Guapimirim Environmental Protection Area
Guapimirim Environmental Protection Area () is a coastal marine protected area on Guanabara Bay in the state of Rio de Janeiro, southeastern Brazil. Location. The marine coastal protection area, which covers was created on 25 September 1984. It is administered by the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation. The area includes all or part of the municipalities of Guapimirim, Itaboraí, Magé and São Gonçalo in the state of Rio de Janeiro. It contains the strictly protected Guanabara Ecological Station, created in 2006. It is in the Central Rio de Janeiro Atlantic Forest Mosaic, created in 2006. Mangrove  ecology. The area includes the Guanabara Ecological Station, created on 15 February 2006, which protects one of the last sections of midsize contiguous mangrove habitats in the state. The mangroves shelter species that are endangered in the state, including the anhinga ("Anhinga anhinga"), fulvous whistling duck ("Dendrocygna bicolor"), and broad-snouted caiman ("Caiman latirostris"). Conservation. The area is classed as IUCN protected area category V, protected landscape/seascape. The purpose is to maintain biological diversity, manage human settlements and ensure sustainable use of natural resources. The main goal is to protect the remaining mangroves in Guanabara Bay, and to preserve  the human populations that maintain a traditional lifestyle in a close relationship with the environment. Protected species include the starfish Coscinasterias tenuispina.