THE LAST BEACH It is also the oldest

Itaguaré in Bertioga, considered the last beach still preserved throughout the Santos is also the oldest coastal plain of the geological point of view.
The finding is a study by the Geological Institute, an agency of the Department of Environment of the State of São Paulo (SMA / SP).
According to researcher and professor of postgraduate course in Geography at USP, Celia Regina de Gouveia Souza, Itaguaré paleopraias has remnants of which date back over 123,000 years.
Traces of this kind are rare in Brazil, the researcher explained. Similar evidence only occur on the coast of Rio Grande do Sul
THE MOST IMPORTANT
Why have remained relatively free of human activity over the past thousands of years, the beach, until the encounter with the Coast Range, is today what the geologist classifies as "the most important corridor sub-biomes of the coastal plain existing in the State of Sao Paulo. "
To give an idea of what it represents, the researcher cites the resolution 7/1996do National Council on the Environment (CONAMA),. This resolution describes all restinga vegetation of São Paulo.
In Itaguaré, in the range that goes from beach to the foothills of the Serra do Mar, can be found all the vegetation types described by the resolution. Moreover, even were discovered two new types of forests.
HIGH DIVERSITY
Much of this diversity is now kept in the Herbarium of Universidade Santa Cecilia.
Between 1998 and 2006, researchers from Unisanta in partnership with the Institute of Botany (SMA / SP), cataloged the presence of 611 plant species in Itaguaré, a variety considered "very high" by biologist Paul de Salles Penteado Sampaio, the Unisanta.
"By way of comparison, Picinguaba, on this coast, 696 species are found. On Ilha do Mel, Parana, are 555. Both, however, are conservation areas, "explains the researcher.
"The last survey done in this excerpt from Bertioga identified 10 species on the list of endangered plants in the State of Sao Paulo. Another 32 are considered rare and two represent the first instance to our state. This further underscores the urgency of protecting this area. "
Professor Celia Regina agrees. "We know there is much pressure to take Itaguaré. But this is the last beach still preserved across the Santos area since the strip of sand to the Serra do Mar ".
SERVICE:
In the next 27 days, the researcher Celia Regina de Gouveia Souza will be launching in Santos, the book "Restinga: Concepts and Terms of Employment in Brazil and Implications for Environmental Law," during a meeting of the Development Council of Santos (Condesb).
AREA CAN TURN STORAGE UNIT
Early next year, the Chico Mendes Institute (ICMBio) linked to the Ministry of Environment (MMA) is to initiate public consultations in order to transform the region encompassing the beach Itaguaré in a Conservation Unit (UC) .
If approved, the UC would involve an area equivalent to 12,000 football fields, going to the beach which is about 4 km long, up to the foothills of the Serra do Mar.
The proposal, according to Daniel 'Kurup', Institute Ibiosfera, would have the assent of the MMA, as long even with support from the State Secretary of Environment of São Paulo, Xico Graziano.
As president of Consema (State Council on the Environment), Graziano has positioned itself in favor of preserving the area over proposals to install real estate resort''option that second Ingrid Oberg, head of IBAMA's regional office in Santos, face serious difficulties on the basis of environmental legislation.
"There are various restrictive rules. Moreover, Bertioga not require areas for such expansion. The city has even subdivisions not yet occupied. "
For Ingrid, if not transformed into UC, Itaguaré follow "a perverse model" of occupation, characterized by so-called "tourism of second residence." "Reaching this kind of business is an open door to invasion."
Currently, based on the draft text of the Ecological Economic Zoning (EEZ) from Santos, Itaguaré appears divided into two zones.
The part near the river mouth Itaguaré is classified as Zone 1 (permanent preservation). The rest, most of the area, appears as Zone 4, ie, if passed allows the construction of residences.