Uatumã Biological Reserve () is a

Biological 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 ...

around the river Uatumã in the state of Amazonas in

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 ...

Location

The Uatumã Biological Reserve is divided between the municipalities of Urucará (35.55%),

São Sebastião do Uatumã São Sebastião do Uatumã is a municipality located in the Brazilian state of Amazonas. Its population was 14,352 (2020) and its area is 10,741 km2. Geography The municipality contains part of the Uatumã Biological Reserve, a strictly ...

(16.56%) and

Presidente Figueiredo Presidente Figueiredo is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality located in the States of Brazil, Brazilian state of Amazonas (Brazilian state), Amazonas. Its population was 37,193 (2020) and its area is 25,422 km2. History The name of the ...

(47.89%) in Amazonas. It has an area of . It lies along the northeast shore of the

Balbina Dam The Balbina Dam () is a hydroelectric dam and power station on the Uatumã River in the Amazon Rainforest, Brazil. The location is under the municipality of Presidente Figueiredo jurisdiction, in the state of Amazonas. Structure The Balbina Da ...

reservoir. To the west is adjoins the

Waimiri Atroari Indigenous Territory The Waimiri Atroari Indigenous Territory () is an Indigenous territory (Brazil), indigenous territory in the states of Amazonas (Brazilian state), Amazonas and Roraima, Brazil. There has been a long history of violent conflict between the indigenou ...

. The

Pitinga mine The Pitinga mine is an open pit tin mine in Brazil. It is thought to have the largest undeveloped tin deposit in the world. A complete community of 5,000 people was established in the remote location in the Amazon rainforest to support the mining ...

is northwest of the reserve. The Trombetas/Mapuera Indigenous Territory is north and east of the reserve.

History

The reserve was originally established in 1990 in the municipalities of

and Itapiranga. It covered . It became part of the

Central Amazon Ecological Corridor The Central Amazon Ecological Corridor () is an ecological corridor in the state of Amazonas, Brazil, that connects a number of conservation units in the Amazon rainforest. The objective is to maintain genetic connectivity between the protected ...

, established in 2002. The reserve was expanded by decree on 19 September 2002. The advisory council was created on 23 July 2008. It is administered by the

Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation The Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation ( Portuguese: ''Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade'', ICMBio) is a government agency under the administration of the Brazilian Ministry of the Environment. It is nam ...

Conservation

The Biological Reserve is a "strict nature reserve" under

IUCN protected area category IUCN protected area categories, or IUCN protected area management categories, are categories used to classify protected areas in a system developed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The enlisting of such areas is part ...

Ia. The purpose is to preserve the biological diversity of the dense rainforest ecosystem in the basin of the

Uatumã River The Uatumã River (sometimes spelled Uatamã) is a river flowing through the state of Amazonas in Brazil. It is a northern tributary of the Amazon River, and known for its extensive peacock bass population. It is a blackwater river. The river ...

and

Jatapu River The Jatapu River is a major tributary of the Uatumã River. Situated within the Amazon River basin, it is located in the eastern portion of state of Amazonas in north-western Brazil. Part of the river basin is protected by the Uatumã Biological ...

, and the lake and island ecosystems formed by the Balbina Dam on the Uatumã, and to protect endemic, rare, vulnerable or endangered species. The conservation unit is supported by the

Amazon Region Protected Areas Program The Amazon Region Protected Areas Program (ARPA; ) is a joint initiative sponsored by government and non-government agencies to expand protection of the Amazon rainforest in Brazil. Foundation The Amazon Region Protected Areas Program (ARPA) orig ...

. Protected species in the reserve include the sponge

anheteromeyenia ornata ''Anheteromeyenia'' is a genus of freshwater sponge. It has been recorded in the Nearctic, the Neotropics. This taxon was initially a subgenus of ''Heteromeyenia'' when K. Schöder circumscribed it in 1927, but W. M. de Laubenfels made it a genus ...

and the

amazonian manatee The Amazonian manatee (''Trichechus inunguis'') is a species of manatee that lives in the Amazon Basin in Brazil, Peru, Colombia and Ecuador. It has thin, wrinkled brownish or gray colored skin, with fine hairs scattered over its body and a white ...

(trichechus inunguis).

References

Sources

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Uatuma Biological Reserve 2002 establishments in Brazil Biological reserves of Brazil Protected areas of Amazonas (Brazilian state) Protected areas established in 2002