounds formed by fisher-hunter-gatherer peoples, that date back five thousand years.
The park fully protects the Itaguaré and Guaratuba rivers, and about of the Itaguaré, Itaguá and Boracéia beaches.
Background
Brazil's
Atlantic Forest is one of the most threatened types of forest in the world.
About 7% of the original forest cover remains in the state of São Paulo, of which about 5.98% is on the coast.
The state has preserved a large area in the
Serra do Mar State Park
The Serra do Mar State Park ( pt, Parque Estadual da Serra do Mar) is a state park in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. It covers of the Serra do Mar mountain range, and is one of the largest remaining areas of continuous Atlantic Forest. The State ...
, the largest Atlantic Forest park in Brazil.
However, forest in the coastal region is under great pressure.
The 2006 management plan of the Serra do Mar State Park identified the great importance to that park of conserving the continuous areas of
restinga in the Bertioga and São Sebastião region.
The well-preserved vegetation provides an important ecological corridor leading to the plateau of the Serra do Mar.
Boracéia and Barra do Una are rich in birds and amphibians, including large numbers of endangered species.
History
The area now covered by the park was placed under to "provisional administrative limitation" on 30 March 2010 to allow for a period of study of the ecosystems.
This bans activities that may cause environmental damage while the area is under study and prevents a race to occupy the land.
The study identified the need to protect the "Bertioga Polygon" of , including part of the municipality of
São Sebastião.
It was chosen because it contains examples of flora that are poorly represented among conservation units in SP, with a high level of threat to its integrity and strong social support for its protection.
A public consultation was held on 7 October 2010 attended by over 300 people, and lasting for five hours.
The Restinga de Bertioga State Park was created by state decree 56.500 of 9 December 2010.
The area had been adjusted to exclude the
Guarani indigenous area, urban locations or areas in the process of urbanization, and the results of final studies after the public consultation of 7 October 2010.
Areas occupied by federal or state highways, high voltage lines and
Petrobras pipelines were excluded from the decree.
![Tachyphonus cristatus - Flame-crested Tanager (female) 01](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/73/Tachyphonus_cristatus_-_Flame-crested_Tanager_%28female%29_01.JPG)
Environment
Studies carried out by WWF-Brasil and the team preparing the
Serra do Mar State Park
The Serra do Mar State Park ( pt, Parque Estadual da Serra do Mar) is a state park in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. It covers of the Serra do Mar mountain range, and is one of the largest remaining areas of continuous Atlantic Forest. The State ...
management plan determined that the park area is an important biological corridor between the coastal marine areas, the
restinga and the
Serra do Mar
The Serra do Mar (, Portuguese for ''Sea's Ridge'' or ''Sea Ridge'') is a 1,500 km long system of mountain ranges and escarpments in Southeastern Brazil.
Geography
The Serra do Mar runs parallel to the Atlantic Ocean coast from the state ...
.
Its protection plays a basic role in guaranteeing long-term viability of the ecology and gene flows.
The park contains examples of mangroves, restinga and dense lowland rainforest.
It contains 98% of the remaining Baixada Santista restinga forest.
It holds 53 species of bromeliads, one third of the total found in the state.
44 plant species are threatened with extinction.
There are 117 species of mammals, of which 25 are medium or large in size.
There include
cougar (''Puma concolor''),
deer
Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the re ...
,
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 "bushco ...
(''Tapirus terrestris''),
ocelot (''Leopardus pardalis''),
southern muriqui
The southern muriqui (''Brachyteles arachnoides'') is a muriqui (woolly spider monkey) species endemic to Brazil.
Taxonomy
Taxonomy of muriquis is controversial because some scientists believe that they are a monotypic genus while others favo ...
(''Brachyteles arachnoides''),
howler monkey
Howler monkeys (genus ''Alouatta'', monotypic in subfamily Alouattinae) are the most widespread primate genus in the Neotropics and are among the largest of the platyrrhines along with the muriquis (''Brachyteles''), the spider monkeys (''Atele ...
s,
collared peccary
The collared peccary (''Dicotyles tajacu'') is a species of artiodactyl (even-toed) mammal in the family Tayassuidae found in North, Central, and South America. It is the only member of the genus ''Dicotyles''. They are commonly referred to as ...
(''Pecari tajacu'') and
white-lipped peccary
The white-lipped peccary (''Tayassu pecari'') is a species of peccary found in Central and South America and the only member of the genus ''Tayassu''. Multiple subspecies have been identified. White-lipped peccaries are similar in appearance to ...
(''Tayassu pecari'').
There are 69 species of bats, of which six are endangered in the state and one internationally.
There are 93 species of reptiles and amphibians, of which 14 are endangered and 14 rare.
117 bird species have been identified, of which 37 are endemic and 9 endangered.
BirdLife International considers the area an "
Important Bird Area", critically important for conservation and biodiversity of birds in the long term.
Visiting
![Parque Estadual Restinga de Bertioga](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0c/Parque_Estadual_Restinga_de_Bertioga.jpg)
In February 2015 the park opened two ecotourism trails operated in partnership between the Municipality of Bertioga and the Forest Foundation and regulated by an Emergency Plan for Public Use, created with the park's Consultative Council to meet tourist demand.
Accredited monitors accompany visitors in the trails.
Both trails are primarily designed to provide access to the
restinga and understanding of this rare biome.
In the first year of operation visits to the trails were limited to 50 people in the morning and 50 in the afternoon, scheduled through tourist agencies and operators in the town of Bertioga.
Unauthorized entry is prohibited.
The Guaratuba Trail is in the Costa do Sol district, accessed through the Condomínio Guaratuba.
It includes the Cachoeira de Guaratuba, a waterfall.
The Água Trail is in the Praia district, in the "dry mangrove" location, accessed by the old Palmares heart of palm factory.
It emphasises environmental education, and also passes the cable line of the Itatinga Hydroelectric Power Plant and the Guaranduva River iron bridge.
Notes
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Restinga de Bertioga State Park
State parks of Brazil
Protected areas established in 2010
2010 establishments in Brazil
Protected areas of São Paulo (state)