The Bocaina Mosaic () is a protected area mosaic on the border between

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

and

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. It provides coordinated management for a group of 10 federal, state and municipal conservation units covering an area of Atlantic Forest along the coast and up the slopes of the Bocaina plateau.

Creation

A project to create three new protected area mosaics in the Serra do Mar Ecological Corridor began in December 2005, coordinated by the National Council of the

Atlantic Forest Biosphere Reserve The Atlantic Forest Biosphere Reserve, or Mata Atlântica Biosphere Reserve (MABR, ), is a biosphere reserve covering remnants of the Atlantic Forest in Brazil, including fully protected and sustainable use conservation units and buffer zones. It ...

. These were the Bocaina Mosaic,

Central Rio de Janeiro Atlantic Forest Mosaic The Central Rio de Janeiro Atlantic Forest Mosaic () is a Protected area mosaic (Brazil), protected area mosaic in the state of Rio de Janeiro (state), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The mosaic is inland, to the east of the city of Rio de Janeiro. Histor ...

and

Mantiqueira Mosaic The Mantiqueira Mosaic () is a protected area mosaic that contains conservation units in the states of Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Minas Gerais, Brazil. The conservation units are of different types and are managed at the federal, state or muni ...

. Funding was provided by

Conservation International Conservation International (CI) is an American nonprofit environmental organization headquartered in Crystal City, Virginia, in Arlington County, Virginia. CI's work focuses on science, policy and partnership with businesses, governments and co ...

, the Fund for the

Global Environment Facility The Global Environment Facility (GEF) is a multilateral environmental fund that provides grants and blended finance for projects related to biodiversity, climate change, international waters, land degradation, persistent organic pollutants (P ...

(GEF), the

Government of Japan The Government of Japan is the central government of Japan. It consists of legislative, executive (government), executive and judiciary branches and functions under the framework established by the Constitution of Japan. Japan is a unitary st ...

, the

MacArthur Foundation The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is a private foundation that makes grants and impact investments to support non-profit organizations in approximately 117 countries around the world. It has an endowment of $7.6 billion and ...

and the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

. The Bocaina Mosaic was created by the ministry of the environment by decree 349 of 11 December 2006. The mosaic acquired its formal structure in March 2007. The purpose is to give integrated management of different conservation units in the region, including federal, state, municipal and private units, which may be different types of strictly protected or sustainable use unit.

Extent and purpose

The Bocaina Mosaic has an area of and contains 10 conservation units and their buffer zones on the southern coast of Rio de Janeiro and the northern coast of São Paulo. It ranges from coastal areas through steep slopes to the top of the dissected Bocaina plateau at an altitude of . It is one of the main strongholds of Atlantic Forest vegetation, covered by dense rain forest (

submontane Foothills or piedmont are geographically defined as gradual increases in elevation at the base of a mountain range, higher hill range or an upland area. They are a transition zone between plains and low relief hills and the adjacent topograph ...

montane 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 ...

and high montane), high montane

araucaria ''Araucaria'' (; original pronunciation: .ɾawˈka. ɾja is a genus of evergreen coniferous trees in the family Araucariaceae. While today they are largely confined to the Southern Hemisphere, during the Jurassic and Cretaceous they were glo ...

forest,

alpine meadows 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 ...

, marine coastal and

island ecosystem Island ecology is the study of island organisms and their interactions with each other and the environment. Islands account for nearly 1/6 of earth’s total land area,Paulay, G. 1994. Biodiversity on Oceanic Islands: Its Origin and Extinction. '' ...

s. The environment is still in good condition despite many places where humans have interfered. The Bocaina Mosaic aims to encourage integrated management of the various protected areas, contributing to the preservation and conservation of natural and

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

resources as well as sustainable development of the territory. It is included in the

recognized by

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

. The mosaic has an advisory board with representation of government agencies and civil society to provide integrated management of the conservation units and their

buffer zone A buffer zone, also historically known as a march, is a neutral area that lies between two or more bodies of land; usually, between countries. Depending on the type of buffer zone, it may serve to separate regions or conjoin them. Common types o ...

Conservation units

The conservation units include:

Notes

Sources

* * * * {{authority control Protected area mosaics of Brazil Protected areas of Rio de Janeiro (state) Protected areas of São Paulo (state) 2006 establishments in Brazil