This article presents a synthesis of the Amapá ecosystems as a contribution to the knowledge about a poorly researched region, in order to enable a reflection on an Amazonian case related to a preserved forest and the problems resulting from the intense process of urban unassisted concentration. The article presents the legal protection framework to which the ecosystems of Amapá were submitted, with emphasis on the protected areas created by the federal and state governments. The study analyzes the indicators of demographic and socioeconomic dynamics of Amapá that point to the need of public policies that fight urban problems. Based on the analysis of the environmental and urban reality, anchored in the scientific production of Ab'Saber and Becker, it was decided to call for a revaluation of the territorial planning policy with emphasis on new paradigms that recognize the importance of the ecosystems for the sustainability of regional development.