The Cape Orange National Park (Portuguese: Parque Nacional do Cabo Orange) is a national park in Amapá state, located in the northern part of Brazil, close to the border between Brazil and French Guiana.
Location
The Cape Orange National Park covers an area of 657,318 hectares (1,624,270 acres). It is located in parts of the Calçoene and Oiapoque municipalities. To the southwest, the park borders the Amapá State Forest, a conservation area with 2,369,400 hectares (5,855,000 acres). This forest was created in 2006 and is used for sustainable conservation.
The park is important because it is on Brazil’s coastline. It is the only rainforest national park with this kind of location. This means the plant and animal species here are different from those in inland areas. The park can be reached by boat, and it shows how coastal and jungle ecosystems exist side by side. The park includes many types of ecosystems, such as mangroves, natural fields, fluvial marine forests, floodable areas, and terra firm. It also has a wide variety of plant and animal life.
The park has natural beauty that is well preserved and is attractive to tourists. Areas like Cassiporé, Cunani, Uaçá, and Oiapoque offer opportunities for boat, canoe, and launch trips, as well as rafting. The park’s rich biodiversity allows visitors to observe many plant and animal species, especially birds. It also supports environmental education and scientific research, which are key goals of national parks.
History
The Cape Orange National Park was established by an official order (Decree 84.913) on July 15, 1980, to protect plants, animals, and natural beauty. The park is managed by the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio). A group called the consultative council was formed by IBAMA on March 9, 2006. A management plan for the park was approved on January 17, 2011. On March 22, 2012, ICMBio and the Oiapoque fishermen reached an agreement about fishing in the park's waters, with help from the Federal Public Ministry. In 2013, the Brazilian government designated the park as the 12th Wetland of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention.
Conservation
The park is a type of protected area called a national park, as defined by the IUCN. Its main goal is to protect natural ecosystems that are important for the environment and have beautiful scenery. This helps scientists study the area, teaches people about the environment, allows activities like hiking and camping, and supports eco-tourism. The park is part of the Amapá Biodiversity Corridor, which was started in 2003. It is supported by the Amazon Region Protected Areas Program.
Some animals protected in the park include the giant armadillo (Priodontes maximus), giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla), jaguar (Panthera onca), oncilla (Leopardus tigrinus), black bearded saki (Chiropotes satanas), green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas), smalltooth sawfish (Pristis pectinata), West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus), and Amazonian manatee (Trichechus inunguis).