Ilha Comprida Environmental Protection Area

Ilha Comprida Environmental Protection Area
Área de Proteção Ambiental da Ilha Comprida
IUCN category V (protected landscape/seascape)
Araça sand dunes on the island
Nearest city	Ilha Comprida, São Paulo
Coordinates	24°50′31″S 47°42′22″W / 24.842°S 47.706°W / -24.842; -47.706Coordinates: 24°50′31″S 47°42′22″W / 24.842°S 47.706°W / -24.842; -47.706
Area	17,572 hectares (43,420 acres)
Designation	Environmental protection area
Created	11 March 1987

The Ilha Comprida Environmental Protection Area (Portuguese: Área de Proteção Ambiental da Ilha Comprida) is an environmental protection area in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. It protects an island with an environment of dunes, salt marshes and mangroves. There has been some difficulty reconciling conservation with human occupation of the island.

The Ilha Comprida Environmental Protection Area (APA) is in the municipality of Ilha Comprida, São Paulo, covering an island off the south coast of São Paulo. It has an area of 17,572 hectares (43,420 acres). The island extends along the coast in a southwest direction. It is 70 kilometres (43 mi) long and at most 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) wide. It is about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) wide on average. It is separated from the mainland by the estuarine lagoon channel of the Mar Pequeno, the Valo Grande and the mouth of the Ribeira de Iguape River. With the exception of the 40 metres (130 ft) high Morrete, the only rock formation on the island, elevations rarely exceed 5 metres (16 ft) above sea level.

The northeast tip of the island is zoned as an area of relevant ecological interest, and there are sections of urban area along the Atlantic coast, mostly in the northeastern part. The remainder is zoned as wildlife refuge or environmental protection area. There is overlap between the limits of the Ilha Comprida APA and the federal Cananéia-Iguape-Peruíbe APA managed by the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio). The island is part of the Atlantic Forest Biosphere Reserve, and has been recognised by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. The conservation unit is part of the Lagamar Mosaic.

The climate is tropical, warm and humid. Average rainfall is about 2,000 millimetres (79 in) annually, and average temperature is 25 °C (77 °F). The Ilha Comprida Environmental Protection Area is in the Atlantic Forest biome, and contains restinga forest, dunes, beaches and mangroves. It is one of the last complexes of such ecosystems on the coast, a nursery of South Atlantic marine and terrestrial species, used by over 30 species of migratory birds, and the location of archaeological remains. It is part of the Iguape-Cananéia-Paranaguá estuary lagoon complex.