The Serra do Conduru 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

Bahia Bahia () is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Mina ...

, Brazil. It protects an area of Atlantic Forest that is regenerating after damage from human intervention.

Location

The Serra do Conduru State Park is divided between the municipalities of Uruçuca (44%),

Itacaré Itacaré is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the Cocoa bean, cocoa zone of the state of Bahia in Brazil, south of Salvador, Brazil, Salvador. Geography Itacaré is located 70 km north of Ilhéus where the Rio de Contas, which come ...

(41%) and

Ilhéus Ilhéus () is a major city located in the southern coastal region of Bahia, Brazil, 211 km south of Salvador, Brazil, Salvador, the state's capital. The city was founded in 1534 as Vila de São Jorge dos Ilhéus and is known as one of the mos ...

(15%) in Bahia. It has an area of . The buffer zone covers . The park is in the eastern hydrographic basin of Bahia. It includes the Lagoa Encantada, the village of Serra Grande, the Itacaré Forest and the mountainous coastline. Human activities include extreme sports, adventure tourism, mountaineering, trekking, mountain biking and ecotourism. Threats include

illegal logging Illegal logging is the harvest, transportation, purchase, or sale of timber in violation of laws. The harvesting procedure itself may be illegal, including using corrupt means to gain access to forests; extraction without permission, or from a p ...

and

poaching Poaching is the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals, usually associated with land use rights. Poaching was once performed by impoverished peasants for subsistence purposes and to supplement meager diets. It was set against the huntin ...

, and delays in regularization of land ownership.

Environment

The average annual temperature is , with a super-humid tropical climate. The park contains the headwaters of 30 rivers and streams. The park is in the Atlantic Forest biome and consists of dense submontane rainforest in various stages of succession. Vegetation includes many clearings for agriculture or pasture and fragments of forest in different stages of regeneration. The vegetation is always green, and includes trees up to in height as well as dense shrub growth of ferns, arborescents, bromeliads, palms, vines, orchids and cactuses. The wetlands that have not been disturbed by people hold fig trees, palm trees and palmettos. There are as many as 458 tree species per hectare, a very high rate of biodiversity. About 72% of species are typical of the Amazon Forest. 175 bird species have been identified, including 27 that are endemic and six that are threatened. They include red-billed curassow (''Crax blumenbachii''), red-browed amazon (''Amazona rhodocorytha'') and ochre-marked parakeet (''Pyrrhura cruentata''). 9 species of small mammals have been recorded and 30 species of medium or large mammals. These include golden-headed lion tamarin (''Leontopithecus chrysomelas''), golden-bellied capuchin (''Sapajus xanthosternos''),

cougar The cougar (''Puma concolor'') (, ''Help:Pronunciation respelling key, KOO-gər''), also called puma, mountain lion, catamount and panther is a large small cat native to the Americas. It inhabits North America, North, Central America, Cent ...

(''Puma concolor''),

ocelot The ocelot (''Leopardus pardalis'') is a medium-sized spotted Felidae, wild cat that reaches at the shoulders and weighs between on average. It is native to the southwestern United States, Mexico, Central America, Central and South America, ...

(''Leopardus pardalis'') and coastal black-handed titi (''Callicebus melanochir''). At least 45 species of endemic amphibians with limited distribution have been identified, including Hylomantis áspera, Eleutherodactylus bilineatus, Cycloramphus migueli and Hyla sibilata.

History

The campaign to create the Serra do Conduru State Park began in 1993, and was promoted in 1996 by Conservation International Brazil, the SOS Atlantic Forest Foundation and the Institute of Social and Environmental Studies of Southern Bahia (IESB). The park was formally created by 6.227 of 21 February 1997. In 1998 highway BA-001 from

was inaugurated, prompting studies on land regularization and closing the sawmills in southern Bahia that threatened the ancient trees of the region. It became part of the Central Atlantic Forest Ecological Corridor, created in 2002. Decree 8.702 of 4 November 2003 expanded the size of the park. The composition of the park's management board was agreed in November 2010. By 2011 the park had formal tenure over 51% of the land, but was still vulnerable due to lack of infrastructure for protecting the land and allowing public use.

Notes

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Serra do Conduru State Park 1997 establishments in Brazil Protected areas established in 1997 Protected areas of Bahia State parks of Brazil