National park (Brazil)

National Parks (Portuguese: Parques nacionais) are a legally-defined type of protected area of Brazil.

However, many of them suffer from outstanding claims for compensation from former owners or users of the land, and many lack the management plans, physical infrastructure and personnel needed to support public visits.

Their goal is to preserve ecosystems of great ecological importance and scenic beauty, and to support scientific research, education, environmental interpretation, recreation and eco-tourism through contact with nature.

With strictly limited budgets, poor land records and inefficient bureaucracy it can take many years to complete this process.

[6] Scientific research requires prior authorization from the responsible agency and is subject to conditions and restrictions.

[9] The Ubajara National Park was created in 1959, protecting a limestone cave in the semi-arid caatinga biome of the north east.

[9] The Paulo Afonso and Sete Quedas national parks were created in 1948 and 1961 respectively to let visitors see exceptional waterfalls and rapids.

Although all countries define national parks as permanent, Brazil violated this principal and submerged the features under the dams of hydroelectric power plants.

[10] The Emas, Chapada dos Veadeiros, Brasília and Araguaia parks were in the interior, but situated where they could be used for leisure by government workers in Brasilia, which had become the national capital in 1960.

[12] By 1978 there were eighteen national parks, of which nine were in the coastal Atlantic Forest biome near to large cities, typically including a monumental feature as the main attraction.

[6] In 1998 the Iguaçu National Park experimented with outsourcing public use services, causing a rise in visitor numbers.

More funds were made available for settling expropriation claims, and a system of environmental compensation was introduced to support investment in parks.

[15] Most protected areas created in the 2000s had the primary goal of reducing deforestation, and little effort has been made to promote public use.

It is a World Heritage Site and has unique cerrado vegetation and hundreds of waterfalls and other bodies of water.