Espinhaço Mosaic

Espinhaço: Alto Jequitinhonha – Serra do Cabral Mosaic
Mosaico do Espinhaço
IUCN category V (protected landscape/seascape)
Field of flowers below Serra do Galho
Nearest city	Diamantina, Minas Gerais
Coordinates	18°10′30″S 43°20′08″W / 18.175113°S 43.335437°W / -18.175113; -43.335437Coordinates: 18°10′30″S 43°20′08″W / 18.175113°S 43.335437°W / -18.175113; -43.335437
Area	910,000 ha (3,500 sq mi)
Designation	Protected area mosaic
Created	26 November 2010
Administrator	Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade

The Espinhaço: Alto Jequitinhonha – Serra do Cabral Mosaic (Portuguese: Mosaico do Espinhaço: Alto Jequitinhonha - Serra do Cabral), or simply Espinhaço Mosaic, is a protected area mosaic in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil.

The Espinhaço Mountains extend for about 1,200 kilometres (750 mi) from the iron quadrilateral in the south-central region of Minas Gerais north to the Chapada Diamantina in Bahia. The mountains lie between the cerrado biome to the west, Atlantic Forest to the east and caatinga to the north. In the higher regions there are rocky fields, an ecosystem with considerable biodiversity. In 2005 UNESCO recognized a large portion of the Espinhaço Chain in Minas Gerais as a Biosphere Reserve.

Discussions followed on how to better conserve the ecosystems, and the first proposals for a Mosaic of Units of Conservation of the Espinhaço: Alto Jequitinhonha - Serra do Cabral were made at the end of 2007. Official activities began in April 2008, coordinated by the Biotropics Institute, a scientific and conservationist NGO, in partnership with the Minas Gerais State Forest Institute (IEF) and with the support of Conservation International Brasil and the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio).

The relevant area was defined as 910,000 hectares (2,200,000 acres) of the upper portion of the Jequitinhonha and Serra do Cabral valley, including conservation units and their buffer zones. It included seven fully protected units and five environmental protection areas in 14 municipalities: Itamarandiba, Senador Modestino Gonçalves, São Gonçalo do Rio Preto, Felício dos Santos, Rio Vermelho, Couto de Magalhães de Minas, Santo Antônio do Itambé, Serra Azul de Minas, Serro, Diamantina, Buenópolis, Joaquim Felício, Bocaiúva and Olhos-d'Água.