Posted on 24-8-2002

World's Largest Tropical Forest Park Created In Brazilian Amazon

Largest Effort Ever Made for Tropical Forest Protection. Great success,
which (look at map for actual size of area) only serves to highlight the
huge areas that have been consigned to `production'. This being the largest
tropical rainforest park leaves one with a gut-renching feeling that the
so-called sustainable partnerships between TNCs, IMFs, WBs, WWWFs, all the
other miriad of acronyms and almost all state governments is a PR cover for
exactly the opposite, ecology, but not as the Earth has known it since the
dinosaur extinctions.

Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso today announced the creation
of the world's largest tropical forest protected area -- Tumucumaque
(pronounced too-moo-koo-Mah-kay) National Park -- in the Brazilian Amazon.
World Wildlife Fund, a partner in the development of the park, called the
event an `unprecedented achievement in conservation'.

Located in the Brazilian state of Amapa, Tumucumaque National Park covers
just over 15,000 square miles (3.8 million hectares), more than six times
the size of the Florida Everglades and 770 square miles more than the
current largest tropical forest park, Salonga National Park in the
Democratic Republic of Congo. WWF has been working with the Brazilian
government for several years to bring the park to fruition; WWF will
allocate $1 million to help the Brazilian government implement the park
over the next few years.

In April 1998 President Cardoso pledged to preserve 158,000 square miles
(41 million hectares) of the Amazon forest in strictly protected areas, an
area roughly the size of California. The creation of Tumucumaque National
Park is a significant step toward protecting the Amazon and accounts for
approximately 14 percent of President Cardoso's pledge. "President
Cardoso's announcement of the creation of Tumucumaque National Park is a
landmark achievement in global forest conservation and an historic step
forward in efforts to protect the Amazon Basin," said Kathryn Fuller,
president of WWF.

Tumucumaque National Park is believed to be rich with spectacular species,
including jaguars and pumas, and rare primates, such as brown bearded
sakis, whose populations are greatly reduced elsewhere. In the language of
the Apalam and Wayana indigenous groups of the northeastern Amazon,
Tumucumaque means ''the rock on top of the mountain symbolizing a shaman's
fight with the spirits,'' a reference to the dramatic granite rock
formations rising hundreds of feet above the forest canopy. The park is
thought to be abundant in yet-to-be-discovered flora and fauna, as well.
The interior of Tumucumaque is virtually uninhabited, and surveys of the
area have concluded that no indigenous settlements exist within the
boundaries of the park. Exploration of the park promises to be challenging
as access is limited and its waterways are difficult to navigate for most
of the year.

WWF's funding is being made available as part of the Amazon Region
Protected Areas initiative (ARPA). ARPA is an unprecedented collaborative
effort designed to help fulfill the Brazilian government's promise to
protect the Amazon. WWF staff will continue to work with Brazil by
supporting ARPA and strategies to protect and responsibly manage the Amazon
rainforest. ARPA will be formally initiated by representatives of WWF, the
government of Brazil, the World Bank, and the Global Environmental Fund
(GEF) at a ceremony during the upcoming World Summit on Sustainable
Development in Johannesburg. For photos, maps, fact sheets and other
information on Tumucumaque National Park and ARPA, go to www.worldwildlife.org