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Community perceptions of four protected areas in the Northern portion of the Cerrado hotspot, Brazil

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 October 2009

MARIANA NAPOLITANO E FERREIRA  and
NATÁLIA COSTA FREIRE
MARIANA NAPOLITANO E FERREIRA*
Affiliation:
Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, Rua do Matão, travessa 14, 321 Cidade Universitária, São Paulo, SP 05508-900, Brazil
NATÁLIA COSTA FREIRE
Affiliation:
Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Tocantins, Rua 07, Quadra 15 s/n, Jardim dos Ipês, Porto Nacional, TO 77500–000, Brazil
*
*Correspondence: Ms Mariana Napolitano E Ferreira e-mail: [email protected]
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Summary

Establishing effective networks of protected areas (PAs) is one of the major goals of conservation strategies worldwide. However, the success of PAs in promoting biodiversity conservation depends on their integration to local and regional contexts, reducing and mitigating human impacts originating from buffer zones. Community perceptions affect interactions between residents and PAs, and thereby conservation effectiveness. Research at Tocantins state (northern Brazilian Cerrado), aimed to analyse local community perceptions of four PAs, discussing how different factors may influence these. Perceptions were assessed through standardized interviews applied to PA employees and 275 local inhabitants. There was modest community participation in PA establishment and management. Residents were aware of the PAs’ existence, but were unfamiliar with their goals. Length of residency and occupation of inhabitants influenced their PA perceptions, shaping different people-park relations in each of the four studied PAs. Involvement of local residents in PA planning and management represents a central strategy to strengthen local support for PAs over the long term. In those areas that still have settlements inside their boundaries, community relocation should follow a careful participatory process to avoid significant changes in local perceptions and attitudes towards these PAs, crucial for conserving Brazilian biodiversity.

Keywords

Cerradocommunity perceptionshotspotpeople-park interactionsprotected areas
Type
Papers
Information
Environmental Conservation , Volume 36 , Issue 2 , June 2009 , pp. 129 - 138
Copyright
Copyright © Foundation for Environmental Conservation 2009

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