Pantanal Park Road and local communities in the potencialization of tourism and sustainable development

Abstract

Pantanal, recognized as a World Biosphere Reserve and a World Heritage Site by UNESCO and as the largest floodplain in the world, has since 1993 been home to the Pantanal Park Road (PPR), considered the first experience of its kind in Brazil. The aim of this study, conducted between 2014-2016, was to verify, at the researcher's observation scale and in a landscape ecology approach, the current structural conditions of the Pantanal Park Road, as well as the socio-economic and cultural conditions of those living and working professionally in tourism there. The object of this research corresponds to the Pantanal Park Road, including the Special Area of ​​Tourist Interest (AEIT), of which it is part. Bibliographic, statistical and documentary sources were accessed, as well as an exploratory field research, focusing on the hierarchical level most favorable to the appreciation of the human scale, from the perspective of interactions performed on the horizontal or geographical scale (METZGER, 2001). The study showed that most of the structural elements provided for in PPR were not implanted. On the other hand, although tourism activity has been boosted and contributed to changing working relationships, diversifying activities and increasing income, the two local communities live in an environment of risk and social exclusion in the enjoyment of basic services. It concludes on the urgency to effect the functioning of the Management Committee.