Brazil’s Iguaçu National Park threatened by illegal activities: predicting consequences of proposed downgrading and road construction
The spectacularly biodiverse Atlantic Forest of South America has been reduced to fragmented remnants. The largest remaining inland fragment is protected by national parks on either side of the iconic Iguassu Falls on the border between Brazil and Argentina. Biodiversity in the parks has been under...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2022-01-01
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| Series: | Environmental Research Letters |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac4e39 |
| _version_ | 1797747104963100672 |
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| author | V M Prasniewski N Szinwelski A S Bertrand F Martello C R Brocardo J Cuhna C F Sperber R Viana B G dos Santos P M Fearnside T Sobral-Souza |
| author_facet | V M Prasniewski N Szinwelski A S Bertrand F Martello C R Brocardo J Cuhna C F Sperber R Viana B G dos Santos P M Fearnside T Sobral-Souza |
| author_sort | V M Prasniewski |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The spectacularly biodiverse Atlantic Forest of South America has been reduced to fragmented remnants. The largest remaining inland fragment is protected by national parks on either side of the iconic Iguassu Falls on the border between Brazil and Argentina. Biodiversity in the parks has been under pressure from illegal activities such as commercial hunting, fishing and extraction of palm hearts. A proposed road through Brazil’s Iguaçu National Park now further threatens the area’s biodiversity by further dividing the forest fragment and by increasing access by illegal actors. Here we analyze spatial data on illegal activities and develop a niche-based model to predict the impact of the proposed Caminho-do-Colono road. The model shows the significant increases that this road would provoke in susceptibility to illegal activities such as fishing (median 0.009–0.101), palm-heart extraction (median 0.087–0.260) and poaching (median 0.324–0.334). The road proposal includes downgrading the protected status of a portion of the park, which reflects a worldwide pattern of downsizing, downgrading and degazetting protected areas that is particularly evident in Brazil. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T15:46:25Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-cd3f44d089694679818c62b44a86ebfb |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1748-9326 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T15:46:25Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj.art-cd3f44d089694679818c62b44a86ebfb2023-08-09T15:25:21ZengIOP PublishingEnvironmental Research Letters1748-93262022-01-0117202402410.1088/1748-9326/ac4e39Brazil’s Iguaçu National Park threatened by illegal activities: predicting consequences of proposed downgrading and road constructionV M Prasniewski0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9783-9328N Szinwelski1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4049-3121A S Bertrand2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8212-2524F Martello3https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1243-9750C R Brocardo4https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3142-5688J Cuhna5https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3941-0753C F Sperber6https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0334-7216R Viana7https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4235-4048B G dos Santos8https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7923-9097P M Fearnside9https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3672-9082T Sobral-Souza10https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2367-2315Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia e Conservação da Biodiversidade, Universidade Federal do Mato Grosso , Rua Fernando Corrêa da Costa 2367, Cuiabá, 78060-900, BrazilLaboratório de Orthoptera, Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde, Universidade Estadual do Oeste do Paraná , Rua Universitária 2069, Cascavel, 85819-110, BrazilInstituto Mater Natura , Rua Lamenha Lins 1080 Curitiba, 80250-020, BrazilPrograma de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia e Manejo de Recursos Naturais, Universidade Federal do Acre , Rodovia BR 364, Km 04, Rio Branco, 69920-900, BrazilPrograma de Pós-Graduação em Biodiversidade, Universidade Federal do Oeste do Pará , Rua Vera Paz, Santarém, 68040-255, BrazilCuerpo de Guardaparques Nacionales, Administración de Parques Nacionales , Puerto Iguazú, ArgentinaDepartamento de Biologia Geral, Universidade Federal de Viçosa , Av. PH Rolfs s/n, Viçosa, 36570-900, BrazilPrograma de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Neotropical, Universidade Federal da Integração Latino-Americana , Av. Tarquínio Joslin dos Santos 1000, Foz do Iguaçu, 85870-901, BrazilLaboratório de Orthoptera, Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde, Universidade Estadual do Oeste do Paraná , Rua Universitária 2069, Cascavel, 85819-110, BrazilInstituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia , Av. André Araújo 2936, Manaus, 69067-375, BrazilDepartamento de Botânica e Ecologia, Universidade Federal do Mato Grosso , Rua Fernando Corrêa da Costa 2367, Cuiabá, 78060-900, BrazilThe spectacularly biodiverse Atlantic Forest of South America has been reduced to fragmented remnants. The largest remaining inland fragment is protected by national parks on either side of the iconic Iguassu Falls on the border between Brazil and Argentina. Biodiversity in the parks has been under pressure from illegal activities such as commercial hunting, fishing and extraction of palm hearts. A proposed road through Brazil’s Iguaçu National Park now further threatens the area’s biodiversity by further dividing the forest fragment and by increasing access by illegal actors. Here we analyze spatial data on illegal activities and develop a niche-based model to predict the impact of the proposed Caminho-do-Colono road. The model shows the significant increases that this road would provoke in susceptibility to illegal activities such as fishing (median 0.009–0.101), palm-heart extraction (median 0.087–0.260) and poaching (median 0.324–0.334). The road proposal includes downgrading the protected status of a portion of the park, which reflects a worldwide pattern of downsizing, downgrading and degazetting protected areas that is particularly evident in Brazil.https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac4e39Atlantic ForestIguassuIguazúprotected areasbiodiversityniche-based models |
| spellingShingle | V M Prasniewski N Szinwelski A S Bertrand F Martello C R Brocardo J Cuhna C F Sperber R Viana B G dos Santos P M Fearnside T Sobral-Souza Brazil’s Iguaçu National Park threatened by illegal activities: predicting consequences of proposed downgrading and road construction Environmental Research Letters Atlantic Forest Iguassu Iguazú protected areas biodiversity niche-based models |
| title | Brazil’s Iguaçu National Park threatened by illegal activities: predicting consequences of proposed downgrading and road construction |
| title_full | Brazil’s Iguaçu National Park threatened by illegal activities: predicting consequences of proposed downgrading and road construction |
| title_fullStr | Brazil’s Iguaçu National Park threatened by illegal activities: predicting consequences of proposed downgrading and road construction |
| title_full_unstemmed | Brazil’s Iguaçu National Park threatened by illegal activities: predicting consequences of proposed downgrading and road construction |
| title_short | Brazil’s Iguaçu National Park threatened by illegal activities: predicting consequences of proposed downgrading and road construction |
| title_sort | brazil s iguacu national park threatened by illegal activities predicting consequences of proposed downgrading and road construction |
| topic | Atlantic Forest Iguassu Iguazú protected areas biodiversity niche-based models |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac4e39 |
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