Découvrir la Mata Atlântica au Brésil avec Rick Simpson

The Atlantic Forest stretches from north-east Brazil south along the Brazilian Atlantic coastline just into coastal Uruguay, and inland into north-east Argentina and eastern Paraguay. Once covering an estimated 1,477,500 km2, centuries of deforestation have seen the Atlantic Forest become the second most threatened biome in the world after Madagascar. Today only 7% of the original forest area remains, an area of 100,000 km2, and only an estimated 2% is still primary forest. Despite the loss and habitat fragmentation, this ecoregion is still ranked in the top five of the world’s biodiversity hotspots.
With 315 thousand hectares, the Serra do Mar State Park is one of the biggest remaining areas of continuous Atlantic Forest. Its rich flora, fauna and traditional cultures make it a place of indescribable beauty. Its total area stretches from the border of São Paulo with Rio de Janeiro until the township of Itariri in the south of the State, passing along the entire coastline.
. Due to its enormous extension, it is divided into 8 administrative sections (« nucleus »). The nucleus of Picinguaba protects 67 % of the territory of Ubatuba : the area around this little coastal town is one of the best to acquaint oneself with the birds of the lowland Atlantic forest.
We interviewed Rick Simpson, a confirmed guide who knows the birds of the Mata Atlântica very well and one of the persons in charge of the Ubatuba Birdwaching Centre.
You can read the English version of the intervi in the last part of this article.