The Lago do Cuniã Extractive Reserve ( pt, Reserva Extrativista Lago do Cuniã) is an

extractive reserve An extractive reserve ( pt, Reserva Extrativista or RESEX) is a type of sustainable use protected area in Brazil. The land is publicly owned, but the people who live there have the right to traditional extractive practices, such as hunting, fishi ...

in the state of

Rondônia Rondônia () is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the northern subdivision of the country (central-western part). To the west is a short border with the state of Acre, to the north is the state of Amazonas, in the east is Mato Grosso, ...

, Brazil.

Location

The Lago do Cuniã Extractive Reserve is in the municipality of Porto Velho, Rondônia. It has an area of . The reserve is on the left (west) bank of the Madeira River. It adjoins the Cuniã Ecological Station to the east and north and the

Rio Madeira Sustainable Yield Forest The Rio Madeira Sustainable Yield Forest ( pt, Floresta de Rendimento Sustentado Rio Madeira) is a set of managed forests in the state of Rondônia, Brazil. Three sectors, A, B and C, were created in 1990 but only sectors B and C remain. The fores ...

(''Floresta de Rendimento Sustentado'') to the north and west. The reserve contains the floodplains of large and small rivers, surrounded by fluvial terraces. The relief is one of soft, rounded hills. Altitude ranges from . The reserve drains into the Madeira River. The Cuniã Lake (Lago do Cuniã), after which the reserve is named, has an area of about and is fed by stream originating in the reserve.

Environment

Temperatures range from with an average of . Average annual rainfall is . The vegetation is mainly savanna-rainforest contact and pioneer fluvial forest. The reserve has rich fauna, with birds like great egret (''Ardea alba''), jabiru (''Jabiru mycteria''), maguari stork (''Ciconia maguari'') and Neotropic cormorant (''Phalacrocorax brasilianus'') and large animals such as

black caiman The black caiman (''Melanosuchus niger'') is a species of large crocodilian and is the largest species of the family Alligatoridae. It is a carnivorous reptile that lives along slow-moving rivers, lakes, seasonally flooded savannas of the Amazon ...

(''Melanosuchus niger'') and

porpoise Porpoises are a group of fully aquatic marine mammals, all of which are classified under the family Phocoenidae, parvorder Odontoceti (toothed whales). Although similar in appearance to dolphins, they are more closely related to narwhals an ...

. As of 2001 the reserve was home to 50 families with about 400 people whose main economic activity was fishing for food and for sale. Almost all preserve traditional artisan techniques, including the skill learned from the Indians of making canoes.

History

The Lago do Cuniã Extractive Reserve was created by federal decree 3.238 of 10 November 1999, which was reworded on 9 May 2000. It is classed as IUCN protected area category VI (protected area with sustainable use of natural resources). Its basic objectives are to protect the livelihoods and culture of the traditional population and ensure the sustainable use of the natural resources. It is administered by the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio). On 22 February 2002 lower limits were placed on fishing related to minimum size and period of fishing. The deliberative council was created on 20 June 2006. An ordinance of 9 January 2012 provided for a consistent and integrated approach to preparing management plans for the conservation units in the

BR-319 BR-319 is an federal highway that links Manaus, Amazonas to Porto Velho, Rondônia. The highway runs through a pristine part of the Amazon rainforest. It was opened by the military government in 1973 but soon deteriorated, and by 1988 was impassi ...

area of influence. These are the Abufari Biological Reserve, Cuniã Ecological Station, Nascentes do Lago Jari and Mapinguari national parks, Balata-Tufari, Humaitá and Iquiri national forests, and the Lago do Capanã-Grande, Rio Ituxi, Médio Purus and Lago do Cuniã extractive reserves. The usage plan of the reserve was approved on 10 July 2013.

Notes

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lago do Cunia Extractive Reserve Extractive reserves of Brazil 1999 establishments in Brazil Protected areas of Rondônia