Jungle Marathon
Tapajos National Forest
TAPAJÓS NATIONAL FOREST
The Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation - ICMBio - is a federal agency linked to the Ministry of Environment of Brazil, responsible for the management, monitoring and protection of 312 units of existing nature conservation in Brazil.
The Tapajos National Forest is an important nature conservation unit located in the Amazon, specifically the banks of the Rio Tapajós region of Pará.
Founded in 1974, the Tapajós National Forest is a federal conservation unit that houses the most scientific research in the Amazon Biome - 91 studies in 2012 (SISBIO, 2012).
With approximately 527,000 hectares - more than 150 miles of beaches - the unit has a great diversity of landscapes: rivers, lakes, wetlands, land, hills, plains, forests, fields, palm heart areas, etc ...
Forest cover is strongly preserved, the Rio Tapajos with its green warm, fresh waters , and the enormous scenic beauty of the region make the Tapajós National Forest one of the most visited protected areas in northern Brazil.
Besides the environmental qualities of the Tapajós National Forest it also presents significant sociocultural richness, represented by approximately 500 indigenous Ethnicity Munduruku divided into three villages - Bragança, and Marituba, Takuara.
This cultural richness is also represented by more than 3000 traditional inhabitants - riverside populations with cultural habits themselves - who live in 23 communities in the region since before the creation of the unit.
Part of this population - Traditional and Indigenous - performs sustainable forest management in an area specially reserved for this purpose - with less than 5% of the total area of the unit. This reference management is successful in Brazil and Latin America and moves almost R $ 4,000,000.00 per year. This feature is in the unit and assists in the development of social protection and the Tapajos National Forest.
Today the Tapajós National Forest is one of the units most prosperous and proteceted nature conservation áreas in the Amazon, with a wide range of activities - including sports - including the maraton da selva “JUNGLE MARATHON!”
Finally, now that you know a little more of the Tapajós National Forest, may I extend this opportunity to invite you to discover it - in person - this amazing piece of Amazonia!
Sincerely,
FÁBIO MENEZES DE CARVALHO
Head of the Tapajós National Forest - ICMBio
