MAMIRAUÁ ECOLOGICAL STATION INTEGRATED CONSERVATION AND
DEVELOPMENT PROJECT
(Project BR0043)
he Mamirauá Ecological Station is the only protected area
in the Brazilian Amazon consisting entirely of seasonally flooded
forests known as várzea or whitewater floodplains
- one of the world's most threatened habitats. Although the Amazon
basin contains the largest continuous stretch of rainforest on
earth, as little as two per cent of Brazilian Amazonia is covered
by flooded forests (including igapó or blackwater
floodplains as well).
The Mamirauá flooded forests are inundated for up to six
months a year. Biological diversity is high and many species,
such as the threatened "uakari" monkey and the recentlydiscovered
blackish squirrel monkey, are found nowhere else on earth. It
has a wide variety of birds including the Amazonian umbrella bird
and many aquatic animals such as pink dolphins and manatees.
Unfortunately flooded forest habitats are also among the most
vulnerable in Amazonia because of their sedimentrich soils,
productive fisheries, and accessibility to timber. The ecological
station is no exception. Local communities living in and around
the reserve exploit natural resources (mainly fisheries and timber
and, to a lesser extent, game) and are involved in smallscale
agricultural development. However, the main threat comes from
largescale logging activities and commercial fisheries from
Manaus.
In an effort to conserve Amazonian várzea flooded
forest, WWF is supporting this project by involving some 2,000
park residents in sustainable resource use planning to ensure
that fish and timber are not overexploited and that the living
standards of these communities improve.
Sustainable resource use may be a new name but it is not a new
concept for park residents aware that their livelihood depends
on the continued availability of natural resources. Over the past
decade a sustainable fishing scheme has been put in place following
encouragement from the local church. The scheme involves designating
some lakes as nofishing areas and identifying "controlleduse"
lakes in order to replenish stocks depleted by overfishing.
The project is building on community participation by involving
them in planning the reserve's future. The aim is to implement
a 200,000 hectare initial focal area divided into three zones:
fully protected areas, buffer zones for subsistence use and areas
of permanent settlement.
Information on natural resource use - crucial for zoning and planning
sustainable resource use - will also be used to help boost income
and improve community health, nutrition, and education. Efforts
are also being made to include environmental education in the
school curriculum through teachertraining courses and the
production of relevant teaching materials.
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