Serra da Canastra National Park was created in April 1972 during
the Brazilian dictatorship, with the initial aim of protecting
the River São Francisco, which, apart from being a historical
symbol, is one of the most important rivers and hydrographical
basins of the country. Its limits were established of
approximately 200,000 hectares, but only 71,525 hectares are
under park’s management. Today, the park is under the
conservation control of the Chico Mendes Institute, which
manages the park, and IBAMA, who polices it – both are part of
the Federal Ministry of the Environment. The territory of the
reserve as it stands today is located within three
municipalities: São Roque de Minas, Sacramento and Delfinópolis,
in the state of Minas Gerais. The Cerrado ecosystem covers 23%
of Brazilian territory, equalling 200 million hectares. The
reserve represents 3.8% of the Cerrado area that is protected by
federal legislation under the title of Federal Conservation
Unity. The Management Plan document (2005) of the park