Central Amazon Conservation Complex

Location: Brazil

The Central Amazon Conservation Complex makes up the largest protected area in the Amazon Basin (over 6 million hectares) and is one of the planet’s richest regions in terms of biodiversity. It also includes an important sample of varzea ecosystems, igapó forests, lakes and channels which take the form of a constantly evolving aquatic mosaic that is home to the largest array of electric fish in the world. The site protects key threatened species, including giant arapaima fish, the Amazonian manatee, the black caiman and two species of river dolphin.

The Central Amazon Conservation Complex makes up the largest protected area in the Amazon Basin (over 6 million hectares) and is one of the planet's richest regions in terms of biodiversity.

The site is made up of Jaú National Park, Demonstration area of Mamairauá Sustainable Development Reserve, Amanã Sustainable Development Reserve and the Anavilhanas Ecological Station located in Amazonas State  The site includes an important sample of annually flooded (várzea) ecosystems, igapó forests, lakes and channels which take the form of a constantly evolving aquatic mosaic that is home to the largest array of electric fish in the world.

The rivers provide a landscape of white-sand beaches during the dry season and flooded forest during the wet season, as well as secondary stream beds of distinct sizes, channels, paranás and an important fluvial phenomenon, the ria lake, which is typical of all large rivers in the Amazon region. The site contains the nine-tier waterfall of the Carabinani River, and also includes a significant proportion of the black-water drainage system, the headwaters of which are located primarily in the Guiane Shield. Its dark colour results from organic acids released into the water through the decomposition of organic matter and the lack of terrestrial sediments.