Overview of population presence within Brazilian National Parks

Abstract

The presence of human communities within the Protected Areas (PA) is a reality in various parts of the national territory, an incompatible situation with the existence of restrict protected areas. This study analyzed the human communities inside the Brazilian National Parks. The data collection gathered answers by one interview sent to National Parks managers with open question. The results provided information about the relationship between human communities and the management of National Parks. Overall, the managers answered that there are human communities inside 58% of National Parks, and of these 69% are traditional populations. Therefore, almost 77% of the managers considered that human communities cause negative impact to conservation, due to communities doing some actions that are against the goal of conservation, such as direct use of natural resources, hunting, agriculture and deforestation. Some managers even reported the existence of formal or informal agreements with these communities, which regulate their temporary stay in the area, but other managers report that there is no possibility or interest in establishing such agreements, showing the existence of conflicts between management and communities. The vast majority of managers perceive the presence of human communities as negative within the PAs, stating that the solution would be to relocate these people. Due to practical difficulties, and the social-cultural impacts that they could cause, a way to minimize these conflicts would be the dialogue and the establishment of social pacts that would enable the survival of these communities and their knowledge, as well as nature and biodiversity conservation, which is the primary goal of the National Parks.