Aguapeí State Park
State park protecting Atlantic Forest floodplain and water birds.
The Aguapeí State Park is a protected area in São Paulo, Brazil, covering 9,044 hectares of floodplain within the Atlantic Forest. It lies across six municipalities: Castilho, Guaraçaí, Junqueirópolis, Monte Castelo, Nova Independência, and São João do Pau d'Alho. The park sits roughly 10 kilometers upstream from where the Aguapeí River meets the Paraná River. It is also part of the proposed Trinational Biodiversity Corridor, a project linking conservation areas in Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina in the Upper Paraná ecoregion.
The park’s landscape is dominated by floodplains that submerge during the rainy season when the Aguapeí River overflows. Its vegetation includes seasonal semi-deciduous forest, typical of the Atlantic Forest biome, with plants such as *Albizia hasslerii*, *Aspidosperma polyneuron*, *Pterogyne nitens*, *Schizolobium parahyba*, *Handroanthus heptaphyllus*, *Tabebuia ochracea*, and *Zeyheria tuberculosa*. There are also areas of várzea (floodplain forest). Mammals like capybara, tapir, and deer live here, along with many water birds, including jabiru, wood stork, maguari stork, spoonbill, great egret, snowy egret, garganey, Neotropic cormorant, and southern screamer.
The park was created on 2 July 1998 by state decree 43.269, covering 9,043.97 hectares. It was established as compensation for the Primavera Hydroelectric Power Plant, built by the Companhia Energética de São Paulo (CESP) on the Paraná River. The dam flooded 13,227.39 hectares of the Lagoa São Paulo Reserve and 3,211.35 hectares of the Great Pontal Reserve. The park’s purpose is to fully protect fauna, flora, and natural beauty while allowing educational, recreational, and scientific use. Decree 44.730 on 28 February 2000 defined necessary public areas. Fishing regulations for the Paraná River basin, covering this park and others, were published on 2 October 2008. The park’s perimeter has been fenced, and all land was acquired and donated to the state of São Paulo. The administrative headquarters and visitor center opened in December 2015, with Governor Geraldo Alckmin and Environment Secretary Patricia Iglecias attending. The park was scheduled to open to the public early in 2016.
Quick Facts
- Iucn Category
- II
- Nearest City
- Guaraçaí, São Paulo
- Area
- 9044 ha
- Designation
- State park
- Created
- 2 July 1998
- Administrator
- Secretaria do Meio Ambiente do Estado de São Paulo
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The Aguapeí State Park was created as compensation when the Companhia Energética de São Paulo (CESP) built the Primavera Hydroelectric Power Plant on the Paraná River. The dam would flood 13,227.39 hectares of the Lagoa São Paulo Reserve and 3,211.35 hectares of the Great Pontal Reserve. The park was created by state decree 43.269 on 2 July 1998 with an area of 9,043.97 hectares.
The park is divided between the municipalities of Castilho, Guaraçaí, Junqueirópolis, Monte Castelo, Nova Independência, and São João do Pau d'Alho. It is about 10 kilometres upstream from the point where the Aguapeí River joins the Paraná River. The park would be part of the proposed Trinational Biodiversity Corridor, which aims to provide forest connections between conservation units in Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina.
The administrative headquarters and visitor center were opened in December 2015. Governor Geraldo Alckmin and Environment Secretary Patricia Iglecias attended the ceremony. The park was scheduled to be opened to the public early in 2016.
Reader's Guide
The Aguapeí State Park is significant as a compensatory conservation measure for the Primavera Hydroelectric Power Plant, protecting 9,044 hectares of floodplain in the Atlantic Forest biome. Its creation addressed the flooding of the Lagoa São Paulo Reserve and Great Pontal Reserve. The park preserves seasonal semi-deciduous forest and várzea vegetation, providing habitat for mammals such as capybara, tapir, and deer, and numerous water birds including jabiru, wood stork, maguari stork, spoonbill, great egret, snowy egret, garganey, Neotropic cormorant, and southern screamer. Its location upstream of the Aguapeí-Paraná confluence and its inclusion in the proposed Trinational Biodiversity Corridor highlight its role in regional ecological connectivity. The park's purpose is to fully protect fauna, flora, and natural beauty while allowing educational, recreational, and scientific use. Fishing regulations covering the park and other conservation areas in the Paraná River basin were published in 2008. The park's perimeter has been fenced, and land acquired and donated to the state of São Paulo, with a visitor center opened in late 2015.
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