Cananéia-Iguape-Peruíbe Environmental Protection Area () is a protected area in the
State of São Paulo
State most commonly refers to:
* State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory
**Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country
**Nation state, a ...
, Brazil. It has been designated as 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)
**
Location
The Cananéia-Iguape-Peruíbe Environmental Protection Area (APA) covers an area of of coastal marine biome.
It was created on 6 November 1985 and is administered by the
Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation
The Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation ( Portuguese: ''Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade'', ICMBio) is a government agency under the administration of the Brazilian Ministry of the Environment. It is nam ...
.
It covers parts of the municipalities of
Ilha Comprida
Ilha Comprida (Portuguese for "Long Island") is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. Stretching southwest along the Atlantic coast of the state, it is coextensive with the barrier island of Ilha Comprida, the longest of its kind in ...
Iguape
Iguape is a municipality located into the Ribeira Valley in the southern portion of the state of São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Brazil. The population is 30,989 (2020 estimate) in an area of , making it the largest municipality area in São Paulo ...
and
Cananéia
Cananéia is the southernmost city in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, near where the Tordesilhas Line passed. The population in 2020 was 12,541 and its area is 1,242.010 km². The elevation is 8 m. The city of Cananéia is host to the Dr. Jo ...
in the state of São Paulo.
The area includes the basin of the
Ribeira de Iguape River
The Ribeira de Iguape River (), or simply the Ribeira River (), is a river of Paraná (state), Paraná and São Paulo (state), São Paulo states in southeastern Brazil. It flows into the Atlantic Ocean near Iguape.
The river is home to several end ...
.
The highest point is above sea level.
The APA contains part of the
Mandira Extractive Reserve
The Mandira Extractive Reserve () is an Extractive reserve (Brazil), extractive reserve in the state of São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Brazil. It covers an area of mangroves. The main commercial product extracted by the traditional population is ...
Annual rainfall is .
Temperatures range from with an average of .
The area has a wide variety of
Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...
domain environments, and includes about 1,200 plant species.
Environments range from
tropical rainforest
Tropical rainforests are dense and warm rainforests with high rainfall typically found between 10° north and south of the Equator. They are a subset of the tropical forest biome that occurs roughly within the 28° latitudes (in the torrid zo ...
in the coastal plain to
montane forest
Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures lapse rate, fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is ...
,
cloud forest
A cloud forest, also called a water forest, primas forest, or tropical montane cloud forest, is a generally tropical or subtropical, evergreen, Montane forest, montane, Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, moist forest characteri ...
and
alpine meadow
Alpine tundra is a type of natural region or biome that does not contain trees because it is at high elevation, with an associated harsh climate. As the latitude of a location approaches the poles, the threshold elevation for alpine tundra gets ...
s.
The slopes of the hills and mountains are typically covered by dense forest.
The coastal strip includes fresh water and brackish marshes, sandbanks and mangrove.
It is part of the Iguape-Cananéia-Paranaguá estuary lagoon complex.
Common plant species of the forest include Brasimopsis lactescens,
Ficus
''Ficus'' ( or ) is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes and hemiepiphytes in the family (biology), family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few spe ...
Cedrela fissilis
''Cedrela fissilis'' is a species of tree in the family Meliaceae. It is native to Central and South America, where it is distributed from Costa Rica to Argentina.Ocotea teleiandra and
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 aça� ...
Stenotaphrum secundatum
St. Augustine grass (''Stenotaphrum secundatum''), also known as buffalo turf in Australia and buffalo grass in South Africa, is a species of grass in the family Poaceae. It is a warm-season lawn grass that is popular for cultivation in tropical ...
,
Sporobolus virginicus
''Sporobolus virginicus'', known by numerous common names including seashore dropseed, marine couch, sand couch, salt couch grass, saltwater couch, coastal rat-tail grass, and nioaka, is a species of Poaceae, grass with a wide distribution.
Desc ...
Rhizophora mangle
''Rhizophora mangle'', also known as the red mangrove, is a salt-tolerant, small-to-medium sized evergreen tree restricted to coastal, estuarine ecosystems along the southern portions of North America, the Caribbean as well as Central America ...
,
Laguncularia racemosa
''Laguncularia'' is a genus of plants in the family Combretaceae. The only species in the genus is ''Laguncularia racemosa'', the white mangrove.
It is native to the coasts of western Africa from Senegal to Cameroon, the Atlantic Coast of the Am ...
sanderling
The sanderling (''Calidris alba'') is a small wading bird. The name derives from Old English ''sand-yrðling'', "sand-ploughman". The genus name is from Ancient Greek ''kalidris'' or ''skalidris'', a term used by Aristotle for some grey-colour ...
American golden plover
The American golden plover (''Pluvialis dominica'') is a medium-sized plover. The genus name is Latin and means relating to rain, from ''pluvia'', "rain". It was believed that golden plovers flocked when rain was imminent. The species name ''d ...
(Pluvialis Dominica) and
red knot
The red knot or just knot (''Calidris canutus'') is a medium-sized shorebird which breeds in tundra and the Arctic Cordillera in the far north of Canada, Europe, and Russia. It is a large member of the ''Calidris'' sandpipers, second only to the ...
(Calidris canutus).
Conservation goals
The protected area is classed
IUCN protected area category
IUCN protected area categories, or IUCN protected area management categories, are categories used to classify protected areas in a system developed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
The enlisting of such areas is part ...
V: protected landscape/seascape.
The purpose is to protect biological diversity, control human occupation and ensure that natural resources are used in a sustainable way.
Specific goals include allowing the ''
caiçaras
Caiçaras () are a people who inhabit the coastlines of the Brazil, Brazilian states of Paraná (state), Paraná, São Paulo (state), São Paulo and Santa Catarina (state), Santa Catarina, and the municipalities of Paraty and Angra dos Reis, in the ...
'' communities to exercise their traditional activities and preserving archaeological sites.
Occupation of slopes at risk of erosion is avoided, and the area tries to protect and preserve ecosystems from the coastal mangroves to the higher-altitude meadows, protect endangered species and conserve the nesting areas of birds and water resources.
Protected species include
green sea turtle
The green sea turtle (''Chelonia mydas''), also known as the green turtle, black (sea) turtle or Pacific green turtle, is a species of large sea turtle of the family Cheloniidae. It is the only species in the genus ''Chelonia''. Its range exte ...
(Chelonia mydas) and
Chaco eagle
The Chaco eagle (''Buteogallus coronatus'') or crowned solitary eagle, is an endangered bird of prey from eastern and central South America. Typically it is known simply as the crowned eagle, which leads to potential confusion with the African '' ...