Pico da Neblina National Park
Pico da Neblina National Park | |
---|---|
Parque Nacional do Pico da Neblina | |
Location | State of Amazonas, Northern Brazil |
Nearest city | São Gabriel da Cachoeira |
Area | 2,252,616.84 ha (8,697.4022 sq mi) |
Designation | National park |
Established | 5 June 1979 |
Governing body | Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio) |
Pico da Neblina National Park (Portuguese: Parque Nacional do Pico da Neblina) is a national park in the state of Amazonas in the north of Brazil, bordering on Venezuela. It overlaps with several indigenous territories, which creates tensions over land use, as does the military presence due to the border location. The park includes lowlands around the Rio Negro, partly flooded, and mountains that include the highest peak in Brazil, after which the park is named. The wide variety of physical environments supports great biodiversity, including several endangered species.
Location
The Pico da Neblina National Park is divided between the municipalities of São Gabriel da Cachoeira (29.21%) and Santa Isabel do Rio Negro (70.79%) in the state of Amazonas.[1] It has an area of 2,252,616.84 hectares (5,566,337.4 acres).[2] The park may be accessed by boat along the Igarapé Itamirim or the Cauaburi and Sá rivers. It may also be reached by small airplane from Manaus.[3]
The park adjoins the Serranía de la Neblina National Park in Venezuela, to the north. To the south it is bounded by the Rio Negro.[1] The park and the Balaio Indigenous Territory surround the 36,900 hectares (91,000 acres) Morro dos Seis Lagos Biological Reserve, created in 1990.[4] The park would be included in the proposed Northern Amazon Ecological Corridor.[5]
History
The Pico da Neblina National Park was created on World Environment Day, 5 June 1979, by President General João Figueiredo.[3] The park was created by decree 83.550 with an estimated area of 2,200,000 hectares (5,400,000 acres) to protect fauna, flora and natural beauty.[6] It is classed as IUCN protected area category II (national park).[7] At the recommendation of the Federal Public Ministry the park was closed to the public from 2003 due to uncontrolled tourism which was causing social impacts on the resident population and environmental problems.[8] The park is administered by the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio).[2]
The consultative council was created by ordinance 75 of 25 June 2012.[6] A federal court decision published on 20 July 2012 discussed a project to build a local road from km 112 of highway
Terrain
The park is in the Western Amazonian geological province and is on the northwestern boundary of the
The Roraima plateau has altitudes of 1,200 to 3,014 metres (3,937 to 9,888 ft) and includes the Pico da Neblina.[9] The park contains the two highest peaks in Brazil, the 3,014 metres (9,888 ft) Pico da Neblina ("Cloud Peak") and the 2,992 metres (9,816 ft) Pico 31 de Março.[3][a] The Yanomami call the peaks "Yaripo" and "Masiripiwei".[10]
The Amazonas-Orinoco plateau is an extensive mountainous area with altitudes from 600 to 2,000 metres (2,000 to 6,600 ft) and includes the Padre, Marié Mirim and Imeri ranges. The Rio Branco-Rio Negro pediplane is an extensive plain with altitudes from 80 to 160 metres (260 to 520 ft), based on precambrian rocks of the Guianese complex.[9] The park is drained by left tributaries of the black water Rio Negro, including the Demiti, Cauburis and Maraiuá rivers.[7]
People
Much of the park is also part of an indigenous territory. The north and east of the park cover part of the Yanomami Indigenous Territory.[1] The Yanomami Indigenous Territory includes about 50% of the park.[3] The park overlaps with the Médio Rio Negro II Indigenous Territory in the south.[1] The west of the park contains 93.73% of the 257,000 hectares (640,000 acres) Balaio Indigenous Territory, approved in 2009.[11] The northwest overlaps with the Cué-cué/Marabitanas Indigenous Territory.[1] There are 46 communities in the indigenous territories, including members of the Yanomami,
The overlap causes problems due to conflicting demands of park management and indigenous sovereignty. Since the park is in a border area there is a military presence, which also causes problems. The park suffers from conflicts associated with the presence of gold prospectors and extractors of lianas, which cause irreversible damage. In some areas the prospectors cause mercury contamination. There is also illegal mining, logging and extraction of forests products.[3]
The
Environment
Average annual rainfall is 3,500 to 4,000 millimetres (140 to 160 in), with no pronounced wet or dry seasons.[9] Temperatures average 26 °C (79 °F) and range from 9 to 40 °C (48 to 104 °F).[7] At the highest points the temperatures may fall to 0 °C (32 °F).[9]
The park is in the
Common trees in the dense forest areas include Caraioa taquari, Clusia columnaris and Mauritia flexuosa. The densest formations also include Micropholis guianensis, Licania membranacea, Swartzia viridifolia, Pouteria engleri, Qualea albiflora and Astrocaryum mumbaca. Common trees in the open forest include Humiria balsamifera, Eperua purpurea, and Hevea rigidifolia. Other trees in the most open formations are Attalea racemosa, Pouteria guianensis, and Caryocar glabrum. The areas of campinarana contain caranã (Mauritia carana), tamaquaré (Caraipa grandiflora) and Pau-amarelo (Lissocarpa benthamii). Endemic flora include Didymopanax plurispicatus, Hortia neblinensis, Casearia neblinae, Gustavia acuminata and Heliamphora neblinae.[7]
The park is home a rich variety of fauna, including several endangered species. The primate golden-backed uakari (Cacajao melanocephalus) is still abundant in the area, although its habitat has been reduced elsewhere, as is the Guianan cock-of-the-rock (Rupicola rupicola), a small orange bird that inhabits forested areas. Other species include the
References
- ^ As its name suggests, the Pico da Neblina is almost always covered by clouds. For many years it was unknown to Brazil, and was first discovered by Venezuela. An overflight determined that it was in Brazil, but until the 1960s the border was undefined and the region was considered a no man's land. The border was only demarcated in 1962 and the peak recognized as part of Brazil.[3]
- ^ a b c d e PARNA do Pico da Neblina – ISA, Informações gerais.
- ^ a b c Parna do Pico da Neblina – ICMBio.
- ^ a b c d e f g h PARNA do Pico da Neblina – ISA, Características.
- ^ REBIO Morro dos Seis Lagos – ISA.
- ^ Ayres et al. 2005, p. 31.
- ^ a b c PARNA do Pico da Neblina – ISA, Historico Juridico.
- ^ a b c d e f Unidade de Conservação ... MMA.
- ^ Parque do Pico da Neblina Blog – ICMBio, Visitação.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Parque Nacional do Pico da Neblina – Via Rural.
- ^ Parque do Pico da Neblina Blog – ICMBio.
- ^ Terra Indígena Balaio – Terras Indígenas.
- ^ Parque do Pico da Neblina Blog – ICMBio, O Parque.
- ^ Parque do Pico da Neblina Blog – ICMBio, Pesquisa.
- ^ Sears.
- ^ Boubli 1994, pp. 11–12.
Sources
- Ayres, José Márcio; Da Fonseca, Gustavo A. B.; Rylands, Anthony B.; Queiroz, Helder L.; Pinto, Luiz Paulo; Masterson, Donald; Cavalcanti, Roberto B. (2005), Os Corredores Ecológicos das Florestas Tropicais do Brasil (PDF) (in Portuguese), Sociedade Civil Mamirauá, archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-07-31, retrieved 2016-10-28
- Boubli, J. P. (1994), "The black uakari monkey in the Pico da Neblina National Park", Neotropical Primates, 2 (3)
- Parna do Pico da Neblina (in Portuguese), ICMBio, retrieved 2017-03-02
- PARNA do Pico da Neblina (in Portuguese), ISA: Instituto Socioambiental, retrieved 2017-03-02
- Parque do Pico da Neblina Blog (in Portuguese), ICMBio, retrieved 2017-03-02
- Parque Nacional do Pico da Neblina (in Portuguese), Via Rural, archived from the original on 2017-03-03, retrieved 2017-03-02
- REBIO Morro dos Seis Lagos (in Portuguese), ISA: Instituto Socioambiental, retrieved 2017-02-23
- Sears, Robin, South America: Southern Venezuela, northern Brazil, western Guyana, and eastern Colombia (NT0124), WWF: World Wildlife Fund, retrieved 2017-04-01
- Terra Indígena Balaio (in Portuguese), Terras Indígenas no Brasil, retrieved 2017-02-25
- Unidade de Conservação: Parque Nacional do Pico da Neblina (in Portuguese), MMA: Ministério do Meio Ambiente, retrieved 2017-03-02