BRAZIL
BIOSPHERE RESERVE OF CENTRAL AMAZON.
Year of creation
2001
The Biosphere Reserve of Central Amazonia (BRCA) is located in the central region of the Amazonas state, encompassing the basins of the Uatumã, Negro, Solimões, Japurá, Içá and Juruá rivers, which comprise black and white water systems with an enormous diversity of aquatic and terrestrial landscapes with extraordinary biodiversity. To the east of the Reserve we find the black hydrographic basins of the Uatumã and Negro rivers, with the latter being the largest black water river in the world with the second largest fish diversity in the Amazonas and the world's two largest river archipelagos, Mariuá and Anavilhanas. The central and western regions of the Reserve include white water ecosystems, rich in nutrients and sediments, making this part of the territory one of the most productive for fishing, plant extraction and agriculture, especially in the floodplains. This entire region is part of an immense hydrological and ecological system that connects the Andean region of the Amazon to the downstream systems of the Amazon estuary.
This Reserve consists of a group of continuous Protected Areas made up of the Jaú National Park; the Anavilhanas Ecological Station; the Ecological Reserves of Rio Negro, Javari-Solimões and Juami-Japurá; the Uatumã Biological Reserve; the Tefé National Forest; and the Mamirauá and Amanã Sustainable Development Reserves, among others of lesser territorial extent.
Along its extension are settlements of various shapes and sizes, ranging from a few houses to more than two million inhabitants, such as the city of Manaus. Its population is highly diverse both culturally (riverside dwellers, indigenous people and migrants) and socio-economically (from small farmers to extractivists, fishermen and even large landowners and employees of the Manaus Industrial Complex).
Extractivism and tourism (ecological, cultural, and fishing) are the main economic activities carried out in the Conservation Units, such as the Jaú National Park and the Mamirauá Reserve, as well as in the BRCA buffer zones.
Of particular interest is the initiative that supports the recognition of the indigenous wisdom and their knowledge about the biological diversity and its different uses, as well as the economic exploitation of timber products through sustainable management and the promotion of bioprospecting and green biotechnology.
Contacts
(+92) 3659-1820
(+92) 3659-1822
(+92) 3659-1828
