Discovery Coast Atlantic Forest Reserves

The Discovery Coast Atlantic Forest Reserves form a serial natural property inscribed by UNESCO in 1999. The property comprises eight protected areas across the states of Bahia and Espírito Santo, on the stretch of coast where Pedro Álvares Cabral's expedition landed in 1500, hence the name.

These lowland forests preserve one of the greatest tree diversities ever recorded: inventories carried out in the region have produced record figures of tree species per hectare, higher even than those of Amazonia. That richness is explained by the combination of constant humidity, varied soils and a long climatic stability that allowed the area to act as a refuge during the dry periods of the Pleistocene, accumulating and preserving ancient lineages.

The group is also one of the last refuges of the endemic fauna of the northern Mata Atlântica, with critically threatened primates such as the northern muriqui and the golden-headed lion tamarin, alongside the harpy eagle, the maned sloth and numerous birds of restricted range. Pressure on these reserves is intense: the expansion of eucalypt plantations, cattle ranching, tourist development along the coast and illegal logging have fragmented the surrounding forest, and the protected units function today as islands within a transformed landscape.