The Mendanha State Park ( is a

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "Federated state, state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on accou ...

in the state of

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 ...

, Brazil.

Location

The Mendanha State Park is divided between the municipalities of

Nova Iguaçu Nova Iguaçu (, ''New Iguaçu'') is a municipality in Rio de Janeiro state in Brazil. Geography Location The city is named after the Iguaçu River that runs through it and empties into Guanabara Bay (not to be confused with the Iguaçu Rive ...

and Mesquita, Rio de Janeiro. It has an area of . The park fully protects the third rocky massif of the metropolitan region, and forms a mosaic of conservation units with the

Pedra Branca State Park The Pedra Branca State Park () is a state park in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is one of the largest urban nature parks in the world. It protects an area of Atlantic Forest in the west of the city of Rio de Janeiro that includes the h ...

and the

Tijuca National Park The Tijuca National Park () is an urban national park in the mountains of the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The park is part of the Atlantic Forest Biosphere Preserve, and is administered by the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservat ...

. The park contains many tributaries of the Guandu River, which supplies water to the municipalities of the city of Rio de Janeiro and the Rio Grande region.

History

The Gericino / Mendanha Massif was declared an

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 ...

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 ...

in 1992. Before the park was created the area was protected by an

environmental protection area Environmental protection, or environment protection, refers to the taking of measures to protecting the natural environment, prevent pollution and maintain ecological balance. Action may be taken by individuals, advocacy groups and governments. ...

, a less strict form of protection than a

. At the time of creation the state environmental secretary

Carlos Minc Carlos Minc Baumfeld (born July 12, 1951) is a Brazilian geographer, professor, environmentalist, politician and Minister of Environment in Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's second term as president of Brazil. Personal life Minc was born on July 12, 1 ...

said the massif had been suffering from clandestine mining, illegal extraction of natural resources, and uncontrolled leisure and tourism activities. The Mendanha State Park was created by state decree 44.342 of 22 August 2013. The objectives are to protect and assist the recovery of the natural environment and landscapes of great scenic beauty, a densely forested area that shelters rare and endangered species, as well as to protect the water resources of the region. The park is part of the

Carioca Mosaic The Carioca Mosaic () is a protected area mosaic in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It includes various federal, state and municipal conservation units in and around the city of Rio de Janeiro. History The Carioca Mosaic was created by ord ...

, established in 2011. An environmental police unit was to be established to patrol the park by 2014. The federal government filed an action in 2015 against the state of Rio de Janeiro to suspend creation of the park on the grounds that much of it is on federal land that was being used as the army's Gericinó Training Area. The firing range is dangerous due to live explosive devices. The army had not been consulted in the meetings before creation of the park, and the state seemed to have ignored the fact that much of the land was federal property.

Environment

The park holds forest remnants with a high level of biodiversity. Flora include jequitibá-rosa (''

Cariniana legalis ''Cariniana legalis'' is a species of emergent rainforest tree in the Monkeypot family Lecythidaceae. It is found in the Atlantic forest of south-eastern Brazil, where is known as jequitibá-branco or jequitibá-rosa, and possibly found in Co ...

'') and cedro-rosa (''

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.jaguarundi The jaguarundi (''Herpailurus yagouaroundi''; or ) is a wild felidae, cat native to the Americas. Its range extends from central Argentina in the south to northern Mexico, through Central America, Central and South America east of the Andes. T ...

(''Puma yagouaroundi''),

lowland paca The lowland paca (''Cuniculus paca''), also known as the spotted paca, is a large rodent found in tropical and sub-tropical America, from east-central Mexico to northern Argentina, and has been introduced to Cuba and Algeria. The animal is call ...

(''Agouti paca'') and a reduced population of

tufted capuchin The tufted capuchin (''Sapajus apella''), also known as brown capuchin, black-capped capuchin, or pin monkey, is a New World primate from South America and the Caribbean islands of Trinidad and Margarita. As traditionally defined, it is one of t ...

(''Sapajus apella'').

Notes

Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mendanha State Park State parks of Brazil Protected areas established in 2013 2013 establishments in Brazil Protected areas of Rio de Janeiro (state)