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Largest private conservation area of Restinga in BrazilMost of the protected areas in the state of Rio de Janeiro are managed by the
State Environmental Institute. They protect representative areas of all the ecosystems
associated with the Atlantic forest Biome (seasonal forest, grassland, mangroves,
wetlands, Atlantic forest and restingas), guaranteeing shelter to numerous species of
flora and fauna, with many vulnerable or threatened with extinction.
The Federal Law nº 9.985/2000, which instituted the Conservation Unit National
System, establishes criteria and standards for creation, implementation and manage-
ment of protected areas. This system divides the units into two groups: Full Protection
Conservation Units and Sustainable Use Units.
In the state of Rio de Janeiro there are more than 450,000ha of conservation
units divided between Integral Protection Units and Sustainable Use. This sum does not
included the areas of Natural Patrimony Private Reserves (NPPR), which are protected
areas recognized by law by environmental agencies, under the administration of their
respective owners, and have priceless value for biodiversity protection and the integra-
tion of ecological corridors.
The State Decree n.º 40.909/2007 recognizes the NRPPs as Full Protection Con-
servation Units, and recreation activities, tourism, education and scientific research are
allowed since they are included in its management plan.
Currently, the state of Rio de Janeiro has 76 NPPRs recognized by the State
Environmental Institute, preserving around 6,600 ha of the Atlantic Forest Biome (INEA,
2014). The Caruara NPPR is the only one that occurs in the Restinga ecosystem repre-
senting about 60% of all NPPRs created in the state in an area of 3,845ha.
The 1st Article of the State Decree n.º 41.612 of 2008 defined Restinga as co-
astal sandy plains of marine origin, including beaches, sand ridges, dunes, depressions
between cords and depressions between dunes with its swamps, marshes, wetlands
and ponds, whose vegetation and fauna are adapted to local environmental conditions.
In the NPPR Caruara Farm, this ecosystem is made up of plant groups of distinct charac-
teristics which are the Quaternary coastal plains represented by the Paraíba do Sul (OLI-
VEIRA et al., 1997), originated in variations of the sea level and deep-water depositional
currents, making it denser and more diverse as the morning tide line.The Caruara Farm NPPR Creating historyHistorically, the Brazilian territory occupation model is implemented by the coast.
The anthropic pressure on the restingas and their associated ecosystems are not recent.