Área de Proteção Ambiental da Baixada Maranhense
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Baixada Maranhense Environmental Protection Area ( pt, Área de Proteção Ambiental da Baixada Maranhense) is an environmental protection area in the state of Maranhão, Brazil. It includes large areas of wetlands, and was designated a Ramsar site in 2000. The traditional population lives in the area, but human activities are regulated in an effort to preserve the environment.


Location

The Baixada Maranhense Environmental Protection Area has an area of in 32 municipalities of the state of Maranhão. Baixada Maranhense means literally Maranhense Lowland. These are Alcântara,
Altamira do Maranhão Altamira do Maranhão is a municipality (Brazil), municipality in the states of Brazil, state of Maranhão in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast region of Brazil. The municipality contains a small part of the Baixada Maranhense Environmental ...
,
Anajatuba Anajatuba is a municipality in the state of Maranhão in the Northeast region of Brazil. The municipality contains a small part of the Baixada Maranhense Environmental Protection Area, a sustainable use conservation unit created in 1991 that has ...
,
Arari Arari is a municipality in the state of Maranhão in the Northeast region of Brazil. The municipality contains a small part of the Baixada Maranhense Environmental Protection Area, a sustainable use conservation unit created in 1991 that has be ...
, Bacabal,
Bacabeira Bacabeira is a municipality in the state of Maranhão in the Northeast region of Brazil. The municipality contains a small part of the Baixada Maranhense Environmental Protection Area, a sustainable use conservation unit created in 1991 that has ...
,
Bacurituba Bacurituba is a municipality in the state of Maranhão in the Northeast region of Brazil. The municipality contains a small part of the Baixada Maranhense Environmental Protection Area, a sustainable use conservation unit created in 1991 that ha ...
,
Bela Vista do Maranhão Bela Vista do Maranhão is a municipality in the state of Maranhão in the Northeast region of Brazil. The municipality contains a small part of the Baixada Maranhense Environmental Protection Area, a sustainable use conservation unit created in ...
, Bequimão, Bom Jardim,
Cajapió Cajapió is a municipality in the state of Maranhão in the Northeast region of Brazil. The municipality contains a small part of the Baixada Maranhense Environmental Protection Area, a sustainable use conservation unit created in 1991 that has ...
,
Cajari Cajari is a municipality in the state of Maranhão in the Northeast region of Brazil. The municipality contains a small part of the Baixada Maranhense Environmental Protection Area, a sustainable use conservation unit created in 1991 that has be ...
,
Cedral Cedral is a municipality in the state of São Paulo, 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 over 217 millio ...
,
Central do Maranhão Central do Maranhão is a municipality in the state of Maranhão in the Northeast region of Brazil. The municipality contains a small part of the Baixada Maranhense Environmental Protection Area, a sustainable use conservation unit created in 19 ...
,
Conceição do Lago-Açu Conceição do Lago-Açu is a municipality in the state of Maranhão in the Northeast region of Brazil. The municipality contains a small part of the Baixada Maranhense Environmental Protection Area, a sustainable use conservation unit created i ...
,
Guimarães Guimarães () is a city and municipality located in northern Portugal, in the district of Braga. Its historic town centre has been listed as a UNESCWorld Heritage Sitesince 2001, in recognition for being an "exceptionally well-preserved and a ...
,
Igarapé do Meio Igarapé do Meio is a municipality in the state of Maranhão in the Northeast region of Brazil. The municipality contains a small part of the Baixada Maranhense Environmental Protection Area, a sustainable use conservation unit created in 1991 ...
, Lago Verde,
Matinha Matinha is a municipality in the state of Maranhão in the Northeast region of Brazil. The municipality contains a small part of the Baixada Maranhense Environmental Protection Area, a sustainable use conservation unit created in 1991 that has ...
,
Matões do Norte Matões do Norte is a municipality in the state of Maranhão in the Northeast region of Brazil. The municipality contains a small part of the Baixada Maranhense Environmental Protection Area, a sustainable use conservation unit created in 1991 t ...
,
Mirinzal Mirinzal is a municipality in the state of Maranhão in the Northeast region of Brazil. The municipality contains a small part of the Baixada Maranhense Environmental Protection Area, a sustainable use conservation unit created in 1991 that has ...
, Monção,
Olho d'Água das Cunhãs Olho d'Água das Cunhãs is a municipality in the state of Maranhão in the Northeast region of Brazil. The municipality contains a small part of the Baixada Maranhense Environmental Protection Area, a sustainable use conservation unit crea ...
,
Olinda Nova do Maranhão Olinda Nova do Maranhão is a municipality in the state of Maranhão in the Northeast region of Brazil. The municipality contains a small part of the Baixada Maranhense Environmental Protection Area, a sustainable use conservation unit created i ...
,
Palmeirândia Palmeirândia is a municipality in the state of Maranhão in the Northeast region of Brazil. The municipality contains a small part of the Baixada Maranhense Environmental Protection Area, a sustainable use conservation unit created in 1991 that ...
,
Pedro do Rosário Pedro do Rosário is a municipality in the state of Maranhão in the Northeast region of Brazil. The municipality contains a small part of the Baixada Maranhense Environmental Protection Area, a sustainable use conservation unit created in 1991 ...
,
Penalva Penalva is a municipality in the state of Maranhão in the Northeast region of Brazil. The municipality contains a small part of the Baixada Maranhense Environmental Protection Area, a sustainable use conservation unit created in 1991 that has b ...
,
Peri Mirim Peri Mirim is a municipality in the state of Maranhão in the Northeast region of Brazil. The municipality contains a small part of the Baixada Maranhense Environmental Protection Area, a sustainable use conservation unit created in 1991 that ha ...
,
Pindaré-Mirim Pindaré-Mirim is a municipality in the state of Maranhão in the Northeast region of Brazil. The municipality contains a small part of the Baixada Maranhense Environmental Protection Area, a sustainable use conservation unit created in 1991 tha ...
, Pinheiro, Pio XII,
Porto Rico do Maranhão Porto Rico do Maranhão is a municipality in the state of Maranhão in the Northeast region of Brazil. The municipality contains a small part of the Baixada Maranhense Environmental Protection Area, a sustainable use conservation unit created in ...
, Presidente Sarney, Santa Helena, Santa Inês,
Santa Rita Santa Rita may refer to: * Rita of Cascia (1381–1457), Catholic saint *Associação Atlética Santa Rita, a Brazilian football (soccer) club *Santa Rita de Cássia FC, an Angolan football (soccer) club Places Belize * Santa Rita, Corozal, a Ma ...
, Satubinha, Serrano do Maranhão, São Bento, São João Batista, São Luís,
São Mateus do Maranhão São Mateus do Maranhão is a municipality in the state of Maranhão in the Northeast region of Brazil. The municipality contains a small part of the Baixada Maranhense Environmental Protection Area, a sustainable use conservation unit created i ...
, São Vicente Ferrer,
Turiaçu Turiaçu is a municipality in the state of Maranhão in the Northeast region of Brazil. The municipality contains a small part of the Baixada Maranhense Environmental Protection Area, a sustainable use conservation unit created in 1991 that has ...
,
Turilândia Turilândia is a municipality in the state of Maranhão in the Northeast region of Brazil. The municipality contains a small part of the Baixada Maranhense Environmental Protection Area, a sustainable use conservation unit created in 1991 that h ...
, Viana, Vitorino Freire, and
Vitória do Mearim Vitória do Mearim is a municipality in the state of Maranhão in the Northeast region of Brazil. The municipality contains a small part of the Baixada Maranhense Environmental Protection Area, a sustainable use conservation unit created in 1991 ...
. The traditional population includes indigenous people and some remnants of '' quilombo'' communities. The families fish, cultivate rice and breed buffaloes.


Environment

The vegetation is in the transition between the Amazon and Cerrado biomes, and includes coastal marine influence, covering a large area of lacustrine basins. The soil is clay, with high water retention. During the rainy season from December to July the low fields are flooded, leaving islands of terra firma. Vegetation includes mangroves, babassu, riverine forests, Amazon rainforest remnants, lowland meadows and flooded meadows.


Wildlife

Threatened and vulnerable species include West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus), pearly parakeet (Pyrrhura lepida), bearded bellbird (Procnias averano),
wattled jacana The wattled jacana (''Jacana jacana'') is a wader which is a resident breeder from western Panama and Trinidad south through most of South America east of the Andes. Breeding The wattled jacana lays four black-marked brown eggs in a floating n ...
(Jacana jacana) and
American purple gallinule The purple gallinule (''Porphyrio martinicus'') is a swamphen in the genus ''Porphyrio''. It is in the order Gruiformes, meaning "crane-like", an order which also contains cranes, rails, and crakes. The purple gallinule is a rail (bird), rail sp ...
(Porphyrula martinica). Other bird species include striated heron (Butorides striata),
black-bellied whistling duck The black-bellied whistling duck (''Dendrocygna autumnalis''), formerly called the black-bellied tree duck, is a whistling duck that breeds from the southernmost United States, Mexico, and tropical Central to south-central South America. In the ...
(Dendrocygna autumnalis), great egret (Ardea alba),
ringed kingfisher The ringed kingfisher (''Megaceryle torquata'') is a large, conspicuous and noisy kingfisher bird commonly found along the lower Rio Grande valley in southeasternmost Texas in the United States through Central America to Tierra del Fuego in Sout ...
(Megaceryle torquata),
blue dacnis The blue dacnis or turquoise honeycreeper (''Dacnis cayana'') is a small passerine bird. This member of the tanager family is found from Nicaragua to Panama, on Trinidad, and in South America south to Bolivia and northern Argentina. It is widesp ...
(Dacnis cayana), rufescent tiger heron (Tigrisoma lineatum), white-faced whistling duck (Dendrocygna viduata), Neotropic cormorant (Phalacrocorax brasilianus) and
white-winged swallow The white-winged swallow (''Tachycineta albiventer'') is a resident breeding swallow in tropical South America from Colombia, Venezuela, Trinidad, and Argentina. It is not found west of the Andes. This swallow is largely Bird migration, non-migrat ...
(Tachycineta albiventer). Fish species include Plagioscion squamosissimus, Prochilodus nigricans,
Pseudoplatystoma fasciatum ''Pseudoplatystoma fasciatum'' or barred sorubim or barred catfish is a species of long-whiskered catfish native to the Suriname, Corantijn and Essequibo. The nocturnal predator feeds mainly on other fish and crabs. Females reach a more notable ...
,
Centropomus undecimalis The common snook (''Centropomus undecimalis'') is a species of marine fish in the family Centropomidae of the order Perciformes. The common snook is also known as the sergeant fish or robalo. It was originally assigned to the sciaenid genus ...
,
Micropogonias furnieri ''Micropogonias furnieri'', the whitemouth croaker, golden croaker, hardhead, mangrove snapper, rocando ronco, two-belly bashaw, West Indian croaker, West Indian drum or whitemouth drummer, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the ...
,
Hoplias malabaricus ''Hoplias malabaricus'', also known as the wolf fish, tiger fish, guabine or trahira, is a predatory Central and South American freshwater ray-finned fish of the characiform family Erythrinidae. Description The maximum known length for this spe ...
and Pimelodus species. Common mammals are fox, howler monkey, monkey, peccary, deer, raccoon, paca and anteater.


Conservation

The Baixada Maranhense Environmental Protection Area was created by Maranhão state decree 11.900 of 11 June 1991. The objective is to regulate use and occupation of the land, exploitation of natural resources, fishing, predatory hunting and breeding of buffalo, so as to preserve biological integrity, water quality and refuges for migratory birds. The conservation area has three sub-areas: Baixo Pindaré, Baixo Mearim-Grajaú and the Mearim-Pindaré Estuary - São Marcos Bay including Caranguejos Island. The Baixada Maranhense Environmental Protection Area was designated a
Ramsar Site A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,8 ha (O) *** Permanent 8 ha (P) *** Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts) **