[2] It takes at least six hours to cover the 200 kilometres (120 mi) road from Rio Branco to Boca do Acre, and the same length of time by boat on the Purus River and then the Mapia stream to reach the central village of Céu do Mapiá.

Rain mostly falls in the months of October to April, while the driest season is from June to August.

[5] The alluvial areas that are flooded by the Purus River are relatively fertile due to sediments from the Andes.

[7] In the higher terra firma areas and the valley slopes the canopy reaches 50 metres (160 ft).

[7] The Purus National Forest was created by federal decree 96.190 of 21 June 1988, with an estimated area of 256,000 hectares (630,000 acres).

[4] In July 2007 the Residents Association of Céu do Mapiá Village (Associação de Moradores da Vila Céu do Mapiá - AMVCM) began to implement community forest management in the village's zone of community use in partnership with the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources, the Federal University of Viçosa and the Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden.

[3] On 19 October 2011 a working group was constituted to discuss and evaluate forms of occupation, population growth and migration in the village of Céu do Mapiá.