The Manicoré Biological Reserve () is a biological reserve in the state of Amazonas, Brazil. It fully protects an intact area of the Amazon rainforest that is rich in biodiversity, and serves as part of a shield against the advance of the arc of

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal and destruction of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. Ab ...

Location

The Manicoré Biological Reserve is the municipalities of

Manicoré Manicoré is a municipality located in the south-east of the Brazilian state of Amazonas. History Manicoré's origins date back to 1637, with the expedition of Pedro Teixeira, a Portuguese explorer and military man. The authorities of Grão-P ...

(54.92%) and

Novo Aripuanã Novo Aripuanã is a municipality located in the Brazilian state of Amazonas. History The region was originally inhabited by the Toras, Barés, Muras, Urupás, Araras and other indigenous peoples. The first records of European penetration to ...

(45.08%) in the state of Amazonas. It is north of the

Trans-Amazonian Highway The Trans-Amazonian Highway (official designation BR-230, official name Rodovia Transamazônica ) was introduced on September 27, 1972. It is 4,000 km long, making it the third longest highway in Brazil. It runs through the Amazon forest and ...

(BR-230). It is bounded by the Campos de Manicoré Environmental Protection Area (APA) to the west and by the

Aripuanã National Forest The Aripuanã National Forest () is a national forest in the state of Amazonas, Brazil. It supports sustainable forestry, and also protects the environment, supports scientific research and protects the sustainable lifestyle of the traditional in ...

to the south and east. Both of these units were created at the same time as the Manicoré Biological Reserve. It lies to the west of the

Aripuanã River Aripuanã River () is a river in the Mato Grosso and Amazonas states in north-western Brazil. It is a tributary of the Madeira River in the Amazon Basin. The town of Novo Aripuanã is located on its banks where it merges into the Madeira River. ...

, a tributary of the

Madeira River The Madeira River ( ) is a major waterway in South America. It is estimated to be in length, while the Madeira-Mamoré is estimated near or in length depending on the measuring party and their methods. The Madeira is the biggest tributary of ...

. The Madeira flows some distance to the west of the reserve. The

Manicoré River Manicoré River () is a river of Amazonas state in north-western Brazil. It is a tributary A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary doe ...

forms part of the boundary with the Campos de Manicoré APA, then flows north through the Manicoré Biological Reserve. It has an area of .

Environment

The reserve is in the

Amazon biome The Amazon biome () contains the Amazon rainforest, an area of tropical rainforest, and other ecoregions that cover most of the Amazon basin and some adjacent areas to the north and east. The biome contains blackwater river, blackwater and whitewa ...

. Vegetation is mainly dense rainforest with some pioneer formations, and has not suffered as much deforestation as other areas of the Amazon. The reserve holds a wide range of palm tree species, and has endangered tree species such as the Bertholletia excelsa, Amburana cearensis var. Acreana,

Swietenia macrophylla ''Swietenia macrophylla'', commonly known as mahogany, Honduran mahogany, Honduras mahogany, or big-leaf mahogany is a species of plant in the Meliaceae family. It is one of three species that yields genuine mahogany timber (Swietenia), the ot ...

and

Aniba rosaeodora ''Aniba rosaeodora'', also known as pau-rosa, is a species of Magnoliid tree in the family Lauraceae. Often confused as ''rosewood,'' the plant doesn't grow on any tree of the genus '' Dalbergia''. It grows in parts of the tropical rainforest o ...

. The region has a variety of environments and diverse fauna, although there have been few studies. The

basin is estimated to harbour about 800 species of birds, and is an area with many primates including endemic species.

History

The Manicoré Biological Reserve was created by presidential decree on 11 May 2016. It 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 ...

(ICMBio). The reserve was created to protect the biological diversity of the Manicoré, Manicorezinho and Jatuarana rivers, their tributaries and the associated natural and physical landscapes, with the purpose of sustaining

ecosystem services Ecosystem services are the various benefits that humans derive from Ecosystem, ecosystems. The interconnected Biotic_material, living and Abiotic, non-living components of the natural environment offer benefits such as pollination of crops, clean ...

and contributing to the environmental stability of the region. The soils are acidic and low fertility, so unsuitable for agriculture or grazing, but the region has been feeling growing pressure from loggers, ranchers and soybean farmers since 2005. The reserve is part of a shield designed to protect the heart of the Amazon forest from the advance of deforestation. The reserve is one of five conservation units created in the last week before the provisional removal of president

Dilma Rousseff Dilma Vana Rousseff (; born 14 December 1947) is a Brazilian economist and politician who served as the 36th president of Brazil from 2011 until her impeachment and removal from office on 31 August 2016. She is the only woman to have held the ...

, totalling , all in the south of Amazonas state. These were the fully protected Manicoré Biological Reserve with and

Acari National Park Acari National Park () is a national park in the state of Amazonas, Brazil. Location The Acari National Park covers parts of the municipalities of Apuí (11.77%), Borba (59.55%) and Novo Aripuanã (28.68%) in Amazonas. It is north of the BR-23 ...

with , and the sustainable use Campos de Manicoré Environmental Protection Area with , Aripuanã National Forest with and Urupadi National Forest with . The same package expanded the

Amaná National Forest Amaná National Forest () is a national forest in the state of Pará, Brazil. Most of it has been allocated for use in sustainable forestry or community forestry. Mining is allowed. Location The Amaná National Forest is in the Amazon biome. It ...

by . With these units the Dilma government had created about of new protected areas during her administration, compared to about by her predecessor

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (; born Luiz Inácio da Silva; 27 October 1945), known Mononym, mononymously as Lula, is a Brazilian politician, trade unionist and former metalworker who has served as the 39th president of Brazil since 2023. A mem ...

. Her administration had also reduced the area of seven protected areas in the Amazon to allow for construction of dams on the

Tapajós The Tapajós ( ) is a river in Brazil. It runs through the Amazon Rainforest and is a major tributary of the Amazon River. When combined with the Juruena River, the Tapajós is approximately long. Prior to a drastic increase in illegal gold mi ...

Notes

Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Manicore Biological Reserve 2016 establishments in Brazil Biological reserves of Brazil Protected areas of Amazonas (Brazilian state) Protected areas established in 2016