The Tamoios Environmental Protection Area ( pt, Área de Proteção Ambiental de Tamoios) is an environmental protection area of the state 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 ...
, Brazil. It protects an area of coastal forests, mangroves, rocky shores and islands.
Location
The Tamoios Environmental Protection Area (APA) is in the municipality of Angra dos Reis, Rio de Janeiro, in the region known as the Costa Verde.
The APA has a mainland portion covering the Marinah area, and an insular portion covering the
Ilha Grande
Ilha Grande ( "Big Island") is an island located off the coast of Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil. The island, which is part of the municipality of Angra dos Reis, remains largely undeveloped. For almost a century it was closed by the Brazilian go ...
and all other islands in the municipality of Angra dos Reis in the basins of Ilha Grande, Ribeira and Jacuacanga.
The APA extends across Angra dos Reis from the mouth of the
Mambucaba River
The Mambucaba River is a river of Rio de Janeiro state in southeastern 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 ...
, adjacent to the historic village of
Mambucaba
The Historic village of Mambucaba is located in the 4th district of the municipality of Angra dos Reis, on the west coast of the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
In the former headquarters of the district of Mambucaba, currently recognized as h ...
, in the west on the boundary with the municipality of
Paraty
Paraty (or Parati, ) is a preserved Portuguese colonial (1500–1822) and Brazilian Imperial (1822–1889) municipality with a population of about 43,000. Indeed, the name "Paraty" originates from the local Guaianá Indians' Indigenous Tupi ...
to the boundary with the municipality of Mangaratiba in the east.
It has an area of .
The boundaries contain , but only the land and islands are covered by the decree creating the APA.
The reserve protects extensive areas of mangroves, which are important as breeding areas for fish and shellfish.
There are also rocky coasts and restinga areas of great scenic beauty that are home to a rich variety of flora and fauna.
There are over 100 islands within the of Ilha Grande Bay.
Lack of regulation and control has allowed the marine ecosystem to degrade and lose biodiversity and landscape quality.
19 of the islands are part of the
Tamoios Ecological Station
Tamoios Ecological Station ( pt, Estação Ecológica de Tamoios) is a coastal marine ecological station in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Foundation
The coastal marine Ecological Station, which has an area of , was created on 23 January 1 ...
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 ...
of conservation units.
History
The Tamoios Environmental Protection Area was created by decree 9.452 of the governor of Rio de Janeiro on 5 December 1982.
The decree was signed in 1986.
The purpose is to protect the natural environment of great scenic beauty, home to rare and endangered species, as well as '' caiçaras'' communities integrated into these ecosystems.
The master plan was instituted on 1 July 1994.
Decree 41.921 of June 2009 authorized installation of new projects in the wildlife conservation area of the APA, where previously only renovation or expansion of existing buildings was allowed.
Since 2011 there has been discussion about creation by the state of an Ilha Grande Marine Environmental Protection Area to control and manage the marine environment.
The management plan was approved on 25 April 2013.