Mata dos Ausentes Ecological Station

Mata dos Ausentes Ecological Station
Estação Ecológica Mata dos Ausentes
IUCN category Ia (strict nature reserve)

Nearest city	Itamarandiba, Minas Gerais
Coordinates	17°58′08″S 43°09′04″W / 17.969°S 43.151°W / -17.969; -43.151Coordinates: 17°58′08″S 43°09′04″W / 17.969°S 43.151°W / -17.969; -43.151
Area	498 hectares (1,230 acres)
Designation	Ecological station
Created	23 September 1974

Mata dos Ausentes Ecological Station (Portuguese: Estação Ecológica Mata dos Ausentes) is a state-administered ecological station in Minas Gerais, Brazil.

Location

The station was created by decree on 23 September 1974, modified on 28 December 1994. It covers 498 hectares (1,230 acres).^[1] It lies in the municipality of Senador Modestino Gonçalves, Minas Gerais,^[2] and is part of the Espinhaço mosaic of the upper Jequitinhonha – Serra do Cabral. Other units in this mosaic are the Sempre Vivas National Park, Serra do Cabral, Biribiri, Rio Preto, Pico do Itambé and Serra Negra state parks, Água das Vertentes, Felício dos Santos and Rio Manso Environmental Protection Areas.^[3]

The station is within the Jequitinhonha River valley, in the basin of the Araçuaí River.^[1] It lies in an area where there is intense human activity and provides an important refuge for local fauna.^[4] The vegetation is mainly fields, dense cerrado and remains of the Atlantic Forest. Fauna include giant anteater, giant armadillo, maned wolf and ocelot.^[1]

Conservation issues

In April 2013, the Public Ministry and Justice department of Minas Gerais charged that the State Forestry Institute had been failing to comply with environmental legislation. There were serious problems such as lack of a management plan, physical structures and personnel, and land tenure issues with the ecological stations of Mata dos Ausentes and Mata do Acauã and the state parks of Biribiri, Alto Cariri, Rio Preto and Serra Negra.^[4]

In April 2014, the state government established a working group to coordinate regularization of "vacant" land in ten state conservation units including the Mata dos Ausentes Ecological Station. "Vacant" land is land that has never been privately owned, even though occupied.^[5] Streams that rise in the reserve feed the Itapirapuã, one of the main tributaries of the Itanguá River.

In August 2015, a project was under way to recover the Itapirapuã, which had been damaged by cattle trampling the banks, destruction of the riparian forests to make charcoal, sand mining and dumping of domestic sewage and solid waste.^[6]

Notes

Sources

"Estação Ecológica Mata dos Ausentes", Ambiente Brasil (in Portuguese), retrieved 2016-04-27
Estação Ecológica Mata dos Ausentes (in Portuguese), IEF Minas Gerais, retrieved 2016-04-27
IEF (3 April 2014), Minas inicia regularizacao de terras devolutas no interior de unidades de conservacao estaduais, retrieved 2016-04-28
MPMG cobra na Justiça a estruturação de unidades de conservação e proteção ambiental do estado (in Portuguese), MPMG, 4 October 2013, retrieved 2016-04-28
"Projeto envolve comunidades e dá bom exemplo na recuperação de córrego no município de Itamarandiba", Aconteceu no Vale (in Portuguese), 20 August 2015, retrieved 2016-04-28
UNIDADES DE CONSERVAÇÃO - MOSAICO DO ESPINHAÇO: ALTO JEQUITINHONHA - SERRA DO CABRAL (in Portuguese), ICMBio, retrieved 2016-04-28

Protected areas of Brazil

Ecological stations	Aracuri Caracaraí Carijós Guaraqueçaba Iquê Jari Juami-Japurá Jutaí-Solimões Maracá Maracá-Jipioca Niquiá Pirapitinga Rio Acre Seridó Serra das Araras Taiamã Taim Tamoios Tupinambás Tupiniquins Uruçui-Una

Biological reserves	Abufari Andradina Atol das Rocas Augusto Banhados do Delta Canela Preta Carmo da Mata Colônia 31 de Março Comboios Córrego de Veado Córrego Grande Fazenda São Mateus Fontes do Ipiranga Guaporé Guaratiba Guaribas Gurupi Ibirapuitã Ilha do Cabo Frio Jaíba Jaru Lago Piratuba Lami José Lutzenberger Lapinha Marinha do Arvoredo Mata do Acauã Mata do Jambreiro Mata dos Ausentes Mata Paludosa Mogi-Guaçu Pedra Talhada Perobas Pindorama Poço das Antas Praia do Sul Biological Reserve Professor José Ângelo Rizzo Rio Trombetas Saltinho Santa Isabel Santa Rita São Camilo São Donato São Sebastião do Paraíso Serra Negra Sooretama Tamboré Tapirapé Tinguá Uatumã Una Vila Facchini

National parks	Abrolhos Alto Ribeira State and Tourist Park Amazônia Anavilhanas Aparados da Serra Araguaia Araucárias Brasília Cabo Orange Campos Gerais Caparaó Cavernas do Peruaçu Chapada das Mesas Chapada Diamantina Chapada dos Guimarães Chapada dos Veadeiros Emas Fernando de Noronha Furna Feia Grande Sertão Veredas Iguaçu Ilha Grande Itatiaia Jacupiranga Jaú Jericoacoara Jurubatiba Juruena Lençóis Maranhenses Monte Pascoal Monte Roraima Nascentes Pacaás Novos Pantanal Matogrossense Pau Brasil Pedra Azul Pico da Neblina Pontões Capixabas Lagoa do Peixe Saint-Hilaire São Joaquim Sempre Vivas Serra da Bocaina Serra da Bodoquena Serra da Canastra Serra da Capivara Serra da Cutia Serra de Itabaiana Serra da Mocidade Serra do Cipó Serra do Divisor Serra do Itajaí Serra do Pardo Serra dos Órgãos Serra Geral Sete Cidades Superagüi Terra Ronca Tijuca Tumucumaque Ubajara Vale do Catimbau Viruá Xingu

Wildlife refuges	Castanheiras Pied Tamarin Ilha dos Lobos

Environmental protection areas	Anhatomirim Barra do Rio Cairuçu Cananéia-Iguape-Peruíbe Carste Cavernas do Peruaçu Descoberto River Basin Fernando de Noronha Guaraqueçaba Ibirapuitã Igarapé Gelado Morro da Pedreira Petrópolis Piaçabuçu Guapimirim Saint Peter and Saint Paul Archipelago São Bartolomeu River Basin Serra da Mantiqueira Serra de Tabatinga

Ecological reserves	Alcobaça Apiacás IBGE Raso

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