There are 131 federal, 443 state, 14 municipal and 124 private conservation units in the Atlantic Forest area, spread over sixteen states in Brazil, with the exception of

Goiás Goiás () is a Brazilian States of Brazil, state located in the Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region. Goiás borders the Federal District (Brazil), Federal District and the states of (from north clockwise) Tocantins, Bahia, Minas Ge ...

. Protected areas cover less than 2% of the biome and integral protection areas protect only 24% of the remnants. Many units consist of very small, isolated fragments and half of the threatened vertebrate species are not found in any protected area. Other related problems are the lack of infrastructure to maintain the conservation units and a series of impasses with indigenous leaders, as seen in the

Ilha do Cardoso State Park The Ilha do Cardoso State Park () is a state park on the coast of the state of São Paulo, Brazil. It preserves a large area of Atlantic Forest on the Ilha do Cardoso, an island, and includes marshes and mangroves that form an important breeding ...

Superagüi National Park Superagüi National Park () is a national park on the coast of the state of Paraná, Brazil. Location Created in 1998, the park has a total area of , it comprises Superagüi Island, Peças Island, Pinheiro and Pinheirinho Islands, along with the ...

and

Monte Pascoal National Park Monte Pascoal National Park () is a National park (Brazil), national park in the state of Bahia, Brazil. Location The National and Historical park is in the Atlantic Forest biome. It covers an area of , of which overlaps with the Barra Velha in ...

. Among all the categories of conservation units in Brazil, Natural Heritage Reserves (RPPNs) are the most important for establishing new protected areas, as most of the remaining forest is still privately owned. In the

Northeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A '' compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—eac ...

, RPPNs protect important fragments with endemic and highly endangered species, especially birds. Another strategy for creating new units is the '' ICMS Ecológico'', a tax compensation granted to municipalities and states that have officially declared protected areas. In Argentina and Paraguay, there are important conservation units in the Alto Paraná Atlantic Forest ecoregion, which in Brazil are concentrated in the

Iguaçu National Park Iguaçu National Park () is a National park (Brazil), national park in Paraná State, Brazil. It comprises a total area of and a length of about , of which are natural borders by bodies of water and the Argentine and Brazilian sides together c ...

, the

Morro do Diabo State Park 280px, Mico Leão Preto ESEC.Large black area in yellow: Morro do Diabo PES The Morro do Diabo State Park () is a State park (Brazil), state park in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. It protects an area of Atlantic Forest in a region that has lo ...

and the

Turvo State Park The Turvo State Park () is a state park in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. It protects the last large area of well-preserved Upper Uruguay forest in the state, which is home to several rare or endangered species. The park is best known fo ...

. The protected areas in the

Misiones Province Misiones (, ''Missions'') is one of the Provinces of Argentina, 23 provinces of Argentina, located in the northeastern corner of the country in the Mesopotamia, Argentina, Mesopotamia region. It is surrounded by Paraguay to the northwest, Brazil ...

, the

Serra do Mar The Serra do Mar (; ) is a system of mountain ranges and escarpments in Southeast Region, Brazil, Southeastern Brazil. Geography The Serra do Mar runs parallel to the Atlantic Ocean coast from the state of Espírito Santo to southern Santa Ca ...

and southern Bahia comprise the largest continuous remnants of the Atlantic Forest. In order to maintain biodiversity and important ecological processes, it is proposed to create wildlife corridors linking the conservation units in each of these regions.

National Parks

Significant Integral Conservation Units

There are a large number of conservation units in the Atlantic Forest domain, most of them small and isolated. This section lists protected areas that play a fundamental function as "core zones" in important ecological corridors.

Biosphere Reserves

The

Biosphere Reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

is a collection of conservation units established 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 ...

with the aim of promoting more regional actions in the conservation of the different biomes around the world. There are four reserves in the Atlantic Forest domain spread over Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay.

References

{{Portal bar, Brazil, Ecology, Environment Protected areas of Brazil Nature conservation in Brazil Environmental issues in Brazil National parks of Brazil Types of protected area of Brazil Flora of the Atlantic Forest Atlantic Forest Forests of Brazil

National Parks

Significant Integral Conservation Units

Biosphere Reserves

See also

References