a type of ecological reserve, called ecological station (estação  ecológica), such as the estação ecológica de guaxindiba, has restricted access for educational and scientific reasons only.

on the other hand, another special class of ecological reserve, labeled as 'extrativista' (extractive), such as the marine extractive reserve of arraial do cabo, is designed for public access and sustainable use by the population.

different reserves are administered by different authorities, setting rules and limitations according to each individual set of programs and requirements. for the purposes of our guide we grouped reserves first geographically, depending on whether they are located within city or state borders, and then we grouped the reserves outside the city as either ecological or biological.