Currently, the state of São Paulo has 34 state parks, a category of conservation unit for integral protection of nature defined in the Law of the National System of Nature Conservation Units and classified as category II by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).^[1] The basic objective of a state park is to preserve natural ecosystems of great ecological importance and scenic beauty, enabling scientific research and the development of environmental education and interpretation, recreation in contact with nature and ecological tourism. Among the state parks in São Paulo, 32 are managed by the Foundation for Conservation and Forestry Production of the State of São Paulo, which is linked to the Secretariat of the Environment of the Government of São Paulo.^[2] The other two parks, Albert Löfgren and Fontes do Ipiranga, are managed by the Forestry Institute and the Botanical Institute of São Paulo, respectively.^[3][4]

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List of state parks in São Paulo

The first official state park was Campos do Jordão, created by Decree No. 11,908 issued on March 27, 1941, by Ademar Pereira de Barros. It was followed by Alto Ribeira Tourist in Iporanga, on May 19, 1958, and Jaraguá, on May 3, 1961, in the city of São Paulo.^[5][1][6][7] The smallest state park is the A.R.A., with just under 0.6 square kilometers, while the largest is the Serra do Mar, with over 3,000 square kilometers.^[8][9]

The two biomes found in the state are the Atlantic Forest and the Cerrado. Despite the considerable number of state parks, they protect less than 8,000 square kilometers of native vegetation. 30.4% of the city of São Paulo is covered by remnants of the Atlantic Forest, including large fragments in the Cantareira, Parque do Carmo and Parelheiros regions. The Jacupiranga, Serra de Paranapiacaba and Juréia-Itatins mosaics, composed of important state parks, also are UNESCO World Heritage Sites (Atlantic Forest Reserves of the Southeast).^{[10][11][12][13]}

From the original 33,979 square kilometers of Cerrado, less than 3,000 square kilometers remain (less than 1% of São Paulo's territory). Less than 0.5% is in conservation units, including state parks, which measure 50 square kilometers.^[14]

• List of Atlantic Forest conservation units
• National System of Nature Conservation Units