rio de janeiro's state constitution article 268 defines as fully protected  areas harboring fauna and flora threatened with extinction, rare, vulnerable, or less known, as well as areas that serve as a place of bird-landing, feeding, or breeding for any threatened species - the protection also extends to areas of archaeological, historical, scientific, and cultural interest, and public or unoccupied lands, considered of interest to environmental protection. 

rio de janeiro state is home to the state parks of chacrinha, cunhambebe, desengano,  ilha grande, serra da concórdia, três picos, pedra selada, lagoa do açu, serra da tiririca in nearby niterói and pedra branca and grajaú within metropolitan limits.