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 Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

in the states of

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is a state in Southeastern Brazil. It ranks as the second most populous, the third by gross domestic product (GDP), and the fourth largest by area in the country. The state's capital and largest city, Belo Horizonte (literall ...

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 GaW ...

and Paraná in southern Brazil that form an ecological corridor connecting areas of

Atlantic Forest The Atlantic Forest ( pt, Mata Atlântica) is a South American forest that extends along the Atlantic coast of Brazil from Rio Grande do Norte state in the northeast to Rio Grande do Sul state in the south and inland as far as Paraguay and th ...

Extent

The Serra do Mar Ecological Corridor extends from Paraná to Rio de Janeiro and covers about . It encompasses some of the most densely populated areas of Brazil, within which there are several important fragments of Atlantic Forest. The corridor is one of the areas with the richest biodiversity in the

Purpose

An ecological corridor is an area of great biological importance that consists of a network of protected areas interspersed with varying levels of human occupation and different forms of land use. The corridor provides integrated management to ensure the survival all species, maintain ecological and evolutionary processes, and develop a strong regional economy based on sustainable use of natural resources. It allows for the flow of plant and animal genes between the protected areas, thus maintaining genetic diversity.

Mosaics

Protected area mosaics have the potential to strengthen ecological corridors by expanding the scale of conservation planning and increasing the chances of reconnecting natural areas within and between the mosaics. The Serra do Mar Ecological Corridor contains several protected area mosaics. 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 ...

, covering , was created in May 2006. It has great importance in conserving

, and is supported by SOS Mata Atlântica and by 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 ...

. It was the second mosaic to be created in Brazil, after the Piauí Mosaic, created in March 2005. A project to create three new protected area mosaics began in December 2005, coordinated by the National Council of the

. These were the

Bocaina Mosaic The Bocaina Mosaic ( pt, Mosaico Bocaina) is a protected area mosaic on the border between Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, Brazil. It provides coordinated management for a group of 10 federal, state and municipal conservation units covering an are ...

Central Rio de Janeiro Atlantic Forest Mosaic The Central Rio de Janeiro Atlantic Forest Mosaic ( pt, Mosaico da Mata Atlântica Central Fluminense is a protected area mosaic in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The mosaic is inland, to the east of the city of Rio de Janeiro. History A p ...

and

Mantiqueira Mosaic The Mantiqueira Mosaic ( pt, Mosaico Mantiqueira) is a protected area mosaic that contains conservation units in the states of Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Minas Gerais, Brazil. The conservation units are of different types and are managed at th ...

. Funding was provided by

Conservation International Conservation International (CI) is an American nonprofit environmental organization headquartered in Crystal City, Arlington, Virginia. CI's work focuses on science, policy and partnership with businesses, governments and communities. The org ...

, the Fund for the

Global Environment Facility The Global Environment Facility (GEF) is a multilateral environmental fund that provides grants and blended finance for projects related to biodiversity, climate change, international waters, land degradation, persistent organic pollutants (PO ...

(GEF), the Government of Japan, the

MacArthur Foundation The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is a private foundation that makes grants and impact investments to support non-profit organizations in approximately 50 countries around the world. It has an endowment of $7.0 billion and p ...

and the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...

. The Ministry of the Environment gave the mosaics formal structure in March 2007. Their purpose is to give integrated management of different conservation units in a region, including federal, state, municipal and private units, which may be different form of strictly protected or sustainable use unit. Together the three new mosaics included 51 units covering over in the states of Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais and São Paulo. The Bocaina Mosaic has an area of and contains 10 conservation units and their buffer zones on the southern coast of Rio de Janeiro and the northern coast of São Paulo. The Central Coastal Atlantic Forest Mosaic has an area of and contains 22 conservation units and their buffer zones in Rio de Janeiro. The Mantiqueira Mosaic has an area of and contains 19 conservation units and their buffer zones in Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Minas Gerais.

Notes

Sources

* * * {{authority control Ecological corridors of Brazil Protected areas of Rio de Janeiro (state) Protected areas of São Paulo (state) Protected areas of Minas Gerais Protected areas of Paraná (state)