The Serra do Mar Ecological Corridor ( or ''Corredor de Biodiversidade da Serra do Mar'') is a large collection of

protected areas Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewoo ...

in the states 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 ...

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil, being the fourth largest state by area and the second largest in number of inhabitants with a population of 20,539,989 according to the 2022 Brazilian census, 2022 census. Located in ...

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 ...

and

Paraná Paraná, Paranã or Parana may refer to: Geology * Paraná Basin, a sedimentary basin in South America Places In Argentina *Paraná, Entre Ríos, a city * Paraná Department, a part of Entre Ríos Province In Brazil *Paraná (state), a state ...

in southern Brazil that form an ecological corridor connecting areas of Atlantic Forest.

Extent

The Serra do Mar Ecological Corridor extends from Paraná to Rio de Janeiro and covers about . It encompasses some of the most densely populated areas of Brazil, within which there are several important fragments of Atlantic Forest. The corridor is one of the areas with the richest biodiversity in the Atlantic Forest.

Purpose

An ecological corridor is an area of great biological importance that consists of a network of protected areas interspersed with varying levels of human occupation and different forms of land use. The corridor provides integrated management to ensure the survival all species, maintain ecological and evolutionary processes, and develop a strong regional economy based on sustainable use of natural resources. It allows for the flow of plant and animal genes between the protected areas, thus maintaining genetic diversity.

Mosaics

Protected area mosaics have the potential to strengthen ecological corridors by expanding the scale of conservation planning and increasing the chances of reconnecting natural areas within and between the mosaics. The Serra do Mar Ecological Corridor contains several protected area mosaics. The Lagamar Mosaic, covering , was created in May 2006. It has great importance in conserving Atlantic Forest, and is supported by SOS Mata Atlântica and by 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 ...

. It was the second mosaic to be created in Brazil, after the

Piauí Mosaic Piauí ( ) is one of the states of Brazil, located in the country's Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region. The state has 1.6% of the Brazilian population and produces 0.7% of the Brazilian GDP. Piauí has the shortest coastline of any coas ...

, created in March 2005. A project to create three new protected area mosaics began in December 2005, coordinated by the National Council of the

. 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

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 Ministry of the Environment gave the mosaics formal structure in March 2007. Their purpose is to give integrated management of different conservation units in a region, including federal, state, municipal and private units, which may be different form of strictly protected or sustainable use unit. Together the three new mosaics included 51 units covering over in the states of Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais and São Paulo. 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. The Central Coastal Atlantic Forest Mosaic has an area of and contains 22 conservation units and their buffer zones in Rio de Janeiro. The Mantiqueira Mosaic has an area of and contains 19 conservation units and their buffer zones in Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Minas Gerais.

Notes

Sources

* * * {{authority control Ecological corridors of Brazil Protected areas of Rio de Janeiro (state) Protected areas of São Paulo (state) Protected areas of Minas Gerais Protected areas of Paraná (state)