Social participation in biodiversity monitoring in Carajás: socioeconomic profile, perception analysis, and experience reports

Abstract

Biodiversity monitoring programs are essential for tracking the state of ecosystems, target species, or natural processes and providing information from analyses of target responses to environmental changes and management actions. In this context, the ICMBio National Biodiversity Monitoring Program - Monitora Program is a continuous, long-term government program focused on monitoring the conservation status of biodiversity, conducted in Federal Conservation Units managed by ICMBio. The participation of different actors characterizes the foundation of the Monitora Program as participatory monitoring. This study aims to present the socioeconomic profile of the monitors, analyze their perceptions, and report their experiences in the Monitora Program within the protected areas of the Carajás Integrated Management Center - NGI Carajás. To achieve this, an electronic questionnaire was used through the Microsoft Forms tool. The data were summarized using conventional descriptive statistics. Categorical variables were described in absolute numbers and percentages. In total, 46 monitors responded to the electronic questionnaire. Of the monitors who completed the electronic form, 67% are female and 33% are male, with ages ranging from 20 to 39 years for females and from 22 to 42 years for males. The average number of children per monitor is less than one (0.3). The monitors exhibit a variety of marital statuses, with the majority being single, representing 76% of the total. Regarding education, 50% have a higher education degree, and 17% have postgraduate education. Thus, it was observed that the Monitora Program in the protected areas of Carajás primarily attracts students with academic backgrounds, indicating the need for efforts by the NGI Carajás management to involve a more socially diverse group, contributing to the enhancement of social participation in sociobiodiversity management.