like the rest of the islands in the chain (and a couple others) laje da cagarra is protected as part of the cagarras islands natural monument, part of the rio islands project.

in addition to conserving the islands in their natural state, the project is conducting the first extensive study of the biodiversity of the islands.

while the study has revealed many exciting things - including the rediscovery of a plant species thought to be extinct in rio since the 1940s - it has also confirmed some less appealing suspicions, namely concerning the effects of rio's explosive growth on the ecosystem.