Created 7 November 1983 Nearest city Brasília | Area 410.6 km² | |
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Designation Environmental Protection Area | ||
The Descoberto River Basin Environmental Protection Area (Portuguese: Área de Proteção Ambiental Bacia do Rio Descoberto) is a protected area in the basin of the Descoberto River, which provides a large part of the water supply to Brasília, the capital of Brazil.
Contents
Location
The environmental protected area is in the municipalities of Brasília in the Federal District and Padre Bernardo and Águas Lindas de Goiás in Goiás. It extends to the west of the Brasília National Park and includes the Brasília National Forest, the community of Brazlândia, the Barragem do Descoberto reservoir and the Descoberto State Park. The Descoberto River, which originates with the Barracão and Capão da Onça streams in the administrative region of Brazlândia, is dammed to form the Descoberto reservoir, which supplies 60% of the water used by the Federal District.
Administration
The protected area, which covers 41,064 hectares (101,470 acres), was created on 7 November 1983. It contains examples of the Cerrado biome. It is managed by the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation. The area contains some human occupation. It is IUCN protected area category V (protected landscape/seascape). The purpose is to protect biological diversity, control human occupation and ensure sustainable use of natural resources.