Sete Cidades National Park

Sete Cidades National Park is located in the state of Piauí, in the Northeast Region of Brazil. Covering approximately 7,700 ha (19,000 acres), it is divided between the municipalities of Brasileira and Piracuruca.

The National Park contains arid savanna forests (babassu forests] and areas of contact between savanna, arid savanna and seasonal forest. It protects an important geological formation and conserves water resources in a dry region.

The geological monuments are the main attraction. The park also has some pre-historic cave paintings and inscriptions.

The park is surrounded by the Serra da Ibiapaba Environmental Protection Area.

Serra da Ibiapaba Environmental Protection Area

The Serra da Ibiapaba Environmental Protection Area is located in the states of Piauí and Ceará in northeastern Brazil with a total area of 1,592,550 ha (3,935,300 acres).

Created in 1996, Serra da Ibiapaba surrounds the Sete Cidades National Park and adjoins the Ubajara National Park to the east. It adjoins the Delta do Parnaíba Environmental Protection Area to the north.

The protection area was created with the objective of conserving remnants of cerrado, caatinga and Atlantic Forest in and around Sete Cidades National Park as well as seasonal forest, open rainforest and transitional forest in the mountains of the region.

Serra da Ibiapaba is home to the endangered red-handed howler (Alouatta belzebul) and the frog Adelophryne baturitensis.

Most of the population within the protected area are rural families engaged in agriculture as their main economic activity. Threats include indiscriminate burning and deforestation, predatory hunting, illegal trade in wild animals, poor management of water resources, indiscriminate use of pesticides and misuse of the soil.

The goal of the protection area is to promote ecotourism and handicrafts, as well as sustainable activities such as agroforestry, agroecology and beekeeping, replacing large and medium-sized animals and poultry.